Photo of the Week

December 20, 2024

CALDWELL YOUNG ADULTS MEET

The Caldwell Young Adults gathered in December for their monthly meeting, starting the evening with social time over a light supper. They came together for prayer and watched the first week of Advent Reflections with Bishop Cozzens, reflecting on the theme of hope. To spread Christmas cheer, the group wrote personal notes on Christmas cards for the residents of St. Catherine’s Healthcare and Convent.

As a parting Christmas gift, each young adult received a packet containing Dominican Saints holy cards and a booklet titled Preachers of the Word, which highlights the history, sponsored works, and corporate stances of the Dominican Sisters of Caldwell. The group looks forward to their next gathering in January.

October 14, 2024

2024 DSC Elected Leaders Meeting More than Ninety elected leaders and guests gathered in Columbus, Ohio to unpack the meaning behind the theme “Preachers for Times Such as These!”.

There was a fruitful unfolding of conversation between all who attended, focusing on the question “what will it take to open ourselves to a new and deeper communion that God is calling us to co-create resulting in a flourishing Dominican life and mission? Our facilitator Sue Weber lead us in a process of Emergent Learning, which helped us to recognize how our past influences our future.

In her address, our DSC Executive Director, Xiomara Méndez Hernández OP, urged our leaders to make a “Preferential option for Relationship… We are called to be “ Dominican Preachers for Times such as These.” To fail to act is to miss our historical cues and to fade away from our Dominican family and Charism. At this critical moment in time, we are being invited to gather our strength to become what we are meant to be in God’s plan.” She continued, “As leaders, we are in a place of significant potential for the Church and our Dominican Family history. We are being called to move from a restricted view of possibilities to become women leaders testing the limits of what we can do and be. We are on a journey of deliverance with grit and decisiveness.” Her hope for us, Dominican Preachers, is to live hopeful and joy-full, wise and courageous for Times Such as These!

The movement of the Spirit among us was palpable resulting in breaking open conversations toward continuing to be agents of change and transformation for times such as these. The gathering helped sisters understand that we are each one small expression of a much larger charism.

We also celebrated the transition of leadership on the DSC Executive Committee. We are immensly grateful for the leadership of Anne Lythgoe and Terry Rickard. We welcomed Megan McElroy and Irene Ellis as new members to the Executive Committee.

Each day was grounded in prayer and began with inspiring preaching, rich music and spirited joy. We concluded our time together with a celebratory liturgy and banquet.

Thank you to the Visioning and Planning Committee, facilitator Sue Weber, and all who attended that made the event another great experience of Dominican collaboration.

May 7, 2024

DSC Executive Committee sets plans in motion for October Leaders Meeting and Larger Gathering in 2025

The Dominican Sisters Conference (DSC) Executive Committee met in-person in Miami, FL recently. Sr. Xiomara Méndez Hernández, OP (Adrian) the Executive Director welcomed the committee to the DSC offices on the campus of Barry University. They also enjoyed the generous hospitality and delicious dinners of her Adrian community. Here are some important highlights of the 3-day meeting,

It’s all about future vitality

In addition to receiving regular reports and some communal study, the committee gave a great deal of focus to how DSC congregations are addressing their present realities and asking very significant questions about their future as congregations. Like most communities of women religious in the United States, Dominicans are facing the same challenges of diminished capacity, older and fewer members, the prospect of not having enough capable and available leadership for the future, or an adequate number of sisters to hold a General Chapter. Most importantly, the Executive Committee is committed to putting the vitality of Dominican life and mission at the center of their attention.

Almost all DSC congregations are already involved in some form of movement toward new governance structures. Two groups make up 74% of the DSC: in the East, the Dominican Sisters in Committed Collaboration (OPSCC), and the Dominican Governance Collaborative (DGC) encompassing congregations in the Midwest and West.

“I came away from our committee meeting, excited about the possibilities we have now to move in the direction of a new common purpose”, said DSC President, Sr. Anne Lythgoe, OP (Peace). “We all agreed this is the moment to capture our energies and pool them into some new convergence, some new way in which the DSC congregations can be something new together. Our hope for October is that it be a stepping stone towards a larger gathering in 2025 where sisters across the US can encounter one another and contribute their fire to the future and move in a new way together.”

The committee discussed some recent work by the Future Leadership Team (FLT) Future Pathways working group, who is developing possible future models for governance structures. Those models were shared with the Future Cohort and the DSC leaders in April and May.

Launching a plan for 2025

To actualize the Executive Committee’s goals for new vitality and new ways of being together, they met with a newly named Visioning/Planning Committee (VPC). This committee will take the lead on how the DSC leaders meeting in October and how the 2025 gathering will be a transformative moment in our history.

“This is a very important and exciting time in the history of Religious Life. For us Dominicans, we are being presented with a great opportunity to look deeply into our present to be able to dream and work together toward a collective vibrant future,” said Sr. Xiomara. “The Spirit is calling and moving us to bring our hopes and prophetic voices together to embrace our realities and to envision how can we continue to preach truth with renewed passion.” The VPC is designing a process that will invite the emerging movements among the DSC congregations to discern together: What is the new and deeper union that God is creating and calling us to that will result in a flourishing Dominican Life and Mission?

The members of the Visioning Committee include Srs. Colleen Mary Mallon, OP (Mission San Jose), Corinne Sanders, OP (Adrian), Linda Gibler, OP (Houston), Pat Twohill, OP (Peace), Peggy McVetty, OP (Amityville), Rebecca Ann Gemma, OP (Springfield) along with Cheryl Liske, OP (Adrian/DSC Executive Committee Liaison), Terry Rickard, OP (Blauvelt/DSC Executive Committee Liaison), and Xiomara Méndez Hernández (Adrian/DSC Executive Director). Our facilitator is Sue Weber.

Engagement of everyone

In the coming months, each congregation will be offered a video presentation and process on some “baseline” information about the emerging movements within the DSC.

Stay tuned…

Present at the meeting were Executive Committee members: Srs. Anne Lythgoe, OP (Peace/President of the EC), Cheryl Liske, OP (Adrian), Kathleen Tuite, OP (Caldwell/Secretary), Pat Stringer, OP (Caldwell/Treasurer), Terry Rickard, OP (Blauvelt/ Vice- President of the EC), Veronica Esparza Ramirez, OP (Mission San Jose), as well as Dusty Farnan, OP (Adrian/DLC NGO Representative), Lisa Kane, OP (Racine/ Associate Director for Futuring) and Xiomara Méndez-Hernández, OP (Adrian/DSC Executive Director).

November 21, 2023

Reflections from the Desert

“Holistic Accompaniment is about seeing the person as a whole person. We want them to feel seen as an individual, to feel valued. We want them to know their worth.”
– Sr. Josefina “Pina” Bejarano Padilla, M.E. KBI’s Shelter Coordinator

*Sr. Judy (second from the left) with the five Sisters and their education and advocacy director, Tracey*

Sr. Judy Lu McDonnell served as a volunteer at the U.S.-Mexican border in Nogales, Sonora, Mexico for the month of September as part of the “Sisters Walking with Migrants” Kino Border Initiative—a binational, inclusive Roman Catholic organization created in 2008. This initiative was inspired by the spirituality of the Jesuits and a community of Mexican Sisters, the Missionaries of the Eucharist, and for Sr. Judy Lu, it was an opportunity to “be with, accompany, and listen to migrants share stories on their particular journeys to freedom, justice, and a sense of wholeness with some chances of making them laugh.”

The Kino Border Initiative (KBI) operates out of “both Nogales”, across the border from each other in Arizona and Sonora, Mexico. The vision of KBI is migration with dignity. The Mission is to promote humane, just, and workable migration. The services provided to migrants are the following: meals and clothing, counseling with a social worker, psychological counseling, medical assistance, immigration legal orientation, and referrals to immigration attorneys. KBI also provides temporary shelter for up to eighty people at a time, especially families with small children and pregnant women.

Sr. Judy Lu and four other Sister volunteers were given and in-depth orientation on the local reality and the migrant reality, which included a day-long excursion in the blazing sun in the Ari-zona desert, walking a path well-traveled by immigrants heading north. That experience, as well as a walk along the 30-foot high border wall topped with razor wire, emphasized the reason so many migrants cross the border in open, dangerous areas. With their hearts filled with sorrow, anger, and empathy, the newly bonded Sister team began four weeks of communicating in Spanish, preparing and serving meals, along with the kitchen staff and local volunteers, for 300 or more guests morning and afternoon. One essential learned skill was stirring scrambled eggs in a pan so large the spoon was the size of a paddle for a kayak! The Sisters suffered a few cuts and burns and learned to dance and joke and laugh while working with the dedicated staff.

Afternoon duties included meeting with the migrants shortly after their arrival to obtain biographical information that was entered into a database as a way of registering the guests and determining their immediate needs.

Sr. Judy Lu believes that asylum bans and walls are not the answer to these tragic human situations that cause massive migrations. The U.S. must focus on support for democratic governments and on efforts to rid countries of marauding gangs. In addition, the U.S. government should prohibit U.S. corporations from exploiting the people of other countries through unfair labor practices, usurping native lands, and polluting local rivers in the exploitation of local resources. These would be the just means of decreasing the migrant flow to the north. Many migrants have expressed that they would want to stay in their home countries if they could feel safe there and earn a living wage.

On a final note, Sr. Judy Lu expressed her “gratitude to the staff and many local volunteers at KINO Border Initiative who serve several hundred people daily, 24/7! They work tirelessly with love, dedication and joy and has been an inspiration to me. They were my teachers and mentors and are now my friends. I am also grateful to the Hilton Foundation for sponsoring this past month of Sisters Walking With Migrants.”

August 15, 2023

Dominican Women Explore Future Together

About 130 Dominican Sisters from 17 different U.S.-based congregations gathered in Columbus at Ohio Dominican University from July 27-30, 2023, to explore new ways of engaging their future together. Eleven participants attended virtually.

The group included women from the Philippines, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Trinidad and Tobago, and the United States. Sisters, all under 70 years of age, ranged from those beginning their novitiate to those who have been members for decades. Clearly evident among all was a passion to preach the Gospel message that brings life to the world through their lives and actions.

“Together, the Sisters created a brave space nurtured by their rich diversity. As Dominican Women, they dared to speak the truth that was burning in their hearts and minds. Dreaming and finding pathways to “Creating our Future Today” in concrete ways and with radical hope,” said DSC Director Xiomara Méndez Hernández, OP.

Sisters attending the encuentro, “Creating our Future Today,” explored ways to support vowed Dominican life into the future with new ways of collaborating and relating. Participants have been preparing for this gathering for the past year through regular virtual gatherings.

Throughout the year, Sisters have been engaged in a process of Contemplative Inquiry facilitated by Sherryl White, CSJ. Drawing upon the strengths of communal dialogue, Sisters have been taking the time to examine foundational Dominican values, consider their existing realities, and risk the challenge of imagining preferred futures. Grounded in these shared conversations, they came prepared to define more clearly their role in advancing the Dominican mission into the future.

The foundational questions that guided their deliberations were: (a) What role can we play in evolving Dominican life/mission to meet the needs of the future? and (b) What can we do better together than alone?

As a result of communal discernment that included prayer, discussion, and personal reflection on the two foundational questions, Sisters surfaced the following areas of engagement and worked to identify beginning courses of action:

Dominican Spirituality and Theological Formation: update for 21st century
Creation/Climate Change: see with the eyes of Earth
Cross Cultural Competency Skills / Interculturality: address conflict through the Pascal Mystery
Unifying Models of Organization: form a task force to study and lead DSC into discernment
Vocations: collaborate more and share the workload and presence for greater witness
Youth: make a preferential option for the young and build on existing efforts for outreach
Bridging Polarization: work on a process with restorative practice

Next steps include calling on volunteers to plan and implement actions, establishing a timeline for unifying models of organization, refining the recommendations with sub-committees, sharing them with the whole cohort in the fall zoom session and presenting progress in motion to the Dominican Sisters Conference Annual Leaders Meeting in October.

Click here to view photos from the Gathering.