Hope takes root, connects continents

MISSIONER NEWSLETTER – Fall 2025

Kathy Bond and Flávio Rocha, Brazil

Maryknoll Lay Missioners’ Golden Jubilee brought together more than 120 missioners, alumni, and friends in Ossining, New York, to celebrate 50 years of faith-filled service and dream for the future of mission.

Warm greetings from Joao Pessoa, Brazil. We are back here after spending time in the United States with family and friends and participating in two wonderful events, the 50th anniversary celebration of Maryknoll Lay Missioners in Ossining, New York and the retreat, “Eco-Spirituality and Connections: Finding Hope in the Present Moment,” in south Toledo, Ohio.

We started our journey by participating in the Maryknoll Lay Missioners’ Golden Jubilee celebration in August. With over 120 participants, the four-day gathering called us to remember our history, be present to the challenges and hopes of the moment, and dream for the future of mission and Maryknoll.

On the first day, we were honored to be invited to lead a prayer in the name of the Latin American region. Focusing on roots, Kathy led a centering prayer that started with our roots and their connection with the roots of all present. From that image the connected roots spread out to the roots of the trees in the Hudson River Valley.

Flavio lifted up the life and meditations of the Brazilian human rights cardinal, Dom Helder Camara. The group reflected on his meditation, “Everyone is called” from the book Sister Earth. Here is an excerpt: “Vocation is a call – a call of God to the different states of life and to different professions… There are those who say they have never felt a vocation, in the sense of a call from God. But God certainly calls. Only those who create silence within themselves will hear… the silence of hope, of generosity, and of love.” We pray that Maryknoll Lay Missioners continues to be a place for many people to live out their vocation to serve in cross-cultural ministry to help build a more just and compassionate world.

In the afternoon, we each led sessions on how our ministries connect to MKLM’s focus on nonviolence. A big part of our work in public schools is sharing tools to help kids and staff deal better with anxiety and stress. The ministry is grounded in helping people feel more secure in their bodies and emotional self-regulation. We offer weekly sessions in nine schools, Flavio works with the boys and Kathy with the girls. Only 10 kids participate in each session, but they are asked to go back to their classroom and share the skills they learn during the last 10 minutes of class. During the Jubilee session, Kathy shared movements and breathing exercises focused on grounding and anxiety management while Flavio did a short introduction on Theatre of the Oppressed and how art can be a tool to resolve conflicts in a non-violent way.

Participants in the “Eco-Spirituality and Connections” retreat along Ohio’s Maumee River reflected on creation, community, and hope rooted in the interconnection of all God’s gifts.

We came away from the gathering energized with seeing so many friends and colleagues and deeply committed to making the next 50 years of Maryknoll Lay Missioners full of life, light, and healing.

After spending a few days helping Maya get ready to spend her first semester of Junior year in Madrid, we headed to Toledo to facilitate a 1.5-day EcoSpirituality retreat sponsored by the northeast Ohio chapter of the Maryknoll Affiliates with 13 participants from Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, California, and Kenya. It was a time of reflection, community, and connection to nature rooted in the theme: “Finding Hope in the Present Moment.”

With the Maumee River at our side, we used the process of the Mind Map visual diagram to build our definition: “EcoSpirituality is the mystery of the interconnection of all that God has created. It is the call to stewardship to be in union with nature.”

Two Maryknoll Affiliates participated with the intent of multiplying the retreat content with the Maryknoll community in California. We’re grateful for the confidence in our work and look forward to seeing it come alive in other contexts.

Thank you one and all, near and far, for your support and prayers over the years. We invite you to consider making a special Golden Jubilee gift to support our ministries with Maryknoll Lay Missioners. (50 for MKLM and more than 55 years combined for us in mission.)

In peace and gratitude,
Flavio Jose Rocha and Kathy Bond

Please consider supporting our mission work in João Pessoa with a donation through the link below.

We invite you to walk with us as our “COMPANIONS IN MISSION.” Companions in Mission are friends and generous donors who give financial gifts on a regular (usually monthly) basis. For more information, visit Become a Companion in Mission. Thank you so much for your generosity!