GSR Today - A lot has happened since last week when I first wrote about Sandra Bland, the 28-year-old woman who died in jail — by hanging herself with a trash bag in her cell, according to law enforcement — after being arrested during a traffic stop. Discrepancies in Bland’s intake forms have fueled rumors that she was murdered and the county is trying to cover it up, as have questions about Bland’s mugshot and the prosecution’s emphasis on Bland’s use of marijuana. 

Commentary - On April 25, 2015 the worst natural disaster to strike Nepal in over 80 years came in the form of the Gorkha earthquake named for the geographic district hit by the epicenter. Relief work continues. This report comes from written reports and email interviews with  Sr. Taskila Nicholas, a Sister of the Good Shepherd, who has been on the ground since day one, working in collaboration with government agencies, diverse NGOs and religious groups. Can one still call it a crisis when the situation has turned a time corner toward the chronic, even as the level of human ruin remains acute?

Commentary - Centuries have passed, civilizations have changed, and technologies are evolving at breakneck speed as the human brain works overtime to conquer new frontiers. Yet human mindsets remain closed. That was what I learned from a recent experience at a Jesuit center that works for tribal people in the southern Indian state of Kerala.

GSR Today - The Walk with Francis campaign, the goal is to get 100,000 people to do a good deed ahead of Pope Francis’ visit to the United States in September. The web site is filled with resources and ideas, and you can see what other people are doing by checking Twitter for the hashtag #WalkwithFrancis.

Sr. Corita Kent joined the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary shortly after high school, following in the footsteps of family members, and taught art as the chair of the department at Immaculate Heart College in Los Angeles in the 1960s. The first full retrospective of her pop-art era prints and other work has made its way back to Los Angeles. Her work stood apart as different from other religious artwork even from the very beginning. Co-curator Ian Berry says one of the main goals of the show is to introduce her work to new generations of artists and viewers. “She doesn’t come up enough in art history,” he says, “but those of us who organized the show think she is a critical part of American art history and contemporary art of the 1960s.”

"We do not fear change, but prayerfully allow the Spirit to work in and among us."

Notes from the Field - I have been an international Good Shepherd Volunteer in Nong Khai, Thailand, for the past year, working with an organization led by the order of Good Shepherd Sisters ministering here to provide care, resources and income-generating opportunities for individuals affected and infected with HIV/AIDS.

Being a young religious sister means you represent a lot of things to a lot of people. You are an anomaly; you are the image of a teacher/counselor/nurse/confidant/relative from the past; you are a beacon of hope or a bearer of harsh realities. You come to embody the church. And, whether you like it or not, you will be called upon, time and time again, to represent issues and viewpoints much larger than yourself. 

"So much happens beneath the surface of our daily existence. Our depths are filled with color and God life waiting to be revealed. Can we take the time to look?"