New Mercy Immersion Experience Takes Seniors from "Local to Global"

Each summer, for more than 25 years, Mercy Immersions (formerly known as summer service trips) have been providing rising seniors with educational and service opportunities. They engage participants in working collaboratively with community partners and in solidarity with people of diverse cultures, particularly with those who are materially poor. Volunteers live in community for a week and are called to reflect on their roles as young women of mercy. This summer’s experiences took six students to Bethlehem Farm in Alderson, West Virginia, and three to St. Francis Inn in Philadelphia. This year also featured a new “Local to Global” experience.

Campus Minister Sister Mandy Carrier, RSM, and Social Studies teacher Allison Behrend accompanied eight seniors—Katie Lisaint, J’kaya Brown, Sarah D'Alessandro, Amaia Gibson, Mckenzie Blackmon, Meadow Brooks, Ava Singleton and Bronwyn Scherf—on a trip that began locally and included visits to Washington, D.C. and New York City.

The first three days were spent in direct service at various Mercy-related ministries, including the Cranaleith Spiritual Center where the girls reflected on climate change and Laudato Si' while helping around the property by gardening, removing invasive plants, refurbishing a nature trail, and composting. The second day took the students to Mercy Neighborhood Ministries where the work included gardening projects. A tour of Sanctuary Farm taught them about how climate change affects urban areas and people experiencing food insecurity. The girls also learned about the United Nations Sustainability Goals and how they relate to climate change. They calculated their own carbon footprint through Earth Overshoot Day's footprint calculator. Lastly, they volunteered at Redeemer Valley Farm where they enjoyed harvesting food to support the farm and donate to local residents. During the visit, Sr. Leslie, a Mercy sister, spoke to the group about how climate change is adversely affecting the farm and food production.

From local Mercy-related ministries, the group moved on to Washington, D.C. where they met with Network, a lobbying organization founded by a coalition of sisters. There, they began training for lobby visits on Capitol Hill, learning about how lobbying works, and how bills are passed. The Farm Bill and social justice concerns were a focus. Sister Mandy says, “The students worked very hard preparing and practicing for our lobby visits. They prepared statements and practiced telling stories from their own experience of climate change and their experiences of service during the immersion. They practiced asking the representatives to include key changes to the Farm Bill to support climate resilience and help those experiencing food insecurity.”  

The students’ lobby day was successful and included visits to three offices and an in-person meeting with Rep. Scanlon. Sister Mandy was pleased with the outcome: “The students did a wonderful job conveying their stories of climate change, and their concerns about the Farm Bill; they were very professional and kept their energy up throughout a very long day!”  She added that their contact at Network congratulated them on their work and said that they had been better prepared and more articulate than some of the college groups she has worked with in the past.

For senior Sarah D'Alessandro, lobbying was the best experience of the week:

"Lobbying on Capitol Hill was by far my favorite part of the Local to Global Mercy Immersion. It was amazing getting to see how our lawmakers worked for our country. Getting the chance to do this was truly inspirational as we practiced our rights to freedom of speech in a democratic government. We took what we learned from the first three days serving at various gardens and farms to ask our state representatives and senators to support education for farmers and funding for SNAP in the Farm Bill. What was interesting about this was that the Senate and the House had two different versions of this bill. The Senate bill was in support of our ask; however, the House lacked the funding we would like for SNAP. The reason for this was that the two legislative branches held two different party majorities which affected what beliefs were relayed in each bill. We further got to meet many people who genuinely cared about what they did and making an impact.  You could tell Representative Scanlon was truly listening to us and cared for our concerns. What was truly inspiring was speaking to a Legislative Aide who decided to go into government so he can work for environmental change. He is a true example of legislators working for best for citizens and the world. By taking action and lobbying at the capital, we as Mercy Girls began to create change and impact the world around us. This is just the beginning of the change we will create."

On the final day of Local to Global, the group traveled to New York City to tour the United Nations where they learned about its history and importance. During Q&A sections of the tour, some of the students were able to share a bit about their immersion experiences and they engaged in the conversations concerning climate change and the UN's efforts in that area.

Of the experience, Sister Mandy said:

“The students engaged in reflection and critical thinking around the climate crisis and were able to take what they learned into the world through service. Their participation in direct service with Mercy ministries developed a personal connection with people experiencing need and with our common home, which fueled their engagement on Capitol Hill lobbying for climate resilience and food security. It was wonderful to see the students connect personally to the issues at hand and think critically about how to affect change in our communities, locally and globally.”