Video on mutuality

On Monday morning, June 28, Providence Associates gathered with the Sisters of Providence for the first time during an Annual Meeting. After a time of prayer, Sister Mary Alice Zander, director of Providence Associates, and Sister Diane Mason, assistant director, presented information about the evolution of the associate movement within the Church and how the Sisters of Providence, in particular, created (and continue to create) this relationship.

A video illustrating the mutuality between sisters and associates was shown at the end of their presentation. Click below to view the video.

If you have trouble viewing the video, click here for a direct link to our Web site.

For more information about Providence Associates, click here.

Teaching Children to Pray

How old were you in your first memories of prayer? Do you remember who taught you what to do or what to say in prayer? For many of us, prayer is such a deeply ingrained behavior that it is hard to imagine having ever NOT done it. My only early memories of prayer involve grudgingly kneeling next to my little twin bed and mumbling “now I lay me down to sleep” whilst thinking how unfair it was that my big sister got to stay up longer than me!

Teaching my children to pray is not something I addressed as I prepared myself to begin the journey of motherhood. I’m not sure how I assumed they would learn, but it certainly never dawned upon me until recently that I will be the one to teach them! Of course, the reality is that in most cases children will ultimately work out their own manner of communicating with the Divine. Until then, though, how do we even begin to teach them to open the dialogue?

This all comes to mind now as I recently witnessed my 2 year old son’s interpretation of pre-dinner prayer. We have always made it a habit to join hands and say grace before digging in to our meals, and it has been something of a struggle to get him to join in (how dare we place food in front of him but not let him at it?!?). In the last few weeks, though, he has been a willing participant. A recent sneaky peek at him in prayer revealed a deeply bowed head and VERY furrowed brow, which nearly made me laugh out loud. Who or what gave him the idea that prayers need be so severe, even arduous?

While it is a sweet and comical image for me, I can’t help but wonder if my husband or I could be the examples of this severity. I have tried to give witness to my own actions over the last several meals, and to my chagrin I find there ARE times when I feel my brow furrowing and my frown lines deepening as we say grace. Aha! So now I see where he got it—the question is where did I get it? Do I feel that prayer is a labor? Like many habitual patterns, I seem to have fallen into this one unawares.
I have taken this mirror held up by my son as a challenge to really be in the moment of prayer. Instead of bowing my head and furrowing my brow to say a quick grace (maybe I’m guilty of being in a hurry for dinner!) or hurry through my daily prayers I have challenged myself to really witness the dialogue taking place. It is my hope that by doing so I can create an example for my son of what a joyful experience prayer can be.

What has been your experience with leading children into dialogue about God? What has it helped you to learn about yourself? Please comment and share your experiences!

Providence Associates gather at the Woods

Providence Associates from all over the country gathered Sunday, June 27, at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods for the first Annual Gathering during the Sisters of Providence Annual Meeting. On Sunday afternoon, associates met in LeFer Ballroom to register and socialize. The afternoon and evening included times for prayer, sharing a meal and socializing with one another and Sisters of Providence.

On Monday morning, June 28, Providence Associates will participate for the first time in the Congregation’s Annual Meeting. In the afternoon, Providence Associates will gather in LeFer for their first official Annual Meeting.

Pictured are some Providence Associates from the Chicago area as they participate in a prayer. From left are Beverly Adams, William Pouncy, Sue Thomas and Barbara Cottrell.

For more information about Providence Associates, click here.

Did you know ...

that you can subscribe to this blog, so that you don't have to remember to come check it every day? (We know you all do that. Every. Single. Day.) When you subscribe, you'll receive one e-mail a day with a summary of anything posted on the blog the day before.

It's easy to do: simply enter your e-mail address in the box to the right and click subscribe. That's it. Now, you'll never miss event information, posts from sisters and Providence Associates and fascinating little tidbits about SP history.

While you are at it, head on over to the White Violet Center for Eco-Justice blog and subscribe to it as well!

Picture of the Week: June 18

Students from Shawe Memorial High School in Madison, Indiana, were at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods this week for a Taste of the Woods overnight experience hosted by SP vocations. Here, they participate in a Eucharistic service in St. Joseph Chapel.

For more about similar experiences available for you or your school, visit the "Become a sister" section of our website.

Providence weavings

Providence Candidate-Associate George Thompson is learning about weaving and how our lives and Providence are woven together. This weekend, George is attending a Fiber Frolic workshop at White Violet Center for Eco-Justice. George already has weaving experience under his belt, but he wanted to soak in the Woods environment.

George will soon be completing his candidacy year before becoming a Providence Associate. Since last October, he has met with his companion, Sister Regina Marie McIntyre, to pray together and to study the Spiritual Integration Units of the Providence Associate Relationship.

To learn more about George, click here.

Power and nonviolence topic of conference address

Associates all over the country gathered in St. Louis June 4-6 for the annual North American Conference of Associates and Religious (NACAR). Janice Lilly of Bloomington, Ind., was one of several Providence Associates who attended the conference.

Janice especially enjoyed the keynote address by Michael Crosby, OFM Cap. Michael discussed “transforming our understanding of power.” This address reminded Janice of a recent presentation she heard by the Dalai Lama concerning power and nonviolence. Both men encouraged “using power in a collaborative and nonviolent way.”

To read Janice’s reflection, click here.

To learn more about Providence Associates, click here.

Did you know ...

that the Sisters of Providence tweet? Not like a bird - on Twitter! We have several different accounts where we share links and current information. We tweet from conferences (whether we have a booth or are just attending) and have been known to give away gifts to Twitter followers at our booths. :)

• @WoodsUpHistory: is for educators and history buffs. It specially features articles from the history section of our children's site, WoodsUp.com.
• @wvcecojustice: is from White Violet Center for Eco-Justice. It carries news about this ministry, as well as environmental alerts, links and news.
• @spsmw: is our general SP account where we share about all of our ministries and send out reminders about events and where you might find us at events across the country.
• @WoodsUpArtMusic: is our account for art educators, carrying news and information that relates to the Art & Music section on our children's site, WoodsUp.com.

We try hard to provide quality information via Twitter. We hope you'll add one or more of these accounts today!

Preparing for the 150th anniversary of the Civil War

The Sisters of Providence Archives is one of four institutions in Vigo County to participate in a digitization project of Civil War material. Under the auspices of Wabash Valley Visions and Voices (WV3), of which the Sisters of Providence are a partner, Civil War-related items of the Congregation will be digitized and will eventually be searchable on the WV3 Web site, a local digital memory project. A Library Services and Technology Act Mini-Digitization Grant from the Indiana State Library provides the funding for this project.

The digitization of these materials coincides with the 150th anniversary of the beginning of the Civil War next year. For more information about this project, click here.

To learn more about the role that the Sisters of Providence played during the Civil War, click here.

The time is now to become an associate!

Are you still thinking about becoming a Providence Associate? Well, there’s still time. The application process for those wanting to become Providence Candidate-Associates for the 2010-2011 year is open until June 30, 2010. We would love to have you join our Providence Family!

Do you need more information about Providence Associates? Then click here.

For more information about the application process, click here.

Family Day!

The Sisters of Providence invite you to Family Day this Sunday, June 13, from 1 to 4 p.m. at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods. Family Day is a time for children and the young-at-heart to enjoy the Sisters of Providence grounds, visit with sisters and have a lot of fun. The day includes lots of games, photo opportunities with costumed cartoon characters, visits with the alpacas, free food, choirs (including the Coon Holler Kids), hay wagon rides and much more.

All activities are free and open to the public. Won't you join us?

For more information, visit our web page.

Did you know ...

Did you know that the Sisters of Providence have an easy way for you to keep in touch and stay on top of all of our current events? Providence Partners is an e-mail newsletter that comes out every other week and carries our news, stories of sisters, information from ministries, event listings, deadlines, pictures and more.

It takes about five seconds to subscribe. Click here to get started! Quick before we lose a second. Oops. There goes one now. And another. Hey: quit reading this post and just subscribe to Providence Partners so we can all get back to work! :)

Providence Associate family welcomes Mary Gilroy

Our newest Providence Associate resides in New Mexico. Mary Gilroy of San Cristobal made her commitment in early June with her family and two Sisters of Providence present for the ceremony. Mary is companioned by Sister Nancy Bartasavich, who resides in Albuquerque.

To read more about Mary’s commitment ceremony, click here.

To learn more about Providence Associates and how you can become one, click here.

Providence Associate thrives in Tanzania

Providence Associate Pat Stucke has completed her first year of teaching in Lusanga, Tanzania, Africa, as a Peace Corps Volunteer. She and her husband, Glen, are teaching secondary-school students in Tanzania. Both are still excited about their adventure and have enjoyed not only teaching, but also getting to know the people and the culture in an up-close way.

In the past week, Pat has shared some wonderful e-mails about her experiences. She writes about daily life, teaching, attending funerals, and, on a happier note, attending weddings!

To read the latest from Pat, click here. To learn a little more about Pat and Glen, click here.

For more information about Providence Associates, click here.

Picture of the Week: June 4

Providence Volunteer Minister Jessie Light is hard at work harvesting strawberries in the White Violet Center for Eco-Justice garden. You can find White Violet Center (and their tasty strawberries!) at the Downtown Terre Haute Farmers' Market every Saturday at 9th & Cherry streets, June through October.