[Mary E Sliney]

There are Even Models for Emerging Equity in the Catholic Church ….

When I left the 4/14/23 Deeptime Leadership Class with Bill Halal, I found my housemate listening to the Retreat leader, Sister Teresa Maya, for the Chapter Delegates for the 2023 Chapter of the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas. Several of her statements caught my attention, particularly her statements regarding the participatory processes leading up and taking place over the next two weeks to design and decide on the Institute’s structures and vision for the next 6 years. She challenged the sisters to see themselves as ecosystems within larger ecosystems. She concluded with statements about the journey they are on together, in their diversity and as a communal whole. She stated: ”As you begin any journey, you must first explore.” Chapters, she said, are one of the most significant examples in the church that the Synodal journey is possible. ” We get the chance to prove over and over that we gather for the whole, that we can listen deeply to one another, that we can reconcile our differences and … that a horizontal model of Church is possible and can thrive.”

I was not familiar with ”Synodal journey” … my google search sent me to the US Council of Catholic Bishops and their statement: ”Pope Francis invites the entire Church to reflect on a theme that is decisive for its life and mission: ’It is precisely this path of synodality which God expects of the Church of the third millennium.’ This journey, which follows in the wake of the Church’s “renewal” proposed by the Second Vatican Council, is both a gift and a task: by journeying together and reflecting together on the journey that has been made, the Church will be able to learn through Her experience which processes can help Her to live communion, to achieve participation, to open Herself to mission.”

OMG, the fathers in the Church with the help of Pope Francis are setting out on a path that can radically change this Institution!

In the few minutes after class before my housemate connected me to the hope and challenges offered to the Sisters of Mercy Chapter delegates, I was reflecting on pain and frustration that I heard within Bill Halal’s comments on the Catholic Church as a difficult (impossible?) institution to change. I thought about how the seeds of change that some of us see (and get to participate in) are rarely available in local churches. That thought led me to think about how Bill’s ability to see the seeds of change in corporations gives him insight and hope while those of us not operating as an ”insider” in the economic systems showed more pain and frustration when corporations were on the ”hot seat” during our class conversations.

Isn’t it wonderful that we are all players in this great drama of creating the critical mass to change consciousness! Blessed be! Mary Sliney (Maybe its time to find change my photo to one that shows more hope and joy, and not just the pain and sorrow of this journey.)

[Mary E Sliney]

Universal wisdom emerging within us as shared in Deeptime breakout group 1/13/2023:

We  feel called to Be Still, Be Awake, and Listen Deeply … enabling us to build relationships, connecting across our diversity.
And, when diversity makes it seem that relationship is not possible, by listening deeply we find the center of a commonality that unites.

[Mary E Sliney]

I am seeking a wholeness in which living in Deeptime  has a continuous flow in the mundane tasks of daily life and job responsibilities.  Throughout most of my adult life, my passion for justice has periodically spun me into overwhelm.  Re-connecting with Life in Deeptime has both grounded me and set my spirit free.  For example, in 2017 after personal and professional losses combined with Trumpisms, I was slipping into despair; then, I found in my local library the entire 2014 DVD series, Cosmos – A Spacetime Odyssey; and I remembered the wholeness of the web of life on this beautiful “blue dot” in this Awesome / Amazing Universe.  This year is another time for renewal, deepening, and also en-lightening.  This morning, after worrying over the impact of Hurricane Ian and other areas of death and destruction, at 3 A.M , the time of least light pollution in my neighborhood,  I went outside to greet the Milky Way and was delighted by the streak of light from a meteor burning itself out as it entered earth’s atmosphere.     Opps … I have to finish my timesheet for my job.  Looking forward to Friday’s class.  Mary

[Mary E Sliney]

Hi, I am Mary Sliney from Goffstown, NH, USA. My picture, from a few years ago, shows me enjoying my winter walk to a branch of the Piscataquog River, my home Watershed.    I come to this course as part of my quest to be of service in a renewed way to the web of life on earth.   I have often felt most at home in the natural world.  I grew up on a small family farm with deeply spiritual parents.  This year I marked my 33rd year as an Associate and 23 years as full member  of the Sister of Mercy of the Americas.  In 1989 I changed my form of membership, but not my commitment to social justice action and service, because I felt the institutional Catholic Church was regressing.  While I admired Pope Francis,  I wasn’t paying attention, until this year, to Laudato Si’ and its Action Platform .  It touched my heart and in so many ways my journey with my Mercy Sisters. When, as a vowed member, I was offered the opportunity to go to graduate school,  I followed my heart – to be close to the land and to be part of a regional food self-reliance movement, caring for the earth while making healthy food accessible. I took classes in Environmental Studies at Antioch, New England while doing my internship at the Rural Education Center in Wilton, NH.   I then returned to working in Manchester, NH, focusing on access to decent housing, promoting just human relationships, and environmental health.  I helped found a nonprofit agency through which  I worked with low income moms to develop projects to help other families in need, including a local Environmental Justice project which brought landlords and tenants together to protect the health of children by reducing lead paint hazards in their homes.  In 2021 my agency became a program of a larger social service agency; and this past year has given me time to reclaim with a new spirit my passion for this earth.  I’m looking forward to deepening my relationships with global movements to care for the earth and all her children.

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