Dear Friends,
As I drive down Cranaleith’s long driveway, I see a doe standing quietly at the edge of the asphalt. I stop my car, and with a press of a button lower my window, the glass dropping smoothly. She stands so close I could touch her with my outstretched hand. Her ears twitch as she gazes at me through large dark eyes.
For a long moment, neither of us moves. The encounter takes my breath away.
I have been reflecting on this moment as we prepare for two important programs we are hosting at Cranaleith this fall: the ways in which meaning occurs in the unexpected spaces—those “in-between” spaces where the divisions between us narrow, where we become open to encounter and transformation.
On October 18, Cranaleith will host our second Conversations That Matter program. We will welcome Pennsylvania Representatives Jared Solomon and Jesse Topper, one Democrat and one Republican, who share a story of an unlikely friendship that has endured in a time of deep political polarization. Sitting across from one another, they offer a living example of how recognizing our shared human dignity can transcend ideological differences. Their conversation invites us to witness what some scholars call “Moral Beauty”: the goodness that becomes visible when people choose respect, compassion, and relationship over division.
Their friendship reminds us that meaningful connection doesn’t require agreement on every issue but instead begins with a willingness to see one another fully, to listen deeply, to remain present across differences.
And on November 8, we explore a very different kind of encounter.
Through a moving PBS documentary presented by filmmaker Catie Foertsch, “What I Want You To Know,” we hear and witness the stories of veterans who served in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Their experiences illumine the reality of “Moral Injury”: the spiritual and emotional wounds that can occur when one’s deepest values are violated by violence, betrayal and loss. Through the veterans’ voices, the film explores the profound reality of moral injury and the lasting human costs of war. Foertsch’s work invites us into a courageous encounter with stories of service, sacrifice, grief, and healing, challenging us to listen deeply and bear witness to experiences that are often unseen.
The stories ask us not to turn away from suffering, but to bear witness to it as we are invited to reflect on war and find the courage to name our hidden wounds, creating space for healing and compassion.
Moral Beauty and Moral Injury may seem like opposites, but both reveal our center. One shows us the radiance of goodness made visible, the other exposes the places where that goodness has been fractured. Both invite us to pay attention–calling us to deeper connection.
Nearly two centuries ago, Catherine McAuley, foundress of the Sisters of Mercy, embodied this vision. Her life demonstrated mercy—not as an abstract ideal but a living practice of seeing, being moved, reflection and responding. As she urged her sisters, “Be shining lamps, giving light to all around us.”
At Cranaleith, we hear this invitation as we pay attention to both the beauty and to the brokenness around us. We follow the edges of our driveway, reach through our open windows, stretch to touch the soft warm fur of a trembling doe. In the reaching, we are changed. May our yearning for connection lead us to wonder and to hope.
In Peace and Mercy,
Dawn L. Hayward, Ph.D.
Executive Director
