Mercy Colleagues and Supporters Gather for Annual Tree Lighting Ceremony

Left to right: John and Brenda Sjoberg; Robert Roose, MD, MPH; Sister Mary Caritas, SP; Philip Glynn, MD; and Sister Kathleen Popko, SP.

In advance of the tree lighting, the event included remarks by Robert Roose, MD, MPH, President of Mercy Medical Center, Johnson Memorial Hospital, and Saint Mary’s Hospital; Philip Glynn, MD, Medical Director of the Sister Caritas Cancer Center; and John Sjoberg and Brenda Garton-Sjoberg, Mercy supporters and longtime Gift of Light participants. Sister Mary Caritas, SP, also led the group in prayer. Immediately after flipping the switch to light up the tree, the gathering broke out into a festive version of Deck the Halls.

Several of the speakers paid tribute to the late Sister Madeleine Joy, SP, who served as a member of the hospital’s pastoral care department for many years. Sister Madeleine was remembered for touching the lives of hundreds of people as a spiritual counselor, through her work leading the hospital’s cancer and grief support groups, and by establishing the Gift of Light program to honor patients and their families as they manage a cancer diagnosis.

Gus Gus, Mercy’s therapy dog in training, was also on hand for the Gift of Light ceremony.