The New Wine Press vol 25 no 3 November 2016 | Page 6

Deepening Our Dialogue

by Fr. Alan Hartway, c.pp.s., Pastor of Guardian Angels Church, Mead, Colorado
questions. Dr. McClone stimulated our conversations
Over the last nine months, the members of the
Kansas City Province have entered into an everMonday evening by asking us to share our hopes and
deepening dialogue to renew our understanding of
our fears for the present and for the future. Many of
community, mission, and spirituality. The Futures
the hopes expressed concerned keeping the conTask Force, appointed by the provincial leadership
versation going and getting to know one another in
after our first gathering at the Leavenworth Marillac
respect and trust. On the flip side of this same coin,
Center in January, has invited the province members
we shared our trust issues and fears of the unknown
to come together to talk about renewal of religious
in the future.
life and mission and our future.
Tuesday, we asked ourselves two more questions
Our second gathering at Marillac, from August 22at our tables: What connects me to community
24, was the fifth time during these past nine months
and binds us together? What barriers are there to a
that a province wide conversation took place. At both
deeper sense of relating? The members expressed a
gatherings, Dr. Kevin McClone, a Chicago based
real desire to renew our bond of charity, but realized
therapist and facilitator, enabled the members to ask
that would take more trust and overcoming our fears.
questions that challenged them to go deeper and be
Real distance and virtual distance created by the
more present to one another.
internet and other media are among our obstacles,
but also the independence we’ve created to secure
The Futures Task Force used intentional interviews
ourselves in the world of ministry. A more important
conducted by its members with the provincial leaderobstacle is the need for reconciliation among us over
ship. The questions asked of each respondent were:
our wounds. Many expressed a desire to do this work,
What does faithfulness mean to you when thinking
realizing how much time it would take.
about community life and your apostolate? What
qualities of your life in community and your apostolate
We then looked at yet another question of our fuinvite others? This fourth round of the broader converture: How do we continue the spirit of Gaspar going
sation prepared the members for the August meeting.
forward together? We realize that it is sometimes difWith prayer and Eucharist, the source and summit
of our lives, the members spent three days together
sharing and reflecting on the input from the two

4 • The New Wine Press • November 2016

ficult to translate Gaspar’s concept of mission house
and work into the modern world; this requires our
imagination and creativity. An article by Sr. Sandra