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Home - Network for Mercy Education Mercy Secondary Education Association
HISTORY - 1977-2003
1977-1985 The first
“history” of MSEA was written for the 1990 Proceedings of Conference IX by
Sister Judith Heberle, RSM (Rochester). This
history was repeated in the Proceedings of Conference X and XI, 1991 and
1992. Subsequently, each year, in
the Proceedings of the annual conference, beginning with Conference XII,
the history was updated to include the themes, speakers and the highlighted
actions of the past year’s annual conference.
What follows is the original history written by Sister Judith Heberle,
RSM
covering MSEA from its founding through 1989. From 1990 to the present each MSEA Board.
contributed to the
recording of the
history. It seems appropriate to review the history of MSEA as we approach the date of the tenth anniversary of the Mercy Secondary Education Association and the establishment of the Institute of the Sisters of Mercy. This
history is simply a pulling together of the beginnings - much more could be
written. In fact, much more is
written because the report of the MSEA Conferences I through VIII are carefully
documented and available in unit and Mercy secondary school archives around the
country. The beginnings date back to around 1977 when Sisters Carol E. Wheeler (Baltimore), Nancy Thompson (Detroit), and Helen Marie Burns (Provincial of the Detroit Province) talked informally about what appeared to them to be the untapped potential for collaboration among Sisters of Mercy and colleagues in the ministry of secondary education. For
the next few years informal conversation continued and at times involved a
number of small groups of secondary school administrators.
Then, in June 1981, at the 150th anniversary celebration of the Sisters
of Mercy held in Pittsburgh, Sister Helen Marie Burns invited persons interested
in collaboration in secondary education to meet together and 30 or 40 sisters
responded and encouraged the endeavor. Following
this, Sisters Helen Made Burns and Nancy Thompson sent out a questionnaire to
congregational and provincial administrators, to schools and to some other
individual sisters - and again received encouragement to pursue the endeavor,
this time from a somewhat broader based group. A steering committee was formed, which met for the first time in October 1981, to start planning the first Mercy Secondary Education Conference. Members of this initial Steering Committee were: Sisters Carol E. Wheeler, Helen Marie Burns, Nancy Thompson, Cathleen Cahill (Chicago), Mary McCarthy (Hartford), Joanne Mary Boellner (Cincinnati) and Joan Laboon (Pittsburgh). The
first
conference was held in October
1982 at Mercy Center,
Farmington Hills, Michigan. This
laid the groundwork for the establishing of the association, which was formally
accomplished at the second
conference, October 1983 at
Mercy Center, Madison, Connecticut. The
elected members of the first Executive Board and officers were: Sister Carol E.
Wheeler, President; Sister Mary McCarthy, Vice President; Sister Cathleen
Cahill, Secretary; Sister Nancy Thompson, Treasurer; Members at Large: Sister
Amy Bayley (Burlingame), Sister Lourdes Sheehan (Baltimore) and Sister Mary Anne
Smith (Baltimore). At this 1983 conference, the structure and purposes for the association were discussed and unanimously accepted. The purposes as established then continued to be the focus of the Mercy Secondary Education Association: o
to further the Mercy
charism in secondary schools; o
to develop a statement of
common philosophy and goals; o
to enhance a sense of
national identity to provide for collaboration in areas of identified need
and/or interest; o
to foster dialogue among
RSMs and with others involved in the ministry of secondary education. Over
the years, Executive Board members have carried the responsibility of planning
for and implementing the annual conference.
It became clear from the beginning that because the Executive Board
members were volunteers with other full time commitments, they could not be
expected to do much more than plan for the annual conference. However,
it has also become clear that there is much more to be accomplished. There is potential among the members in secondary education
ministry that could lead to much greater collaboration and networking.
Over the years, major discussions have taken place, indicating a strong
need for hiring an Executive Director and/or establishing a national office. At
Conference
III in 1984, held at St.
Vincent’s Academy, Savannah, Georgia, bylaws were presented and
unanimously accepted. The bylaws
incorporated the purposes as stated at the 1983 conference.
The annual conferences were well accepted by those who attended;
networking, collaboration, sharing, and reaching out were all values that were
supported. In particular,
collaboration with lay women and men co-ministering in Mercy secondary schools
strengthened throughout the 1980's. It
is to be noted in particular that Ms. Janet Bamberger (Cincinnati) was elected
to the Executive Board for the years 1985-1987. The
format of the early conferences consisted of a keynote presentation followed by
a number of practical workshops and swapshops.
During 1985 and 1986, programs of personal sharing and personal
enrichment were introduced and provided for a two or three year period.
In time, they were dropped, primarily because there was no one or no
office to assist in carrying out the implementation of them. Conference
IV, 1985
at Mercy Center, Cincinnati, Ohio was held in tribute to the late Emily George,
RSM. The focus on critical thinking and the critical conscience, Mary Brian
Costello, RSM (Chicago) as well as on our Mercy tradition in education, Helen
Marie Burns, RSM, (Mercy Center, Washington) were certainly indicative of
Emily's spirit. During Conference V at Gwynedd-Mercy College, Gwynedd Valley, Pennsylvania in 1986, a Mission Statement was presented and adopted unanimously: The
Mercy Secondary Education Association is an organization founded by the Sisters
of Mercy to provide a national forum to enhance and further the Mercy charism in
secondary education. Rooted in the tradition of Catherine McAuley, founder of the Sisters of Mercy, it seeks to bond together Sisters of Mercy and their colleagues in the ministry of secondary education. This
educational association fosters the development of value-centered education in
the ministry of secondary education in the Roman Catholic tradition, with
particular concern for young women and the poor.
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