Many of us awoke this morning to worry, fear, and anger. Perhaps you are feeling these today, too.

As women who bear hope in our name, we cannot despair. We don’t just “like” or “believe in” hope; we live it. We have committed our lives –even our name– to it. This year is our thirtieth anniversary of being Hope.

What does it mean to live out hope, especially when you’re not feeling very hopeful? It’s simple: your very existence is hope in this world. Our world is filled with fragmentation and injustice, yet none of us can deny that truth, nobility, justice, loveliness, purity, and excellence, also exist. Whatever is admirable –if anything is excellent or praiseworthy– we must think about these things.¹ And they are there.

On our twenty-first anniversary of Hope, we asked what gives you hope. It was a joyous time of remembering our founding as a congregation and, you, our readers, co-creators, and friends, celebrated with us by replying in abundance. You told us that children and the elderly give you hope, the beauty of a rainbow gives you hope, the promise of Jesus himself gives you hope. You are heartened by watching others live morally, fight for justice, and respond to violence with love. Just as they were yesterday and will be tomorrow, these instances of hope are all alive in our world. None of us needs to look too far to see one child helping another, a young person striving to do good, a faithful person entrenched in prayer, the beauty of nature, the love of God, the brilliance of good will.

Indeed, hope is always here. We’ve committed our lives to it. Moreover, we make it our mission to share with you where and how we find hope, so that you might be assured of its everliving existence in our world.

Now, we’re asking you to join us. We ask you, regardless of race, creed, background, political preference, or any division, to stand for hope and justice. As Sister Catherine Walsh is quick to note, presidents are important, but it’s what we do on the ground that matters.

Today is the day for all of us, including you, to commit to working for justice. Now is the time to welcome the foreign, to visit the sick, to serve the poor and marginalized. Your efforts don’t have to be monumental; taking on a volunteer job or even committing to online activism make a difference. If you’re not sure where to start, we have an index of ways to begin.

This month alone, Sister Debbie Blow is distributing approximately $125,00 worth of medical equipment annually to local and regional people in need of medical equipment and supplies, all free. Right now, Sister Mary Elizabeth DeBoer is ministering to those in residence at The Wartburg. Sister Pat Sullivan is harnessing her legacy in education to help others receive scholarships for college. Sister Lucy Povilonis is teaching second graders. Sister Rosemarie Wdzieczkowsi is making sandwiches for the needy.

As a community, we’re fundraising for the victims of the hurricanes in Florida. Our sisters are gathering to rally for an end to weapons trafficking in Haiti. And, we’re currently working with the Stockbridge-Munsee Mohican nation –in addition to other nations– to discuss immersion trips and potential partnerships for this summer and beyond.

Now, it’s your turn to ask what you can do to help.

If you’re experiencing worry, fear, and anger today, we urge you to not let despair become debilitating. Instead, let’s commit to making our world a more whole, just, loving place. Let’s preach the message that every life has dignity, that living in communion with all of creation is our common goal. Let’s take concrete steps to living out the transforming power of hope.

Let’s get to work.