Formation is a transformative process of socialization, rooted in theology and spirituality, enabling people to connect to the founding spirit and values of an individual ministry as well as linking them to the wider ministries of healing, education and social service found in the Catholic Church. It empowers them to act in a manner consistent with the mission and values of the organization.
A recent article in Health Progress, a publication of the Catholic Health Association (CHA), describes that the role of formation is to create experiences that invite those who serve to discover connections between personal meaning and organization purpose. It further explains:
“Formation always aims to be invitational and inclusive, meeting each person where they are in their life journey. It is a dynamic, lifelong, self-reflective process. Building upon the lived experience of the participants... Ministry formation inspires participants to consider their calling in a contemplative way, find deeper meaning in their work and realize their gifts as they grow in service to the community and one another. In the process, participants adopt and cultivate behaviors and practices that deepen their personal identity as well as the Catholic identity of the organization.”
- Diarmuid Rooney, “Toward a Comprehensive Framework,” Health Progress, September-October 2019, pages 56-58.
From the beginning, formation has been a priority for both Peace Ministries and the Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace. Formation is at the heart of sharing the mission, charism and values of the Sisters and ensuring that their legacy continues. Currently, Peace Ministries has a solid foundation of formation as well as an evolving process of formation leading us into the future. There is a desire to grow formation and an awareness that more is needed and attainable at all levels in order to coordinate an integrated approach across the ministries. Peace Ministries continues to nurture the foundations already in place and collaborate with the ministries to foster the essentials of formation. Having a robust formation program is an essential component of Peace Ministries.
The goals of Peace Ministries that highlight this commitment to formation are as follows:
Board of Trustees Formation
Peace Ministries acknowledges the sacred trust bestowed on it by the Congregation to serve in a co-sponsorship role. As such, formation has been a cornerstone of its activities since its inception, dedicating time and resources. Peace Ministries commits to this through an annual board formation retreat day, orientation for new trustees, and beginning every board meeting with prayer and formation.
Ministry Leader Annual Formation Day
Peace Ministries hosts an annual Formation Day for ministry leaders every fall. This day provides an opportunity to bring together the senior leaders in each of our ministries to learn about and reflect on topics pertinent to what’s happening in the world and our ministries.
2023: “Reading the Signs of the Times in This Change of Era” with Maureen Donohue, CSJP-A; Sr. Susan Francois, CSJP; and Sr. Sheena George, CSJP
This program brought in a topic the Peace Ministries board first began reflecting on in February 2023 with Sr. Mary Pellegrino, CSJ. The day focused on four key areas of learning and conversation: “Change of Era Globally,” “Change of Era with Religious Life,” “Change of Era for the CSJP Sponsored Ministries,” and “Responding to the Signs of This Time.” Maureen Donohue, Executive Director of Peace Ministries, Sr. Susan Francois, CSJP, Assistant Congregation Leader, and Sr. Sheena George, CSJP, Regional Congregation Leader, spoke on these topics, and an outside facilitator, Sr. Rosemary Jeffries, RSM, helped guide the conversation among the leaders.
2022: “Hearing the Call of the 23rd Congregation Chapter & Fostering Organizational Cultures of Inclusion” with Erica Torres, Psy.D.
This formation event began with an overview of the 23rd Congregation Chapter, which concluded in March 2022, facilitated by the Congregation Leadership Team. The main presenter, Dr. Erica Torres, went on to build upon the two previous fall formation topics of “Nurturing Our Spirits through Self-Care and Compassion” and “Striving for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.”
2021: “Exploring the Practice of Self-Compassion: Nurturing Our Spirits” with Anne Kertz Kernion
This session drew upon recent findings in neuroscience and psychology, illuminating self-care and spiritual practices that nurture gentleness, kindness and patience toward ourselves. These practices help us manage and recover from the anxiety, grief and uncertainty we have felt during the pandemic. Far from being self-centered or selfish, practicing self-compassion can generate deeper care for ourselves, while enhancing our relationships and our ability to attend to others.
2020: “Valuing the Dignity of Each Person: Striving for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion” with Language and Culture Worldwide, LLC
This program focused on how the core value of “respect for human dignity” invites each ministry to build a culture that supports equitable and diverse relationships both within the ministry and with the people whom it serves. For such a culture to flourish, leaders must foster inclusion and a cohesive sense of unity. Over three virtual sessions, ministry leaders learned to create a shared understanding of how unconscious bias impacts ministry work, assessed their cultural competence, and charted a path for growth and action that will help make their ministry more diverse and inclusive.
2019: “Unleashing Your Inner Leadership Wisdom” with Thomas J. Bushlack, Ph.D., Theology & Ethics, Regional Director of Mission Integration with SSM Health in St. Louis
This formation program focused on discovering how “Centering for Wisdom” can improve focus, productivity and decision-making. Leaders learned how leadership effectiveness can be increased using simple, practical tools for integrating spiritual practices into daily life.
CHA Annual Foundations Course
Peace Ministries partners with the Catholic Health Association (CHA) in its many formation offerings. The first offering of “Foundations of Catholic Ministry Leadership” was held in person in 2018 and has since moved to an online format. Ministry leaders can be recommended by their supervisor to participate in the annual online course focused on ministry leader formation. Participants are invited to reflect on the main themes of vocation & discernment, ethics, community & global health, mission in action, mission, leadership, & sponsorship, and stewardship and organizational culture.
Orientation
Peace Ministries supports orientation efforts already in place at the ministries and provides a variety of resources for orientation sessions with trustees, senior leaders, employees and volunteers. In recent years, Peace Ministries has developed an orientation series for new ministry executive leaders, senior leaders, new ministry trustees and more.
Materials are intended to support and enhance the understanding of the mission and the history of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace. Peace Ministries’ resources are focused on educating around who and what Peace Ministries is about as well as introducing founding documents, core values, and mission and values review process (Mission Alive). Broader categories include history & CSJP foundation, mission in action, living the charism, and sponsorship & governance.
For more information or questions on any of our formation and orientation programs, please contact Colleen O’Brien at cobrien@csjp.org.
