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Catholic News Herald

Serving Christ and Connecting Catholics in Western North Carolina
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110918 mercy sisterSALISBURY — An outreach program in Salisbury has been named the Sister Mary Robert Ministry in honor of Mercy Sister Mary Robert Williams, who ministered there for more than 30 years.

The ministry, based at Sacred Heart Church, had languished in recent years but is being given new life as well as a new name, according to Susan Grathwohl, its longtime volunteer coordinator.

Currently, Grathwohl said, the ministry offers services such as a food pantry to parishioners and residents of Good Shepherd Gardens, affordable senior housing adjacent to the church. But the goal is eventually to serve the larger community.

Sister Mary Robert ministered in Salisbury from 1983 to 2014 and was active in many outreach services. She was instrumental in starting Rowan Helping Ministries’ homeless shelter. She also worked with the battered women’s shelter and Operation Suitcase, which provides supplies for children in foster care.

“She took care of so many families in crisis,” Grathwohl said.

The honor took Sister Mary Robert by surprise. She noted that she was named for her father, and this is the first time anything has been named for her.
— Beth Rogers Thompson