Bridges of Hope/Puentes De Esperanza

From Thursday, January 25th to Sunday, January 28th, Jeannie and Pat attended Bridges of Hope/Puentes De Esperanza sponsored by the Leadership Collaborative for women religious under 65.Jeannie participated in person in Chicago and Pat participated via Zoom. There were 150 women religious under the age of 65 gathered in person, with more than 100 others joining them virtually from 108 Congregations and 28 Countries, to discuss, discern and embrace the future of religious life. Discussion and prayer time was lively, deep and meaningful. Connections were strengthened and built as simultaneous translation was provided.

Some of the questions discussed were:

·What are you willing to challenge and be challenged about in this life? 

·Can we be fearless? What does that mean? What would it look like? 

·How can we live without anxiety and with hope in this in between time of what was and what     will be? 

·How you have been an agent of hope and a co-creator with God in your life/ministry?

Some of the shared thoughts were:

·Mission is what we are about-not just ourselves and our own ministries.

·A healthy balanced life of ministry, relationships, wellness activities, contemplation, reading,   recreation, and prayer are needed and desired. 

·We are proud to be women religious and enjoy the connections we have with one another.  

·Our willingness to be vulnerable is not a sign of weakness but an embrace of strength and authenticity.

·As Pope Francis, says ‘We will never be disillusioned or lose our way if we are guided by God”. 

They both enjoyed the gathering tremendously and look forward to continuing the connections made.