| Possumus Fall 2008 |
Partnerships |
Purpose
Diane Gardner is experiencing the closest kind of partnership with the Sisters of St. Joseph that a layperson can experience. She is a Consociate, one of 125 men and women who have made a commitment to help carry on the mission of the CSJs in their lives and in the world. That anyone who is not a nun would choose to dedicate her or himself to this calling is remarkable enough. Even more remarkable is that Diane is, at the same time a Commissioned Minister for Spiritual Direction with the United Church of Christ, where she offers one-on-one spiritual direction and sometimes preaches.
QHow did you get from the United Church of Christ spiritual director, which sems like a fulfilling enough thing to be, to a CSJ Consociate?
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AAlong a circuitous route. I didn’t grow up knowing nuns. I believed a lot of the usual nun stereotypes ——which, of course, the Sisters of St. Joseph blasted out of the water. But I did my graduate work at the College of St. Catherine and met some of the CSJs there. I started doing some volunteer work with Wisdom Ways, a CSJ ministry. At Carondelet Center, I met more Sisters. The then-director of Wisdom Ways was herself a Consociate. Eventually, the idea of becoming one occurred to me, but it seemed like a pretty big leap. So I moved toward it and back and toward it and back for almost four years. |
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Q
What finally made up your mind?
AIt was at the Wisdom Ways’ Fifth Anniversary dinner, where I was seated at the same table with two of the Sisters, Eleanor Lincoln and Catherine Litecky, who were compiling a book about the history of the CSJ St. Paul Province. They started telling those old stories and that night I heard them with different ears. Something in me said “yes.” I called the Consociate office the next day, and started my candidacy. I made my commitment in 2001.
Q Was it surprising to you that the Sisters would welcome a non-Catholic into such a close fellowship?
AThey welcome not only non-Catholics, but also women and men both. It’s a community where the great love of God is the important thing.
Q After all the equivocating, what really motivated you to become a Consociate?
ATwo things. It was clear to me that the Sisters in no way walk in lockstep. But the amount of respect they have for each other, the degree of listening that goes on, the consensus decisionmaking——well, I was in awe of that. And the CSJs’ guiding document, the Acts of Chapter, was so ——well, the only word I can think of is cosmic. They were so forward thinking. I knew I had to become a part of this.
Q Even though you’re a Protestant?
AThe Sisters know they live and serve in an ecumenical world. They’re very progressive about that. And they’re very open to outside ideas and counsel.
Q What is the process of becoming a Consociate like?
AThere’s a two-year discernment period. You get to know the Sisters and the other Consociates, and they get to know you. Candidates and Consociates are invited to all the rituals, province assemblies and parties. Some Consociates serve on the boards and committees of the CSJ community. I’m incredibly honored and blessed to be the Consociate Consultant to their governing council.
Q And what do you think you bring to the partnership with the CSJs?
AI bring both my reverence and my irreverence, my love of God, my open mind, my willingness to learn. I bring 20 years of non-profit management and organizing and volunteering. And I bring a different voice, that of a mainstream Protestant tradition.
Q In this issue of Possumus, we’re talking about partnerships as transformative relationships. In other words, their association somehow changes both parties. Do you think that’s true of your relationship with the CSJs?
AIt’s not only true of my relationship with CSJ, but it’s how I see them doing business in the world. How they go about their ministry. It’s not only “How can we work together?” It’s not only “I’ll give this percent and you give that.” It’s “What is God calling us to do here?” It’s really something more. I see it at St. Mary’s Clinics, at Sarah’s…an Oasis for Women, at Learning In Style. I see it in the Working Groups of the CSJ Justice Commission. It’s not just paying lip service; it’s way beyond that. It’s becoming part of the systemic change you seek. The way the CSJs do partnerships is the way we wish all partnerships would be.
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