‘Futuring Dominican Charism for Mission, Sisters and Lay Partners Together’

Dominican Sisters and lay partners from the 18 DSC Congregations in the US and the Dominican Sisters and their lay partners in Zimbabwe, Zambia and Kenya have engaged these past 9 months in our Dominican Sisters International Futuring OP Charism planning project supported by the GHR Foundation.  We extend special thanks to all who have participated in this significant project opening up new paths for our collaboration and growth!

The unfolding process has involved:

Gathering study material

A. The creation of Snapshots captured key statistical information of each US congregation and each region in Africa.
B. The hopes and dreams of sisters and lay partners emerged through response to the Futuring Questions.

Engaging the information

C. Eighty-five Reflection Circles involving 604 sisters and lay partners in the US and Africa participated in discussion of the study material and identification of areas calling for shared action.
D. The report of each Reflection Circle was studied and synthesized using the SWOT (Strength, Weakness, Opportunity, Threat) framework.

Discerning the path forward

E. Five regional Discernment Circles were formed in the US involving a sister, lay partner and newer member from each participating congregation. One Discernment Circle in Africa is bringing together sisters from the 3 countries.
F. The 52 US Discernment participants are studying the Reflection Circles material and are charged with identifying what they believe are important areas/actions to include in the Implementation Plan.

Developing the Implementation Plan

G. May 8 – 10 the US Visioning Team, composed of 19 Dominican Sisters and lay partners will gather in Columbus, Ohio to develop a draft of the Implementation Plan focusing on actions to strengthen collaboration among US OP DSC congregations and collaboration with our Sisters and their lay partners in Africa.
H. In April the Dominicans in Zimbabwe, Zambia and Kenya will gather to develop their draft of the Implementation Plan to strengthen their collaboration in Africa and collaboration with our US OP DSC congregations and lay partners.
I. May 28 – June 1st the International Coordinating Council will meet in London to study the Implementation Plans and finalize the direction for our future collaboration.

We encourage you to explore the emerging insights and direction from this planning work by visiting our website https://opfuturingproject.org. The password for the study materials is OPfuturing2017
 
We count on your prayer for the Spirit’s guidance as we work together to create a shared future full of hope!   

The US Planning Team:  Sisters Carla Kovack, Dusty Farnan, Gene Poore, Gloria Marie Jones, Jenn Schaaf, Pat Twohill and Rita Cutarelli. – March 6, 2018