On the Feast of the Epiphany Thanking Our Donors and Supporters for Their Gifts
In the Medical Missionary magazine, January-February 1964, the Feast of the Epiphany is described in the following words:
The very meaning of the word ‘‘epiphany’’ is manifestation.
In this rich, warm season, God's glory appears in three signs: a star that leads wise-men to their King, Christ’s baptism in the Jordan, the wedding feast at Cana. To enter deeply the spirit of this time, is to open wide the eyes of our hearts; to see and celebrate the single Mystery in these signs… This is a season for seeing. Let us but SEE the star that shines on us, and we shall become it. The world needs our epiphany, for it is witnessing that makes us witnesses. It is seeing that makes us cry “SEE!
Sister Mary Lawrence MMS
Today, on the Feast of the Epiphany, as Medical Mission Sisters, we are marking a Society-wide day to thank our donors and benefactors for SEEING and SUPPORTING what we do around the world. The list of gifts that we have received over the past year is too long to mention every one of them, but in a myriad of different ways, big and small, you have helped us:
To respond to malnutrition in and around Kulmasa, Northern Ghana, where failed harvests and tribal conflict have left many communities hungry;
To start building a new dispensary in Tororo, Eastern Uganda, to deliver healthcare to women and children, who lack basic services;
To do essential repairs at our existing Good Shepherd Health Centre in Ang’iya, Kenya, where approximately 7,952 patients are treated each year;
To construct the Anna Dengel Community-based Rehabilitation Centre in Adjumani, Northern Uganda - a fully accessible centre, to be opened in 2026, which will offer a range of new services to refugees with disabilities and members of the host community who are disabled;
At our nursing college in Patna, to equip three women from indigenous and Dalit communities with a set of midwifery skills;
To offer paediatric consultations and support to children with neurodevelopmental disabilities and their families, facing multiple daily challenges in Peru;
Through Latidos Fundacion and lively fiesta, to keep hope and creativity alive among children and young people, living through uncertain times in Barquisimeto, Venezuela;
To offer medical care to homeless people, migrants and refugees in Germany and England, especially to those who are not eligible for health insured basic care; and
Across the Society, to celebrate our Centenary year.
On this Feast of Epiphany, as we Sing of Birth in a carol by Sister Miriam Therese Winter, found opposite, we invite you to join with us in seeing:
On a cold and lonely night in the hills of a land called Judah, there shone a star so meek and bright, that all the hills reflected light; and shepherds marvelled at the sight and sang their Alleluia!
Thank you again for supporting our missions worldwide, helping to let the star shine and to make love manifest in the world!