March 2019

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News from the United States-Canada Associates

Discernment: A process for Decision Making

by Angela Scott '89 (Grand Coteau)
(Photography by Lori Wilson)
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
United States-Canada Associates Leadership Team
Seated -
Jan Dunn, RSCJ; MaryKay Hunyady, RSCJ; Kristi Laughlin
Back row - Angela Scott; Lori Wilson; Peggy Gorman; Sergio Vasquez
Imagine, Create, Inspire - by Peggy Gorman
(Artwork by Bridget Bearss, RSCJ)

The dream catcher process has been an exercise for the USC Associate leadership team and a group of women internationally to collaborate, to awaken all of our potential, to be people of wisdom and people who dare to be bold in dreaming a future centered in the charism and spirituality of the Society.

We see a future where we embrace our differences and share our giftedness. We recognize the challenges posed by borders, language, culture and politics, and we seek ways to be part of intercultural discussions, active partners in mission, to be connected through technology with virtual groups, and when possible face to face.

We dream of plumbing the depths of lay involvement, of world wide associate groups, of having a deep down unity and harvesting the wisdom of the elders.

We recognize that we cannot know with certainty the road ahead but we can walk the road together, leaning on one another as members of the Sacred Heart family.

Together we dream, discover and are One Body.
Associates of the Society of the Sacred Heart

Our new website has been launched.
Thank you to Dawn Stringfield and Sergio Vasquez for their work on it!

Prayer is an essential component of living out our commitment as Associates. It is like the animating agent that keeps Love pumping within the family of God’s Heart. Whether organized or organic, prayer keeps us connected to one another and the world around us. I was struck at a previous Spirituality Forum, early on in my work with the Society of the Sacred Heart by the depth of prayer that the Religious of the Sacred Heart model for so many of us. As we shared in our small groups, a retired RSCJ spoke with our group that her commitment to prayer was so necessary in her spiritual life that she would rise at 4:30am each morning in order to spend a couple of hours in conversation with God. Prayer for her was taking time in the morning to “check in” with God before starting her day. Our new Associates’ website provides a way for us to check in with one another with God, using technology to “post” and share prayer requests. You can visit the Prayer Request page by clicking HERE . The site is easy to use and includes a brief video tutorial with instructions on how to add your own prayers or respond to prayers posted to the Prayer Board. We encourage everyone to check this virtual Prayer Board often and especially to pray for these requests each FRIDAY at noon, animating and connecting us to God and one another in this expression of Love.