With so much happening at Maryknoll Lay Missioners, it is comforting to know that everything is in God’s hands.

Most of my summer days have been spent considering the transitions that our organization is navigating. We’ve had staff changes, while exciting new collaborations and developments are also underway.

For starters, our two new advancement staff were barely completing their initial orientation when it was time to begin interviews for the positions of communications manager and mission services department manager.

Meinrad Scherer-Emunds, our director of communications, announced his decision to retire by Aug. 14, 2024. Over the past six years, Meinrad has made great contributions to the communications efforts of Maryknoll Lay Missioners. With skill, conviction and grace, he conveyed both the vision and values of the organization while earning the respect and friendship of missioners and colleagues.

We will miss his good humor, wise advice and faithful presence in our midst. We send Meinrad with our grateful blessings for a happy retirement.

He graciously assisted in training the incoming communications manager, Jennifer Tomshack, to build upon the good work that lies ahead for us. Jennifer will work from Michigan, where she lives. Previously, Jennifer was the communications and marketing director for United Way of Southwest Michigan. Welcome, Jennifer.

Adrian Laudani was only with Maryknoll Lay Missioners for one year, but her enthusiasm and zest for mission made it seem like she always belonged as the mission services department manager. An excellent organizer and a compassionate advocate for marginalized individuals and communities, Adrian became a part of the El Paso Maryknoll community and a friend of community partners at the border. She represented us well and shared her many talents generously. Thank you, Adrian.

Into her last day on Aug. 9, Adrian was diligent in helping with the training of the new mission services department manager, Daniel Lizarraga. A native of El Paso, Daniel will be moving back from San Antonio, where he currently lives. His background includes teaching, serving as a manager for Big Brothers Big Sisters of South Texas, and holding positions with Catholic Relief Services and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. Welcome, Daniel.

Maryknoll Lay Missioners and Maryknoll Affiliates have initiated a long-awaited dream of a collaborative effort at the U.S.-Mexico border in El Paso. A leased house, located on E. Rio Grande Ave., will be available to welcome volunteer affiliates and returned lay missioners who want to provide service through the migrant shelters at the border.

After several months of discussions, collaborative projects with the Maryknoll Affiliates and another with the Maryknoll Sisters are starting to be realized. On Aug. 1, Maryknoll Lay Missioners signed a lease on a house in El Paso for the development of an “intentional community.”

Its purpose is to provide lodging, and importantly, an environment for welcoming affiliates who want to volunteer at the border. Their service will be welcomed by the partners of migrant shelters that are often in need of volunteers. Volunteers will be asked to complete an application and serve for a minimum of two weeks. In the near future, check the websites of Maryknoll Lay Missioners and Maryknoll Affiliates for details and application forms.

Also starting in late August is the development of a collaborative effort between Maryknoll Lay Missioners and the Maryknoll Sisters. Together we plan to implement a mission education and awareness program in El Paso that will resemble the successful Mission Institute that the Sisters have administered in Ossining for many years. Initially, Maryknoll Sister Esperanza Principio and the mission services staff will conduct focus groups to engage the communities in El Paso in designing this program, which intends to highlight mission locally and for the U.S. Church at large. Stay tuned for its implementation in 2025.

Finally, the admissions process for Maryknoll Lay Missioners’ 2024 candidates proceeds. Teal Usher and Joshua Sisolak have been assigned to Brazil and Bolivia respectively. They have begun their orientation with the communications and advancement departments as they prepare friends and family for their next steps in El Paso for the Orientation Program starting on Oct. 14.

If you think this is a lot of activity, you should read the recent missioner newsletters to discover all that they have been doing all over the world. And if that weren’t enough, Maryknoll Lay Missioners is beginning our yearlong celebration of our 50th anniversary. With so much happening, it is comforting to know that everything is in God’s hands.

May the Spirit help the many parts work together to accomplish what Maryknoll Lay Missioners has been entrusted with.