July 4, 2022
Dear Nurturing Friend,
As I reflect upon the Nurturing Network’s 30 years of life-affirming service, I am reminded of the many friends and volunteers who have helped us to walk alongside, bind the wounds, and heal the broken lives of over 25,000 women and children. Countless gifts of time and treasure from TNN’s 52,000 volunteer resource members have formed a legacy of love that is at the very heart of the Nurturing Network.
We have focused our efforts over the past three decades on strengthening and supporting the international network of local service providers that TNN has been instrumental in motivating, training and forming. A tiny mustard seed planted many years ago has blossomed into a powerful consortium of individuals and programs readily available to meet the urgent and practical needs of women and children. The Resources page on TNN’s website bear witness to compassion made real and has been updated to help ensure that any woman turning here for help will find a wide range of support services.
This collaborative approach has made it possible for me to embrace a new chapter of my life. TNN concluded its operation in 2017. This strategic decision has empowered me to devote my time, energy and experience to many new and vital initiatives that expand TNN’s message of peace and practical compassion for the most vulnerable in our midst.
Reflecting upon my purpose in founding the Nurturing Network brings to mind a favorite John Muir quote: “Nothing can take the place of absolute contact. The cold and perishing cannot be warmed by descriptions of fire and sunshine, nor the hungry be fed with books about bread…One can only see by loving: love makes things visible and labor light.”
TNN’s story gives witness to the reality that placing values into action allows issues to be approached creatively without giving into fear, anger or confrontation. In today’s divisive climate, it may be helpful to consider the words written in TNN’s Client and Member brochures so many years ago: “Those who support 'choice' can hardly dispute the value of creating another choice; those who support 'life' can hardly reject an alternative made real.”
My experience with Nurturing Network has only reinforced my belief that a significant common ground exists where both life and choice can be respected, and people of good will can come together for the benefit of those who are in need. One person can make a difference and kindness can meld into the fabric of a healthy society. Collaboration and empathy are possible and, I believe, are our greatest hope.
As TNN’s Founder, I am committed to continuing my personal mission to protect the most vulnerable in society, to advocate for women and families, and to help build a gentler and more peaceful world.
Having devoted many years to assisting my husband as his Alzheimer’s disease progressed and eventually claimed his life, I am keenly aware of the need for additional charitable resources to be directed to assisting those afflicted with this disease and their caregivers. Your steadfast support for all that TNN represents will offer inspiration as I reflect upon the most effective way to dedicate my time and energy to affirming life in all its seasons.
Of all the memories that I will carry with me in the years ahead, the inspiring witness of TNN’s courageous clients and grace-filled members remains at the top of my list. I will forever celebrate all that caring friends have done to bring my dream of the Nurturing Network to this stage of its fulfillment. Each client and volunteer member of TNN is a meaningful part of my extended family with an enduring message,“Love will find a way.”
With gratitude,
Mary
Mary Cunningham Agee
TNN Founder
The Nurturing Network’s Abundant Harvest
“Every person who shares
in this journey
of hope and healing
is forever changed.
To give love
and to receive love
in life’s most vulnerable circumstances
is to awaken to the possibility
of a better day
a gentler world.
Yes, this is the abundance
from a grace-filled harvest
where lives are touched
and hearts are healed.
A legacy of love that endures
for a lifetime -- and beyond.
Forever and for always …
you remain in my heart.”
-- Mary Cunningham Agee, President and Founder
As an expression of my appreciation, I would like to share a favorite prayer that captures my thoughts as one door closes and another opens.
The words of Archbishop Romero convey the gratitude that energizes each new day and guides my pathway to deeper service.
-- Mary
The Romero Prayer
It helps, now and then, to step back
and take the long view.
The kingdom is not only beyond our efforts,
it is beyond our vision.
We accomplish in our lifetime only a tiny fraction of
the magnificent enterprise that is God's work.
Nothing we do is complete,
which is another way of saying
that the kingdom always lies beyond us.
No statement says all that could be said.
No prayer fully expresses our faith.
No confession brings perfection.
No pastoral visit brings wholeness.
No program accomplishes the church's mission.
No set of goals and objectives includes everything.
This is what we are about:
We plant seeds that one day will grow.
We water seeds already planted,
knowing that they hold future promise.
We lay foundations that will need further development.
We provide yeast that produces effects
beyond our capabilities.
We cannot do everything
and there is a sense of liberation in realizing that -
This enables us to do something,
and to do it very well.
It may be incomplete, but it is a beginning,
a step along the way,
an opportunity for God's grace to enter and do the rest.
We may never see the end results,
but that is the difference
between the master builder and the worker.
We are workers, not master builders,
ministers, not messiahs.
We are prophets of a future not our own.
Written in memory of Archbishop Oscar Romero
