Discernment is a word that often makes me pause when I hear it because I wonder how it is one can be certain that whatever results from a discernment process is the right choice or path forward. Recently, I witnessed groups in Chicago and Houston engage in discernment for the selection of new co-coordinators and the experience has left me convinced of the direct influence of the Holy Spirit in the decision-making process. In an article for Loyola Press, Joe Paprocki writes that “Discernment is a time-honored practice in the Christian tradition. . . . Discernment is a decision-making process that honors the place of God's will in our lives.” These words impress upon us the serious nature of the process of discernment that leads us to follow God’s will thoughtfully and deliberately.
As Associates of the Society of the Sacred Heart, we have each had opportunities to discern our own calling to become an Associate. Each of us followed our own path to make the decision to make a commitment and through this decision, we have experienced alignment between our will and the will of God. As Associates, we are asked to consider our role in our local groups and to discern if we might be in a position to take on a leadership role as a co-coordinator. The co-coordinator role is an important one because the co-coordinator(s) is responsible for managing the schedule and programming for the local group and also maintaining direct and regular communication with the Associate Leadership Team.
For Chicago and Houston, their discernment process spanned several weeks with the final conversation and decision happening in a single meeting on a Sunday afternoon. In each group, the members had been praying about the process for several weeks before they met to move through the process. At the start of the meeting, the group was reminded of the responsibilities of the co-coordinators, followed by a prayer, and time for silent reflection before the facilitator invited nominations. In this discernment process sometimes members nominate others, but self-nomination is also acceptable.

For these two groups, others nominated potential co-coordinators and with each nomination, something was shared about the candidate. The sharing process was filled with love, respect, reverence, and a prayerful spirit. With each nomination, a few words were shared about the candidate to describe their ability to do the job with a pure heart. Some of these descriptors included the following traits: “a creative thinker,” “a great listener,” “a strong commitment to Sacred Heart values,” “a contemplative seeker,” “a centered presence,” “intelligent,” “deeply faithful,” and “organized.” In response to these deeply moving words, all of the nominees responded with humble gratitude and indicated their willingness to take on the important role as co-coordinator of the group for the coming term. These nominations were then shared with the Associate Leadership Team and the Provincial Team. Upon acceptance of the nominations, we gratefully and prayerfully welcome the following people to serve as new co-coordinators:
Chicago: Catherine Kestler, Katie Roeck, Jody Stawicki
Houston: Kira Dodd