A new springtime in vocation ministry
A new springtime in vocation ministry
RELIGIOUS LIFE IN THE UNITED STATES is not a single reality. Like other large and evolving institutions, religious life in its many forms in this large nation bears witness to multiple realities all at the same time. Currently in the U.S. the church is bidding farewell to some religious institutes, but simultaneously new men and women are beginning formation in other institutes. In fact 2016 saw an uptick in both those beginning formation as well as in those taking final vows.
and sometimes even in spite of our lack of innovation and creativity. The preparatory document for the 2018 synod of bishops (Young People, Faith and Vocational Discernment) encourages those in vocation accompaniment to go “beyond a preconceived framework, encountering young people where they are, adapting to their times and pace of life and taking them seriously.”
Every community, the document declares, must boldly find “creative ways of addressing young people in a personal way” and avoid the trap of “stifling what is new” with a “closed and complacent pastoral attitude that says: ‘We have always done it this way.’”
My experience in vocation ministry has largely been with my own community, the Congregation of the Sisters of Divine Providence of Texas (CDP), and we are seeing an unexpected surge in serious discerners, applicants, and entrants after undergoing a significant vocational fallow time. Our initial formation group now consists of three annual professed sisters, two novices, one pre-novice, and three affiliates with action plans moving them toward entrance.
Our youngest new member is a 26-year-old novice; the oldest is a 42-year-old affiliate. The vocation team consistently works with five to seven additional serious inquirers. Perhaps even more striking is that all eight women who have professed vows over the last 10 years remain in the congregation. That constitutes an almost unheard of 100 percent retention rate. So how do we explain it?
A national expert in contemporary religious life once said, “I don’t get it. You don’t fit the profile of a congregation attracting vocations.” Let’s look at some of the ways we don’t seem to the fit the norm for the type of community that is receiving new members.
“You are too old.” Our median age is 81.5. “You are too small.” We currently have 133 sisters. “You are not international.” We have a small Mexico region and several international sisters from other religious institutes who study and live with us, but our professed sisters primarily live and minister in informal hubs within a two state radius.
Our congregation generously supports and actively encourages vocation ministry.
The list continued: “You are an underfunded group with limited resources for vocation outreach.” Despite our limited resources, we still made some decisions that have been helpful. Our congregation generously supports and actively encourages vocation ministry. Leadership had the foresight to maintain full-time vocation and formation positions during the vocationally lean years. As a result, we were updated and ready to receive women when they did come. Use of social media, creative and innovative thinking on the part of the New Membership Team, and collaboration with associates, local religious congregations, and national organizations, such as the National Religious Vocation Conference, National Catholic Sisters Week, and SisterStory have created dynamic and expansive forms of outreach and follow-up that do not over-extend our budget.
“You are not visible.” We have diverse expressions of community life and prayer; our apparel is inconspicuous; and our ministerial presence is collaborative. This is our blessing and gift to the church. Instead of focusing on visibility as an issue, we simply tell others we are women of Providence hidden in Christ among the people.
“You don’t have new transfer sisters.” Honesty with ourselves and others is essential. We are open to transfer sisters and do desire congregational growth, but we guard against becoming a safety net for sisters seeking respite from hard personal and congregational issues. Deep conversations with women seeking a transfer have not indicated a God-inspired call to receive them. Rather the conversations have powerfully affirmed that these women do see something happening in our congregation that they long for in their own groups.
In spite of all the ways our community does not meet the contemporary profile, we are receiving younger entrants. We work to foster the developmental, interpersonal, and spiritual growth appropriate for women of all ages in formation and in our broader congregation. Together we become more mature, grounded, faith-filled, and relational.
These combined realities point toward a God of Surprises. We see it as integrity and fidelity to the way God is fashioning our particular way of living religious life within today’s church and world. Looking beyond my own institute, the hovering hope for all is that under the right conditions, new life and vocations can flourish in the fertile soil of other groups that do not “fit the profile.”
One of our new members recently noted, “You don’t get nine women by accident.” Vocations and vowed membership thrive or wither within a context. Vocation ministers try to identify what draws discerners toward or away from their group. Here are some of the factors that we think are attracting.
A relevant charism—For us, this means being the face of God’s provident, loving care for all creation. Our charism flows from a deeply held belief that God is in the middle of all things, regardless of how it may look, actively engaging us in helping to bring things to good. After due diligence on our part, we trust God will provide for what is lacking. This was true in the past, but is equally true now, as we hope it will be in our future.
A strong sense of belonging—God’s provident love shapes the heart of our message. The desire to be the living embodiment of God’s care and love pulses through relationships we form with God, each other, and those we serve. We know we are not alone. We clearly are “in it” together regardless of where “it” takes us. Belonging is a powerful life sign that can be palpably felt by discerners. Our vowed members live in households of various sizes, and our ministries are varied. But our members have a sense of belonging, of community.
Transparency and honesty—Our virtue of simplicity calls us to come before God and others with honesty, directness, and candor. It takes individual and congregational growth, change, and reshaping to become more of who God calls us to be. On the flip side, for better or worse, we also are who we are. A woman in initial formation remarked after her first visit, “You don’t hide anyone, do you?” No we don’t. What you see is what you get. As counterintuitive as that may seem, it makes it so much easier for a vocation minister in the long run!
A collaborative, creative spirit—This spirit is open to new life and different possibilities. Life can transcend but not circumvent diminishment. We can diligently work with hard questions and concrete realities without languishing or becoming caught in the quagmire of larger-than-life, self-imposed myths about diminishment and liminality. The central belief is that Providence does more than we can ask for or imagine and urges us out of the rut of past rumination or present worry, nudging us toward a more dynamic space of life and possibility.
Excitement to be crossing the threshold of another major evolution of religious life—As in any religious institute, our members have different responses to being in the thick of a time of transformation. Women of Providence as a whole are spiritually wired to be hopeful, open, curious, and full of life. An elderly sister, when asked about finding herself in yet another transition period, smiled and said, “We’ve done this before. The first time we had plenty of energy but not a lot of wisdom. We know more about how to do it this time around. Just think, I get a second chance in my lifetime to help shape religious life!” What a gift. What an attitude. What a contagious source of energy and hope for everyone, including discerners!
Discerners standing at the threshold of contemporary religious life awaken great hope and energy for everyone. They are eager to walk into our religious institutes with eyes wide open. These resilient and hardy individuals are not afraid to say “yes” to a life form that they can’t entirely envision. New members today must embrace the prospect of balancing the heavy responsibility of keeping mission alive while simultaneously caring for elderly members and dealing with physical changes in the religious institute. Serious discerners, like professed members, must be gently introduced to the truth that in this modern world of secularization, flux, and change the long-term survival of any particular religious institute or style of religious life (including ours) can’t be presumed.
The blissful naiveté of the past is over. Today vocation ministers must articulate the Paschal Mystery inherent in their own religious institute, spot candidates who will fit with their group at this precise point in the congregational lifespan, and encourage discerners who do not fit to seek other directions. As such, vocation ministers, even in thriving religious institutes, need to be prepared to honestly address “burying the dead” questions while simultaneously moving discerners towards life, goodness and hope.
One such question pertains to when serious discerners, candidates, and postulants should be introduced to institutional financial and operational complexities. Applicants typically provide full financial disclosure to their religious institute prior to admission. Justice requires that we provide them with an accurate financial snapshot of ourselves, too. As an underfunded group, our reality may be difficult to swallow, but any woman journeying with us must grapple with it. They have not bolted or become disillusioned. Rather, financial transparency on our part allows us to see how they react to our challenging institutional realities. Are they mature women? What can we learn about their priorities and motivations? Do they have the stamina to stay the course and work with us as a team? What business, financial, or legal expertise or everyday common sense do they bring to the table? How do they handle protective concern from family and friends related to our financial vulnerabilities? How do they explain the situation to others?
Aging, death, and grief surface other “burying the dead” questions. Death and loss are dramatic but less spoken-about counter cultural aspects of convent life. Discerners can’t be shielded from grief and the secondary impact of watching others grieve. With a median age of 81.5, loss of beloved members is a regular part of the rhythm of our congregation. They enter into a loving, prayerful network of elders who provide faith and wisdom and who model our form of religious life well-lived at all ages and stages. But how does everyone respond to the prospect of intergenerational living? What are discerner’s experiences related to aging and illness? Have they experienced the death of a loved one or navigated through the complexities of grief? Where does faith come into play? Might our charism add other nuances? These are vocation and formation issues, and we attempt to deal with these conversations directly. A convent subculture shaped after decades of communal living may appear foreign or diametrically opposed to a discerner’s personal feelings or previous family reactions to loss, death and dying.
Finally, the congregational lifespan itself impacts vocation choices. A personal call is influenced by the vitality and viability of a religious community. Religious institutes are at various points on the spectrum of a congregational lifespan. The discerner and the vocation minister step into this mix. Religious institutes in a stable maintenance mode may respond differently to vocations than those undergoing profound shifts such as mergers, coming to completion, or institutional transformation. It must be decided when, how, or even should important organizational shifts be shared with the discerner.
Even vocation ministers who do not address specifics inevitably encounter discerners who visit social media sites and blogs where newer members voice hope and joy in their calling. They also may express fears about becoming casualties of their own institute’s preoccupation with the dying process. Discerners may learn that care of elders or preoccupation with handing on a legacy can siphon away precious, life-giving energy needed to cultivate vocations or expand mission. They may witness group division or speak with new members who feel hurt or marginalized after essential yet sensitive communal conversations about whether to continue to invite new members or fund vocation outreach. Vocation ministers are like white water expedition guides, navigating the rapids of changes in contemporary religious life with a boat full of vocation prospects. And to top it off, they navigate a fine line between firing the passion for religious life and putting out internal community fires that threaten to consume the entire vocation.
Fires also create change. Vocation ministers are heralds of hope and agents of transformation. Sister Misty Garriga, C.D.P., a member of Giving Voice and an annual professed sister in our congregation, writes that younger members find themselves “ultimately spending time in the tomb as we await our resurrection and ascension into a different version of religious life.”
Resilience is needed to help those “coming out of the tomb.” It brings stability and equilibrium during times of change, setbacks, and challenges. Religious institutes, vocation ministers, and serious discerners must be able to rebound.
My former work as an attorney who represented immigrant women and girls fleeing violence showed me the connection between resilience and “coming out of the tomb.” The aftermath of life-altering trauma took on different faces such as anger, paralysis, discombobulation, fear, mistrust, or a desire to avoid or flee. The degree of impact was influenced by the reactions of others, the type and duration of the trauma, resources at their disposal, and their personal desire for wholeness and healing. Time varied between initial healing and their adjustment to a new “post trauma” normal. Changes and transformation in religious life are also life-altering events that can traumatize vocation ministers as well as religious institutes. Resilience is needed even when the end result of change is ultimately positive.
Resilient vocation ministers find ways to integrate changes in religious life, in secular life, and in organizational lifecycle directions. Vocation directors who are resilient are well positioned to encourage innovative vocation programs and effective one-on-one discussions with discerners. They also:
• Honestly try to work through the fear, paralysis, anger, or powerlessness associated with congregational change and its ramifications on vocation outreach;
• Break through barriers of thinking things must be done in the same old ways even when those ways are not working;
• Discover ways to recharge personal faith and deepen hope and love for their religious institute and members;
• Find the creativity and courage needed to innovate and try things that might fail or might not be initially embraced by membership, leaders, or the vocation team; and
• Search for new information and develop skills that help vocation outreach flourish despite the challenges faced.
The bottom line is that the vocation minister must believe deep inside that his or her religious institute is worthy of carrying on. Does that belief match with reality? Members, too, must believe in a future. Life instinctively knows life. Discerners will pick up and identify with the life and resilience that the vocation minister does or does not exude.
Resilient candidates are flexible and can let go, grieve, and move forward. Some have an age-old, yet ever new pioneering spirit. Others show strength, a hardy spiritual life, a dogged persistence. They may champion justice or have a deep love for the poor. Some resilient candidates bring creativity and are able to foster new life and spark hope. Do candidates have the makings of a good leader or follower? Can they see a crossroad and have the courage to take a new path? Are they functional and stable during times of change? Can they bounce back with renewed energy and hope even when things don’t work out as expected? Each institute may require different qualities of resilience. The personal resilience in candidates must complement the congregational style of resilience. No candidate will have all of these qualities, but at least some of them are required.
Energy harnessed together surpasses that which is attempted alone. The Archdiocese of San Antonio and the Galveston-Houston Archdiocese have long-standing traditions of religious institutes and seminaries working together to promote vocations. Co-ed “Life Awareness Retreats” are hosted in Houston, San Antonio, Corpus Christi, and Dallas. Each retreat site typically draws 35 to 50 men and women of all ages who are exploring a call to consecrated life and the priesthood. The weekends are staffed by brothers, sisters, priests, and people in initial formation from 10 to 20 different religious institutes. The retreats take place in a non-competitive retreat atmosphere and offer sound basic information about religious life. In some locales discerners meet for monthly follow-ups or attend inter-community pre-novitiate days. A number of inquirers and entrants and throughout our archdioceses have been Life Awareness participants.
Other collaborators include vocation promotion committees run by lay people, Serra Clubs, our associates, and other parish groups. Sometimes several religious congregations who trust each other band together to sponsor “Come and See” retreats, “Nun Runs,” or mission trips. Discerners see different models of religious life, meet others who are discerning, and visit several convents. A supportive culture of vocation in the broad sense of the word reduces work load, increases energy, and provides insight about where an interested person might fit. It requires, however, that religious orders intentionally dismantle their silos of isolation.
Doing things in teams draws on strength from God, vocation ministers, their religious institutes, the laity, partners in mission, and the broader church. Intercommunity experiences may one day expand beyond the usual monthly intercommunity novitiate and intercommunity pre-novitiate gatherings. Perhaps religious institutes that no longer invite new members or are coming to completion will play a role in furthering the future of religious life by pairing with underfunded or under-resourced congregations of similar or different charisms. A collaborative environment serves as a seedbed to generate new ideas, try new things, and allow space for failures. The possibilities are endless.
Most women come to us “convent curious” rather than “convent ready.” That means much of our energy is spent on pre-entry vocational catechesis. Discerners are exposed to the essentials of religious life, debunked of myths, given tips on how to grow in the faith, and are introduced to the varied styles of religious life. This takes time and wisdom.
Many things in today’s world increase the tendency to create perpetual discerners. To counter that, we have designed a concrete and quantifiable Moving Forward process for our affiliates (the stage that prepares serious discerners for entry into our congregation.) It is renewed annually and is a useful tool to gauge the progression of a serious discerner with a stated desire to one day join the community. Our sisters still ask why it takes discerners so long to enter, but the Moving Forward Plan helps our New Membership Team understand the complexities and be a little less in the dark!
The Moving Forward Plan has three parts. The first provides general information and outlines the times, dates, and specific events and congregational celebrations the affiliate will attend throughout the year. It states the frequency and method of contact with the vocation minister. The affiliate proposes a plan to grow spiritually through spiritual direction, spiritual reading, and parish involvement.
Another section in the Moving Forward Plan addresses lifestyle adjustments appropriate to this new pre-entry residential or non-residential phase in her life. What behavioral changes will she make to see if religious life fits her? What will she gently do throughout the year to try living in the spirit of the vows of poverty, celibacy, and obedience? The affiliate suggests ways she can grow in community living skills and intentionally live out our virtue of trust in Providence.
The final part of the Moving Forward Plan pertains to overcoming the major obstacles that most women face when entering religious life: finance and debt; personal possessions; pets and animals; medical issues; relationships; and housing, rent, or mortgages. The affiliate records her current reality in each area and formulates practical, concrete actions she will take over the year to make changes in that area. Timelines provide additional accountability.
The Moving Forward Plan is a joint effort between the woman and vocation minister. Both work out the details together and sign off on it. Both understand it is an indicator of the affiliate’s level of commitment and follow-through. The plan identifies areas where additional assistance may empower the woman to take the steps needed for entry. If little movement has been shown by the year’s end, depending on the circumstances, it provides tangible grounds to determine whether the woman should discontinue being an affiliate.
Resilient vocation ministers take into account the reality of diminishment and at the same time move discerners toward life.
Resilient vocation ministers take into account the reality of diminishment and at the same time move discerners toward life, either in their congregation or elsewhere. They are generally positive, focused, and flexible people, who preserve what is meaningful from the past, swim against the current of organizational stagnancy and engage in the life-giving task of finding creative and imaginative ways to excite and inspire those called by God.
Vocation ministers must be truth tellers. Integrity requires that discerners not be presented with a false bill of goods. Religious institutes moving toward completion must find ways to help serious discerners know this and understand the implications. Groups stuck in the rut of diminishment and liminality need to communicate the ambiguity of that spot with interested men and women. Congregations poised to thrive must still explain that despite many positive factors, challenging days still lie ahead.
As for future new members, Sister Misty Garriga, C.D.P. reminds us to “embrace the future with hope. God alone is the recruiting agent” She says we must keep “reminding each other of the joy, enthusiasm, and zeal that calls us to this life that will help to keep us heading in the right direction.” A new springtime is occurring in vocation ministry. It is quietly taking place as vocation ministers accompany discerners, and assist in the sacred tasks of burying the dead, standing in the tomb, and unbinding religious institutes that are being called forth into new, transformed life.
Sister Joyce Detzel, C.D.P. is the vocation director for the Congregation of the Sisters of Divine Providence of Texas. She a convert to Catholicism, a lawyer, mother, campus minister, and educator. Detzel also conducts retreats and workshops and has previously served as a member area coordinator for the National Religious Vocation Conference.
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