By Paula Graham
Catholic Herald correspondent

Activist Sister uses Internet to promote justice

LADYSMITH -- In the fall of 1997, Sr. Mary Pat Hill, OSM, started Hill Connections, a ministry that mainly serves understaffed and overworked social justice groups, organizations and church groups. In January 1999, an online companion, hillconnections.org, debuted on the Internet. Originally envisioned as a public relations tool, the Web site developed instead into a spiritually-based ministry of its own. "Linking faith with action became my goal," said Hill.

Organizing and naming her new ministries came naturally to Hill. "Someone suggested I call my ministry Hill Solutions because groups are always looking for answers to problems," she said. But that name didn't fit this Servite Sister or her approach to problem solving.

"I don't see myself as the one with all the answers," said Hill. "Facilitation and coordination are words I use frequently, for they mean working with others. How we name our world affects how we relate without world."

As a Servite presence on the Web, hillconnections.org plants seeds of spirituality, offers models of ministry and highlights challenges of justice. Hill reaches out through cyberspace, inviting Internet surfers to pause, be still, and go inward to deepen their relationships with God and enhance a sense of connectedness with all of creation.

The natural extension, says Hill, is to go outward, to be part of building a just and sustainable world. Thus, the site's emphasis on social justice. Hill links faith with action, as, she says, "does the call of the Gospel."

Hillconnections.org offers a rich variety of food for thought and action: Aha Moments, Faith Reflections, Rituals, Spirituality through Art, Inspirational People, and Perspectives on Social Justice Issues. Hill updates the site regularly and adds new pieces monthly. She said the most challenging aspects of her online ministry include creating new sections, researching and adding timely material on social justice issues and raising funds.

Hill hopes to reach young people in particular and "invite them to develop and nurture spirituality and meaning in their lives." By profiling Catholic Sisters, Hill introduces women Religious to readers who might otherwise have limited contact with them. Since she doesn't want to repeat what is already available on the Web, Hill provides her readers overviews and links to other Web sites.

In Linking Faith With Action, Hill introduces topics such as the death penalty, the problem of land mines, and global debt relief. Once funding is secured, Hill plans to add issues related to women, children, farm workers, Native Americans and immigrants, in the near future. And thanks to outside funding, she is working on a new section that will include a brief overview of social justice documents.

Hill practices on-site what she advocates online. Within her Servite community Sisters Mary John VanderLoop, Barbara Thomalla and Hill coordinate the Ladysmith Servites' Public Policy Network. This network includes Servite Sisters as well as friends and family members who want to support public policy for the common good.

Another part of Hill's work involves training Servite Sisters to become computer literate. "When they are no longer intimidated by using the computer, they enjoy it. Especially e-mail," she said. "It's a great way for us to keep in touch."

One of Hill's greatest satisfactions with her Web site is featuring articles about people of faith serving others. In the Inspirational People section, Hill or guest writers profile ordinary people serving others in extraordinary ways. "These people connect their faith with action," she said. "Helping readers learn about them and their work and become inspired and motivated by their stories, brings me great joy."

She also enjoys hearing from the growing worldwide hillconnections.org community. "It continues to amaze me how we find each other via the Web."

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© Superior Catholic Herald, 2001