December 2018

At the invitation of a Giving Voice friend, Sister Julia Walsh, I spent my annual retreat at Marywood Franciscan Spirituality Center located in the Northwoods of Wisconsin. How fitting to spend part of my time in Advent winter solitude reflecting on my time as a Giving Voice Core Team Member. I began my time on the core team 2 months after I took final vows in 2013, and during that time I have served with 13 different sisters from 12 different communities.

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.

Giving Voice has been so excited by the fantastic Leadership Initiatives Scholarship applications we’ve received since we opened up the scholarship this summer.
This month we’re highlighting Sister Luz, CCVI, who is using the Giving Voice scholarship to learn English.

As we plan and prepare for our National Gathering in June 2019, we are interested in hearing the wisdom from our elder Sisters. Your insights will enable our members to listen ever more deeply to the Spirit's call for religious life in this time.