Interview with Sr. Diane Guerin, Justice Coordinator for the Mid-Atlantic Community of Sisters of Mercy & long-time PCUSA member
SR. CAMILLE: You hold the title of Justice Coordinator for the Mid-Atlantic community of the Sisters of Mercy. What does that role entail?
SR. DIANE: As justice coordinator I’m responsible for ensuring that the Critical Concerns, (nonviolence, women, racism, Earth, and immigration) which constitute the justice agenda of the Sisters of Mercy, are integrated into all we do as a community. Since justice is integral to our mission, all of our sisters, associates, and co-ministers are supportive of the work of justice.
SR. CAMILLE: What drew you to this ministry?
SR. DIANE: Even as a young child I had a passion for justice, although I was unable to articulate this at that age. Indelibly imprinted on my young mind were the pictures of the Civil Rights struggle I saw on a black-and-white television. I could not comprehend dogs attacking children and fire hoses being turned on people. In my college years, I was active in justice and boycotted products. I also demonstrated against the Vietnam War. This passion grew in me, and all my ministries have in some way been connected to justice. I was program director at the Philadelphia Martin Luther King, Jr. Association for Nonviolence and worked for several years in the School District of Philadelphia Office of Desegregation. When the Mid-Atlantic Community posted the position of justice coordinator, I was immediately drawn to this ministry as an opportunity to engage a broader range of issues at a deeper level of commitment…