April 26 Presentation Open to the Public
ALBANY, NY, April 20, 2018 – As part of 2018 Earth Week, the Maria Mission Animation Mercy and Justice Subcommittee, is organizing activities and events to build awareness and social responsibility on caring for creation. The public is invited to attend a presentation on Thursday, April 26 at 4:30pm in Maria College’s Marian Hall Room 105, Critical Concern of Care for Earth by Marianne Comfort, Sisters of the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas justice coordinator for earth, anti-racism and women.
Marianne Comfort is part of the Sisters justice team that is charged with engaging the Mercy community and friends on the five critical concerns: Earth, immigration, nonviolence, anti-racism and women. She serves on the steering committees of the U.S.-focused Catholic Climate Covenant and the Global Catholic Climate Movement and also facilitates the Washington,D.C. based Inter-religious Working Group on Extractive Industries.
She is looking forward to returning to the Capital Region, where she worked as a reporter for The Daily Gazette in Schenectady and the Schenectady Inner City Ministry and Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Albany. She relocated to the Washington, D.C. area to work with the Sisters of Mercy in 2010.
Marianne stated, “I am excited to visit Maria College and participate in its Earth Week Celebration. By raising awareness of new climate action opportunities and in solidarity with communities most impacted by oil, gas and mining operations, we can identify ways to live out caring for Earth in our everyday lives.”
Maria College Vice President of Mission, Planning and Student Affairs, Victoria L. Battell, stated, “Maria shares a deep commitment with the Mercy community to protecting our environment by influencing personal lifestyle changes, such as promoting the use of recyclable water bottles on campus to creating institutional policies that align with energy conservation. We look forward to welcoming Marianne, so that she might infuse us with her enthusiasm for sustainability and encourage us to reflect on how our personal choices impact our ‘common home’, Earth.”
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About Maria College
Founded in 1958, Maria College is one of 17 colleges and universities in the United States sponsored by the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas. The private, co-educational, Catholic college in Albany serves approximately 800 students in a variety of degree and certificate programs including liberal arts, healthcare management, nursing, occupational therapy assistant, and health and occupational sciences. With an unwavering commitment to the humanities, the College instills in its graduates a respect for the dignity of each person and the ability to transform learned skills into caring service.
More information on Maria College is available at www.mariacollege.edu
For Immediate Release
communication@mariacollege.edu