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.
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“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.
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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.
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We say that we are "sustained by
communal life” but sometimes we get
caught up in the busy-ness of life.
Sometimes we hear . . .
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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
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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%)
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Responses(as of Friday, April 27, 2018)
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
47 surveys received by mail
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Praying, studying Faithful Witness, reviewing
table conversations, speaking honestly at
committee meetings and reflecting on our
own experiences reconfirmed that . . .
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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”
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We prayed, discussed, discerned and . . .even dared to disagree!
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“EUCHARIST” “DELIVERY”
“BUY-IN”
We focused on the personal response of
each individual Sister who in turn can
positively influence community living.
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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)
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Essential Responsibilities
of Community Living
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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.
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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.
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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
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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
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"...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.
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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
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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
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