SYNTHESIS OF MOST PRESSING NEEDS STATEMENTS
US PROVINCE ELECTION ASSEMBLY JUNE 8-12, 1998

Collaboration with laity

Strengthen collaboration in our ministries with lay people and with other religious orders, and creatively integrate our lay associates into our spirituality and ministry.

Community

There is a need to address individualism issues in community living by promoting a strong vision for Dehonian community and by having young scjs live in supportive communities characterized by: We do not have a corporate identity. This results in a lack of connectedness and focus, [a situation which] directly impacts vocation recruiting.

Leadership

We must elect a leadership that will implement the planning decisions.

We must elect a leadership that will respond to the needs of the province.

We need younger members in leadership.

We need a leadership that promotes a vision now in active dialogue with the membership.

Planning

We need to continue our province planning process so that the province makes specific choices about ministries (whether to retain or not retain them, or to consolidate them, or to do something totally new) within the broader vision of our charism and the needs of our time, even if the choices are difficult.

There must be a definite time line [to the planning process].

There must be some method employed to ensure that the province buys into the results.

Widespread consultation must lead to a decision by the provincial, who has the authority to decide.

The planning process should lead to a chapter which will define the province ministries, express a vision for the future, and make decisions with the authority of a provincial directory.

SCJ Collaboration

We need to promote global, North American, inter-provincial and zonal planning and sharing of resources.

Vocations

We need to make vocation recruitment a high priority by encouraging each scj to be a vocation recruiter, by staffing and revitalizing the vocation office, and by making our charism and community life visible and attractive to the laity.

There needs to be an immediacy to vocation recuiting.

Other, Assorted Issues