Giving Voice Sisters bring Circle Training & Two Loops Model to Religious Formation Conference

For the past several years, Giving Voice has been on the forefront of engaging with the critical questions facing religious life and our greater society. Among the tools and ideas sisters have found life-giving and successful are the The Circle Way of hosting non-hierarchical conversations and meetings, and the Two Loops Model which presents a model to explore how systems change.

This past fall, Religious Formation Conference Region 2 Inter-community Formation group invited Sisters Vicki Woulle, CSA and Jessi Beck, PBVM to facilitate a gathering focused on using these tools for growth.

“We used the Two Loops Model of System Change to reflect on how religious life is changing and which role each person sees themselves stepping into at this time,” said Jessi Beck, PBVM.

The weekend was attended by about 20 new members at every stage of formation (candidacy through vows) as well as their formation directors, as a part of their ongoing inter-community formation which gathers several times each year.

“Inviting us all in The Circle Way process, while introducing themselves, gave me an appreciation on how Giving Voice sisters engage thoughtfully with one another. This gave me such great hope for the future of religious life in our church,” said Sister Maco Cassetta, CND, a member of the Congregation of Notre Dame, who attended the meeting.

Sister Mary Kate, a SS.C.M. Novice, said that she appreciated learning too about the network of younger sisters. “What I took away from the Inter-Community Novitiate weekend with Giving Voice was a wonderful history of how Giving Voice was founded, how they pray together using The Circle Way, and how Giving Voice offers much more than just a platform for younger Sisters who are under 50 to find connections,” she said.