On Wednesday afternoon, the staff of NCR gathered in the lunchroom to raise a toast in honor of the new Global Sisters Report website, which had gone live less than an hour before. I gave a brief speech in which I singled out a few people for appreciation, including Managing Editor Mary Lou Nolan and Web Designer Robyn Haas. Everyone applauded, and then someone shouted out: Don’t forget Colleen, Tracy and Jan! And then other names were added to the mix. And soon I was basically thanking the entire staff of NCR.
It was not undeserved gratitude, because that’s what we at NCR do – we all pitch in and help out whenever and wherever it’s needed. I realize it’s a bit presumptive to compare the staff here at NCR to a community of women religious, but the two groups really do remind me of each other. The sisters are the ones who jump in and get done what needs to get done, whether it’s in a hospital, a school, a field of migrant workers or a prison.
When Typhoon Haiyan devastated the Philippines last fall, sisters in communities throughout the island nation went out and delivered water and food and tended to the health care needs of those affected even before government aid arrived. In South Sudan, sisters are the ones who elicit smiles from young refugee children while military commanders continue to wage war.
We all have stories of sisters who have stepped up and helped out. Many of us remember a favorite nun from our school days – someone who showed compassion, who taught us to read or introduced us to multiplication. We are often told that when the time comes for us to be called home to meet God we will be asked about our encounters with Jesus Christ – when we met him as a person needing clothes, food, shelter or mercy. I suspect that conversation between God and women religious will not be that difficult, for they respond to those encounters every day.
This is why I am so excited to be able to share through this website the stories of these women around the world and the stories of the work they are doing despite war or storms or poverty or oppression. With the Global Sisters Report we give voice to these women who throughout history have quietly just gone about doing the work of Christ.
In fact, the group I should really thank here are the sisters themselves – for the work they do and for giving those of us at Global Sisters Report the compelling stories to share with the world.
[Caitlin Hendel is NCR's president and CEO. She joined NCR in July 2013 as managing editor, with 26 years of journalism experience in Kansas City and Washington, D.C.]