Parishioner on ‘mission’ to serve others in Kenya

For Susan Feeney, service to the Church and the poor has always been an important part of her life, whether it is as an extraordinary minister of holy communion or catechist or doing pro bono work as a tax attorney with a prominent national law firm.
 

Around New Year’s Day, Feeney’s desire to help others reached new levels of commitment and dedication when she boarded a plane bound for Kenya and a 3 1/2-year stay as a Maryknoll lay missionary.
 

“My Catholic faith is very important in my daily life,” said Feeney, a member of St. Charles Borromeo Parish, Montgomery Township, in an interview before she left. “The reason I decided to commit to doing Mission work was that I realized ‘when you live fast you can’t live deep.’
 

“Although I loved my career as a lawyer, I often felt my faith life was apart from my ‘work’ life. I am looking forward to serving the marginalized and living with Maryknoll lay missionaries in a religious community and living my faith life 24/7.”
 

Feeney has been a member of St. Charles Borromeo Parish since the 1990s. The parish and its pastor, Msgr. Gregory E.S. Malovetz, are “essential” elements in her faith journey. “I would not be doing this if not for the formation I received at St. Charles and the support I received from Msgr. Greg,” she said.
 

To become a Maryknoll lay missionary, Feeney joined 12 others in an eight-week formation and orientation program beginning in October. On Dec. 11, the new lay missionaries participated in a Sending Ceremony at Queen of Apostles Chapel on the Maryknoll campus, Ossining, N.Y.
 

“It is an excellent preparation program for the 13 Missionaries  being sent this year,” Feeney said. “We studied theology on social justice issues and had workshops on multi-cultural issues. We also were prepared for the practical experiences in Mission.”
 

In addition to Kenya, the formation and orientation program prepared the new missionaries for cross-cultural ministries in Bolivia, Brazil, El Salvador, Tanzania, and the United States-Mexico border.

During the Sending Ceremony, the new missionaries were “called forth” for their 3 1/2-year ministry commitments in their respective mission regions in both English and the local language (in Feeney’s case, Swahili).
 

In his remarks to the new missionaries, Robert Ellsberg, the publisher of Orbis Books, encouraged them to follow what Pope Francis calls a “journey faith.” In journey faith, he said, “We find God along the way, in history, in the twists and turns of experience, in our unexpected encounters and relationships with others. In this model, we don’t have all the answers in advance. We learn and grow along the way.

 

“Stumbling, doubts and uncertainty are all part of the journey. It can be risky, but it is dynamic — it is open to conversion and learning new things. It is open to the surprising promptings of the Holy Spirit.”
 

As part of the celebration, the new missioners also received their mission crosses and expressed their commitment “to witness the Good News of Jesus Christ, in solidarity with our brothers and sisters who are marginalized and oppressed.” They committed themselves “to care for the earth, our common home, and to respond in service to help create a more just and compassionate world.”
 

At St. Charles Borromeo, Feeney also served as a mentor for its Youth Group and as a member of its Finance Council. She also is a Dame of Malta, and a Dame Commander with Star of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem.

Before she took the formation and orientation program, Feeney worked at McCarter & English, LLP, Newark. In October, she resigned as a partner to join Maryknoll and is now “of counsel” to the firm, which is supporting her in mission work.

During her more than 40 years of serving clients and the legal community, Feeney was a past chair of, and a member of the firm’s Pro Bono Committee.

“The firm has a social justice program and has always been committed to pro bono service and social justice work. For my entire legal career, I have been involved in pro bono service,” she said.
 

She also served as president of the New Jersey Bar Association and president of the New Jersey Bar Foundation.
 

Feeney said she chose Kenya for her first assignment because she was inspired by a Maryknoll “immersion program” in Africa. Deacon Peter Barcelona, who exercises his ministry at St. Anthony of Padua Parish, Port Reading, was among the delegates on that trip.
 

“I had visited Tanzania with Maryknoll in 2015 and I saw the need in East Africa to work with the marginalized,” Feeney said. “I had spoken with some Maryknoll priests who had been in East Africa and I felt it was a good fit for me.”
 

Because of that trip, Feeney said she has “no anxiety about going on mission.”
 

“I have trust in God and I truly believe this is where my faith journey is sending me,” she said. “I know it will not always be easy, but I know I am prepared and I am relying on the Holy Spirit and my faith to lead me.”

Maryknoll missioners generally live in secure housing, but within the marginalized community. Feeney said she will learn more about her role as a missioner after she arrives.

“As a lawyer I hope to work in the justice and peace area, but my specific project will be determined once I am in Kenya and live among the community I will serve,” she said. “Maryknoll uses the discern method of pastoral theological reflection and I will employ this in determining with the local marginalized community as to how I can best serve.”
 

Deacon Anthony Gostkowski, who exercises his ministry at St. Bartholomew Parish, East Brunswick, described Feeney as “a wonderful example for all of us who are called to service by our own baptism.”
 

“We met and quickly became friends during the time [2005-2009] we both served on the diocese’s Flame of Charity Foundation Board of Trustees,” he said. “Early in our friendship, I quickly became aware of her interest in service to others. She is of deep faith and one of the most caring and compassionate people that I know. So, it was not a great surprise when she mentioned that she had an interest in becoming a Maryknoll lay missioner.
 

“I am humbled to say,” he continued, “that Susan has told me that the ‘seed’ for her service as a lay missioner began in 2014 when I invited her to join my pastor, Father Thomas J. Walsh of St. Bartholomew Parish in East Brunswick, and I on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. In Susan’s own words, that trip was ‘transformative.’

“That seed was nourished and germinated through various other pilgrimages, including a trip to Tanzania in 2015 with Maryknoll and a visit to Lebanon in 2016 with Caritas Lebanon/Catholic Charities Solidarity Team under the guidance of Bishop Gregory Mansour of the Maronite Rite, Diocese of St. Maron of Brooklyn [N.Y.] and Msgr. Joseph J. Kerrigan, pastor of St. Joseph Parish, Bound Brook.”
 

This year’s “Class of 2021” is Maryknoll Lay Missioners’ largest since 2005. Since 1975, more than 700 Maryknoll lay missioners have been sent into mission to work with those at the margins for a more just, compassionate and sustainable world in Africa, Asia and the Americas.
 

Today, they continue to serve in nine countries in a wide range of ministries that include health care and health promotion, education and leadership development, justice and peace, faith formation and pastoral care, and sustainable development.
 

Feeney said although she had to leave her beloved dog, Dublin, behind, he is “in good hands with my friends who will live in my home.”
 

“My sister, brother-in-law, niece and nephew are very supportive of me and will visit Kenya. They do like to travel!” she exclaimed.
 

“I have signed a 3 1/2-year contract and will likely be ‘home’ once a year. I will miss my parish community of St. Charles Borromeo and look forward to their prayers and support.”
 

For more information on Maryknoll Lay Missionaries, visit mklm.org.

Meinrad Scherer-Emund, director, Communications, Maryknoll Lay Missionaries, contributed to this story.