August 2017

In religious life, leadership has a very specific understanding. It is the name we give those few sisters who have been elected to make decisions on behalf of the whole. We can no longer afford for this to be our understanding. 

Leadership for our world and for religious life cannot wait for an election, a time or a term. It must move from decision-making to invitation and collaboration. Leadership cannot be a job for a few but a mandate for us all.

Almost a month ago I and about 20 others attended our first Giving Voice National Gathering.  The topic of the conference was very promising as it was one very relevant to my formation as a “young” sister.  As I pulled into the parking lot at Iona College, I felt anxious about who I would meet and the discussions that would take place. Little did I know that my attendance at the National Gathering would energize me, grant me new insights, and allow me to meet a dynamic group of women whom I am proud to call sisters!

Several Giving Voice participants have been working on writing a collaborative book of essays on religious life. The book, In Our Own Words: Religious Life in a Changing World, is now available for pre-order via Liturgical Press and on Amazon.

We are excited to partner with the National Religious Vocation Conference (NRVC), Communicators for Women Religious (CWR), the Center for the Study of Consecrated Life at Catholic Theological Union, and the National Catholic Sisters Project (NCSP) to offer a presence at this year’s LCWR assembly.