Additional Information

Reconfiguration, Refounding, Restructuring

COMMUNITY DAYS Regarding 3 R's

OCTOBER 17-19, 2008

WHAT DO WE NEED IN ORDER TO MAKE AN INFORMED DECISION

Have all the information we need
Need to know leaning of our sisters; listen to their wisdom
Need to know if other communities will move
Confused, overwhelmed, floundering
Need more time, prayer, conversation, review
How will joining other com. advance mission
Are we really willing to put out time, money, energy, resources
Do we set aside the Chapter Directives
If  reconfiguration, refounding are not embraced, will either truly happen
Assurance that this is God’s will; to keep faith; to rid fear
Know more about the advantages , not the losses or hardships
Clarity on how reconfiguration really advance mission/vision
Are we satisfying individual wants or good of all members
Tridium of Mass and prayer to Holy Spirit
Process for discernment
Need more info on reconfiguration and advancing the mission
More meeting of the entire membership for information/input
Need commitment of “every” sister to participate 
How do we discern God’s will for us; not the will of the other communities for us
Need on-going conversion  - more prayer
Are we ready for the “paschal mystery” or is this just words?
If 3 communities are in – what difference would that make?
If just Mexico and Victoria – what difference would that make?

EVALUATIONS

Well coordinated
Much information; wealth of information
Fun Knowledge Bowl
CARE skills flourishing (respectful, non contentious)
Spirit-filled; in it together
Grateful, inspired by videos
One of the best, most information
Helpful, hopeful, clarifying
Less fear of change; less confused
Willingness to stay at the table 
Appreciative of open discussion  
Appreciated comments from other communities
Engagement of all sisters at table talk
Gratitude; much more prepared
Booklet / handouts excellent
Profitable; opportunity to determine future together
Great hope we will be guided by Spirit
Realization of more self work and study
We’ve come a long way 
Grateful for time before commitment
Look at the implications before we stay in the process
Beyond my expectations; time well spent
More pros and cons need to be discussed
Information helped openness  to other possibilities
Need more process – now have tools to dig deeper

Context for Decision-Making Summary of Table Responses: Community Days: October 17 – 19, 2008

Of all the trends, truths and tipping points of our context, which one(s) are most important
for us to consider as we weigh the options of Refounding, Reconfiguring and/or Restructuring? Prioritize.

Trends, Truths, and Tipping Points—Specific Impact upon decision
Diminishment, aging, less income,
—We have the spirit; we need to put God first, community and self next;
we need to choose different needs that we can do (work with laity—prepare and enable, provide “Presence” – Refounding and Restructure so that we can support this).
Will we allow creative ways to deal with properties and vocations, and generate income and continue ministry (e.g. Spirituality Center)?
We may not have enough energy to work on reconfiguration or to bring life to the community.
It will take more resources to take care of ill.

There is insular thinking and living -- a tension between member maintenance (numbers, health, properties) and desire to carry out the spirit of the mission.
Can we continue, are we turning inward? We need to encourage each other to “rethink retirement” and really want to make a difference in our IWBS community and our neighborhoods.
We want to remove our “blinders” so we can reach out to others. We are called to be hope for our world.
We cannot focus on our diminishment – we need to focus on being life-giving and joyful.
We can look to the laity.

Are we settlers/nesters instead of questors/missionaries?
We have fewer in active ministry because of “nesting.”
Are we content to stay in our comfort zone?—No! I want to be a crier for justice!
I want to step out of the box. We need to restructure, refound, or else—we need to bring our experiences into our hearts.
Being set in our ways would make a choice in RRR very difficult, if not impossible.
Being set in our ways could be the end of the Congregation. Are we concentrating on negatives more than positives? The negatives tend to bring us down, not up. Due to age, lack of energy keeps us from being more involved.
Attitudes affect us, individually and ministerially.

Leadership Pool shrinking
Diminishing number of vocations.
Quality, not quantity is most important.
Efforts toward radical refounding could positively impact new vocations.
Growing religious diversity – How do we incarnate the Gospel message today?
There is an increasing involvement of laity.
We are less able to share communal responsibility due to our involvement in the workplace
curtailing time in community. Death to local community.

REFOUNDING

Summary of Table Responses—October 17 – 19, 2008 1. What surprises you about Refounding? • It is very radical; it is a transformation of consciousness; it is a letting
go of the familiar for new ways, looking with a new lens; it is constant conversion 5 • Can’t rush it—it has to evolve • We are running out of time. • It takes personal/communal conversion/reconciliation: will I/we take it to
heart? We need a different attitude to change, to give birth. 3 • My personal intuition (questioning) from past years has been “right on”! • It means LIFE or DEATH!!! 3 • Incremental change means SLOW DEATH! If I stay where I am, it means that
I am choosing a slow death. Have we just been making incremental change and not deep change?
As a community, we are used to starting slowly and if it does not work, we reverse the change. With deep change, we must let go completely.
We may be taking road to death and think we are taking road to life 3 • Not a simple, but a radical choice; calls for deep change,
won’t be easy, are we willing to commit to the time and serious work involved? 7 • How much and how deeply Refounding will affect religious life • Definition of Refounding has changed. • It’s a re-appropriation of the past, of the charism of JDM, and need to apply it
to 21st century. 5 • Refounding is not new—we have been changing all along in different ways. 2 • It is not reversible – it is a continual thrust to the new. 2 • Membership, not just leadership, must be involved • We are not alone on this journey—other communities are on it too, and there is pain. 2 • Didn’t realize experimentation and learning were linked with Refounding. This is not
what we have done in the past. We have turned inward.
This validated experimentation—it’s how we grow. 4 • The Holy Spirit is truly working and has inspired our community to look at Refounding • 10% of communities don’t survive refounding over 25 years. • We do not refound—God does. • The presentation of the 5 root causes of death. 2 • Is refounding the end product or the process? • Self-conversion comes before community conversion yet they are simultaneous
and interrelated. • The need to move from scarcity to abundance as related to believing and as a result seeing. • Nothing surprised me. 2. What disturbs you about Refounding? • Refounding starts with me, personal conversion and reconciliation. 3 • We must be willing to be committed to Refounding, embracing new ideas and a
change in attitude, personal and communal conversion.
We will have to move into the unknown and there is the fear that we will
not have the courage to go through this painful process of letting go.
This is radical Gospel living. 4 • This is the Paschal Mystery we are called to live; we are wrestling with
the forces of sin and grace. • We need the 100% effort of all; if we are not wholeheartedly sold on it,
it will be diluted and may not be effective. Can we do it wholeheartedly? 6 • Personal conversion is what I yearn for – yet it is what I resist the most. • A sense of fear that we are all at different places.
Disturbed that
Sisters are afraid of results. • We have a need for certainty: we are too slow to take a leap of faith. • A fear that there will be new forms of relationships, what does this mean? • Do we have the time in our lives to do all this and to do our ministry?
Our lives are out of balance. • I have to work harder as an elder at accepting change. As an elder,
it was confirmed that I was needed. • Am I willing to let go of the thought, “I am not going to be here, so
why worry?” • Things in the world are changing so fast; we will “never” be at a static
point even with refounding. • Refounding calls for irreversible change—we have to let go of the safe
and the secure to take on the new. It will take much trust—in God, in ourselves, in others. 3 • There is much resistance; we need to be able to balance refounding,
ministry, and community. 3 • Resistance is part of deep change. • Deep change is irreversible. • This is a long commitment/not an overnight remedy. • Do I (we) really want experimentation? We see the need, yet often lack
the courage to speak out. • Experimentation will create more “mess!” • How much experimentation can we do and still remain a religious community
and faithful to our charism? • All we have left is the name of our Congregation. We have changed a
nd continue to change, throwing out things. • I really saw our community
on the incremental change on Slide 1. 2 • The choices in Slide 1 “Deep or Incremental Change” seem too definite
and need a broadening in scope. • If we were ever to drop our past heritage in Refounding,
I would be greatly disturbed. We need an acceptable adaptation. • We may die even if we are working at Refounding. We want change,
but we resist it; there is a life and death dynamism—can we endure? • Refounding and reconfiguration go hand in hand—we cannot have one
without the other. • The word disturbs “disturbs” me. How about “concerns”? • Nothing is disturbing me. 3. What resonates for you and compels you to journey deeper into Refounding? • Refounding is a necessary part of GROWTH, it’s God-inspired, it’s a communal
journey… 3 • My vows mean I commit myself to serve LIFE, not death. 2 • Spiritual renewal changes us and those we minister to. • Refounding is life-giving, energizing us to move forward with renewed
faith, hope, and love and will ATTRACT others to join us. 2 • We must experiment in order to change, to grow, to refound; this is how
transformation happens. I have to change my focus to allow transformation of consciousness. 4 • We are impelled to look at experimentation to know more about new forms vof ministry and religious life and new empowering structures. • If we have an open will, open heart and attach our charism to our behavior,
there will be a re-appropriation of our charism in today’s world. 3 • We need to continue the charism in a broken world searching to be whole. • The on-going desire to grow and share God’s love. 2 • We must refound or we will die a slow death. We want the community to endure
the test of time. Yet, it is not about us—it is about God. • The willingness of leadership to jump into the unknown with CARE. • The fact that many of us see the need for change. • We need personal/communal reconciliation/conversion to pursue refounding. 3 • We need to commit to each other in relationship. • The journey of communal transformation will still be difficult after the
possibility of personal transformation, but it’s needed. 2 • Who are the prophets among us? Hearing the prophets among us spurs us on to
read and learn. Will we be a prophetic congregation of the future? 2 • Life and Death Dynamisms. It will be painful, yet we are called to experience
the Paschal Mystery, embracing the unknown and praying for the openness to free us to
accept and embrace journeying in unchartered waters. 2 • We must allow the Spirit to guide us and the community. • We must be rooted and radical; we need to let go of the past, yet remain
rooted in the charism of Jeanne De Matel. 2 • We must look at our abundance; Jesus shows us we have a lot to give in our
ministry. • We are amazed at this opportunity, it is much bigger than we thought,
conceived by a new consciousness. • Looking at special needs today, like autism, since we are in the classroom.
This is a direction to take. • Everything presented resonates with me.

 
Letter to Facilitators October 23,  2008
Dear  Sister  Facilitators:   Srs. Kathleen & Louise Marie,  Leonita & Lois Marie, Amata   
    & Digna, Evelyn & Mary Jean,  Emilie  & Francis Cabrini, Mildred & Liliane,  Ann &   
    Valerie,  Odilia & Mary Theresa,  Stephanie & Maureen,  Jacinta & Donna,


For purposes of planning our reflection retreat on reconfiguration scheduled
 for November 15, 2008, please schedule a CARE meeting with your group by or before  November 10, 2008.


Questions for use during this CARE meeting are attached.   Please, send in your group 
responses to these questions by Nov. 12  --  so leadership has them in time  to plan
Nov. 15.   
 The Nov. 15 retreat will be from 9:00 am – 3:00 pm.  


Other materials you will have available for this CARE discussion are:
•	Summaries of Sisters comments on Refounding,  Restructuring and Reconfiguration
 from our October 17-19, 2008 Assembly. (mailed)
•	Sisters’ notes from our last CARE meetings  (mailed)
•	Booklet on the three R’s
•	Notes you personally took at our October Assembly
•	Your own readings and reflections


Thank you for dedicating quality  time to our future.  

IWBS Leadership:

Sr. Evelyn	  Sr.  Emilie      	Sr. Amata	   Sr. Mildred	     Sr. Odilia

CARE GROUP RESPONSE PRECEDING 
THE NOVEMBER 15TH DISCERNMENT
Use back side if needed
Members of Group:
Process: Part I
A.	Please begin your time by checking in using the following question:
1.	How is your heart as you come to this time together?


2.	Where have you been in your personal discernment since the October Community
 Days (e.g., internal shifts, new insights, subsequent reactions, etc.)? 




3.	 What is your current leaning: To pursue the process of reconfiguring or to 
remain independent and pursue Refounding and our other Chapter directives.


4.	What is your primary reason why- for your leaning as indicated in #3? 
Be  concrete and specific.





5.(1)	What is one question (two max) that must be addressed at the November 15th 
day of communal discernment in order to ensure that we will make a wise and peaceful 	
decision?




6.(2)	How is each person leaving this time? What was one important discovering? 
How are you feeling about the time and the way you were with one another?