One of first things that Monica Misey did after being named Director of Dehonian Associates was to reach out to province ministries to learn first-hand what they needed from her office.
“I was expecting to hear requests for bulletin content, posters, and other materials about Fr. Dehon, not leadership formation!” said Monica. But in province ministries increasing led by lay people, leadership formation – based in Dehonian spirituality – is something that many cited.
“As I spoke with people across our ministries, they were excited about leadership formation at all levels as a way of better integrating Dehonian spirituality in their work,” she said.
During the past few months Monica has worked with a team of lay leaders “who are passionate both about exercising good leadership and about the Dehonian charism.” They include Dr. Julie O’Connor (Sacred Heart Seminary and School of Theology), Joe Tyrell (St. Joseph’s Indian School), and Andrea Vincent (Sacred Heart Southern Missions).
Under the umbrella of “The Dehonian Leadership Institute” the group hopes to offer several programs. The first is “LEAD.” Its mission is “to form spiritually grounded leaders who embody the Dehonian spirit of love and reconciliation,” said Monica. It is designed for SCJs and for collaborators across the US.
LEAD will kick off with a three-day pilot retreat for six to eight people in June. This will be followed by a fall retreat with 12 leaders from across the province. There will also be two skill-specific training sessions each year open to anyone serving in province ministries, including SCJs.
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