Missionaries of the Sacred

Lay Missionaries Marie Pellish and Lynn Ditlow have witnessed the destructive power of Hurricane Sandy in two countries. On October 14, the two Lay Missionaries of the Sacred Heart from Pennsylvania traveled to Kingston, Jamaica to bring donated supplies and participate in the work of the Missionaries of the Poor there. During the second week of their two-week mission trip, Hurricane Sandy struck. There was no power all week, and the hurricane caused a lot of damage in eastern Jamaica, including at each of the five apostolates of the Missionaries of the Poor.  The clean up was still continuing the day they left, October 28th.

After many weather-related delays and travel changes, Marie and Lynn made it back to Pennsylvania just before Hurricane Sandy made landfall on the shores of New Jersey. In the aftermath of the storm, they thought they saw a way the Lord was calling them to help.

On October 14, Marie Pellish and Lynn Ditlow, two Lay Missionaries of the Sacred Heart from Pennsylvania traveled to Kingston, Jamaica to bring donated supplies and participate in the work of the Missionaries of the Poor there. This is the Lay MSC’s second mission trip to Kingston (the first was last year).

Earlier in October, fellow Lay Missionaries of the Sacred Heart in New York had hosted a collection at Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Parish in Watertown, for items needed by the Missionaries of the Poor in Kingston. Parishioners at several other churches also got involved, including at All Souls Church in Chaumont, NY, St. Patrick’s church (and foreign mission team) in Carlisle, PA and St. Clare of Assisi in St. Clare, PA. Lay Missionaries of the Sacred Heart and an MSC Sister in Reading, PA, several nurses and physicians in Pennsylvania, the National Guard of York, and many friends, family and Facebook friends also joined the effort, contributing time, needed items and monetary donations. Thanks to the support of so many people, Lynn and Marie were able to bring much appreciated clothing, toiletries, non-perishable food items and medical supplies (such as surgical gloves) as well as several medications and vaccines with them.  (To see a full list of donated items, please read “Collection Results for Kingston, Jamaica Trip.”) They also brought several images of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, enough for all six centers, and received many comments from both the brothers and the residents. One resident, while looking at the picture, asked if she would be “his mother” too.

While in Kingston, Lynn and Marie helped the Missionaries of the Poor in their work of caring for over 600 people who are homeless, including abandoned children and many elderly men and women, some of whom are physically or mentally impaired. They were there for two weeks, and witnessed Hurricane Sandy’s impact first-hand:

Our first week was sunny and temperatures were in the high 80's low 90's- humidity was greatly felt and the mosquitoes left their 'sting' and itch everywhere! Our second week brought the uninvited guest, 'Hurricane Sandy'!  All power was off the entire week, no way to communicate with the outside, no way to charge any cell phones. 'Sandy' made a mess of all of Eastern Jamaica, as well as at each of the five apostolates.  Street people living in shacks lost what little shelter they called a 'home'.  Clean up is ongoing now, even the day we left, October 28th, and much work will continue for some time.

Until another time, it is great to be home...but part of our love remains in Kingston, Jamaica. 'The call to serve the poor is an invitation to Happiness'!

If you would like more information about becoming a Lay Missionary of the Sacred Heart, please email us at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . Groups of Lay MSC are formed near MSC communities and meet monthly in small groups to pray, share and help each other grow spiritually in their personal lives, work and ministry. Currently there are Lay MSC communities in New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Illinois and California.

Before two of their fellow Lay Missionaries of the Sacred Heart in Pennsylvania left for a mission trip to Jamaica, the Lay MSC in Watertown, NY hosted a collection for items needed by the Missionaries of the Poor in Kingston, Jamaica. The main collection was at Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Parish in Watertown, NY but parishioners at several other churches also got involved, including at All Souls Church in Chaumont, NY, St. Patrick’s church (and foreign mission team) in Carlisle, PA and St. Clare of Assisi in St. Clare, PA. Lay Missionaries of the Sacred Heart and an MSC Sister in Reading, PA, several nurses and physicians in Pennsylvania, the National Guard of York, and many friends, family and Facebook friends also joined the effort, contributing time, needed items and monetary donations. Thanks to the generosity and support of parishioners at these two churches, the following much needed and appreciated items arrived in Kingston, Jamaica on October 14, 2012.

In addition to the above items, the Lay Missionaries were also able to bring many types and sizes of wound dressings, wound care/burn care medications, over-the-counter medications (such as Tylenol for children and adults as well as Ibuprofen), diabetic and hypertensive medications, and antibiotic ointments. The donations of medications from physicians, pharmacists and nurses was valued at about $16,000. They also brought various hygiene items such as razors and hair clippers as well as candlesticks and clerical stoles for the chapels at each of the six apostolates of the Missionaries of the Poor in Kingston.

Update from Fr. John Fahnestock, MSC

The Lay MSC went once again on mission to Maneadero, Mexico on December 3rd, 4th, and 5th.  We were able to provide may warm blankets for a lot of people. We were also able to get very close to completing Rosalba's house.  Besides the "work" (which is not really work, it's a pleasure) we took time to celebrate a little girl's birthday.  The spiritual/retreat part of our trip gave us the opportunity to reflect on the gratitude we have and the many things we have personally learned and appreciated by sharing our life, work, and faith with these, our brothers and sisters south of the border.