Maryknoll Lay Missioner, Gaby Hernandez, stands in front of the American, Bolivia, Vatican, and El Salvador flags signifying her connection to MKLM in America, her home nation of El Salvador, the Catholic connection from the Vatican, and her place of mission in Bolivia.

Dorothy Ritter

Mission Country: Kenya

Hometown: Fraser, Michigan

Faith community: St. Ignatius Community

Dorothy Ritter, of Fraser, Michigan, brings to Maryknoll Lay Missioners a lifetime shaped by compassion, justice-seeking, and deep spiritual reflection. A registered nurse for three decades and a certified spiritual director, Dorothy’s vocation emerged gradually—first as a young mother taking night classes, and later through advanced theological studies at the Ecumenical Theological Seminary in Detroit. Her professional life has consistently woven together healthcare, pastoral accompaniment, and an abiding concern for people living on the margins.

Over the years, Dorothy has volunteered in communities from Appalachia to Kenya, served at the Detroit Catholic Worker for two decades, and participated in international peace teams in Israel/Palestine and Egypt. Whether offering spiritual direction to women in a guest house, teaching human development at an orphanage, or supporting environmental justice efforts with OREPA, she has sought out places where dignity is threatened and where presence, tenderness, and solidarity can restore hope. She is especially drawn to nonviolence, a value she sees reflected profoundly in Maryknoll’s charism.

Dorothy’s call to mission deepened after the death of her husband of 43 years—a loss that opened a new season of discernment and trust. She speaks of wanting to be “a conduit of God’s grace,” attentive to the sacredness of every person’s story and to the quiet work of healing and belonging. Her spirituality is nurtured by daily meditation, lectio divina, and time spent at her family’s rustic cottage along the Little Manistee River, a place where nature itself becomes prayer.

Known by friends as kind, loving, and adventurous, Dorothy says she will miss her children, grandchildren, and siblings most—and her mother’s baked cheesy spaghetti casserole. Yet she sees this next chapter not as departure but as continuation: another step on a joyful, hope-filled journey toward the Beloved Community she believes God intends for all creation.

Education:

Ecumenical Theological Seminary, 2930 Woodward, Detroit MI, 48201. Masters of Arts in Pastoral Ministry. Completed June 2013
Dominican Center for Religious Development, 23333 Schoolcraft, Detroit MI, 48223. An ecumenical internship for Spiritual Director Certification. Completed May 2007.
Marquette University College of Nursing, Milwaukee WI 53201. Completed the Parish Nurse Preparation Institute Nov. 5, 1999.
Wayne State University, Detroit MI 48202. Baccalaureate Science of Nursing granted May 1994.
Macomb Community College, Warren MI Associate Degree in Nursing granted 1987.

work:

I married right after high school, so I started as a domestic engineer (stay at home mom) and as my children entered grade school, my passion for education led me to take night classes at a community college completing an Associate Nursing Degree which led to my 30 yr. vocation as a Registered Nurse later completing a Baccalaureate in Science of Nursing. I always had a special interest in the humanities/spirituality/justice issues, especially as it relates to people living on the margins, which blossomed into volunteer work at the Detroit Catholic Worker and various nonviolent peace and justice actions at the local level eventually joining the International Solidarity Movement to Gaza in 2003 and then to Egypt in 2009. I eventually pursued certification as a Spiritual Director and the desire for more formal Biblical studies and education led to Masters in Pastoral Ministry and theology. In retrospect, I am grateful for the blessing of my husband’s support as we equally shared in parenting and household chores beyond the stereotypical gender roles of the time.

volunteer:

Volunteer: 2016 for one month in Meru, Kenya, taught Human Development at St. Clare orphanage through Friends of Kenyan Orphans founded by Sue and Bud Ozar.
Volunteer: 2020 for 3 months at the Consolata Hospital Gitoro, Meru Kenya at the invitation of Sr. Adelina Muthoni, General Superior of the Sisters of Nazareth of the Annunciation. This contact was made through my first visit to Meru in 2016. Lived in community at the Generalate with the Kenyan Sisters while volunteering at the hospital.
Volunteer with Women in Service to Appalachia, one week each year from 2000-2008. This work was a collaborative effort working with the local community services who would assess the needs of in Vanceburg KY and coordinate the volunteers. Through the years I worked with non-profit home builders, sewing projects and medical clinic.

Member of the META Peace Team. Empowers people to engage in non-violent peacemaking. Assist in trainings and review of international peace team applicants. Served on an international team to Israel/Palestine 2003 and Egypt 2009.
Member of OREPA Oak Ridge Environmental Peace Alliance since 2005. Participate in actions for environmental justice and the disarmament of nuclear weapons in Oakridge TN which built the atomic bomb used in WWII and is currently refurbishing the stockpile.
Associate of the Day House Catholic Worker community for past 20 years at 2640 Trumbull, Detroit MI 48216 until the closing 2023. I volunteered at the soup kitchen and the guest house of hospitality assisting the women with rides, making supper and answering the door for walk-ins. I also offered and provided services as a Spiritual Director for the live-in guests.

hobbies:

Offering hospitality to traveling family and friends, joining others in social justice activities and peace teams, communing in nature at my 3rd generational rustic cottage on the Little Manistee River watershed in Michigan, international vacation traveling, reading from all disciplines (psycho-social, spiritual, historical, political, etc.) about current events especially voices from the margins.

What motivated you to become a Maryknoll Lay Missioner?

My husband and best friend of 43 yrs of marriage (2 children and 5 grandchildren) died 8yrs ago we were looking forward to retirement and sharing our end-of-life years together. Through my grieving process, I began to prayerfully discern “really God? what now?” and through the Mystery of grace I seemed led to Maryknoll Lay Missioners.

Of MKLM’s 5 Core Values, please choose one and share an example of living it out.

Inclusion. I have always been drawn to people and places which seem to live/exist at the margins of life. Whenever I de-centered myself with an open heart from my place of origin or tribe, I learned more about myself, humanity, political systems and the world. This is what drew me into nursing to care for the sick and later justice and peace initiatives both locally and globally. My out-of-comfort-zone relational experiences with the unhoused guests from the Catholic Worker and Soup Kitchen, or volunteer work among the poor in Appalachia, or listening to the stories from the people in war-torn Gaza or getting a taste of life in Kenya from the eyes of orphans, I discovered people are more alike than different and how we are a diversity of cultures within a unity of God’s one family and creation. Jesus had a healing ministry by restoring dignity and welcoming the poor, immigrant, widow and outcasts that the dominant religious and political systems had exploited and excluded. In the Kingdom of God, everything belongs.

What personal gifts or strengths do you bring to mission?

I believe my strength comes from the ground of my being which stems from a heart of love and gratitude and a humility grounded in my belief that ‘every life story is a Sacred story because everyone is a child and prism of God’s mystery.’ I believe my gift is being present to others in the spirit of “when two or more are gathered in my name” Christ is in our midst. All the rest is just window dressing.

What are you hoping to learn from the local people in your mission setting?

By being kind, loving and non-judgmental, I am hoping to build a bridge of trust with the people so they will be willing to share their cultural history and ancestral wisdom with me. Every life story is a sacred story so I humbly walk softly on this sacred ground. Valarie Kaur in her book See No Stranger encourages people to approach another person as ‘you are a part of me I do not yet know.’ I think there is always something to learn and/or affirm about what it means to be human! Also there is a Zen saying, “when a student is ready, a teacher will appear.” I am open.

What role does accompaniment play in your approach to mission?

I want to accompany people on their developmental journey with my skills, but at the same time, I also need guidance and support on my own path. I therefore view mission as a process of mutual giving and taking.