The work of our Sisters in the creative healing arts is one of the hundreds of ways in which Medical Mission Sisters around the world try to be a healing presence to those in need today.

Medical Mission Sisters have long been known as women with a mission of healing. A number of our Sisters worldwide use the creative arts to help others journey toward wholeness in their lives. Among them are the following 3 Sisters in Philadelphia.

Sister Mary Gavin began a Contemplative Arts Ministry 19 years ago. She offers courses in "Chinese Brush Painting with Silent Sitting Meditation" and "T'ai Chi Moving Meditation" to laypersons and Sisters. The practice and discipline of these arts help to balance body, mind, and spirit. Sister Mary also has studied Ikebana, and has taught this Japanese art of flower arranging, as well. "Mission for me means receptivity and openness ... listening for and being moved by the Spirit as it makes itself known within me, through you, and through the events surrounding our everyday lives," she shares.

"I am drawn to explore the connections among being a healing presence, doing art work as an expression of wholeness, and art as a way of facilitating/ empowering others," says Sister Frankie Vaughan, who began her Art Ministry 11 years ago. A member of the Association Uniting Art and Religion, she is also a member of our Liturgy Team. She has taught art and given workshops to a variety of groups, including persons with AIDS, teens and women struggling to overcome addiction, and African American young and older adults at the Southwest Community Enrichment Center in Philadelphia.

Sister Eunice Cudzewicz, who has served as our worldwide Communications Coordinator for the past 12 years, connects our Sisters in 19 nations to each other, and to the greater whole, through a variety of publications. She is known for her creative writing, design, and photography talents, and is also an accomplished liturgist. "I see that the work of healing needs to be rooted in the strength of a powerful imagination," she says. "We need to be able to imagine a world that is one. We need a vision of wholeness to feed our hopes and trust ... and to sustain us in the work of making this a reality in our world."