Goal Setting

RCA Recommendation:

We recommend that the goal-setting directive be sent to the local communities by the middle of August to allow time to review and discuss at the first local assembly. Sending directives in September results in not getting to the goal setting until October or November.

RESPONSE: It is important to affirm the process of Goal Setting and to note that it is not merely an administrative task or something we check off each year; it has become a spiritual exercise, aligning our daily living to our communal mission. The past couple of years, the Chapter Implementation Committee provided a framework to help guide the Goal Setting process in alignment with the Chapter 2023 Direction Statement. There are no plans at this time to provide additional guidance for Goal Setting, so the use of one of these previous processes may be helpful, or a general conversation with the local community may support the process the sisters wish to use locally.

Initiating goal setting in August will allow sisters the necessary heartspace and headspace to enter the year with intentionality rather than playing catch-up in the late autumn. This earlier start would also provide a vital opportunity for Superiors and Local Councilors to serve as spiritual guides in this area. Since the “new year” house councilors may not be elected by mid- August, and/or the past year councilor(s)/superior may be missioned elsewhere, the superior may have to guide the sisters through the goal-setting process. Rather than focusing solely on “tasks,” we encourage leadership to guide the sisters in a deep reflection on how they live together.

Suggestions for Goal Setting will be published on the Sisters’ Section of the website.

 

Goal Setting is the moment to:

  • Identify specific behaviors and practices that strengthen communal life.
  • Name the virtues or habits that will foster a more cohesive and supportive local environment.
  • Address the relational health of the house as the primary “work” of the community.
  • Speak honestly about our engagement with God’s people and the world.

 

  1. Goal of Our Charism (Chapter 2019)

Articulate an annual convent goal that is more intentionally centered around our IHM Charism may remind us to consider how we personally strive to be a “joyful bearer of God’s redeeming love” to each sister in our local convent and to each person in our place of ministry.

This guide and form will be a guide to lead your local community through the goal setting process based on an IHM Charism focus.

Document from 2019

  1. Goal of the Heart Goal Setting Method (Chapter 2023)

This information is meant to be a possible tool to assist you in formulating this year’s goal and hopefully, it will be a helpful support. Do not let it stifle your process; allow the Holy Spirit to direct you as God leads your community toward the design of transformation intended for your local convent.

Below, the following information will guide your local community through the process of creating a goal of the heart.

  1. Goal of God’s Invitation: Using Scripture Method (Chapter 2023)

We hear in scripture how we are called to listen more deeply to God’s word and how a particular passage may call us to deeper communion with God and with one another.  This information is to assist you with using a scripture passage to guide your local goal.

In this brief video, there is an explanation of this focus, citing an example of what such a goal might look like. Since each local community’s goal will spotlight the area of growth that God desires specifically for you, it is most likely that no two will be the same. God shows us that God guides each of us on our own unique path, and that this path is designed to bring us closer to God and God’s creation.

Video:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tmZ-K5d9-P0

Additional Consideration:

While a yearly goal provides a broad horizon, it may be helpful if local communities move toward monthly touchpoints. Instead of naming a goal and revisiting it monthly or a year later, local leadership might encourage naming a specific focus or communal intention on a monthly basis.

Example: “This month, we are focusing on the practice of active listening during our common meals.”

This approach keeps the goals alive and allows the sisters to pivot as the needs of the community evolve throughout the year.