Update from the Dominican Sisters Futuring Leadership Team

Dear Dominicans,

The Omicron surge has loosened its hold, and all of us are looking forward to the post pandemic era.  We have experienced the truth of being “one body in Christ” in a very real way, sharing in one another’s suffering, and waiting together in hope for return of brighter days.  In late January, the Futuring Leadership Team (FLT) met to pray, to share glimpses into the reality of our lives, and to consider a plan for engaging the whole Cohort in boldly and thoughtfully entering the general futuring conversation. 

The Database project is moving forward faster than any of us imagined. We are finalizing the fields this month and will work on the design of the dashboard and layout of individual Sisters’ pages next month. A survey was sent to ascertain what applications members are currently paying to use and if there is interest in purchasing a group license for the whole Cohort. Analysis of the results showed significant interest (55%) in a group license for a Zoom account.  About 25% were interested in group licenses for Adobe Pro, Adobe Photoshop, and Dropbox.  

Members of the Cohort who were interested in joining an affinity group, met Feb 15th for an “Open Space” night.  Nine sets of conveners floated their ideas and gathered those interested to set a direction. Energy emulated from the conversations and clarity emerged for the direction of each group.  A common desire for authentic Dominican life and mission permeated each of the topics. For Cohort members who were not able to attend but want to join a group, the conveners will be sending out invitations to the entire cohort to join their next meeting.  We look forward to seeing how this evolves and where it may lead in our futuring efforts. 

Please add futuring_dominicans@googlegroups.com to your contact list so emails do not go to spam. When a particular place or issue is calling for an inter-congregational response, all are encouraged to communicate it using this group email.  The FLT plans to develop a private page on the DSC website where creative new opportunities can be promoted, and affinity groups that are ongoing can report on their progress. Look for more about that in future updates.

Peace and blessings,

Sisters Pat Magee (Hope), Lorraine Reaume (Adrian), Kathleen Tait (Springfield), Mai-dung Nguyen (Peace), Donna Moses (Mission San Jose), and Carol Dempsey (Caldwell)