A new chapter opens for a mission—and for the missioner
As Uzima Centre enters a time of leadership transition, Maryknoll lay missioner Joanne Miya reflects on positive change—from expanded apprenticeships and nonviolence education to new spiritual accompaniment at the Lake House of Prayer—while trusting the next generation to carry the work forward.
Out of ruin, a place to call home
After heavy rains worsened the condition of a fragile mud house in Mombasa, a widow and her children found themselves facing the loss of their home. With support from the HOPE Project, what began as collapse became a fresh beginning on solid ground.
Dust trails toward the heart of God
From mountain villages to dense urban neighborhoods in El Salvador, Maryknoll lay missioner Rick Dixon accompanies children whose courage and joy reveal God’s glory in the everyday. Through broken-down buses, makeshift libraries, and a growing circle of young “librarians,” he witnesses a community stitching together learning, belonging, and hope—one small hand at a time.
At a crossroads on the border: Challenges faced, next steps emerging
Amid a shifting border landscape, Maryknoll lay missioner Coralis Salvador reports on court accompaniment, shelter realities, and the groups who joined the Encuentro Project this year—anchored by a renewed sense of call and calm discernment.
Pilot program for vulnerable families in Bolivia reports dramatic results
In the Cochabamba suburb of Tiquipaya, a new program is offering families a path out of poverty, instability, and domestic violence. Led by Maryknoll lay missioner Louise Locke and a local psychologist, the center has already shown remarkable impact: children gaining confidence and skills, parents strengthening relationships, and one family in particular breaking a long-entrenched cycle of violence. With a growing waiting list, the program now hopes to expand so more families can find safety, support, and a dignified future.
A culture of peace broadens its reach
With Project AFYA reaching more than 5,000 students in Brazil and EcoRetreats now being replicated in the United States, missioners Kathy Bond and Flavio Rocha report a year marked by expansion and impact. Their ministries continue to reduce school violence, strengthen emotional resilience, and inspire communities to reconnect with creation.
Put hope into action with your gift
At Advent’s threshold, we step forward as Pilgrims of Hope. With your matched Giving Tuesday gift, you help send new missioner candidates into places shadowed by poverty, displacement, and injustice as well as support missioners already serving around the world.
Through the long rain, hope remains
In Kenya’s season of unrelenting cold and rain, Maryknoll lay missioner Theresa Glaser reflects on the stark contrast between her own simple circumstances and those of her students’ families. At the St. John Bosco Rehabilitation Center, she sees how warmth, learning, and faith can change young lives—and how gratitude can rise even from the mud.
Maryknoll Lay Missioners prepares to commission newest class for global service
At the upcoming Covenant & Sending Ceremony on Dec. 6 in El Paso, Texas, Maryknoll Lay Missioners will send forth eight candidates training to serve marginalized communities around the world.
Bread of Life
From bustling basketball courts to quiet daily rhythm at Lake House of Prayer, Stephen and Loyce Veryser’s ministry in Tanzania bridges the physical and the spiritual. This fall, as they celebrate new beginnings—a completed basketball court, a renewed retreat center—they remind us that faith, like sport, flourishes through community, perseverance, and grace.
Stories of hope by the sea
On a radiant Mission Sunday in Cambodia, a lay missioner pauses by the water to reflect on faith, privilege, and purpose. Between sips of coffee and conversations with two young fruit vendors, she finds that the truest stories of hope often begin in the simplest exchanges—by the sea, beneath the sun, and within the human heart.
MKLM Executive Director Elvira Ramirez preaches for All Saints’ Day on Catholic Women Preach
Preaching for Solemnity of All Saints, Elvira Ramirez invites us to become our best selves—with the help of the Holy Spirit—for the glory of God.
Misioneros salvadoreños comparten un primer vistazo a la vida en misión en Bolivia
Maryknoll Lay Missioners envió a tres misioneros salvadoreños—Gabriela Hernández, Wilber Montoya y Ana Morales—el 16 de mayo en Cochabamba, Bolivia. Fue un momento histórico: la primera vez que Maryknoll Lay Missioners envía un equipo totalmente formado y enviado desde fuera de los Estados Unidos. Ahora, al comenzar sus ministerios, los tres misioneros ofrecen su primera actualización desde el terreno.
Communion of saints, community of care
At Uzima Centre in Tanzania, missioner Joanne Miya reflects on the meaning of community in light of Maryknoll Lay Missioners’ 50th anniversary. For her, it includes not only those she serves today but also the beloved friends, missioners, and family members who have passed on—her “communion of saints.” Through their lives and enduring presence and intercession, she is reminded that every story becomes part of a larger mosaic of faith, resilience, and love.
Joy in the moment
Vastly more important than “results” is the inherent sacredness of the present moment with the frail, abandoned, and traumatized people God has brought into the life of missioner Louise Locke through her ministries in Bolivia.
Catholic Worker features Maryknoll lay missioner Marj Humphrey
The website of the global Catholic Worker Movement (CatholicWorker.org) and its email newsletter Roundtable featured Maryknoll lay missioner Marj Humphrey and her upcoming return to mission to East Africa.
Nashville Catholic covers presentation of 2024 McCarthy Award
Nashville Catholic, the publication of the Diocese of Nashville, Tennessee, covered the presentation of the Maryknoll Lay Missioners’ 2024 Bishop McCarthy Spirit of Mission Award to Josie and Frank Cuda on Oct. 27, 2024 at the Cudas’ parish, Catholic Church of the Nativity in Thompson’s Station, Tennessee.
Covenant & Sending Ceremony 2024
Join us as we send forth Josh Sisolak and Marj Humphrey at the Maryknoll Sisters’ chapel in Ossining, New York on Dec. 7, 2024.
Times change, the mission remains
From missioning in Chile to serving in leadership to “friendraising,” Sam Stanton, Class of 1985, has been integral to the evolution of Maryknoll Lay Missioners for nearly 40 years.
A heart ablaze with love
Returned missioner Marj Humphrey dedicated two decades to addressing health disparities in East Africa. At long last, she’s going back to continue advocating for justice there.
A journey of service that keeps unfolding
When Debbie Northern joined Maryknoll Lay Missioners in 1999 for a three-and-a-half-year commitment, she never imagined it would turn into a 24-year experience.
Josie and Frank Cuda recognized with 2024 Bishop McCarthy Award
Each year, the Bishop McCarthy Award honors Maryknoll lay missioners who embody the enduring spirit of mission upon returning home.
Gratitude points the way
As one of our newest lay missioners, Thu Tam (T.T.) Hoang has immersed herself in Cambodia, practicing her Khmer and assisting ministries as needed while exploring areas where she can best apply her talents in ministry.
¡Juan López, presente!
After the murder of environmentalist Juan López in September, missioner Sarah Bueter in El Salvador joined an emergency delegation to meet Juan’s family and community in Honduras.
Nashville Catholic covers 2024 McCarthy Award
Nashville Catholic, the publication of the Diocese of Nashville, Tennessee, reported on Maryknoll Lay Missioners’ 2024 Bishop McCarthy Spirit of Mission Award in advance of the award presentation to Josie and Frank Cuda on Oct. 27, 2024 at the Cudas’ parish, Catholic Church of the Nativity in Thompson’s Station, Tennessee.
Father-and-son missioners reflect on their past and future
Ed Sisolak was a Maryknoll lay missioner in Thailand from 1995-1999. His son, Josh Sisolak, is preparing to become a Maryknoll lay missioner in Bolivia.
Being “blan”
Mike Lattanzi in Tanzania reflects on exclusion and belonging.
A Maryknoll day to discuss and ponder – “Just Cause”
A Maryknoll Lay Missioners statement
Man on a mission
Newest Maryknoll lay missioner Josh Sisolak is set to carry on his family’s legacy as he prepares for mission—to serve marginalized communities in Bolivia.
Retreat and reconnection
Kathy Bond and Flávio Rocha returned to their roots in different ways and facilitated retreats.
Strength in unity
The Uzima Centre improves the lives of HIV+ Tanzanians of all ages and religions. Missioner Joanne Miya reports on its latest efforts.
The urgent need for nutrition
Alongside the Daughters of Charity, missioner Kathy Flatoff is helping those in extreme poverty in Kenya to access nutrition.
Louise Locke featured in diocesan newspaper
Maryknoll lay missioner Louise Locke was featured in the October issue of Our Parish Times, an inter-parish newspaper serving 28 Catholic parishes and schools in Montgomery County, Maryland within the Archdiocese of Washington D.C.
Food program fights hunger—and nurtures local leadership
Each month, the Soy Nutrition Program supports hundreds of families in El Salvador with nutritious food and essential education, while cultivating leadership in the communities where missioners Melissa and Pete Altman serve.
Blooming mind, peaceful heart
Through a student struggling with letters, missioner Rick Dixon in Mexico sees how important nature—and moving our bodies in it—is to heal and learn.
The fruit of mercy
Missioner Hang Tran sees Luke 6:38—”Give and gifts will be given to you; a good measure, packed together, shaken down, and overflowing, will be poured into your lap.”—manifest in the ministries around her in Cambodia.
Science opens minds and opportunities
The sounds are loud, the flames big, and the smiles contagious, reports missioner Kyle Johnson—or “Mr. Science,” as the name tag on his lab coat proclaims—as he teaches the scientific method with fun experiments to kids in Tanzania.
Hardships give way to gratitude–and peace
On International Day of Nonviolence (Oct. 2), also the birthday of Mahatma Gandhi, missioner Coralis Salvador reflects on the challenges and joys of maintaining a mindset of nonviolence at the U.S.-Mexico border.
Frank and Josie Cuda—from Maryknoll Lay Missioners’ first Class of 1975—chosen for 2024 Bishop McCarthy Award
The organization annually honors lay missioners who continue to exemplify the “spirit of mission” after their return.
“TLC”—and job training—sets up deaf students for success
Deaf Development Programme education advisor and lay missioner Julie Lawler shares a heartwarming reunion of a former student and his teacher in Cambodia.
We are ALL invited to share in God’s love
As we celebrate World Mission Month in October, we invite you to support Maryknoll Lay Missioners and our work of bringing positive change and fostering peace and justice. Together, we can help build a better world for all, rooted in the values of compassion and solidarity.
Multiply the dignity and health of older adults
Husband-and-wife missioners Joe Loney and Filo Siles organized a larger-than-expected gathering of rural, indigenous older adults in Bolivia–and had a loaves-and-fish experience.
The joy at the margins
Tanzania’s Huruma School for Children with Disabilities celebrates 20 years of strides toward greater inclusion. Missioner Anna Johnson invites us to embrace the work still to do.
A place to lay their heads
Missioner Rich Tarro and the HOPE Project help provide students and their families in Kenya with adequate shelter as well as beds and mattresses.
Change comes amid challenges at a mission parish school
Missioner Gabe Hurrish teaches—and learns from—the students, as well as their parents, at St. Mary Magdalen Parish schools in South Sudan.
Kids get books—and make memories with mom—in El Cedro
Missioner Josh Wetmore worked with the local community to create the new Biblioteca El Cedro, which opened Aug. 10 in the rural area of El Salvador where he serves.
Maryknoll Lay Missioners to co-sponsor Pax Christi USA virtual national conference Sept. 6-7
Maryknoll Lay Missioner’s participation is part of its commitment to nonviolence as a central focus of its engagement in mission.
Maryknoll Lay Missioners and Maryknoll Affiliates collaborate on new community in El Paso to serve migrants
A recently leased house will lodge affiliates and returned lay missioners for two-week-minimum volunteer stints.
Maryknoll Lay Missioners kicked off 50th anniversary year with “Nonviolence in Action” event
The online gathering was the first in an ongoing series, “Maryknoll Lay Missioners: 50 Years on the Journey,” that will feature events throughout the organization’s “Golden Jubilee” year.
Comings and goings and new beginnings
Elvira Ramirez reflects with gratitude for the contributions of departing staff and with hope for new developments afoot.
Confronting my parish’s racist past
Catherine Heinhold on an ongoing journey of reconciliation in her Washington, DC parish
Can I multiply the loaves and fish?
Gabe Hurrish recollects a small but impactful gift.
Bwiru hoop dreams — the next phase
Team work has helped build the cement slab for a basketball court; now let’s finish it together.
Come and see … with us
Maryknoll Lay Missioners has an inspiring past, a compelling present and a strong future — thanks to you!
The most dangerous part of migrants’ journey
Heidi Cerneka traveled with a fact-finding group to the Darién Gap on the Colombia-Panama border.
Getting back to where you once belonged
Elvira Ramirez shares impressions from her visit to East Africa.
‘Nonviolence in Action’
Aug. 13 webinar on nonviolence in action will kick off Maryknoll Lay Missioners’ 50th anniversary celebrations.
The struggles of Madame Metrine
How a strong woman in South Sudan ‘makes a way out of no way.’
Join us on a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Tanzania
Take a “Friends Across Borders” trip with us this September.
A life of faith, farming and mission
With your gift, help us grow the seeds planted by lay missioners caring for our common home.
The transformative power of love
The act of service and care for another can help even those with the hardest hearts break down their walls of self-protection.
Am I fertile soil?
Anna Johnson reflects on Mark’s Gospel of the mustard seed.
Soy program expands to new community
Addressing food insecurity in the rural community of Quesalapa
Our changing community
Julie Lawler reflects on her experiences of community during a significant transition.
