Mary Lois Miller, OSH

Sr. Mary Lois Miller, OSH

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The year that I made my aspirant visit to Vails Gate was one of the coldest I have experienced since coming to New York. There was snow everywhere. The City of Newburg was using trucks to dump as much as possible in the Hudson which was almost frozen over. An ice breaker was keeping open a narrow channel. Sr. Cornelia was our Superior at the time. She drove me around to acquaint me with the area.

On Main Street in Newburgh I saw something I had never seen before. Men were standing around a fire they had set in the barrel in the middle to the street trying to keep warm. In a country that prides itself on a culture of rugged individualism, hard work and self-sufficiency, it is no surprise that poverty and the poor do not have a central place in America's cultural psyche. Since the day I saw that awful situation in Newburgh I have tried to answer God’s call to serve the poor within the context of my vocation to religious life.

An appalling 37 million Americans live in poverty. That is 12.7 per cent of the population, the highest percentage in the developed world. That figure has increased by five million since President George W. Bush came to power. Each year their number grows and each year the numbers we serve at St. Bartholomew’s in Manhattan grow. Dealing with poverty is not a viable political issue in this country. It jars with a cultural sense that the poor bring things upon themselves and that all are born with the same chances in life. In America, to be poor is a stigma. In a country which celebrates individuality and the goal of giving everyone an equal opportunity to make it big, those in poverty are often blamed for their own situation. Experience does little to bear that out.

More than 1.2 million New Yorkers rely on emergency programs to put food on the table. According to the Food Bank For New York City the number of city residents who experienced difficulty affording needed food in the past year increased steadily to almost three million in 2006. That is an increase of 48 percent since 2003.

Although findings reveal that hunger is a widespread problem that does not discriminate, the population relying on the emergency food system is largely comprised of children, women, seniors, people of color, people with disabilities and the working poor, most of whom live at or below the federal poverty line.

It’s easy to quote statistics but each has a face, each has a story, each has a need. When I was younger I was sure that I could change the world. Over the years the faces became a kaleidoscope of faces, ever changing, ever needing. I know now that I cannot change the world I can only do what one person can do. I cannot be satisfied that what I do is enough because still they come and every year more and more come.

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Sr. Mary Lois is a resident of the Manhattan convent.  She is Assistant Director of Community Ministries at St. Bartholomew's Church in Manhattan.  She helps administrate the parish's outreach programs to the needy which include a soup kitchen, food pantry and homeless shelter.  In addition she provides intake and referral services to homeless people. Sr. Mary Lois serves on the Leadership Council and Board of Directors of the Order of St. Helena and also represents the community on the Board of the Margaret Hall Foundation.