Webinars are open to all those who wish to attend. One does not need to be a member of the RFC to participate. RFC members enjoy the added benefit of having access to an archive of recorded webinar sessions and other resources (see below).
Staying Connected and Letting Go: Navigating Aging and Ministry Transitions with a Hopeful Heart
Webinar: Tuesday, December 6, 2022, 1:00 – 2:30 pm CST (extended webinar)
A collaboration with SOAR! Support Our Aging Religious
CLICK TO REGISTER
This session will build on Sr. Chris’s dissertation research entitled Staying Connected and Letting Go: Quality of Life for Elderly Nuns in Convent Care Centers and focus on the unique challenges aging religious face as they approach moving from full-time or part-time ministry because of aging or health issues. Sr. Chris's premise is that while religious may retire from full-time or part-time ministry, they do not retire from living out the charism of their institutes and participating in its mission. All religious, women and men are encouraged to attend.
Pre-Webinar Reflection Questions
- Describe or list your institute’s mission and charism?
- What is your current ministry? What do you expect your ministry to be in retirement?
- What is your greatest hope regarding your aging/ministry transitions?
- What is your greatest fear regarding your aging/ministry transitions?
Sr. Chris Wood, OP, born, raised, and educated in California. Sr. Chris Wood has been a member of the Dominican Sisters ~ Grand Rapids since 2002. Prior to that, she was a member of the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary for 33 years. Her undergraduate education includes a BA in History and Religious Studies from Holy Names University, after which she taught elementary grades 4, 5, 7/8. Following completion of her RN at Pasadena City College, she worked at Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles, Davies Medical Center in San Francisco, and the Holy Names Infirmary. She completed her BSN at Holy Names University. She received her MS from University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), as a Gerontological Clinical Nurse Specialist and completed her doctorate in Nursing at UCSF with a dissertation entitled Staying Connected and Letting Go: Quality of Life for Elderly Nuns in Convent Care Centers. At California State University East Bay, she inaugurated a Gerontological Nurse Practitioner (GNP) program and completed her post-Masters GNP certification. Other ministry experiences include research for the California Board of Registered Nursing regarding protection of the Clinical Nurse Specialist Title, work at the University of Kentucky Sanders-Brown Center on Aging on the Nun Study, and teaching nursing in undergraduate and graduate settings in California, Indiana, and Michigan. Chris has also provided consultation services for both women’s and men’s religious communities concerning aging and retirement issues. A staunch Los Angeles Dodgers fan, Chris also plays 12-string guitar in liturgical settings. Currently, Chris serves as Nursing Educator/Consultant for her congregation’s assisted living facility and is also an adjunct nursing instructor at Grand Rapids Community College.
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One of the greatest gifts leaders of women religious can share with their fellow religious sisters is a sense of their own resilience …but they can’t share what they don’t have. By discussing psychological and classical spiritual approaches to maintaining a healthy perspective in challenging times, Dr. Wicks, an expert on the prevention of secondary stress (the pressures experienced in reaching out to others) offers insights into how persons in leadership roles can reach out to colleagues and those they are called to guide without losing their own inner fire in the process.
In mainstream American society, aging is presented as a “problem,” a state to be avoided as long as possible, a state that threatens one’s ability to maintain independence, autonomy, control over one’s surroundings. Aging “well” (or avoiding aging) has become a twenty-first century American preoccupation. Epidemiologists and gerontologists have dedicated considerable research to understanding why some people age “well” while others do not. Studies have demonstrated that statistically American Catholic Women Religious experience better health outcomes than their lay peers. Dr. Corwin’s research argues that what is remarkable about women religious is not only their health outcomes, but how they achieve these outcomes.
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We often long for healthy relationships in religious life. This webinar will focus on the care of the many relational dynamics experienced throughout religious life. We will highlight aspects of attachment theory that hinders and supports living healthily and authentically with one another. As formators, leaders, and ministers, there are tools and skills that give us the ability to engage in caring for ourselves and our relationships. We invite you to join us and deepen Jesus’ invitation to “love one another as I have loved you.
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The title comes from the 1989 address given by Sr. Thea Bowman, FSPPA, Ph. D, at the meeting of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Sr. Thea’s speech started with her asking the question, “What does it mean to be Black and Catholic?” and her answer was her singing, “Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child.” The rhetorical strategy that Sr. Thea employed can be useful as we consider our strategies for renewing and adapting the work of vocation recruitment within congregations, communities and orders of vowed women and men in our church today.
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Advent is a time of preparation for joy that has the possibility of changing our lives. In the midst of the current reality, COVID with its uncertainty illness, and death; Climate change with its catastrophic storms, floods, fires, and displacement; demographic and other changes in religious life, reduced energy, and questionable futures, how do we prepare for joy? Advent gives us a clue with a rising star that led the wise ones to Emmanuel, God with Us.
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In the middle of this winter’s darkness and social distance, in a period of Lenten renewal, we might find it hard to recognize God in our midst. Refining our skills of theological reflection is one critical way to attune our hearts to God’s presence. In 2014, Pope Francis said, “Our God is a God of surprises...” With this in mind, Christina Zaker will guide us to reflect on God’s movement in our lives. Drawing from the wisdom of the parables, she will encourage us to recognize God’s surprising nearness, explore what that nearness means and what it demands of us as Christians.
As we enter a new year, what is our present moment in terms of the issues we face within religious formation? What are our underlying assumptions about our world and our church? Where does our hope lie? In 2021 and beyond, what should be our agenda moving forward? This webinar is an an exercise in naming and explores our response as believers in Christ’s Good News.
The goal of this webinar will be to explore what it means to facilitate the emergence of a new Religious Life.
• Graced Crossroads: pathways to deep change and transformation
• Learning to cooperate with grace
• Inner work of transformation
Who of us can doubt that we are all glaringly living the paschal mystery? Though the interconnecting consequences of Climate Change, COVID, systemic racism and pervasive violence seem to thrust DYING into the forefront, our faith demands from us the understanding that BIRTH and RESURRECTION are integral elements of the cycle. This session explores how that faith flows from the greater context of the Cosmic Paschal Mystery.
Maria Benavides, a senior at Ann Hall High School San Antonio, shares her encounter with refugees and migrant children at the bus station in downtown San Antonio, TX. As she listened to the voices and dreams of the children she discovered an inner passion for the work of social justice. Through the stories and eyes of the children, she awakened to a beauty and hope rooted in resurrection love.
In the document Misericordia Vultus (The Face of the Mercy of God), Pope Francis calls us to pattern our lives after the image of Jesus, who is the face of divine mercy. Dianne Bergant, CSA, PhD examines some of the biblical background of Pope Francis’ thinking on our call to embody divine mercy.
Please note: this webinar does not have a visual presentation (powerpoint) or handouts as the presenter chose not to use these items. The video below includes only audio of Sister Dianne's presentation.
In this webinar Marcelline Koch, OP explores the season of Advent through the lenses of incarnation and solidarity.
In this webinar, Marianne shares her experience and teaching of a practice called Compassionate Listening. The practice grew out of work facilitated by Leah Green (rooted in the work of Quaker Gene Knudsen Hoffman) with reconciliation leaders on the ground in Israel – Palestine beginning in 1991. The reconciliation work in Israel-Palestine was adapted for peace-building in everyday life and the Compassionate Listening Project began in the U.S. in 1999. Marianne has presented the practice to formation personnel participating in the RFC ForMission Program.
In this webinar presentation, Father John Tourangeau engaged several topics related to clergy sexual abuse and the role and dynamics of power. He gave a brief sketch of the historical considerations and then explore the critical need for greater awareness of the dynamics of communal power through honest dialogue and ongoing education. How do we oppose the culture of power and clericalism in the formation process, for example? Fr. John will also covered how power is informed by Gospel values and Christian mission.
Fr. Dan Horan discusses his recent book on this encyclical by Pope Francis titled Reading, Praying, Living Pope Francis’s Rejoice and Be Glad: A Faith Formation Guide.
On Wednesday, March 20, 2019 the RFC hosted a Lenten webinar presentation and discussion with Massimo Faggioli, PhD. He gave an overview of his current work on the Catholic Church and sex abuse.
On Wednesday, December 5, 2018 the RFC hosted an Advent webinar presentation and discussion with Sister Barbara Jean Franklin, ASC.
On Thursday, September 13 the RFC hosted a webinar discussion with the editors of and an author in the book, In Our Own Words: Religious Life in a Changing World.
Presented by Religious Formation Conference (RFC) in partnership with Conference of Major Superiors of Men (CMSM)
Part Three: Developing and Managing Intercultural Competencies Within Formation
Presented by Religious Formation Conference (RFC) in partnership with Conference of Major Superiors of Men (CMSM)
Part Two: Dealing with Difficult findings and Difficult Realities
Presented by Religious Formation Conference (RFC) in partnership with Conference of Major Superiors of Men (CMSM)
Part One: The Basics
Sr. Sallie Latkovich will lead us in an exploration of “spirituality” and “holiness” in the context of the Christian Lenten journey. She will reflect on the events of the Triduum, a three-day commemoration of Jesus’ passion, death, and resurrection, and how they form Catholic/Christian spirituality and act as catalysts to renew the faith community year in and year out.
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In this webinar, our presenters will explore prayerful contemplation of the visual arts.
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What do the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures tell us about the nature of a prophetic call by God and our response? How do the narratives of the Bible challenge us in terms of both initial and ongoing formation? This webinar will examine the call narratives of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Mary and seek to understand better how the stories of their call can deepen and enrich our own.
For members of religious communities retirement is often seen as a signal to be ‘recycled.” How do we respond to the too frequently asked question, “What do you do?” when ‘doing’ no longer fills our days? What is the invitation embedded in this life event we call retirement? We will consider some of the attitudes that impact our response, the ordinary phases that are to be expected, some suggestions on how to move through them and the potential of new life that lies beyond.
We live in an increasingly wireless world connected by screens: smart phones, tablets, laptops, TVs, to name a few. There is a potential to be connected to someone at every moment of the day on almost every place on earth. This webinar will address some of the "hidden costs" of connected living, in particular: healthy companionship, creativity and contemplation. This reality, sooner or later, surfaces for us personally and in ministry, but particularly in initial and lifelong formation settings.
Contemplating the gifts received when called into the vowed life will be the focus of this webinar. Our vows are a gateway into discipleship and communion. The challenge is to see the depth of meaning offered by each vow. According to Ilia Delio (2011) “heaven is not a place of disembodied spirits but an embrace of love that transforms this present earthly life with its frailties and weaknesses into the divine presence of enduring love….Heaven is not another world but this world clearly seen.” Come spend an hour clearly seeing the transformative nature of our vows.
Based on the recently released book, Can You Let Go of a Grudge? Learn to Forgive and Get on with Your Life (Paulist Press, January 2014) Fr.
On the way to the deep and full joy that Jesus desires for us, we feel profound anxiety, deep rage, powerful shame, and intense grief in response to the ordinary experience of life that can challenge our faith, shake our hope, and limit our love. This webinar will help participants to deepen awareness of our emotional lives as invitations to transformation, growth, wisdom and peace all opening us to deeper faith and genuine hope.
La integración de la diversidad de la Iglesia Católica en los Estados Unidos es vital para la transición al ministerio de aquellos/as que están migrando de Latinoamérica y el Caribe. Este “webinar” contrastará las características históricas y culturales que dieron forma a la Iglesia de los Estados Unidos con la Iglesia de América Latina, subrayando las contribuciones que cada tradición trae al ministerio hoy. La meta será explorar las competencias interculturales que el ministerio en los Estados Unidos requiere de todos/as.
Every person encounters the mystery of suffering in his or her life and in the lives of loved ones. Those of us who minister in the Church come face to face with this mystery often, as we are called to be present to those who suffer in different ways. Vowed religious are affected by the reality of suffering within religious community. This webinar will address the challenges of talking about God and talking to God in times of suffering.
Most of the theological and spiritual tradition that forms us as religious is based on a classical view of a static universe. As science reveals more about the world God created, we have the opportunity to deepen our understanding of God, ourselves, and the reality around us. The focus of this webinar is cosmology and how this new knowledge and consciousness informs the vowed life, lived in communion and for mission.We will discuss insights from cosmology and its significance for Catholic faith, spirituality, and religious life.
This webinar will focus on new legal questions religious congregations encounter today. These include such delicate topics as end of life decisions and issues which newer members who have raised families and/or had long careers before entering religious life may present: concerns about property disposal, inheritance, debts, contracts, and insurance. There will be an opportunity for webinar participants to raise questions and issues of concern to them.
Religious women and men take a vow of obedience that binds them to those with whom they share life. In the contemporary experience, discernment - both individual and communal - is extremely difficult and has few, if any, parameters. The webinar will explore a model of communal discernment that is centered in communion ecclesiology and that offers religious a model for engaging in communal discernment. *Image credit: The Coming of the Holy Spirit by Soichi Watanabe. Used with permission.
Often older religious comment “No one taught me how to do this time of life.” Called in Baptism to share in the mission of Christ, the spiral of call moves through all the different phases of discipleship. This webinar is designed to offer older religious a spiritual model of aging and support them in their desire toRe-vision/ re-vitalize their call into the second half of lifeFind meaning and purpose on their journey into radical discipleshipBecome a spiritually transcendent elder
Being resilient in the face of adversity requires us to look inward rather than outward and examine our approach, our expectations, and our reactions to situations. This webinar will focus on the following topics: the definition of resilience, the factors that enhance our ability to be resilient, the distorted scripts that lead to burnout, the difference between healthy vs. unhealthy self-sacrifice, and the importance of establishing a self-care plan.
This webinar will provide an overview of the immigration processes available for “religious workers.” In immigration law, the term “religious worker” encompasses men and women, both religious and lay, who serve in various capacities in religious organizations. For purposes of this webinar, we will focus our attention on members of religious institutes. We will cover immigration basics, including R-1 status, R-1 visas, and the permanent residency process.