Conference Responses

The Conference was held in a reflective context. The continuing reflection was assisted by the Critical Responders, Sr Marlette Black pbvm, Sr Mary McDonald sgs and Br Graham Neist fms who daily fed back to the group the key issues they heard emerging in the Conference process.

These responses are offered to all those engaged with reconfiguration processes for your use and reflection.

"Conversation is at the heart of reconfiguring. Reconfiguring is not just about changing structures. It is not simply a solution to diminishment. It is about re-imagining how our charisms can address the hungers of people today. Reconfiguring involves shifting our mindset from survival, from what we have to do and how to do it, to an openness to be grasped by the mystery of God, to a willingness to be displaced, to be a pilgrim."

"It is a letting go in order to courageously engage with an unknown future. Reconfiguring involves trusting that we know the Spirit; we can discern the future and we can risk a response. We do not have to be certain of its success before we start."

"Reconfiguration involves both the tangle and the tango. We affirm the chaos and the uncertainty, trusting in the emergence of a new expression of the charism out of the chaos. We not only shape the process; we are also led by the evolution of the process."

"We heard this morning several references to prostitutes and whores. We were reminded that our foremothers and forefathers responded to God's Spirit in ways that led to marginalisation and rejection. Reconfiguring is not just about new structures to promote stance for mission powerful enough to lead to our being called names."

"Reconfiguring has the potential to create new energy and vitality for mission by broadening the base for connecting visions, connecting prophetic action and proactive leadership - even if it does not lead to an increase in vocations. While diminishment is a sufficient cause for reconfiguring, there are many other good reasons for reconfiguring."

"We heard from Richard Lennan that the Church is, of its essence, movement. The founders of our religious congregations were fearless in embracing the difficulties of change for the sake of the mission. The call to change through reconfiguring (an expensive procedure on many levels) demands commitment, energy and fearlessness."

"We heard from Patricia Wittberg that the cycle of death and dying is an inevitable part of institutional life and that, in the Church, religious congregations have been willing to carry out this cycle of death and dying on behalf of the Church. Extinction is a process towards life - a prophetic act. How extinction happens needs to be carefully planned so that we live until we die."

"We heard from Patricia Wittberg that in the 19th century religious congregations expressed their charisms through an institutional culture. This institutional culture no longer exists."

"Reconfiguring includes the challenge of finding new ways to be more open to today's world and its hungers without doing violence to the charism. This is a difficult discussion in light of our commitment to our current institutions, our current lifestyles and our ageing and diminishment. But it is a discussion that is central to the process of reconfiguring because reconfiguring is for the sake of mission."

"Reconfiguring is a complex reality that can mean a variety of things and that can look different in each case. Each group needs to carefully consider its reasons for reconfiguring and only then adopt procedures, processes and structural changes to implement it."

"We are becoming more and more aware of how difficult it is for our leaders and members to imagine how things could be different. To use the images of dance, we need to change the music, the dance steps and even our partners - not just the shape of the ballroom. The images we offer tend to be structured images. What our members are looking for are stories and images of my/our life and mission. The call is to conversion not just reorganisation."

"The different processes of reconfiguring we have heard about have similar challenges and similar elements in them. There has been excitement and energy as well as resistance among members. Reconfiguring seems to enrich the life of the group and provide new opportunities for mission. There have been important learnings about what it means to be multicultural and international, especially for those who are part of the dominant culture."

"It seems to us that, unless there is a reconfiguring of leadership, the burden of facilitating the change seems to be overwhelming. And yet, the experience of the presenters is that the leadership role is critical. The time, energy and effort required for reconfiguring are enormous. Can all religious institutes spend this kind of energy?"

"Do all leaders have this kind of energy to spend?"

"Is reconfiguring a way of not facing the reality that religious life, as we know it may not go into the future? Are we delaying the inevitable? Does reconfiguring put off the dying of the religious congregation as a service to the whole Church?"

"Would there be more creative and less onerous ways to engage in the prophetic act of extinction?"

"The window of opportunity that reconfiguring brings between the internal focus on restructuring and a new energy for and engagement in mission is only for a limited time."

"Another critical issue presented by all who shared their experience is to enter into the discussion of reconfiguring as a discerning and contemplative group. If we enter into reconfiguring as a way of dancing with the Spirit of God, we can have hope, whatever the outcome."