JANUARY 14, 2013 FEBRUARY

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1 MID-ATLANTIC COMMUNITY CONVERSATION CIRCLES JANUARY 14, 2013 FEBRUARY 22, 2013 Participant Guide TOPIC: PASSION FOR SERVICE Conversation Circles is a process initiated by the Consultative Gathering Committee in response to the intent of the Governance Plan of the Mid Atlantic Community for more meaningful conversation which at times prepares for or flows from our Consultative Gatherings; the desire of membership for engagement in on going conversations and contemplative dialogue separate from our Consultative Gatherings Goal: To engage in reading, reflection and sharing in support of the Institute/Mid Atlantic Community Theme: Passion for Service. To ensure that mission and a sense of call are integral to all aspects of the Mid Atlantic Community. Background The Institute Leadership Conference (ILC) has set forth 6 planning themes that will direct our reflection and action related to the 2011 Chapter Declaration. Passion for Service is the planning theme we will address in this Conversation Circle. We invite you to read and reflect on three documents that speak to us of Passion for Service : Ministerial Religious Life Into The Future by Sandra Schneiders, IHM. Each sister received this document with the Christmas letter from our Leadership Team. Constitutions of the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas, Sections 4 9 on Pages 8 12 Leadership Perspectives on a Sustainable Future for Mercy. Pages (This document was sent in its entirety for the March, 2012 Conversation Circles. Pages are provided in this material for your convenience.) Sandra Schneiders, IHM offers us solid reflection on our past experience of mission as women religious and challenging reflections on the present and the future as we discern our mission as apostolic women religious in our world and in our Church. Our Constitutions ground us in our Mercy Charism and our call to service. Lastly, our Leadership Perspectives document (pages 23 31) offers us unique thoughts on our intentional focus on ministry and our response to emerging needs. We hope that your Conversation Circle sharing will spark new passion for service as we reflect and share on these three dynamic resources. We would like to capture your renewed passion for service, so please record any elements from the resources that stimulate this energy within you. We always welcome additional resources that you wish us to share with the Community. For this Conversation Circle we are asking you to: 1. Read and reflect on the resource documents listed above in this document 2. Answer the questions on the Reflection Sheet 3. Share your answers with your Conversation Circle 4. Provide feedback from your circle using the group feedback sheet provided 1

2 MID-ATLANTIC COMMUNITY CONVERSATION CIRCLES JANUARY 14, 2013 FEBRUARY22, 2013 Participant Guide Topic: Passion for Service Questions for Reflection Questions for Reflection and Sharing (Consider these questions from your personal experience and from your communal experience of mission.) 1. When reading Ministerial Religious Life Into The Future, what sections of the text or points that were presented, resonated with your personal experience of mission? What points resonated with our communal experience of mission? 2. What new passion for service did you experience when you reflected on these three inspiring resources? 3. In the Gospel, when Jesus and the disciples faced the feeding of 4,000 at the end of a long day, in a desert place, Jesus asked the apostles, What do you have? And what they assembled, the five loaves and two fishes, was enough.what grace is being called forth from us in our time and place? 4. What new questions emerged in you regarding Passion for Service for yourself and the Mid Atlantic Community? 2

3 MID-ATLANTIC COMMUNITY CONVERSATION CIRCLES JANUARY 14, 2013 FEBRUARY 22, 2013 TOPIC: PASSION FOR SERVICE Prayer Suggested Music: God Has Chosen Me Bernadette Farrell (God Beyond All Names) You Are Called to Tell the Story Mary Haugen (Gift of God) Leader: God of our past, present, and future, through your grace, Catherine McAuley responded to the needs of woman and children of Dublin with boundless mercy and compassion. Many generations later, we gather in your presence seeking your grace to continue the legacy of Mercy. Hear our prayers, O God, that we, like Catherine and the women and men who have followed in her path, may continue to bring to the world the Gospel message of hope. Reading Selections (please read with reflective pauses) Reading 1 The Gospels tell us that Jesus was sent. Jesus existence had a purpose. He had a mission in life; a reason for being and acting as he did. Jesus purpose, the reason why he was sent by God, was his mission. This mission both governed and colored all that he said and did. Jesus appeared as one who proclaimed the Reign of God, the great Shalom, justice and peace among everyone, healing and wholeness everywhere, fullness of life enjoyed by all. (Food for the Journey, Juliana Casey, IHM) Reading 2 Jesus followers slowly came to recognize what God had done through him. They also recognized that his presence continued to be with them. The first Christians underwent a powerful experience that we call Pentecost. They were gifted with God s Spirit, the powerful, gracious, continuing presence of God among them. Transformed by this experience, they were sent to proclaim the good news and to continue the work of Jesus. They knew in their own lives, the truth of the final words of Matthew s gospel: I am with you always, to the end of time. (Food for the Journey, Juliana Casey, IHM) Reading 3 In the Gospels, when Jesus and the disciples faced the feeding of 4,000 at the end of a long day, in a desert place, Jesus asked the apostles, What do you have? And what they assembled, the five loaves and two fishes, was enough. Sharing: Answers to questions in the Participant Guide Closing Prayer (All) We will be what we have been since the first century, disciples called by Christ to commit ourselves totally to Him, to the exclusions of any other primary life commitment. Out of that lifelong relationship we participate without reserve in the mission of Christ that all might not perish but have eternal life. Amen (adapted from Sandra Schneiders, IHM) 3

4 Leadership Perspectives Document On a Sustainable Future for Mercy (Slides 23-31) Slide 23: Our Realities, Choices, and Directions come together for us in six broad and critical areas for action. 1. Passion for Service What about the future of our ministries? New ministry commitments? Sponsorship? 2. Vibrant Community Life Lifestyles? Spirituality? Life in senior years? 3. Critical Concerns Underlying causes? Interconnections? Our call to conversion? 4. Liberating and Redistributing Human and Financial Resources Financial stewardship? Elder care options? Liberate resources FOR WHAT? 5. Sustaining the Mercy Charism New members? Wider embrace of Mercy? 6. Governance Structures for the future? Slide 24: These six areas focus the priorities for Institute-wide leadership plans and actions in the coming 5 years. These 6 areas are interconnected Passion for Service, Vibrant Community Life, Critical Concerns, Liberating and Redistributing Human and Financial Resources, Sustaining the Mercy Charism, and Governance. To support the movement to concrete plans and priorities, each action area is developed as follows: Wrestling with Important Questions Context and Current Initiatives Progress Envisioned by 2017 Steps on the Critical Path All of these areas for Institute-wide attention call for processes of member and leadership engagement that are open, frequent, transparent, and creative. Slide 25: Passion for Service: Questions How shall we develop creative solutions to unmet needs acting in solidarity with impoverished people (Fifth Chapter Declaration)? Which of our existing ministries should we transition to others, which must end, which should we grow? As we commit to an intentional collective focus for ministry (ILC Commitment to Chapter Declaration and Shared Leadership), what criteria shall we develop for new and existing ministries? How shall we identify unmet needs? What new sponsorship relationships should be developed? What resources can we liberate/redistribute to support the future of Mercy ministry? 4

5 Slide 26: Passion for Service: Context and Current Initiatives As ILC, we have said that our passion for service compels us to commit to an intentional focus for ministry, e.g. developing criteria for both new and existing ministries, identifying unmet needs, considering new sponsorship relationships based on Mercy mission, legacy, and values. As of March 2012, we have established the ILC Ministry Group as a vehicle for making progress on these commitments in between meetings. Current tasks include providing direction to the task force that is creating Institute-wide formation materials for sponsored ministries, developing ways to initiate creative solutions to unmet needs as an Institute, and exploring the best positioning for future sponsorship structures and relationships. Slide 27: Passion for Service: Progress Envisioned by 2017 Plan for the sustainability of Mercy ministries, including the types of relationships with them that would be strongest for long term sustainability. Create a comprehensive, mandatory, multi-year Ministry Leader Formation Program to strengthen and support leaders in Mercy ministries. Define, identify and develop strategic Mercy Hubs. Create an Institute wide Mercy Ministry funding vehicle to support creative solutions to unmet needs, Mercy Hubs, and/or sisters serving in undercompensated/uncompensated ministries. Slide 28: Plan for the sustainability of Mercy ministries, including the types of relationships with them that would be strongest for long term sustainability. Establish criteria that can be used to determine which sponsored ministries of the Sisters of Mercy are viable. Examine all current ministries to determine what would keep them viable, and make appropriate decisions. Determine for each ministry, whether the Sisters of Mercy would be the sponsors with on-going governance responsibilities, or whether a different relationship would be a stronger one for long term sustainability. 5

6 Slide 29: Create a comprehensive, mandatory, multi-year Ministry Leader Formation Program to strengthen and support leaders in Mercy ministries. Define and identify resources. Develop the program. Create processes for implementation and evaluation. Slide 30: Define, Identify and Develop Strategic Mercy Hubs Create a planning team to be the holder of the process. Establish a consensus for an understanding of what is meant by a Mercy Hub, including the criteria that help to define it. Plan and implement communications regarding the Mercy Hubs idea, and test for the interest of members and other Mercy people, including Mercy Volunteer Corps. Invite local communities to support, to imagine, and to help create the Mercy Hubs; do simple research to determine who else is doing this and what they have learned. Provide ways for members to get to know about possible hubs or the building of them. Support Mercy Hubs with grants from the Institute wide Mercy Ministry funding vehicle. Slide 31: Create an Institute wide Mercy Ministry funding vehicle to support creative solutions to unmet needs, Mercy Hubs, and/or sisters serving in undercompensated/uncompensated ministries. Confirm buy-in to the concept by each Community. Identify type of vehicle, purpose, and guidelines for use, to include who and what gets funded. Plan for creating a fund and for growing the fund over time. Link the planning and implementation of this fund with Institute Financial Planning. 6