MIA Leadership Conference

From early afternoon on May 18th.the Leadership Teams of the nine Mercy families from around the world began to gather at All Hallows College, Dublin for the Leadership Conference. The opening ritual on the next morning was truly a celebration of a global family united in its commitment to the Mission of Mercy.

Breege O’Neill rsm, who was the keynote speaker for the first day, spoke on the future of Religious Life in the context of the MIA Vision and the Conference Theme --- Mercy is the wellspring- the source of never failing supply.

Breege led the participants in reflection on the future of Religious Life through the lens of four questions:

What is the journey that shapes this present moment?
What kind of story will gift the future?
Where is the call in Religious life/Mercy life today?
What is the power that opens the way into the future?

To access Breege's paper, click here (pdf)

On the second day, the MIA team presented an outline of the Strategic Plan that is taking forward the MIA Vision and outlined what is happening and what is planned in the following areas:

• Tending the Spirituality of Mercy (Charism)
• Reaching out to Global Need (Global Action)
• Telling/Communicating the Story (Communications)
• Supporting the Dream (Organisation, Administration & Finance)

These sessions were informative, engaging and inspiring and created a high level of enthusiasm and energy among participants.

The third day was an integration day and again there was great energy for the MIA Vision. Among the discussions engaged in by participants were ways of

• taking ownership of MIA
• integrating the MIA vision with congregational agendas, particularly in the area of global action;
• telling the MIA story
• bringing the global face of Mercy into local settings
• encouraging lay colleagues, ministry personnel and youth to participate in MIC programmes
• training for engagement with the new web platform

After a closing ritual, the participants enjoyed a celebratory meal at Mercy International Centre and spent some time in Catherine’s house.

Messages to Mary Reynolds rsm - Executive Director MIA