1 Good Shepherd News Congregation of Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd GSN 282/ April May2015 The 30th Congregational Chapter of the Sisters The Congregational Chapter of Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd will Const. No. 116 be held from June 7—July 2, 2015, in Angers, France. The congregational chapter is a collegial as- The theme is “Energized by the Spirit, we risk to- sembly and the highest authority within the gether for mission.” The Congregational Assem- congregation. Representative of the congrega- bly for Contemplative Sisters and the Interconti- tion, it is a sign of unity and an expression of nental Assemblies were held in different regions the participation and interest of all the mem- to prepare for the 2015 Congregational Chapter. bers in the progress of our mission. It is a spir- There will be a total of 131 participants with ex- itual event, a time of corporate reflection and officio members, elected apostolic and contem- conversion. By promoting renewal in the spirit plative delegates from the various units, resource of our charism, the chapter safeguards our her- persons, invited guests including Mission Part- itage and is a source of life and inspiration for ners and representatives of Temporary Pro- the entire congregation. fessed Sisters from each region. The ex-officio members are composed of the Congregational The congregational leader, the apostolic and Leadership Team and the province leaders of the contemplative councils are elected during the congregation. congregational chapter. The chapter examines reports on the affairs of the congregation, the During the Chapter, Sr. Brigid Lawlor, Congrega- directions that have been submitted by congre- tional Leader, and the Congregational Leadership gational assemblies, province chapters, and Team (CLT) will present their 2009-2015 Re- also those that may be sent by local assemblies port. and individual sisters. It addresses issues of Reports will also be presented by the Congrega- general concern and decides directions for the tional Treasurer, Mission Development Of- entire congregation. fice, Justice and Peace Office, Congregational Spirituality Centre and the Mother House. Congregational Chapter Website The green banner above will be posted on the Homepage of the Congregational web- site a few days before the Chapter to indicate the new site where the updates will be available. Be informed! Be connected! Be in global solidarity! 1 2 Leadership Session for Unit Leadership Teams of North America April 9-20, 2015 The Leadership Session for the Leadership Teams of the Provinces of Central South Unit- ed States, Mid-North America. Montreal, New York, and Toronto began in Carrollton, Ohio, United States, on April 9. The participants arrived throughout the previous day and were warmly welcomed by our Sisters in the Carrollton Community in Ohio. The warmth and hospitality of our Sisters here have been extraordinary and their attention to every detail, remarkable. On our first full day to- gether we were welcomed by Sr. Brigid Law- lor, who also introduced Srs. Elaine Basinger and Susan Chia, the leaders of the session. In her opening welcome Sr. Brigid described our time together as an Emmaus moment, Participants at the Leadership Session for Unit inviting us to journey with one another in the Leadership Teams of North America middle space of what is our NOW moment – called to be leaders in this time between death and resurrection, seeking God’s pres- WHAT IS INSIDE ence with us, energized by the blessings of the call of the Spirit. In the Sacred Space that was created around the centerpiece we 30th Congregational Chapter opens June 7, 2015 shared together our desire for open hearts Mother House, Angers, France and minds and an appreciation of the truth Page 1 each of us held. Leadership Session for Unit Leadership Teams of North America April 9-20, 2015 As the day progressed we expressed our Good Shepherd Early Childhood hopes of developing a more relational style of Education Centre leadership, increasing our collaborative op- Pages 2-4 portunities with our Mission Partners, and Business Leadership to End Human Trafficking and keeping our focus on the mission of Jesus – Modern Day Slavery— North east Asia Page 5 that is ours. On the following day, we met to- Taking daring steps - Sri Lanka/ Pakistan gether in our individual teams to share on the Page 6 experience of how our team was evolving in The Group “ Solidarity with Women” our leadership role and in our experience of will represent Spain at UNESCO one another. We focused on this time in our Page 7-8 journey as an “in between time” which is not Province Reflection - Commitment to Justice unlike a Holy Saturday experience in which Spirituality - Peru we wait amidst the chaos and shifting move- Ceremony of Recognition and Placement of Names in ments for the transforming moment in our The “WEEPING EYE” Memorial -Peru lives, the Holy Ground moment, where we Page 9 -10 wait for the revelation of Jesus in our midst. In Nepal, Catholics reach out to remote areas devastated by quake - by Melanie Lidman We ended our day by designing a ritual using Page 11 water and a basin that expressed the experi- Good Shepherd Malaysia speaking on behalf of refu- ence of our team in our call to discipleship. gees stranded in boats with no food or water! Meet the new board of Mission Development Office Page 12-14 2 3 Leadership Session for Unit Leadership Teams of North America April 9-20, 2015 Leadership Team from Province of Central Canada French Sector sharing thoughts, Interprovince conversations about Jesus’ South U.S. dialogue about changing the hopes, experiences. call to go beyond the margins. culture of leadership. Development Office sent by Cristina Duranti who was unable to attend. They offered a comprehensive over- view of the ministry of the Office, pointing to the gradual shift that has been made from the organization’s initial purpose and function as being simply a fund-raising agent to growing into its wider aspect of Mission devel- opment aimed at addressing the global realities challeng- ing the Congregation today. Sr. Noreen O’Shea later described the progress made in the Spirituality Centre, the plans for its future, and the current status of the Heritage Museum and the Heritage On April 14 Sr. Winifred Doherty, the committee. She portrayed the work of the Spirituality N.G.O. in our New York Justice and Centre as having an increasingly outward focus offering a Peace Office, and Sr. Noreen O’Shea, the variety of retreats and workshops as well as employing Director of our Spirituality Centre in the use of various forms of communication (translations, Angers arrived here in Carrollton. technology, videos, etc.) to make the message of the Cen- They were warmly welcomed as partic- tre more widely accessible - even to “taking it on the ipants looked forward to being with road.” them and to hearing their presenta- tions. Sr. Winifred Doherty described the Transformative Approach to our mis- sion of Social Justice and Peace - having a One World vision and leaving no one behind. The hope was to continue working to end worldwide poverty, transform all lives, and protect the planet. Winifred stated she found in the United Nations a “Gospel Space” where we can work together toward achieving this worldwide transforma- tive agenda of empowering all people. Some of the Contemplative Participants: Srs. Regina McHugh Sisters Susan Chia and Elaine Basinger (New York), Sharon Rose Authorson, Beverly Hedgecoth and shared the presentation on the Mission Maureen Johnson (Mid-North America) with Teresa Pomar (CLT) 3 4 Leadership Session for Unit Leadership Teams of North America April 9-20, 2015 our Spirituality, Social Justice The overall response to the in- and Peace, and Mission Devel- formation we received was one opment into all of our Vocation of enthusiastic acceptance of and Formation Programs for the challenge for all of us - Sis- our Sisters and Mission Part- ters and Mission Partners – to ners. The desire and commit- continue to share and strength- ment to collaborate in various en the integration of our Spirit- areas of our life and ministry as uality, Social Justice and Peace, a means of making the best use and Mission Development to of our resources for the benefit support Good Shepherd mis- of all those with whom Jesus sion and life into the future. calls us to journey in our world There was also a greater identi- was embraced. fication and commitment to the Right: Susan Chia, CLT, inviting We began our sessions viewing reflection on the Centerpiece. desire and need to find ways to the experience as an Emmaus share our resources across all journey, knowing we were of North America. Affirmation where we were meant to be but for the formation of a “Circle unaware of where the journey for Life” group for the Contem- might lead us. However, as we platives in North America was continued together, the veil also expressed. The inclusion of that made our path unclear - as Mission Partners in all of our it had for the disciples - dis- efforts was viewed as an essen- solved. Like them we recog- tial part of these movements. nized the Lord in our midst. “It is the Lord!” Now we go forth We spent the final days of our in joy and solidarity, as one. time together identifying the Gilda Fernando and Called to a prophetic disciple- global trends in society and Yolanda Martinez ship, we follow the path the how they challenge us to re- Shepherd has set before us and spond to our mission. Once - WE REJOICE! again, there was a general affir- Mary Thomas More Fahey mation for the call to integrate GOOD SHEPHERD EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION CENTER We, Sisters of the Good Shepherd, are in mission in Abreu e Lima, in the state of Pernambuco, District of Fosfato.