Community Life

Committee

July 2, 2018

“A sister manifests her presence toward her

sisters in the local community through her

warmth and gentleness, her joy and respect,

her concern and love . . .”Faithful Witness 24.2

Our life is a continual response to the

Lord’s invitation.

2

“We Are Called”

Come! live in the light! Shine with the joy and the love of the Lord! We are called to be light for the kingdom, to live in the freedom of the city of God!

Refrain: We are called to act with justice. We are called to love tenderly. We are called to serve one another, to walk humbly with God.

3

Our Mission Statement is a response . . .

Animated by our charism

of love, creative hope, and fidelity,

and in imitation of Mary, we, the

Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary

of Immaculata, Pennsylvania,

proclaim the Gospel message

in the spirit of Jesus the Redeemer.

Strengthened by a life of vowed consecration,

nurtured by prayer and the Eucharist, andsustained by community living,

we radiate joyful service and promote Gospel values,

offering compassion to all God’s people

though our mission

to evangelize, to catechize, and to teach.

4

We say that we are "sustained by

communal life” but sometimes we get

caught up in the busy-ness of life.

Sometimes we hear . . .

5

How do we sustain our joyful and

generous response to the Lord –

and to one another?

Let us share with you:

Our process

Our plan

6

Our Process

Seventeen committee members shared their

beliefs, experiences and hopes.

We individually identified

“Three Non-negotiables of Vibrant Community Life.”

Congregation-wide Survey

Two-hundred twenty-two electronic Survey Monkey responses and sixty paper survey responses (282/709 approx. 38.6%)

7

Responses(as of Friday, April 27, 2018)

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

47 surveys received by mail

8

9

Praying, studying Faithful Witness, reviewing

table conversations, speaking honestly at

committee meetings and reflecting on our

own experiences reconfirmed that . . .

10

We are called to love God, His people, and

each other.

It is a privilege and responsibility to live in

community.

Eucharist is the center of our communal life.

We gathered common themes

“Eucharist as Center”

“Communal Prayer”

“Care and Concern” and

“Acceptance of Human Nature”

were identified as “non-negotiables.”

“Non-negotiables” became

“Essential Responsibilities”

11

We prayed, discussed, discerned and . . .even dared to disagree!

12

“EUCHARIST” “DELIVERY”

“BUY-IN”

We focused on the personal response of

each individual Sister who in turn can

positively influence community living.

13

Our mantra:

Simple. Practical. Invitational.

We created three

subcommittees:

Care and Concern

Communal Prayer

Presence

We sought to provide:

Awareness

(A reflective piece)

Resources

(An informational piece)

Practices

(A practical piece for

daily living)

14

Essential Responsibilities

of Community Living

15

Care and

Concern

Relationships

Communication

Dialogue

Communal

Prayer

Spiritual

Support

Presence

Self-awareness

Forgiveness

Moral Support

We propose:

1. that a committee on Community Life be

formed; and

2. that each Sister be invited to consider and

work on one aspect of Community Life

for each of the next three years.

16

Each envelope will

Have a cover letter announcing the focus for community life that year.

Contain a “worksheet” with suggestions for reflection, resources, and practices.

Include any pertinent addendums such as “Questions for Reflection” or a prepared examen.

Provide space for the Sister’s own ideas.

17

Communal Prayer and Spiritual Support18

It is my personal responsibility to foster Community Life through . . .

COMMUNAL PRAYER and SPIRITUAL SUPPORT

AWARENESS(A reflective piece)

RESOURCES(An informational piece)

PRACTICES(A daily living piece)

Reflection questions

for journaling

Faithful Witness 23 and

24.2, 24.3

Consider the place of

silence in your life.

Examen on

Communal Prayer &

Spiritual Support

Faithful Servant Consider the importance

of silence and sacred

pauses in prayer.

Make a gratitude list

of those Sisters who

exemplify communal

prayer and spiritual

support to you.

Heritage Prayer (page

27)

Create your own Litany

of Prayer including Sisters

with whom you live,

people with whom and

to whom you minister. . .

Care and Concern19

It is my personal responsibility to foster Community Life through . . .

CARE and CONCERN

AWARENESS(A reflective piece)

RESOURCES(An informational piece)

PRACTICES(A daily living piece)

Contemplative stance

Mindfulness

Scripture,

Faithful Witness

Consciousness

Examen

Make a conscious effort to

pause and relax with the

Sisters-slowing down to

“listen” to what is really

happening

How can I improve,

learn a new skill or

strategy which will help

me become a more

compassionate

communicator?

Readings on

compassionate

communication and

basic communication

skills

YouTube offerings on

communications skills

Practice at least one new

communication

skill/strategy that I have

learned in daily situations

Reflect on a model of

contemplative dialogue

Readings on YouTube

presentations on

contemplative

dialogue

Try to implement the

practice of contemplative

dialogue

Presence 20

It is my personal responsibility to foster Community Life through . . .

PRESENCE

AWARENESS(A reflective piece)

RESOURCES(An informational piece)

PRACTICES(A daily living piece)

Colossians 3:12-17

Ephesians 4: 1-6

Faithful Witness 24.2,

24.3

Reverence the Mystery

of each Sister

Philippians 2: 1-5, 2:

13-15, 4: 4-7

Joy of the Gospel

#10, #207

The Call to Holiness

#141, #142, #145

Be kind to each Sister

Exhibit generosity

Galatians 5: 22-23 Spirituality of

Community Life by

Maureen Gallagher

pp. 5-6

Create a warm and

welcoming space for

each Sister

21

2020

Presence

Dear Sister…

Dear Sister …

Evaluating our efforts . . .

Survey

Responses will help us to tailor the proposed

letter, reflection, resources and practices for

the upcoming year.

Personal conversations

Spirit in local houses

22

"...I would like to insist

primarily on the call to

holiness that the Lord

addresses to each of us,

the call that he also

addresses personally, to

you: "Be holy, for I am

holy."

(Lev 11:44; cf. 1Pet 1:16) On the Call to Holiness in Today's World - Pope Francis23

And so we invite you. . .24

Perhaps we will hear, perhaps we will see . . .25

“We Are Called”

Sing! Sing a new song! Sing of that great day when all will be one! God will reign and we'll walk with each other as sisters and brothers united in love!

Refrain: We are called to act with justice. We are called to love tenderly. We are called to serve one another, to walk humbly with God.

26

Committee members will gladly listen, help gather resources, etc.

Sister Joyce Bell

Sister Kathryn Benham

Sister William Catherine Brannen

Sister Anne Philip Buehler

Sister Mary Sue Carwile (Liaison)

Sister Koreen Marie Cote

Sister Ruthanne Croley

Sister Carmen Teresa Fernández

Sister Eileen Gillespie

Sister Sharon Hedrick

Sister Clare Marsico

Sister Helen Thomas McCann

Sister Patricia McGuigan

Sister Catherine Nally

Sister Judith Parsons

Sister Mary Ann Spaetti

Sister Janice Therese Urbanec

27

Thank you, Sisters!28

Graphics

Text to “We Are Called” by David Haas

https://www.letssingit.com/david-haas-lyrics-we-are-called-lggrc79LetsSingIt - The Internet Lyrics Database

Emmaus bp2.blogger.com

Hands xoio.de

Snapshot mashthosebuttons.com

Pope Francis 4.bp.blogspot.com

Talking head www.span3853.julieannward.com

Round table 3.bp.blogspot.com

Calendar freeprintablecalendar2019.com

Envelope 2.bp.blogspot.com

Drop www.millerindustrialblog.com

Question www.duskyillusions.com

29