Blog

Dear Friends, Sr. Maria stands at my office desk and points, suddenly, past my shoulder to the open window behind me. I turn to see two young deer peering in at us—less than a foot away from the screen, their dark eyes wide, ears tilting. A few minutes later, Warren Cooper, Campaign Coordinator of “Take 5: Stop the Violence Campaign” and a talented jazz musician, folds his tall self onto the uncomfortable wooden chairs in the office of Cranaleith’s Program Director, Margie Winters. Together, we plan a concert for peace and light and healing from grief–a Peace Rally scheduled at...

Before I describe Thursday, Oct. 17 and Friday, Oct 18 of my pilgrimage in Rome with over 100 graduate and undergraduate students and thirty faculty and staff from fourteen US Catholic universities, I wish to express my gratitude to Maureen O’Connell, PhD, a former Cranaleith Board member and current member of the Mission and Governance Committee.  Maureen not only envisions how to make the world and the Church more merciful, she also gathers people together to cocreate a path to get there.  She regularly calls forth the gifts of others and empowers them to use those gifts – with laughter...

Greetings again from Rome!  Before I share with you what the CENTERS pilgrims did on Tuesday, Oct 15, and Wednesday, Oct 16, I wish to highlight a moment of encounter on Sunday that reminded me of where to keep my attention in the midst of the grandeur of Rome.  The students, Becky McIntyre and I happened to be passing the church where Catherine of Siena is buried.  There was a man begging on the steps.  I gave this man some money, talked with him and held his hand.  When I turned to enter the church, an official was closing the...

Ciao, amici! I am enjoying a pilgrimage to Rome, Italy, with over 100 students and thirty faculty and staff from fourteen US Catholic universities this week. The Catholic Church’s four-year Synod on Synodality  — or more properly, on Communion, Mission and Participation – is in the midst of the Second General Assembly, building on what was accomplished last fall, taking in global input gathered in the interim and creating a final advisory document for Pope Francis. Our pilgrimage is filled with interactions with synod delegates and staff. We are not here to lobby for positions on certain issues; rather we...

Dear Friends, Monday morning, Sr. Maria rings my home number to let me know the news. An enormous branch from Cranaleith’s 400-year-old American elm tree has fallen—its heavy weight crashing across the driveway, leaving a fatal gash down its trunk, blocking the path to the house. Maria and I pause in silence for a minute, both of us feeling this painful crack in Cranaleith’s “sanctuary of trees.” I think about the children from the Philadelphia Cambodian Refugee Association who—just last summer—delightedly ran to hug the tree’s trunk. I hang up and called the arborist. Gene McCreesh promises to come right...

For what is the mystical life but God coming to do what we cannot do?  – Ruth Barrows, OCD  Dear Friends,  I hunch over my phone, obsessively tracking the progress of the Lyft drivers scheduled to arrive any minute at Cranaleith. The teenage girls and staff –now enroute to Cranaleith from IDAAY (Institute for the Development of African American Youth) in the West Oak Lane neighborhood of Philadelphia– are participants in our violence intervention and prevention program that has been designed to provide respite from the ongoing trauma of gun-violence and is co-sponsored by our partner organization: WE/Women Empowered.    Once...

“The retreat really allowed us to see a side of our coworkers that we had not experienced before. It allowed a vulnerability that we typically do not see in healthcare leadership. It was refreshing to see that humanistic side of our peers.” – program participant from Jefferson North nurse managers Cranaleith is proud to share that our Communities of Practice initiative has had a beautiful and impactful start. With the growing recognition that certain professions are experiencing a high burnout rate, Cranaleith decided to embark on a new endeavor to help heal the wounds that so many professionals are experiencing, particularly...