Companions in Prayer

It has been said that St. Dominic sent out his followers two by two; one to preach and another to pray that the preaching moved the hearts of the listeners, drawing them closer to Christ. As we come together as Dominican sisters seeking the Holy Spirit’s guidance to live God’s mission now and into the future, let us intentionally renew this tradition,companioning one another in this journey of challenge and grace. 

We are asking that all sisters and associates in each congregation, commit to a time of daily prayer asking for the grace to be open to the Spirit as we seek deeper collaboration among us to become authentic Preachers in Times Such as These! Join us in prayer as the leaders gather together at 2024 DSC Elected Leaders Meeting in Columbus, Ohio, October 8-11.

May the Spirit guide us and be with us all.

We invite Gamaliel affiliates, friends, and supporters to sign-on to this Letter to the U.S. Synod Delegation no later than Monday, September 30, 2024!

 

The Second Session of the Catholic Church’s “Synodal Process” begins in Rome on October 2. We extend our  prayers and ask the Holy Spirit to guide all the participants. In the First Session of the Synod participants listened to the global cry of women to remove barriers to women’s full participation in the life of the Church; they created a study group; and they asked for further input. 

 

Vowed women and men responded. We are inspired by the Catholic sisters’ voices expressed in the May 2024 summary report issued by UISG-USG (“How to be a Church in Mission”), especially Part Four – PARTICIPATION OF WOMEN IN THE LIFE AND MISSION OF A SYNODAL CHURCH – which builds on the work of the first session and calls all to renewal and full participation in the mission of Church.

We invite Gamaliel affiliates, friends, and supporters to sign-on to this Letter to the U.S. Synod Delegation no later than Monday, September 30, 2024!

 

Click here for The May 2024 summary report issued by UISG-USG (“How to be a Church in Mission”).

 

Click here to sign on to a letter of support to the US participants to the Second Session, urging them not to ignore the sisters’ voices and expressing our prayers for their on-going Conversations in the Spirit. Again, the deadline to sign-on is Monday, September 30, 2024.

 

With hope in the Spirit,

Gamaliel Nun Caucus Planning Team

Marcia Baumert, FSPA

Marie DesJarlais, FSPA

Theresa Keller, FSPA

Cheryl Liske, OP

Xiomara Mendez-Hernandez, OP

Dolores Sanchez, OSF

The Futuring Leadership Team is busy preparing for a week together in Columbus, Ohio October 6^th thru 12^th . The week will begin with team-building on Sunday evening and a planning day on Monday with facilitator, Sara Marks. Tuesday through Friday will be time shared with the DSC Elected Leaders engaging in discussions around the theme of the conference  Preachers for Times such as These. In anticipation of this conference, which will focus on the future of our Dominican life and Charism, our Future Pathways Working Group has been very busy gathering the cohort to discern more intimately the 3 most favored pathways along with a modification, then gathering the wisdom of the cohort by survey. Results of this survey were shared recently with cohort members as well as with leaders as information for them to reflect on as they too prepare for the conference. We offer our deep gratitude to the Future Pathways Working Group for all that they have prepared during the past year, and especially this most recent ‘fruits’ of our cohort’s contemplation!

 

Cohort members are also asked to SAVE THE DATE for the next cohort gatherings – November 9^th 2:p-4:p ET and November 11^th 7:p-9:p ET. The Futuring Leadership Team will share about our experience of the Columbus gathering as well as other updates and, in the month of All Saints/All Souls, a special opportunity to ‘remember together’. Cohort members, please plan to join us!

Sister Ann Shares Her Love of Teaching Children

 

Sister Ann Brummel has loved Catholic education her entire life. After serving in many roles at St. Peter Catholic School and Rosary High School, in Aurora, Ill., she knew the time had come to step away from leadership roles to do something different. 

“I said when the time came, I wanted to either be an usher for the Chicago Cubs or teach preschool. Since I didn’t get the usher position, I get to see the future by teaching preschool,” said Sister Ann with a chuckle. 

After working for years with Father Bill Etheredge, who serves as the pastor and superintendent at St. Mary’s Catholic School in Sycamore, she learned they needed help with the preschool class the school was starting that fall. When the principal called her for an interview, she was excited for the opportunity to teach the inaugural class of 3-year-olds.

This semester I have two interns working with the Dominican Leadership Conference. Grace from Minnesota has put together a survey that she is asking Dominicans for some help. She has joined the NGO committee on Migration here at the UN.  She has prepared a survey for Dominicans to respond to. Here is what she is the help she asking from us

I encourage you to take some time and respond to this important survey for the NGO on Migration. Your responses will help Grace and the NGO committee to

know how to advocate on this topic. Here is the link to the survey

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSczkFta3uplL3TqREY8OCfxr2Ykfvt2lViIMdHTHNtQrmYOaw/viewform?usp=sf_link

 

If you could complete the survey for Grace by September 30^th that will give her time to collate the responses and present them at her next NGO Migration Committee in October. 

 

One last important thing is the JCOR guide to the United Nationsl General Assembly. You will find it informative and timely. 

On Monday, September 11, 2024  was the opening of the 79^th General Assembly of the United Nations. The new President of the 79^th session is Philemon Yang, of Cameroon. He identified some of the urgent global challenges e.g. climate change, conflicts, poverty and inequality. Peace and Security continues to be of paramount importance.  He stated that his Presidency would seek to build on effective peace operations and conflict resolution stategies, As he will incorporate a gender perspective and strive to achieve gender equality and promote sustainable economic growth while protecting human rights and international law. 

 

The 79^th General Assembly session is filled with hope for the global community.

We began the Season of Creation on September first. A beautiful prayer service opened this month long celebration of creation. There are many ways to participate in this Season. I invite you to take time to really engage in this important season of creation on behalf of all of us especially bringing to our attention the Fossil Fuel Treaty.

We know that 13 countries are supporting the Fossil Fuel Treaty Proposal. And  in addition there are several other ways we can be involved in bringing about this treaty to help it become law. We can work with our Cities to endorse the treaty as well as organizations that we belong to and we as indivisual can also endorse the treaty.

This Treaty is spearheaded by Vanuatu and Tuvalu nations in the pacitifc. Their survival as nations depend on the passing of a Fossil Fuel Treaty.The small islands need our help to get this Treaty  endorsed and and become law.

Please study the Season of Creation resources and see where you Advocacy comes in to bring about this treaty. You will be working on behalf of all of us in this work.

Doing our part.......Doing what needs to be done

 

A religious community’s general chapter, like the one we just completed in April, is, ultimately, a commitment of the sisters to do their part and do what is needed for others. A chapter also requires prayer, contemplative dialog, and direction-setting for the coming five years. Ultimately it boils down to each sister doing her part and doing what needs to be done for others.

This is the same mantra that our associates, Mike and Betty Goldasich, have lived out since they married 61 years ago. From the beginning, Mike and Betty were committed to centering their social life on their community, parish, and their children’s schools.

While they lived in Springfield initially and have returned there, they also spent nearly thirty years in Jacksonville, their children attending Our Saviour School. Mike tells a story about his son, Matt, who finally felt accepted by his classmates once he kicked a soccer ball over the convent roof into the courtyard. Grinning, Betty added, “It takes a while not to feel like an outsider when you move to Jacksonville. However, we made long-lasting, cherished friends there.”

On the morning of August 27th, six youth and three chaperone members of the Stockbridge-Munsee Mohican Nation stood in a circle with Dominican Sisters of Hope, associates, and staff overlooking the Hudson River. They were standing on the current property of the Dominican Sisters of Hope, and the ancestral land of the Stockbridge-Munsee Mohican tribe.

“We know that these two groups haven’t had a good relationship in the past,” Wanonah Spencer, an enrolled member of the Stockbridge-Munsee Mohicans, told those gathered. “I can imagine my ancestors being proud to see the healing between us in this circle now.”

The visit was initiated by the Dominican Sisters of Hope Land Justice Committee, which is comprised of sisters, associates, and staff. Peggy McHale, an associate of the Dominican Sisters of Hope and a member of the Land Justice Committee, said that the relationship with the Stockbridge-Munsee-Mohicans began with the committee “listening to the Earth.” In doing so, they quickly recognized that Native Americans “knew a lot more about that than we do.”

Nourishing Faith Through Lament (In-Person)

Saturday, Oct 5 • 9:00 – 11:00 am

A life of faith is lived in joy and sorrow, praise and petition. Inspired by the Joy of the Gospel, we often focus on praising God. But this can leave us without avenues to bring our lament into faithful experience and expression. Our grief and sorrow wait unattended, not permitted in the presence of God, and we suffer more for it. Our lament, given voice, can lead us to a praise more profound than we knew before our sorrow, as the Psalms often remind us. Come join us for a communal workshop where we can learn and experience ways of bringing our whole selves, including our lament, into our worship of God. Praise, lament, petition, and pause will all renew our faith and our living. 

Details & Registration: https://www.grdominicans.org/program-retreat/nourishing-faith-through-lament/

 

 

Blessing of the Animals in the St. Francis of Assisi Sculpture Garden (In-Person)

Saturday, Oct 5 • 11:00 am – 12:30 pm

The St. Francis of Assisi Sculpture Garden is hosting a Blessing of the Animals. Visitors are welcome to bring their pets for this annual blessing. Bring a chair if you like and spend some time receiving God’s blessing. Sr. Kathi Sleziak, OP will open with prayer for us.

Details & Registration: https://www.grdominicans.org/program-retreat/blessing-of-the-animals/

 

 

Tending the Call for Practicing Spiritual Directors (Online)

Wednesdays: Oct 9, Oct 23, Nov 6, Nov 20, Dec 4, Dec 18 • 6:30 – 8:00 pm EST

Come to share, study, and pray with a sacred community of practicing Spiritual Directors. Be refreshed in this community as we seek a deepening relationship with God and are reminded of the sacred journey of transformation that called each one of us into this ministry. We will revisit the wisdom and teachings of the foundational companions introduced in Practicums I and II, going deeper and reimagining ways they might support our present-day ministries. Tending the Call is our online monthly gathering of Spiritual Directors to study, pray, and share together as we read contemplatively a book together each fall and spring. This fall we will read and unpack the contemplative classic  The Cloud of Unknowing. We will consider how our practice of Centering Prayer impacts our interactions with those we companion. If you feel drawn to deepen your personal practice of contemplative prayer and are looking for encouragement, support, and community, this session is for you. 

Details & Registration: https://www.grdominicans.org/program-retreat/tending-the-call/