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UPCOMING MEETINGS
AND EVENTS
Congregational Leadership
December 4-5
January 8-9
General Commission
November 30 - December 1
St. Clare's, Tampa, FL
Chapter Planning Committee
January 18-19, 2019
St. Clare's, Tampa, FL
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Issue 6.21
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November 12, 2018
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Feast of St. Agnes of Assisi (November 16)
On November 16 we celebrate Agnes of Assisi. Agnes was the younger sister of Clare of Assisi. Agnes was the youngest daughter of Count Favorino Scifi and Countess Ortolana.
On March 18, 1212, Clare renounced her inheritance and family and joined Francis and the first brothers in living Franciscan gospel life. Since Clare could not live with Francis and the brothers, she went to the Benedictine cloister of St. Angelo in Panzo. There she lived as a servant of that community. Agnes joined her 16 days later.
Count Favorino sent armed men to carry Agnes away. She was badly beaten but was not taken back to her father because of the prayers and miraculous efforts of Clare.
Clare and Agnes eventually moved to San Damiano and were joined by other women. In 1219, Agnes was named abbess, and was sent to lead and guide the Poor Ladies at Monticelli, near Florence.
The second letter of John is especially appropriate as we celebrate the early Franciscan women, especially Agnes and Clare. "[Chosen Lady:] I rejoiced greatly to find some of your children walking in the truth just as we were commanded by our God. But now, Lady, I ask you, not as though I were writing a new commandment but the one we have had from the beginning: let us love one another. For this is love, that we walk according to God's commandments; this is the commandment, as you heard from the beginning, in which you should walk."
Let us continue to walk in the truth and the love of Christ our Light and Goodness!
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 National Religious Vocations Conference
By: Colleen Brady OSF
Over 300 Vocation Ministers and exhibitors gathered at the Adams Mark hotel in Buffalo on November 1 to listen, share, collaborate, and to be filled with a renewed sense of purpose and hope. As always, the speakers were inspiring and the liturgies creative, inclusive, and prayerful.
The first speaker was Fr. Kevin DiPrinzio, OSA, PhD, who spoke on "Encounter, Ministry at the Gate." This was presented in the context of Lectio Divina, thus engaging us in an opportunity for very deep, prayerful listening and sharing. What is the moment of encounter? What is the timing? How do we react to unplanned encounters? Can we see them as beautiful?
Vocation Ministers are the gateway to conversations around Gospel life and the individual's conversation with God. Our encounter is not simply a meeting. A true encounter requires something of us; we ask the inquirer to look at us (our congregation) and we must be authentic. All that we can promise is Jesus, and to walk with Jesus. It is about encountering Christ in the here and now - the real presence.
Another
keynote speaker
,
Dr. Hosffman Ospino, PhD, spoke on "
A Theology of Accompaniment: Call to Accompany in a Time of Paradigm Change." Dr.
Hosffman
addressed the emerging changes in today's Church. The first change is globalization and the fact that
the world is
now more connected than ever.
Another change is
the rise of the global south
and a shift in p
ower from the north to the south. Forty percent of all Catholics live in the
Southern Hemisphere
and in the next 50 years, Catholic intellectuals will come from the global South. Today, 85 percent of the population lives in an urban setting, giving rise to the demand for urban ministers. More than 200 million people are on the move, crossing borders because of their dire financial and social circumstances.
Individualism is affecting immigrant groups that bring community to faith. Culture wars are tearing our Church apart. How do we accompany
within
the current reality? We must shift
from the focus on the individual to embrace a deeper sense of community
. Many
B
lacks and Hispanics feel betrayed by their institutions. How can they be welcomed and made to feel a part of the community? We must affirm the many ways to encounter God. Where are we placing our efforts? We must begin to serve the
B
lack and Latino communities. The challenge now rests with us - how can we
, the
Franciscan Sisters of Allegany and Associates, offer support to the
Black and
Hispanic vocation ministry?
Sunday's presenter was Sister Xiomara Mendez Hernandez, OP, with the topic, "The Invitation: Mutual Encounter, Mutual Accompaniment." She challenged us to break out of the old power paradigms and to embrace cultural reconciliation. We need authentic religious life and programs to care for the individual. We need better balance between mission and relations; we must give in, let go, and let be. Communities need to be schools of compassion with formation processes that embrace tolerance, patience, transparency, and loving relationships. Sr. Xiomara called for cultural humility and radical respect, opening ourselves to mutual transformation with a more authentic way of being together. We are challenged to produce a "love aroma - a God aroma." Religious life needs to catch up with the reality of interculturality.
Sr. Mary Pellegrino, CSJ, former LCWR President, was the final keynote speaker with the topic, "Transformation in Religious Life; Reflections on Communion." God and one another are at the heart of our vocations. All vocations are one; we belong to all and we belong to one another. Our Church considers religious to be experts in communion. We witness and are architects of the plan for unity and are signs of union with God. We are communities of communal love, given wholly and fully to following Christ.
One of the highlights of our time together was a trip to Canisius College to hear a panel of six young people share their stories of faith and then to share in prayer and pizza. There was time for sharing dreams, seeking ways to collaborate and to encourage each other in the wonderful ministry of journeying with those who wish to discern their response to God's call to love.
To view videos of these talks and to listen to other audio from the conference, click here.
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News from Bolivia - Celebrating the Sacraments
From: Maria Miranda OSF and Elvira Donaldson OSF
Because the school year ends in Bolivia in early December many children,and adults celebrate the Sacraments of Baptism, Eucharist, Reconciliation, and Confirmation at that time.
After a year or more of preparation, the sisters in Pedregal have meetings on four or five Saturdays with the parents, Godparents, family members, and children. It takes a lot of effort to receive all the correct documentation for these sacraments because most
of the people come from rural areas and are not familiar with church requirements.
Finally, on three Sundays, we celebrated 11 Baptisms, 12 First Communions, and 5 Confirmations. One adult received First Communion and Confirmation in preparation for her upcoming marriage. The chapel was decorated with many beautiful flowers and we rejoiced with the people at each celebration. We pray that all the candidates and their families will continue to grow in faith.
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BayCare Quality Sharing Day
From: STAT News
Nearly 1,200 team members attended BayCare's 13th Annual Quality Sharing Day, October 9 at the Tampa Convention Center. The event received 2,000 live-stream views in addition to in-person attendance. This event celebrates BayCare's commitment to Quality and provides a venue for team members to highlight their innovations and performance improvements.
In an inspirational reflection, Sr. Mary McNally, Vice President of Mission, shared a story about how Chaplain Jason Palmer helped a dying patient reconcile with his estranged daughter, demonstrating how our extraordinary and compassionate care goes beyond the clinical treatments that we provide.
BayCare President and CEO, Tommy Inzina, opened the event by explaining the origin of BayCare's Quality Sharing Day.
"We began Quality Sharing Day 13 years ago as a way to celebrate and share the innovative work taking place across the system," he said. "Since then, 173 teams have presented their best practices and more than 900 storyboard exhibits have been on display."
The day included three feature presentations that highlighted an initiative to reduce the occurrence of contaminated urine specimens, a collaboration between departments that led to the development of a process that allows for safe discharge for low-risk chest pain patients, and the creation of BayCare's Medication Assistance Program.
Attendees also had the opportunity to attend 12 breakout sessions and visit more than 100 storyboards on Quality Initiatives across the system.
BayCare Senior Vice President and Chief Quality Officer, Teri Sholder, and Vice President of Clinical Excellence, Patrick Lytle, DO, presented the awards:
- Service Award: BayCare Ambulatory Services for eWoundCare: Virtual Wound Consults.
- Outcome Award: Winter Haven Hospital for Outpatient Evaluation for Low-Risk Chest Pain Patients.
- Cost Award: BayCare Physician Partners for Development, Implementation and Impact of the Post-Acute Care Team.
Two new awards were added this year:
- Extraordinary Team Award: Development and Implementation of a Health System Medication Assistance Program.
- Extraordinary Care Award: Managing Clinical Pathways Using Clarifire.
Keynote speaker John Foley wrapped up the day's sessions with an inspiring message. John is a former lead solo pilot of the Blue Angels, a Sloan Fellow at Stanford School of Business, a gratitude guru, and an expert in the "how" of high-performance teams. As a Blue Angel, he did some of the actual flying in the movie "Top Gun," from the carrier deck of the USS Enterprise.
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Update on Vatican Paper Questions on Economics and Finance
Submitted by: Gloria Oehl OSF
This paper calls for economic justice and protection for the most marginalized. It offers a detailed examination of conflicts between modern global financial practices and economic justice. While the document recognizes the need for efficiently functioning financial markets, it excoriates "predatory" financial behaviors, repeating Pope Francis' 2013 Apostolic Exhortation that: "Money must serve, not rule."
It laments the lack of adequate regulations imposed following the global financial crisis to "neutralize predatory and speculative tendencies." It expresses the view that: "Man is not in charge today, money is in charge, money rules...men and women are sacrificed to the idols of profit and consumption."
The document advocates more regulation to ensure ethical behavior in areas like executive bonus incentives, the operation of "offshore" financial bases, tax evasion and the outflow of capital from developing countries.
This document supports the work we are doing in corporate responsibility with our Tri-State Coalition for responsible investment and other faith-based organizations.
Source: Excerpt from CBIS (Christian Brothers Investment Services)
To read the full Vatican document, click here.
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New UN Climate Report Calls for Urgent Company Action
Taken from the Tri-State Coalition for Responsible Investment Newsletter
This month, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) published a special report on the predicted impacts of global temperature rise of more than 1.5°C in the next two to three decades. This report was called for by the Paris Agreement to help assess, prioritize, and clarify action needed to meet the goal of "limiting warming to two degrees or less." The report outlined consequences like Arctic ice melting, extreme heat, water scarcity, species loss, sea level rise, low crop yields, and frequent natural disasters. The severity of these repercussions and the urgency of the issue have called for radical, immediate transformation of an unprecedented scale. The IPCC urged for net zero emissions by 2040, eliminating nearly all coal usage, and adopting policies to speed the shift, such as a carbon tax.
In light of this report, Tri-CRI is reassessing its strategy on climate change and climate justice, noting the need for more urgent and aggressive action by companies. Recognizing we need to take every opportunity to speak out on the need to curb greenhouse gasses, using our faith and investor society voice, we submitted a public comment to denounce the Trump administration's proposal to roll back the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards. The CAFE standards were established under the Obama Administration to regulate vehicle emissions, fuel efficiency, and set targets to improve fuel economy year over year, reaching 54.5 mpg. Tri-CRI's comment states that the rollback would cause financial risk for automakers, push global temperature rise above 1.5°C, and pose serious health risks to vulnerable communities.
We are collaborating with ICCR members on our strategy in light of the IPCC's urgent report, to consider adjustments to the strategy, noting that investors have asked companies for disclosure and plans to limit warming to two degrees, rather than the 1.5 degrees this IPCC report makes clear is necessary. We will share opportunities for members to engage and welcome your participation in this process.
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From the Communications Office
By: Denise Bunk-Hatch, Communications Director
Happy November! Another Holiday season is upon us, and our schedules are becoming hectic. As a result of the timing of the Christmas and New Years holidays this year, there will be only one e-newsletter in December. This newsletter will be released on December 17, 2018. Normal publishing will resume in January. Thank you!
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Upcoming deadlines:
Submissions are not guaranteed publication. All submissions will be edited prior to inclusion,
and may be held for future use if deemed appropriate.
November 21, 2018 - Second November edition e-newsletter
December 1, 2018 - Winter Edition
Allegany Connections
December 12, 2018 - December edition e-newsletter
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