DIOCESAN NEWS
05/18/07
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Word spreads about town’s `best kept secret’
     MOUND BAYOU — St. Gabriel Mercy Center is the “best kept secret in town,” according to its director.
     “Perhaps the best thing that could happen for Mound Bayou is that St. Gabriel becomes a secret that is a little less well kept in the future,” Sister Donald Mary Lynch, a Sister of Mercy (RSM), said.
     Recently the staff of St. Gabriel Mercy Center in Mound Bayou traveled to Moon Lake for a day of reflection on the values they want to bring to the Mound Bayou community of 2,100 people.
     Known to many people in the community as ‘the Catholic school’, St. Gabriel offers a range of programs serving everyone from the community’s youngest members to its senior citizens, according to Sister Lynch.
     Despite its unprepossessing appearance and low profile, the Mercy Center has set itself an ambitious goal: establishing a system of services aimed at increasing the quality of life and human dignity for the entire community.
     Sister Lynch said the day of reflection was a time for the staff to ponder the values of St. Gabriel Mercy Center and how they might best be lived each day.
     After a presentation by guest speaker, Sister Mary Padraic Halloran, RSM, puzzle pieces were handed out and the 17 participants were invited to visualize the mission statements for the center’s nine core programs.
     The completed puzzle illustrations of each program’s goals were placed together to form a Mercy Cross - the symbol of the Sisters of Mercy.
     The cross, which hangs in the hallway of St. Gabriel’s, serves as a constant reminder to staff and visitors of the unifying values that underlie the center’s aim to bring the community together, according to Sister Lynch.
     Recognizing that a community’s whole is made up of many parts, St. Gabriel Mercy Center works to offer programs that benefit every Mound Bayou citizen.
     To those in urgent need, the center offers an Emergency Assistance Program and an exercise/socialization program for the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment.
     St Gabriel’s not only strives to alleviate emergencies but also to prevent them. Mercy Center programs include a Parents As Teachers Program which provides support to parents of children from birth to three years old, an after school program giving students a safe place to play and help with their homework, Mercy Computer Learning Lab for persons of all ages, and a GED program.
     Beyond education, the center organizes and runs St. Gabriel Closet and a senior outreach program offering a place for socialization, education, and healthy living habits.
     As diverse as St. Gabriel’s programs appear, they are rooted in the same core values, all of which are intended to promote collective and individual development for the people served.
     Believing in the importance of human dignity, Sister Lynch said, the programs focus on treating people as valued individuals — listening with compassion, showing respect, and demonstrating kindness.
     The staff strives to achieve professional excellence through dedication, commitment, and teamwork in their work to meet the education, social and health service needs of children, youth and adults, according to Sister Lynch.
     In addition to all the activities the Mercy Center is already undertaking, there is an ongoing drive among the St Gabriel staff to do more.
     Chief among these aims is a plan to renovate the main building, and to recruit and organize staff to improve the services.
     “Above all,” Sister Lynch said, “we hope people throughout Bolivar County will become aware of the services St. Gabriel provides and will make use of them.”

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