COMPASSIONATE SERVICE
Mercy Volunteer Corps provides volunteers an experience to act in solidarity with those who are experiencing injustices, in any form. Mercy Volunteers commit to achieve a more merciful and just world. Volunteers are placed in service sites compatible with their gifts and the needs of the site. They generously serve in a full-time capacity at various social service agencies, health care facilities, and schools. MVC and the service sites call the volunteers to service characterized by compassion, mutuality, and respect. Rather than “giving to and doing for,” service with MVC is about the mutual empowerment of volunteers and clients, both giving and receiving, and advocating with instead of for the people they encounter in their service.
Mercy Volunteers commit to:
- embodying a spirit of solidarity and mutuality in their service; and
- striving to be merciful and just in their own attitudes, language and actions to keep their work credible.
SOCIAL JUSTICE
Mercy Volunteers bear witness to the daily struggles of those who are experiencing injustices and are challenged to consider the multiple systems contributing to their oppression, marginalization, and disenfranchisement. Together with the entire Mercy community, including Sisters of Mercy, Mercy Associates, Companions in Mercy, and ministry partners, they seek to respond with faith and creative actions to help bring justice and in turn peace to the global community.
Mercy Volunteers commit to:
- advocating for justice by building mutual and intentional relationships; and
- engaging in and acting on the Sisters of Mercy’s Critical Concerns.
SPIRITUAL GROWTH
Mercy Volunteers commit to personal and spiritual growth during their year. Volunteers are invited to foster this deepened awareness and integrate their faith with their experiences of service, passion for justice, and in the context of a community dedicated to a simple, sustainable lifestyle.
Volunteers strive to be attentive to and reflect on the presence and movement of God (the Divine) in their daily experiences and to share these insights and their own spirituality in their volunteer community.
Mercy Volunteer Corps draws its charism and spirituality from the Sisters of Mercy and their founder Catherine McAuley. The Sisters of Mercy live an apostolic commitment of service to the Church and the world. They are called, in particular, to serve those who are poor, sick, and uneducated, especially women and children. As a ministry of the Sisters of Mercy, the Mercy community invites volunteers to serve with them within this charism.
Grounded in a spirit of hospitality, Mercy Volunteer Corps welcomes people of all faiths and at various points of their spiritual journey. Therefore, part of this sharing in community is a willingness to be vulnerable as well as to be open to differences in faith and spirituality. This patchwork of perspectives encourages meaningful conversations and enriches one’s own practices and prayer.
Mercy Volunteers commit to:
- tending to their spiritual growth by consistently spending time in personal reflection, spiritual practices, and prayer;
- sharing their own gifts and cherishing the gifts of others; and
- actively participating in MVC retreats and various Mercy-sponsored events.
COMMUNITY
Mercy Volunteers live together in community and commit to forming intentional relationships characterized by kindness and mutual respect. Mercy Volunteer Corps supports volunteers in creating a common framework for sharing their lives, managing a household, and making choices that reflect the values of the program.
Volunteers are encouraged to approach decision-making in a manner which seeks the common good over individual preferences. Volunteers combine their community stipends to purchase food and household items and their transportation stipends to cover transit passes or gas (depending on location). As part of their commitment, they must come to a consensus about the use of these communal funds. The personal stipend is for the volunteer’s personal use. Volunteers are challenged to engage in honest and open communication. At times this requires volunteers to embrace vulnerability, name tensions, and engage in respectful dialogue. Learnings around communication and interdependence are often carried into a volunteer’s relationships, jobs, and life experiences beyond their Mercy Volunteer Corps year.
Mercy Volunteers commit to:
- taking part in community activities, including community meals each week, weekly spiritual sharing, community business meetings, and informal social times;
- discussing, establishing and evaluating the concrete aspects of their communal lifestyle and holding one another accountable to this commitment;
- communicating openly and honestly and embracing a willingness to share their lives, experiences, and spirituality with their community; and
- participating in community and individual meetings with their local support team and MVC staff.
SIMPLICITY
Mercy Volunteer Corps provides volunteers an experience to live a counter-cultural lifestyle which seeks to value people more than possessions; to be mindful of the intricate web of life to which all of creation belongs; to engage in sustainability practices; and to honor stillness and contemplation.
While the necessities are provided, volunteers must examine and make intentional choices about their personal and shared use of resources, time and money. Careful consideration should also be given to what material possessions or conveniences a volunteer brings with them. Volunteers choose to live on their monthly stipend (personal, communal, transportation) and do not supplement it unnecessarily with personal savings or money from outside sources.
Mercy Volunteer Corps encourages volunteers to carve out consistent time for quiet reflection and connecting with the natural world around them as a way to cultivate peace and relationship.
Mercy Volunteers commit to:
- living on their monthly stipend allotment without additional funds;
- exploring sustainable practices, conserving natural resources and limiting travel;
- seeking to live a life centered in relationship; and
- examining their role and the implications of their choices and actions within their broader neighborhood community, the environment, and the global community.