Our Team at Mercy Ecospirituality Center
Kathleen Pritty, RSM
Executive Director
Sister Kathleen is our fearless leader, overseeing all that goes on at Mercy Ecology. She truly leads from her heart and embodies our mission by living gently with all of creation. She is passionate about the transition to clean energy and loves to spend time outdoors, whether it's strolling in the rays of the sun or volunteering her time in the gardens, and she is absolutely captivated by the vibrancy of the blooming linden trees in spring.
Kayla Buxton
Program Director
Kayla is our resident beekeeper, garden manager and experimental bread-baker. She loves reading, sunrise kayak trips and spending time with animals whenever possible (especially our barn cat, B.C.). She leads the volunteer groups here at MEC and is endlessly inspired by both the teaching of and learning from each of them. We all have so much to offer each other, and she genuinely believes that community is built through the nourishment of these connections.
April Boone
Center Coordinator
April is our all-around provider of hospitality. She welcomes and cares for our guests with open arms, making nourishing meals, sharing stories and affectionately tending to the space. She loves exploring, spending time with family and savoring maple creemees with her grandchildren. Her favorite part about working at MEC is the joy she finds in feeding people (and birds, too!).
Our Focus
Mercy Ecospirituality Center of Mercy Ecology, Inc. is a sponsored work of the Sisters of Mercy. We are committed to reflection, education and living gently in mutual relationship with the Earth. We offer hospitality for those seeking solace and to refresh their spirit in the beauty of creation, as well as programs in ecospirituality.
The Benedictine monks of Elmira, NY gave the 39-acre property located in the rural beauty of Vermont to the Vermont Sisters of Mercy. Sisters Judy Fortune and Elaine Deasy directed it as Lumen Christi Retreat House for many years, but after Lumen Christi closed, a group of Sisters established it as an Ecospirituality Center, originally named Mercy Farm in 2010.
The new is always unfolding in our evolutionary universe. We strive to honor that as we welcome all to the sacred land of Mercy Ecospirituality Center.
Sisters of Mercy
Mercy Ecology, Inc.
We are a Laudato Si Organization
The Laudato Si’ Action Platform is a unique collaboration between the Vatican, an international coalition of Catholic organizations, and “all men and women of good will.” (LS 3) Taking a truly ground-up approach, it is rooted in the strengths and realities of communities around the world, empowering all to take “decisive action, here and now” as we journey towards a better future together. (LS 161)
Action is urgently needed. Our Creator called the human family to be the steward of creation, but we have neglected that call. Our hotter, dirtier, deader planet is driving up the risk of suffering. The most vulnerable suffer above all.
At this kairos moment, we are responding to the call for healing in our relationships with God, our neighbors, and the Earth itself. Through the Laudato Si’ Action Platform, we are walking the “path to renewal” together (LS 202).
Board of Directors
Erin Lyn Bodin
Sheri Butterfield Young
Laura Della Santa, RSM
Dawn Ellinwood, Vice-Chairperson
Sue-Rae Glinka, Secretary
Lynn Kennedy, Chairperson
Anna Lester
Jason Moore
Mike New
Mary Pendergast, RSM
Kathleen Pritty, RSM, Executive Director
Jayme Van Noordt Purdy
Our Commitment
We are committed to protecting the environment, the health and safety of our employees, guests, and volunteers and the community in which we conduct our business. It is our policy to seek improvements throughout our operations to lessen our impact on the local and global environment by conserving energy, water, and other natural resources; reducing waste generation; recycling and purchasing recycled products; and reducing our use of toxic materials.