Giving Voice Gathering - Friday Update

Our conference planning team and various GV volunteers arrived Friday afternoon in Belmont, California at Notre Dame de Namur University to set up and put our final plans in motion for the Giving Voice National Gathering.

Our ritual and gathering space awaits participants

Giving Voice Core Team members Sarah Kohles, OSF and 

Leslie Keener, CDP get the snacks in order

Conference planning team member Jessi Beck, PBVM and
GV volunteer Clare Bass, CSJ set up the crafts table

Jessi Beck, PBVM, Juliet Mousseau, RSCJ and 

Sarah Heger, CSJ catch up before the gathering begins

This year the entire conference will be simultaneously translated so that conference participants can share from the heart in their own language. All participants have the option of using translation equipment and we have two wonderful women serving as translators, Cecilia Perez and Teresa Maya, CCVI.

GV Volunteer Chero Chuma, CSJP and conference planning team 

member Teresa Maya, CCVI test the translation equipment. 

Yolanda Tarango, CCVI will share her insights on “Mission and Ministry in the 21^st Century” throughout the conference.  On Friday night she started to break open the topic.  Leslie Keener, CDP gave the GV response.

Yolanda and Leslie touch base before the gathering opens Friday night.

Participants will share throughout the conference using the circle process.

At the end of our Friday night opening prayer, we we each reflected on and shared our burning question about mission and ministry. This will help set the stage for the entire weekend as we break open this key topic as younger women religious.

Xiomara Méndez-Hernández, OP gathers the questions.