Cross Cultural
Conversations Mark Mission San Jose Dominican Leadership Meetings
San Jose, CA, December 11, 2006--Thanksgiving week was an exciting
time for Dominicans in Mission San Jose. Three members of the leadership
of our Mexican region joined Sister Gloria Marie and the Congregational
leadership team for mutually enriching meetings.
Hermanas Maria
Rodriguez Galvan, Maria Isabel Hernandez Rea, and Zenaida Giron
Hernandez, spent the week sharing challenges and opportunities in
the political, ecclesial, and congregational realities of Mexico,
while Sisters Cecilia Canales, Alicia Lucy, Mary Virginia Leach,
Johnellen and Gloria Marie did the same for the United States.
Using headsets for simultaneous translations, the group studied
together Eric Law’s The Wolf Shall Dwell with the Lamb,
a Spirituality for Leadership in a Multicultural Community,
which is printed in Spanish and English. The sisters explored together
the implications of Samaritan spirituality.
Matters discussed included study on the governance structure for
the congregation, and where we are going on New Frontiers in the
future, care of creation and technology, among many other key factors
in our lives together. The group heard a description of the community’s
new ministry for migrant laborers in Fresno, staffed by 3 of our
sisters from north and south of the border.
Hermana Maria Isabel said “The experience of these meeting
days has been guided by the Holy Spirit, and resulted in new energy
for our ministries. The convivencia and sharing were profound experiences.”
“We had many reasons to celebrate Thanksgiving,”
Sister Gloria Marie commented. “We ended our meetings feeling
very grateful for our continued growth in understanding, the quality
of our honest conversation, our ability to continue walking together
into the future, and the obvious signs of the Spirit leading us
forward!”
Barbara Larner, OP
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