May 1st is the Feast of St. Joseph the Worker.
In his letter, With A Father’s Heart, Pope Francis draws a parallel between Joseph and the ordinary, usually overlooked workers: shopkeepers, cleaning crews, nurses, transit and delivery drivers, who have played such an important role in our survival this past year. The Pope writes:
Each of us can discover in Joseph—the man who goes unnoticed, a daily, discreet, and hidden presence—an intercessor, a support, and a guide in times of trouble. Saint Joseph reminds us that those who appear hidden or in the shadows can play an incomparable role in the history of salvation. A word of recognition and of gratitude is due to them all (PATRIS CORDE).
In this year dedicated to St Joseph, when workers everywhere have struggled because of the pandemic, we have an even greater need of Joseph’s intercession.
So today let us pray that all workers may find satisfaction and economic security in their jobs and that workplaces become safe, healthy, and inviting environments. We ask St. Joseph who “did not look for shortcuts, but confronted reality with open eyes and accepted personal responsibility for it” (PATRIS CORDE) to pray for us as we recover from the pandemic. May we imitate Joseph’s virtues and zeal by cooperating with God to build a new society that is just and in right relationship with all of creation.
This striving to become co-creators with God has always been part of the mission of the North American Conference of Associates and Religious. Like Joseph, in the face of the many challenges of our own reality, we accept responsibility rather than seek shortcuts. During these times of dissolution and transition, his example “teaches us that amid the tempests of life, we must never be afraid to let the Lord steer our course. At times, we want to be in complete control, yet God always sees the bigger picture” (PATRIS CORDE).
“The spiritual path that Joseph traces for us is not one that explains, but accepts … Joseph is certainly not passively resigned, but courageously and firmly proactive. In our own lives, acceptance and welcome can be an expression of the Holy Spirit’s gift of fortitude. Only the Lord can give us the strength needed to accept life as it is, with all its contradictions, frustrations and disappointments” (PATRIS CORDE).
Pope Francis has reminded us that we will not always understand the meaning of particular events but we need to be able to set aside our own ideas about how life should unfold. “Unless we are reconciled with our own history, we will be unable to take a single step forward, for we will always remain hostage to our expectations and the disappointments that follow…Only as a result of this acceptance, this reconciliation, can we begin to glimpse a broader history, a deeper meaning" (PATRIS CORDE).
Today, God’s bigger picture for the Associate Movement requires from us the courage and faith of St Joseph.
After July 1, 2021, all communities who are now members will have an unlimited number of contacts available to them. The Primary Contact (Bundle Administrator) may add as many associates and religious to the community list as they want. They must add the name, congregation, and email address for each contact they wish to include. The Primary Contact should log in using their email address and password and then click on their name in the upper right-hand corner. This page will then display the contact list. In order to add another person, click Add Member and then type in the information. For detailed information, see the Guide for Primary Contacts.
Leadership Manual orders will be accepted until June 30, 2021. Limited numbers of some chapters are still available. Don't miss out on completing your manual. Click here to go to Resources and place your order before they are all gone.
Associate Leadership Retreat registrations will only be accepted until May 10, 2021.
Image: Public Domain under the Creative Commons license.
Join us in this vigiland you will know what it is to dream!Then you will know how marvelous it isto live threatened with Resurrection!To dream awake,to keep watch asleep,to live while dying,and to know ourselves alreadyresurrected!1
We could not have a more hopeful moment—liturgical, seasonal—to embrace the news about NACAR:
Knowing deep in our bones that resurrection is coming as we go about the work of ending
Imagining a fresh canvas for dreaming as we clear out our gardens
Recognizing the soil teeming with life, a hidden neural network like ours
Anticipating the Emmaus experience of rejuvenation
And ah! Pentecost!
A Free Webinar presented by Elizabeth Allen, Director of Affiliation for the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration, based on her new book, The Way in the 21st Century.
Wednesday, April 21, 2021
1:00 PM Eastern, Noon Central, 11:00 AM Mountain, 10:00 AM Pacific
Click here to register
1 From They Have Threatened us With Resurrection, Julia Esquivel, translated by Anne Woehrle
Image by jggrz from Pixabay
There is a time for everything A time to begin and a time to step aside A time to roll up one’s sleeves and work harder than ever and a time to admit it is beyond us A time to pursue new visions and a time to stop chasing after them A time to let go and a time to let come… At no time do we stop praying, At no time do we cease giving thanks!
Dear NACAR members, collaborators, supporters, and friends,
After 25 years of faithful stewardship of NACAR’s mission, it is with heavy hearts that we report to you that on Thursday, March 4, 2021, the NACAR Board of Directors affirmed the decision to move away from the present NACAR corporate structure and to begin the process toward the dissolution of the corporation effective June 30, 2022.
For many years, the board of directors has worked to meet the challenge of limited human and financial resources. We have consistently communicated our concerns, listened for the voice of God, and have now discerned that God is calling us to let go and to accept that this form of independent structure no longer serves the current reality.
Based on this decision, we will not collect dues for 2021-2022. Except for the NACAR website (nacar.org), all member services will be suspended effective June 30, 2021, including the sale and distribution of the Lead with the Spirit leadership manual and Rookie’s Rock.
We will continue to offer the following as planned:
April 2021
April 21, 2021
Webinar (free for members): The Way in the 21st Century - Beth Allen will speak about the associate way of life within the framework of universal values, as featured in her recently published guidebook.
May 18-20, 2021
June 2021
Between now and November 30, 2021, the current board of directors and trusted advisors will develop and begin implementing a formal plan for dissolution of the corporation, including a plan for distribution of assets.
At the board meeting in November 2021, the board of directors will take all appropriate actions necessary to prepare Articles of Dissolution with the State of Illinois. From November 30, 2021,
through June 30, 2022, the remaining board members will complete the process, including transfer of or discontinuing the nacar.org website as identified in the plan for dissolution.
The board of directors has created a FAQ document to provide you with additional information and context around this decision. Please spend time reviewing this document. If you have questions that have not been addressed, please send your question to the board here.
We are confident that the Spirit of God is in this hard decision and that something new is waiting to be born. Believing that the Associate way of life is a transformational presence in the church and world, let us join together in prayer and thanksgiving for 25 years of committed service and openness for what is yet to be.
Sincerely,
Jeanne Connolly, President On Behalf of the NACAR Board of Directors
In my September 2020 NACAR Board message, I began to “wonder.” I find it a delightful word. The Oxford dictionary defines it as a feeling of surprise mingled with admiration, caused by something beautiful, unexpected, unfamiliar, or inexplicable (noun); a desire or be curious to know something; to feel doubt or uncertainty (verb).
I am striving to make wonder (the verb) my practice this Lenten season and to fully enter the grace of mystery with curiosity and openness. I don’t know about you, but I find it easier to preach the words rather than feel uncertain and be curious. Author Valarie Kaur writes in her book, See No Stranger, that “‘Revolutionary love’ is the choice to enter into wonder and labor for others, for our opponents, and for ourselves in order to transform the world around us.” (p. xv. Kindle edition)
I believe that the call and desire of associates and religious is to “transform the world around us” by living “revolutionary love.” Is that not what Jesus asked of us? Is that not what all great spiritual leaders have asked of their followers? There is inexplicable wonder in this love.
The pandemic, social and political unrest, and climate change have heightened the sense of uncertainty and brought into the light the need to question engrained patterns of behavior. Lent invites us to metanoia: A transformative change of heart that requires us to make the “choice” to “be curious” and to desire to listen to and learn from voices different from our own.
As so many authors have noted, we have “given up” a lot this past year. Perhaps we could use this Lenten season to take up Pope Francis’ invitation “to listen” to the voice of God by listening with wonder to the voice of nature, the poor, the young, the elderly, and most especially to those voices that challenge our status quo. Let us be examples of “revolutionary love” by working together to “transform the world around us.”
May you be blessed with wonder this Lenten Season!
Creative Conversations #22
Ongoing Formation
Wednesday, March 17, 2021
Connection in pandemic: Associates and sisters nurture spiritual bond virtually
In a recent article in the Global Sisters Report, Dan Stockman writes how associates are connecting with the religious in their communities during a pandemic. Read the full article here.
On many fronts, and in many ways, 2020 will go down as a year of challenge, change, hope, and resilience. The pandemic, systemic racism, and social and political upheaval framed the year in ways we may not have imagined. The NACAR Board of Directors and committees have been busy amidst this apparent chaos and uncertainty.
In December 2019, we shared with you the contextual realities faced by the Board as we consider the future viability of NACAR as an organization. In our letter, we identified two significant realities … financial limitations and human resources.
The reality of our financial limitations as a predominately dues-based organization continues to be a concern. It is a concern felt by many religious and not-for-profit organizations. As promised, the NACAR Board of Directors identified and focused on essential services. With careful stewardship, we have continued to provide excellent programs and resources, including Creative Conversations, the monthly reflections, and the quarterly Associate newsletter. As we transitioned into our new fiscal year in July 2020, we added webinars as an additional service.
We continue our collaboration with Virtual Learning Community for Faith Formation (VLCFF) to offer religious education and faith formation for adults. We are also actively collaborating with the Religious Formation Conference (RFC) and the Leadership Collaborative. We are excited about these collaborative relationships and look forward to bringing you more information in the coming months.
Behind the scenes we have made changes to more fully utilize the benefits of the Wild Apricot Membership Management software initiated in early 2019. This includes movement of the website and fee payment system to Wild Apricot. We have also made changes in our accounting practices to simplify the reporting process and updated the contractual agreements with our “consultants” for Member Relations/Office Administration, Web Administration, Graphic Design, and Bookkeeping.
For an overview of our previous year, please download the 2019 – 2020 Annual Report.
The More Serious Reality
The challenges related to human resources, that we identified a year ago, specifically finding new board and committee members, has become our most serious and immediate concern.
Service at the NACAR level requires a commitment to the Associate-Religious movement in the broadest sense. Increasingly, we have experienced that Associate-Religious communities are less able and/or willing to share the time and resources necessary for a qualified associate or vowed religious to serve NACAR, particularly at the Board level. This is due primarily to the focus on internal community issues and relationships.
Transitions naturally occur. In 2021, three of the six Board terms will expire. Mary Jo Mersmann, our remarkable Member Relations/Office Administration Coordinator, who has brought a wealth of history and relationships to this role, is also retiring in the coming months. Seeking qualified Board members and a new Member Relations/Office Administration Coordinator is the most critical work facing the Board at this time.
Looking Ahead
We still believe that God is serious about the future of the Associate way of life as a transformative presence in the church and the world.* Our hope is that you share in that belief and will continue to support our efforts.
Although God may be calling us to a new way of living out the mission of NACAR in the future, we believe that for now NACAR is to continue as an organization committed to ensuring that the Associate-Religious movement remains strong and dynamic. As the NACAR Board of Directors, we remain committed to supporting leadership through ongoing development and leadership training; offering opportunities to connect, network, and share wisdom with religious congregations of various sizes, charisms, and missions; and collaborating with regional partners and other organizations committed to faith-development and sharing of religious charisms in our world today.
That said, to continue to serve you, we need your help. Without qualified and committed Board and Committee members, NACAR will not be able to meet its legal and fiduciary responsibilities. You may download the following information packets:
Without committed volunteers, we will not be able to continue to offer quality programs and resources. We need you to continue as members and supporters of NACAR so that together we can continue to support leadership within the Associate-Religious movement.
On our website you will find specific ways to support NACAR and ways you can volunteer at this time. Please download this infographic to see how you can help us meet our members' needs.
We are also are seeking help with our search for a new Member Relations/Office Administration Coordinator. You may download the announcement for position of Member Relations/Office Administration Coordinator (part-time contract role).
With your continued support we will continue do everything possible to offer the amazing resources that NACAR has always provided. We are deeply grateful for your membership and support. We look forward to the hope and promise of this new year.
*NACAR We Believe Statements
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
2 Corinthians 5:17
When I reflect on NACAR and our world in general, the word that echoes in my head is transitions. Transitions are a recurring aspect of life and they can bring anxiety and trepidation but also excitement and hope. Transitions carry an opportunity for us to be vulnerable because the future is uncertain and brings a feeling of unsettledness. Transitions can usher in a feeling of loss and they can also guide us on a path to something new.
We are all experiencing transitions due to COVID and are trying to find our “new normal” (the phrase I hear so often these days!). Through this transition, we have found newness and hope through loss. I had a wonderful experience of renewing my associate vows through zoom and connecting with associates from across the continent. It was a beautiful and life-giving encounter that I am thankful to have had. I have watched my children adapt to virtual learning then back to in-person school with masks and social distancing and still see them joyful in their lives. What a blessing for them to overcome change and adapt to this “new normal”!
NACAR is also undergoing a time of transition. Jeanne Connolly, our board president, will soon be sharing a member update with the changes that have occurred and the new transitions on the horizon. Our long-time member relations/office administration coordinator Mary Jo Mersmann will be retiring this spring, and she carries a wealth of NACAR knowledge, history, and relationships that will be missed by all. Another transition for NACAR is the retirement of board members and our continued request for new board members to bring new ideas and excitement to our organization. NACAR will be experiencing feelings of loss and uncertainty with these changes, but I pray that we will find newness and growth in these changes as well.
Be sure to join us for:
When: 02/17/2021
Facilitators:
Terri Butel, Director of Associates, Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth
Anne Carey, Co-Director of Associates, School Sisters of Notre Dame, Central Pacific Province
Members may also view the video from the previous Creative Conversation, Lead with the Spirit, Fundamentals of Associate Leadership. This Creative Conversation was facilitated by Terri Butel, Director of Associates, Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth, and Lori Ritz, Director of Life and Mission, Sisters of Charity of Blessed Virgin Mary.
Log in and view it here.
Our New Year’s liturgy offers us the image of a pensive Mary, pondering in her heart all that had happened. As associates and religious of our various congregations, we are invited to do the same. The trouble and the beauty of the past year have much to reveal to us about the invitations before us, invitations to say yes to God in a world we never could have imagined, let alone chosen.
We enter the new year soberly, anchored in the kind of trust Mary had in a steadfastly faithful and loving God. Like her, we seek to be attentive to the surprising and often confounding invitations: exile, homecoming, returning to ordinary life with no clue to when and how God would accomplish those great promises.
NACAR has been pondering and planning about how best to support you in that adventure. We invite you to save the dates May 18 – 20, 2021, so you can join in the virtual retreat - Associates as Charism Carriers: Embracing the Call to Leadership. Carol Zinn SSJ, the executive director of LCWR, will keynote the gathering, and Associate Leaders Amy Kulesa and Linda Mastro will guide in prayer reflection and contemplative conversation.
We also invite you to use these winter days to increase your knowledge and hone your skills by taking advantage of NACAR’s partnership with the Virtual Learning Community for Faith Formation (VLCFF) and enroll in one of the high-quality online courses at reduced rates.
Finally, NACAR has also been pondering its future as an organization.
One thing is clear: We need some fresh faces and voices on the NACAR Board.
Please consider prayerfully as a New Year’s resolution the possibility of serving for yourself or inviting someone you know who is a committed associate leader. We ask Mary to open your heart to this unexpected call!
On November 15, my associate group participated in a virtual discernment process. We had been invited to reflect upon a set of key phrases and words that had emerged in response to our 2021 General Chapter theme and logo. As a collection, these words expressed a prophetic way of Being and Doing, and we were to come to a consensus in support of one of them. Although it was not my first choice, by the end of our sharing, I was converted in my thinking, and whole-heartedly agreed with the final selection: Fierce Hope.
Since that conversation, I have found myself listening with new ears and seeing with new eyes. The voices that I hear raised in hope still sound worried that it is all in vain, but I now listen for how they have anchored their hope in practice. I am paying much closer attention to what they do and seeing them act as if they can make a difference. Their hope is not mere optimism. It is not idle. It is active … It is fierce.
As we begin a new liturgical year, the first candle we light in the Advent wreath is the candle of Hope. We light this candle to say that God is alive, “that all shall be well, and every manner of thing shall be well.” Like the prophets, we have hope that God will fulfill the prophecies declared in the Old Testament. The Messiah will come. “Hope is grounded in belief in God and in the nature and power of that God” Ron Rolheiser reminds us. “A person has hope because God is infinitely gracious and powerful and, because of that, ultimately, everything will turn out for the good …Hope is a vision of life that guides itself by God’s promise, irrespective of whether the situation looks optimistic or pessimistic at any given time.”
In Fratelli Tutti, Pope Francis writes: A plan that would set great goals for the development of our entire human family nowadays sounds like madness (16). But “Hope is bold,” he goes on to say. “It can look beyond personal convenience, the petty securities and compensations which limit our horizon, and it can open us up to grand ideals that make life more beautiful and worthwhile. [52]"
NACAR’s vision of associate life is enlivened by this kind of fierce hope. It empowers us to look beyond ourselves by broadening our horizons. It supports our efforts to open ourselves to the grand ideals of our many different congregations and of our shared faith.
This Advent, we are called more urgently than ever before to live our hope fiercely. As we prepare ourselves to enter fully into the promise and joy of the gospel, we light candles not only of hope but also of peace, of love, and of joy. We are called to have reborn in us kindness, generosity, compassion, and love and to embrace the Pope’s invitation: Let us continue, then, to advance along the paths of hope (55).
In December 2020, “May the God of Hope fill you with all joy and peace, as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit” (Romans 15:13).
Growing in Faith Webinar
Presenter: Marci Madary, Affiliate of Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration Wednesday, January 13, 2021 1:00 PM Eastern, Noon Central, 11:00 AM Mountain, 10:00 AM Pacific One hour in length $25 NACAR Member $35 Non- NACAR Member Watch for registration emails coming soon.
Faith development is a perennial reality; we are constantly invited into an ever-deeper relationship with God. How do we identify the call of the Spirit? And, how do life’s joys and sorrows impact our faith? By understanding our own spiritual growth, we can accompany others better, including associates.
Creative Conversations #20
Fundamentals of Associate Leadership Using the NACAR Leadership Manual Wednesday, January 20, 2021 1:00 PM Eastern, Noon Central, 11:00 AM Mountain, 10:00 AM Pacific One hour in length
Facilitated by Terri Butel, Director of Associates, Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth and Lori Ritz, Director of Life and Mission, Sisters of Charity of Blessed Virgin Mary
Watch for Registration emails coming soon!
The sun is dawning slowly these days over the Midwest farm fields. It is its usual bright red and today is particularly striking as it contrasts with the white fields… empty now of their grains and covered with an early snowfall. Trees near the house here are heavily laden with the snow. This is much too early for such winter events. Just yesterday the harvesting was being done with great machinery and beautiful fall colors of the orange, red and yellow trees. The empty fields glowed with the golden remnants of the crops.
These quiet times, early in the day, come before the news reports open up to declare the most recent and most striking news of the day… political reports… covid updates… natural disasters and… the world news…
These days I, like so many of you, am looking at all of this from a situation of sheltering in place; social distancing and all that goes with staying healthy and keeping others safe.
The quiet beginning and time for reflection help me to face all of this with a feeling of calmness and purpose.
Staying connected to others is so important to everyone during this time. Our Franciscan congregational leaders have helped sisters and associates who are not located in or near the motherhouse to carry out bi-weekly zoom conversations. The topics of these conversations at this time are usually around racism, white supremacy, and white fragility; all part of our current congregational study.
Though these discussion topics can be heavy in nature, they are important for our time in history. We are all very aware of the recent peaceful demonstrations in so many cities during this past summer. Demonstrators have been very successful in getting the attention of the nation for the issue of racism as it exists in so much of our society, its institutions, and government.
It is indeed time that we all learn to have these discussions in a manner that helps us to look deep into ourselves in order to confront and change the deep-seated attitudes and practices of racism.
God is in these moments of our time. Let us all work with this awareness to change what needs to be changed. Peace to you all.
Upcoming NACAR Webinar
Honoring Our Transitions: Tools for Managing, Celebrating and Planting Seeds of Hope
Wednesday, November 18, 2020 1:00 PM, EST One hour in length
US$25.00 for NACAR Members US$35.00 for non-members
Only Online payments are accepted - NO Checks
Register Here
NACAR Associate Leadership Retreat
All NACAR members are encouraged to complete the Poll concerning the Associate Leadership Retreat scheduled for May 2021.
Member Services Committee will soon make a decision about this retreat and your responses will help with that decision.
Photo: Andrew Crouthamel, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
I was driving last week and my music “shuffle” produced song after song from the Christmas season. “NOT Christmas!” I said aloud, then recalled the words from a prayer to the Blessed Mother that my Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth community began praying in 1858. In part:
… Grant me the vision to see that the Incarnation is going on in the world today. Help me to share the Incarnation by cooperating with Jesus and with you to prepare the world to be His new creation …
The Incarnation is occurring, with or without us.
We cooperate in it (and are reborn) -
If we orient ourselves in the direction of hope… If we remember the wise elders whose stories affirm that disturbance begets new life… If we call out to God, who never abandons us… If we remember that we are not alone, that we have the comfort of generous, encouraging companions in this ministry of Associate leadership.
NACAR is an essential part of my confidence and effectiveness as an Associate leader, offering educational opportunities and connecting me to companions and wisdom figures who educate and encourage me. The Member Services Committee has lined up a variety of Creative Conversations and webinars topics we believe will be timely and helpful this fall and next spring. Don’t forget to contact us with your ideas!
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