Mercy Medical Center colleagues and supporters filled the 299 lobby for the annual “Gift of Light” Christmas tree lighting.
In advance of the tree lighting, the event included remarks by Robert Roose, M.D., MPH, President of Mercy Medical Center and Johnson Memorial Hospital; Philip Glynn, M.D., Medical Director of the Sister Caritas Cancer Center; and John Sjoberg and Brenda Garton-Sjoberg, Mercy supporters and longtime Gift of Light participants; and a blessing by the Most Rev. William Byrne, Bishop of Springfield. The event also featured a moving rendition of the song “A Hallelujah Christmas” by Mark Kenton, D.O., Chief of Emergency Medicine, and a closing prayer from Sister Mary Caritas, S.P.
Several of the speakers referenced the late Sister Madeleine Joy, S.P., who was a member of the pastoral care department. Sister Madeleine was remembered for touching the lives of hundreds of people as a spiritual counselor, through her work with the hospital’s cancer and grief support groups, and by establishing the “Gift of Light” program at Mercy to honor patients and their families as they manage a cancer diagnosis. Sister Madeleine, who passed away earlier this year, began the “Gift of Light” program more than 30 years ago.