Dear Members, Partners and Friends of the Conference,
A few weeks ago, we mailed our 2022 Annual Appeal to members asking if they'd invest in two forward-looking programs that serve newer religious: the Together program and the Intercongregational Collaborative Novitiate (ICCN). It is our hope that through this appeal we will be able to raise operating and scholarship support for each program.
We invite you to click make a gift to the Together and ICCN communities and help enable the future of these programs!
The Together program is in its fifth year and provides an opportunity for newer members to study theology at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, live together intercongregationally and interculturally in community, and engage in ongoing formation. This year there are six women in Together from six different communities and three countries. Each will be prepared theologically for life in her congregation and ministries as well as for service to the Church and world.
The InterCongregational Collaborative Novitiate is in its second year of existence. Six novices and two co-directors form community this year in the program; the novices come from six different congregations and countries. Together they engage in formation collaboratively with their sending congregations and intercongregationally with many novices and newer religious in the Hyde Park (Chicago) neighborhood where they are located. It is supported by a board of directors who bring expertise and passion to the table.
Both programs were made possible by grants: Together was funded by the GHR Foundation and ICCN through the Hilton Foundation. We seek not only sustainability for both, but also a strong foundation for the future.
It is our hope that through this appeal we will be able to raise operating and scholarship support for each program. We invite you to make a financial contribution.
We believe that Together and ICCN are not only preparing women for religious life in the future; they are also models of the collaboration we are called to today and tomorrow. While not every congregation has newer members and some are moving to completion, we all share a responsibility for those who will follow us. Will you consider a gift to support these programs in the present and in the future? Should you be in the position to make a legacy gift, we are happy to discuss that possibility.
In closing, I would like to thank you for all the support you have given both to the Conference and to me personally as I complete my second term as Executive Director and prepare to step out of this role at the end of the month. This bird’s-eye view of religious life nationally has been expansive and life-changing for me. I hope that we will continue to interconnect in the days to come.
Sincerely,
Sister Ellen Dauwer, SC
Executive Director
Pictured above: The Together and InterCongregational Collaborative Novitiate (ICCN) communities gathered recently for an evening of connection, food, and sharing about their individual cultures.