2024 DSC Elected Leaders Meeting 
More than Ninety elected leaders and guests gathered in Columbus, Ohio to unpack the meaning behind the theme "Preachers for Times Such as These!". 

There was a fruitful unfolding of conversation between all who attended, focusing on the question "what will it take to open ourselves to a new and deeper communion that God is calling us to co-create resulting in a flourishing Dominican life and mission? Our facilitator Sue Weber lead us in a process of Emergent Learning, which helped us to recognize how our past influences our future. 

In her address, our DSC Executive Director, Xiomara Méndez Hernández OP, urged our leaders to make a "Preferential option for Relationship... We are called to be “ Dominican Preachers for Times such as These.” To fail to act is to miss our historical cues and to fade away from our Dominican family and Charism.  At this critical moment in time, we are being invited to gather our strength to become what we are meant to be in God’s plan." She continued, "As leaders, we are in a place of significant potential for the Church and our Dominican Family history. We are being called to move from a restricted view of possibilities to become women leaders testing the limits of what we can do and be. We are on a journey of deliverance with grit and decisiveness." Her hope for us, Dominican Preachers, is to live hopeful and joy-full, wise and courageous for Times Such as These!

The movement of the Spirit among us was palpable resulting in breaking open conversations toward continuing to be agents of change and transformation for times such as these. The gathering helped sisters understand that we are each one small expression of a much larger charism.

We also celebrated the transition of leadership on the DSC Executive Committee. We are immensly grateful for the leadership of Anne Lythgoe and Terry Rickard. We welcomed Megan McElroy and Irene Ellis as new members to the Executive Committee. 

Each day was grounded in prayer and began with inspiring preaching, rich music and spirited joy. We concluded our time together with a celebratory liturgy and banquet. 

Thank you to the Visioning and Planning Committee, facilitator Sue Weber, and all who attended that made the event another great experience of Dominican collaboration.

The Dominican Leadership Conference and Dominican Sisters International Confederation are organizing the webinar: “Dominican Sisters Reflect on the SDGs 3, 13 and 16” on October 30, 2024 at 8 AM (EST) / 1 PM (Rome time)

English and Spanish translation will be available.

Register via Zoom:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81495848656?pwd=pho73CWIuQzwSEnKlseKMj8ybvoeiE.1

Meeting ID: 814 9584 8656
Passcode: 461087

Speakers:

• Sr. Marissa Y. Figueroa, OP – Adrian Dominican Sisters
• Sr. Ellen Burkhardt, OP - Adrian Dominican Sister
• Sr. Rose Rolling OP - Dominican Congregation of St Catherine of Siena
• Sr. Josephine Rose Fernadez Blanco, OP - Dominican Congregation of St Catherine of Siena
• Sr. M Yelitza Ayala Gilot, OP - Dominican Sisters of Fatima
• Lara Kelly - Congregation Justice Office of the Congregation of Dominican Sisters, Cabra

Check out Colleen Mary Mallon's article for Faith and Leadership titled "Embodying Veritas - A charism for pursuing truth in love", where she writes about recommitting to the gift of the Spirit that fuels her organization.

The article highlights her new book titled Inclusivity and Institutional change in Education, which she hopes can be a contribution to our Dominican institutions seeking to walk a justice path towards becoming anti-racist, anti-bias spaces.

On September 21st, 2024, the Dominican Leadership Conference was honored to attend the high-level panel discussion titled "Peace Not War," held at the United Nations Headquarters as part of the Action Days leading up to the Summit of the Future. This panel brought together prominent global stakeholders, including the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN), the Permanent Mission of Ireland to the UN, the Permanent Mission of Colombia to the UN, UNESCO, and others. The event explored concrete actions that can advance peace, justice, and inclusion to support the global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The panel opened with a powerful metaphor shared by Ambassador Leonor Zalabata Torres, representing Colombia’s Arhuaca people. She compared peacebuilding to constructing a wall made of stones, where smaller stones support larger ones. Her message highlighted that peace requires collaboration from all levels of society, from grassroots communities to global organizations, reinforcing the idea that peace is a continuous process that cannot be achieved in isolation.

Essay written by Grace McDonough. Grace is an intern with the NGO, Grace is a Hope Dominican Volunteer in Mariandale , Ossining, NY. She is with the DLC for one semester.  She is a recent graduate from McCallister in Minnesota. It is a pleasure to have Grace working with the Dominican Leadership Conference.

On October 2, 2024, our Amityville Dominican sisters helped to welcome Network's Nuns on the Bus and Friends at a stop in Brentwood, Long Island, NY. Nuns on the Bus -- a Catholic Advocacy Group -- hit the road on a two-and-a-half week nationwide tour called "Vote Our Future."  At each stop, speeches were given, and the crowds were encouraged to vote!
Dominican Sister of Sinsinawa Quincy Howard was one of the passengers on the bus and the Master of Ceremonies at the event in Brentwood. Amityville Dominican Sister Honora Nolty noted how wonderful it was to see Sister Quincy -- who will profess her final vows in November -- representing the Dominican Order on the bus. And Sister Quincy was happy to see our sisters. "We hooted and howled and cheered," said Sister Honora. "Sister Quincy said to us how important it was that when she arrived she saw Dominican signs." That day, the crowds of almost 300 people listened to speakers, signed the side of the bus, and sang together, "The Nunson the bus say 'vote, vote, vote!'"
Many members of the Amityville Dominican family were present including: Sisters Pat Koehler, Diane Morgan, Diane Capuano, Eileen Corcoran, Lenore Toscano, Gina Fleming, Marjorie Devlin, Margaret Kavanagh, Laura Helbig, Honora Nolty, Emily Masse, Julie Thompson, Irene Weiner, Mary Nolan, Patricia Hanvey, Margaret Galiardi, Joan Klimski, as well as Associates Jennie Amendola, Kathy Friend, Nora Toal and Kathleen Macbeth.
The goal of the tour is to call on Catholics and all people of goodwill to be multi-issue voters and to protect the freedoms that promote a future of flourishing for all-- NO EXCEPTIONS. The bus passengers were also given a tour of a new facility for New Hour, a transitional program for formerly incarcerated women and their children.
"Do you know where you are voting and how you are getting there?" asked Sister Honora. "Vote, vote, vote!"

Using Images in Spiritual Direction (In-Person)

Thursday, Oct 17 • 6:30 – 8:30 pm

Have you noticed how images can inform and deepen our experience of self, others and our connection to the Divine? When words fail, an image can bring understanding, offering another way of helping to process your experience. In this contemplative time of Spiritual Directors learning together, you will be invited to consider what images resonate with you from Scripture along with what images accompany you on your spiritual journey. Then, we will consider together how images might be used to enrich, anchor and provide meaning as we hold space for others in spiritual direction. This is a rich opportunity to gather with other Spiritual Directors to develop community with one another and consider how the use of images might be of value in your personal practices of self-supervision and Spiritual Direction ministries. Details & Registration: https://www.grdominicans.org/program-retreat/using-images/

Awakening Spirituality: Exploring our Sacred Stories by Making Mandalas (In-Person) Friday, Oct 25 • 6:00 – 8:30 pm & Saturday, Oct 26 • 9:00 am – 4:30 pm

Come, retreat as a sacred community using our diverse life stories and the arts to discover the depth and breadth of Divine presence in our lives. Experience a contemplative and creative “meaning-making” space exploring the intertextual weave of word, world and wonder through personal story prompts and guided multimedia Mandala-making. Over centuries, people across a variety of traditions have created or colored Mandalas (circles) for spiritual deepening, increased wholeness and healing, or artistic expression. Mandalas invite contemplation using lines, shapes, patterns, and color. Together, we will create simple intuitive Mandalas to explore and deepen our experience of Sacred Presence in a story from our lives. You will be given tools before and during the retreat to bring out your creative spirit and for choosing a sacred life story to explore. No experience in the arts or Mandalas is necessary. Details & Registration: https://www.grdominicans.org/program-retreat/awakening-spirituality-mandalas/

Busy Person’s Retreat ~ Creating Space to Meet God in Everyday Life (In-Person or Online) In-person • Sunday, Nov 3, 17 • 2:00 – 4:00 pm + Zoom check-in Monday, Nov 11 •  7:30 – 9:00 pm Online • Monday, Nov 4, 11, 18 • 7:30 – 9:00 pm

GRAND RAPIDS, MI --  Are you feeling fragmented, pulled in many directions and wish to center yourself in God’s love and care for you? Do you long to find God in your everyday life? Does a retreat sound wonderful but you can’t afford or take the time away for a few days elsewhere? This retreat is for you! Catholic Information Center in collaboration with Dominican Center Marywood have designed an experience of retreating to weave into your regular life. This unique retreat experience offers you collective space and personalized guidance to meet God within the fullness of your busy life. You can choose the in-person option or the virtual option. In both, we gather once to learn and experience ways of encountering God in everyday life, followed by two weeks in which you will meet with a spiritual director that we provide, and a virtual check-in midway for reflection and sharing. We will then close together in community to integrate what we have experienced during this retreat. In all spaces, we will practice reflective listening so that we can hear the whispers of God within our lives. Details & Registration: https://www.grdominicans.org/program-retreat/busy-persons-retreat/