Student Council Presents 2025–2026 Mission Theme: Growing in Mission

At a recent assembly, Merion Mercy Academy’s Student Council unveiled the 2025–2026 mission theme: “Growing in Mission.”

In their presentation, our school community was invited to reflect on the importance of being “actively, attentively, and consistently working to form an environment that honors our dignity.” They connected this call to Scripture, referencing Luke 13:19:

“It is like a mustard seed that a person took and planted in the garden. When it was fully grown, it became a large bush and the birds of the sky dwelt in its branches.”

Much like the mustard seed, small but intentional acts of kindness, respect, and service can grow into something far greater than themselves. As we live our Mercy mission each day, we nurture an environment where each individual’s dignity is honored, and where our community becomes a place of welcome, strength, and belonging—branches large enough to shelter all.

Stuco also named us as “Ministers of Today, Ministers of Tomorrow, and Ministers of the Future.” This underscores that our mission is not only about what we will one day become but also about who we are called to be now. Each student, through her words and actions, is a minister of Mercy values in this moment, while also preparing to carry those values into the wider world.

One way our community lives this out is through the support of partner organizations funded by mission dollars raised in mixers, events, and student-led sales throughout the year. For 2025–2026, we will walk alongside Bethlehem Farm, St. Francis Inn, and ARISE Adelante with the goal of raising $10,000.

• Bethlehem Farm, a Catholic community in Appalachia, transforms lives through service with the local community and the teaching of sustainable practices. Each summer, groups of rising Merion Mercy seniors travel to West Virginia where they are introduced to the Farm’s values of prayer, service, simplicity, and community. Reflecting on her experience, Kate McGovern ’26 said she learned to “live a lifestyle of intentional simplicity and seek to walk softly on this earth.”
   
• St. Francis Inn, located in Philadelphia, is a Franciscan, Eucharistic community called to minister with the poor and homeless. Inspired by the Gospel and the life of Francis and Clare of Assisi, they meet immediate daily needs with food, clothing, and hospitality. Mimi O’Malley ‘26, who served at St. Francis Inn this summer, called the organization “a true pillar in the community of Kensington.”
   
• ARISE Adelante, located along the U.S.-Mexico border in Texas, promotes the personal development and empowerment of women, children, and youth through education and civic participation. Reflecting on her experience during Merion’s inaugural trip, Nydia Kannah ‘26 described ARISE as “a resource in serving equality.”

The theme “Growing in Mission” encourages all of us to recognize the power of small seeds of mercy, dignity, and service—and to tend them faithfully so they might flourish into lasting gifts for our school, our communities, and the future.