Dominican Sisters Conference
Elected leaders meet at Weber Center

By Sister Mary Sue Kennedy, OP

Weber Center in Adrian, Michigan was the site of a lively gathering of the Annual Assembly of Elected Leaders from the Dominican Sisters Conference Oct. 27–29. “Preaching from the Heart of Earth” was the central theme of this assembly. There were 74 participants from 16 Dominican congregations.

Sisters Linda Gibler, OP (Houston) and Carol Mayes, OP, prioress of the Dominican Sisters of Houston.

Sister Linda Gibler, OP, led the participants in a day of presentations and reflective time looking at “What Is Earth Asking of the Elected Leaders of the Order?” Her topics included: Earth as a source of Wisdom, creation as a book of divine revelation, praying with creation, diminishment through Earth’s perspective and preaching as if Earth mattered. This day spent with Linda was one of challenges and affirmation and, indeed, assisted all present to more clearly understand how “Preaching from the Heart of Earth” is essential to the life of being a Dominican.

Business was at the heart of the agenda for the second day which was facilitated by Sister Christine Matthews, OP. This included…

• Looking at the history of DSC in order to learn from it so that we may move together into the future;
• Looking at our Vision, Values and Viability as we continue to develop as a conference;
• Studying our finances;
• Viewing the plans for our Regional Gatherings; and
• Reviewing reports from our NGO/UN representative (Sister Margaret Mayce, OP), our North American DSI representative (Sister Rose Marie Riley, OP) and the North American Justice Promoter (Sister Lucianne Siers, OP).

All of this was interspersed with table and large group discussion.

An important part of each day was our prayer together, mealtime gatherings and socials each evening. The time together culminated in a liturgy with Carolyn Wolfbauer’s marvelous preaching.

The few days together were prayerful, productive with more than a bit of fun added. The leaders look forward to their next meeting to be held in San Antonio a year from now.

Sister Mary Sue Kennedy, OP (Adrian) is the executive director of the Dominican Sisters Conference. Photos by Sister Aneesah McNamee, OP (Adrian).