- December 20, 2022 Association
By Associate Mary Armbrust, Director of Association
My mother- and father-in-law created numerous whirligigs to decorate their yard and outbuildings. Twirling pinwheels, birds with spinning wings and comical mechanical scenes: the faster the wind blows, the more furiously the figures move. As people ask me how things are going with Association, I frequently say, “It is a whirl!” It seems that the faster Spirit empowers us, the more energetic we become. These are inspiring times of growth and vibrancy.
Associates Initial Commitments: Oct. 10
Six candidates made their initial commitments during an online ceremony on Oct. 10. Joining in the celebration were spouses, daughters, members of their monthly communities, online formators and mentors. Sister Fran Maher, our PLT liaison, and I were delighted to officially welcome them to Association.
Top Row (l-r): Wisconsin Associates Bridget Burke-Ravizza, Diane Stroebel and Kathie Tilot.
Bottom Row: St. Louis Associates MarySue Rosenthal Gee and Brenda Vanderford; and California Associate Mary Jeanne Fuerst.
Wisconsin Fall Gathering: Oct. 15
The Wisconsin region gathered for our biannual meeting. We prayed together, welcomed and blessed our new Wisconsion associates and discussed a video by M. Shawn Copeland, PhD: African Americans and The Bible (available on YouTube). We announced our regional coordinator, Carrie Arnold, and facilitated an energetic conversation in three groups around the CSJ values: community, spirituality and justice. In closing, we began forming a regional team to implement ideas from the three groups. Spirit was blowing mightily and people were moving and responding.
Associate Leadership Board Meets: Nov. 5-6
As part of a 10-day trip to the Carondelet Motherhouse in St. Louis, I met with our Associate Leadership Board (ALB). Our board is comprised of associates and sisters representing all four regions in our province, along with the director of Association and the Province Leadership Team (PLT) liaison as ex-officio members. We travel to the motherhouse twice a year and meet online once a year to pray deeply, work productively, break bread together, and laugh a lot during all-day Saturday and half-day Sunday meetings.
At our most recent meeting, we opened with a prayer that invited all of our ancestors—spiritual and familial—to be with us throughout our meetings. We centered our prayer with a beautiful pottery bowl created by Sister Joan Spalding upon the death of a dear friend and in remembrance of other women—both lay and religious—who had blessed her journey.
We welcomed new members: Associates Lori Fick and Mia Meurer of St. Louis and Associate Lauren Highfill of Kansas City. Our new members jumped right into the work and brought fresh perspectives to planning. Spirit seemed to be stirring each of us into action. In addition to discussing the enactment of our 2022-2025 Strategic Plan (available in Members Only at csjsl.org), we revised and will promote the use of the Community of St. Joseph Creed, which was created and approved at the 2014 Associate Assembly. (The creed, listed below, is a wonderful way to begin our monthly gatherings.)
The Community of St. Joseph Creed
We are the Community of St. Joseph: connected, committed, and grounded in love.
We embrace our spiritual charism of unifying love, enlivened through serving God and the dear neighbor without distinction.
We engage in a continual cycle of renewal, hospicing old ideas and midwifing new.
We open ourselves to the graciousness of God’s transformative action in and among us and our world.
This requires us letting go, embracing the gifts and talents of each other so that together we might envision the possible and bring it to life.
If we can dream it, we can make it happen.
St. Louis Morning of Reflection: Nov. 12
On the last day of my trip, I facilitated the first annual Morning of Reflection for associates and sisters in the St. Louis region. Ensuring that each region of our province has an annual spiritual offering is one of the major goals of the ALB Strategic Plan. We sang, prayed, and enjoyed silence and conversation. We also welcomed and blessed one of our new St. Louis associates, MarySue Rosenthal Gee. Special thanks to the Regional Team-St. Louis for assisting with the hosting duties. All were rejoicing at the opportunity to be together in person and in Spirit.
So Much More!
There are great things happening in all of our regions to grow and become more vibrant —more than can be included in this article. To learn more, I recommend following our CSJ Notes on Fridays and frequenting our website. I continue to be in awe of the generosity and sincerity of the associates, sisters and staff who bless and support Association. It remains my sincere pleasure to be part of “US."
As an associate recently shared, "Together we are more, much more!" Thank you for being part of the “more” and know that you are in my heart and prayers.