Stories of Our Call

Called to Providence

Women of Providence in Collaboration: Vocation/Formation/Leadership
By Sister Anita Brenek

We Sisters of Divine Providence of San Antonio, Texas, belong to an organization called Women of Providence in Collaboration (WPC). This organization is composed of twelve congregations of women religious from across the US and Canada who share in the charism of Providence. The mission of the WPC is “to share and promote the evolving theology and spirituality of Providence.” Each spring, the WPC hosts a gathering for the Sisters in the ministries of vocation promotion, initial formation and our leadership liaisons to these ministries. The primary goal of this particular group within the WPC is to foster the Providence spirituality in the women entering our congregations.

The WPC Vocation/Formation/Leadership (V/F/L) gathered March 18-21, 2010, in Montreal, Canada. Sisters Elsa Garcia, Gloria Ann Fiedler, and Rosalie Karstedt and I were able to attend this gathering, along with MCDP Sisters Esther Guerrero and Sylvia Garcia.

The theme of the gathering was, “Providence as Good News to the Poor.” The guest speaker invited to address this topic was Rev. John Walsh, a pastor in Montreal who is active in promoting ecumenical and humanitarian causes. A major focus of Father Walsh’s presentation was one that I thought affirmed what the Providence congregations already experience – that Providence calls us to be hope in the midst of darkness.

Father Walsh used the image of a clown – “a clown smiles in the face of death.” He emphasized that we need to help people face the crises in our world today. Settling for a piety that presumes safety and protection from suffering can lead to loss of faith when the inevitable hardships come. Fostering a Church of action can lead to sustenance even in the midst of difficulty.

Another image Father Walsh used was the turtle – the turtle needs to stick out its neck in order to move ahead. One can risk if one trusts in Providence. Such risks include sacrifice. “If we religious don’t make sacrifices, the word will be lost from our vocabulary,” Father Walsh said. What is a community or what are individuals willing to sacrifice to allow the new to emerge?

We Women of Providence spent time talking about these familiar and challenging concepts and how we help promote these in the women with whom we work in vocation and formation ministry. The most challenging and inspiring, we agreed, was for ourselves to continue growing in our willingness to trust – trust enough to risk, sacrifice, and be about the action that leads to the Reign of God.

The second part of the V/F/L gathering was for the vocation, formation, and leadership liaisons each meeting in our own groups. I was in the group of formation ministers. We discussed and shared ideas around how we work within our inter-congregational formation programs and how we connect with our international formation programs. We all agreed that both carry challenges along with the benefits. I appreciated the support as well as the ideas from the other formation ministers. We also prepared for an “initial formation gathering,” to continue helping our newer members grow in their connections and collaboration with other religious.

The vocation ministers had lively discussions around a study by the Center for Applied Research on the Apostolate, and the use of technology in their work. They wish to make sets of video clips: one set with newer members, to be used in vocation promotion; the other set with young people with their thirst for God, to be shared with the Sisters within the WPC congregations.

The leadership group shared their concerns and ideas for connecting with Providence Sisters in Central and South America and perhaps out of this relationship, a Spanish “Women of Providence in Collaboration” could be established. They also shared concerns about buildings and properties, as well as initiatives to support viability and ministry focus.

We all returned to our congregations, appreciative of this opportunity with other Women of Providence. The support as well as the generation of fresh ideas were helpful for each of us as we continue in our ministry for our congregations and the Church.

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