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A MESSAGE FROM THE PROMOTER OF PREACHING
In this year of Dominican Jubilee, we are celebrating 800 years of Dominican life. We are invited to participate in a variety of ways:
*by claiming a deep sense of gratitude for the Dominican Charism and for our global Dominican family with its various branches, and to "catch the fire of Dominic and his early followers and of those who carried the torch of Dominic down through the centuries."
*by reclaiming and renewing our call to prayer, contemplation and passion for Mission.
*by recalling that we are part of a diverse global family and by building relationships that respect the vrious gifts that each group has to offer in living our Dominican Charism.
*to be propheticin our preaching in its many forms.
A question passed on to us is worthy of our prayerful consideration and sharing : "How do we live our charism in this time and place and what equips us to bring the Dominican Charism into the future?"
Blessings to each of you!
S. Brenda Walsh, OP
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 In our Racine Dominican Community, we emphasize that prayer/contemplation, study and community are the foundation and life blood of our daily living of the Dominican Charism of Preaching. At our recent Chapter we approved internal and external priorities as follows:
Internal:
Strengthen our community living within gospel and Dominican values:
in wider and deeper relationships, in interdependence and simplicity of life, in readiness to relinquish set and comfortable patterns, and in collaboration with other Dominican communities, including exploring possibilities or restructuring.
External:
Promote justice by exposing and addressing sources and practices of violence in ourselves and our relationships, in politics, in church, in society, especially concerning women and children and to the Earth.
Study and Theological Reflection:
We have two well-known scholars, teachers and writers:
Sr. Carla Mae Streeter is a Professor at Aquinas Institute of Theology in St. Louis. She is author, lecturer and scholar. and is highly valued at Aquinas and in our own community.
Sr. Suzanne Noffke is known worldwide for her writings on St. Catherine of Siena.
Their works have been widely publicized.
Other Sisters have written for newspapers, magazines, used radio and other means of communication. Through Meetings of Promoters of Preaching and Justice, information is shared and circulated.
Other Ways of Promoting Theological Study and Reflection:
We do this in many different ways:
- Through our Racine Dominican Web Site - www.racinedominicans.org
- Use of Dominican Praise Book
- Use of Scriptures as our reading of the day
- Through our Retreat Program which has a great variety of programs, retreats, presenters on many current topics for our Sisters and Associates as well as for area residents and for people from other States and sometimes other countries who participate in the various program. Spiritual Guidance training is also offered.
- We have a Religious Bookstore that is considered "the best in the Mid-West." We also have a library with up-to-date books on theology, justice and peace issues and much more.
- The Community has established a Racine Dominican Theology Exploration Committee and they send out a monthly update and reflection for all members to study.
- We bring theological reflection to bear on the many issues we deal with as a community such as immigration, Walmart policies, the war in Iraq, the environment and other
concerns.
Formation:
The Directors of our Associate Program and New Membership are on sound theological footing.
New Membership Director worked for several years with the Dominican Friars as a member of the preaching team. She has worked with people of other cultures and has a good understanding of the needs of the Spanish-speaking population. We are part of the Inter-community Novitiate Program and encourage our new members to pursue theological studies. We also provide scholarship assistance to Novices, Sisters and Associate who want to pursue the summer preaching programs at Aquinas Institute.
Leadership:
Each year, Sisters and Associates are asked to reflect on their life and ministries in relation to our community priorities and our Dominican Charism. Through cluster groups that meet monthly, there is adequate opportunity for shared reflection and prayer and exchange of ideas among people in diverse ministries. In area meetings each Fall in the various regions where our Sisters minister, a similar exchange takes place.
While we have no foreign missions, we do collaborate with other communities of Dominican men and women who are involved on a global scale.
- We do this through our Mission Fund, which accepts applications each year. Some of the groups supported through the Fund are Dominican programs or projects overseas that have a US connection and meet our eligibility requirements.
- We have gone on short-term assignments with other groups with similar goals that have taken us to Iraq, Palestine, India, Thailand, Jordan and Central and South America.
- Last summer, we had an all-community gathering on globalization and that was a wonderful consciousness-raising experience.
- Many of our Sisters who are no longer in active ministry do stay involved with issues and theological reflection. For example, 40 gathered for the State of our Values discussion in January as part of Sojourners national effort at election time. Others attend public forums for people running for political office and bring their concerns and questions in light of our Gospel and Dominican values. Many write letters to legislators and challenge their thinking and actions on certain issues.
- Our Justice and Rights Council keeps us well informed and involved in a variety of issues. The community is sponsor of an eco-justice center that involves community and area people in learning about ecological issues and care for our environment.
- Personnel and material to aid communities in New Orleans after the hurricane disaster.
(April 2006)
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