Published in the Fall, 2019 issue of The Occasional Papers. 

Ted Dunn, Ph.D. addresses three relevant questions for our times:

1. Why is meaning important in our lives?

2. Why is meaning-making especially important in times of transition?

3. How can communities and leaders, in particular, attend to this meaning-making effort?

Insights and challenges from younger members

The Religious Formation Conference  has published Dr. Ted Dunn's article in the March, 2017 issue of InFormation. The survey of younger religious provided a number of insights and challenges for their respective communities and religious life as a whole. This article describes several of these themes.

Contemplative reflections of “younger” members

LCWR's Occasional Papers (Winter, 2017) has published Dr. Dunn's review of responses to his national survey for “younger” sisters in the United States. This survey tapped the experience and reflections of sisters under 50 years of age regarding their own community’s efforts to discern God’s call to new life through various transformative processes.

A survey of Options

Communities were surveyed as the kinds of choices they were discerning (e.g., Refounding, Reconfiguring or Restructuring). They offered their reflections on the costs and benefits of their efforts, and insights. Their collective learning and recommendations are discussed in the article providing guidance for communities exploring these possibilities.

Transformative Visioning as a Refounding Process

"Gather the Wisdom, Weave a Dream" discusses Transformative Visioning, one of the dynamic elements of Transformation or Refounding.

A choice for Transformational Change

Refounding Religious life discusses the five dynamic elements of transformation or refounding:

1. Transformation of Consciousness;

2. Re-authentication of your Charism (or the soul of community);

3. Reconciliation and Conversion;

4. Experimentation and Learning;

5. Transformative Visioning.

Creating a space to listen to God

The notion of interior freedom is a core principle of Ignatian discernment. The article discusses concrete ways of achieving it.

Birthing a New Way of Being

The shift from hierarchical to circular models of leadership is often mentioned, but rarely described. Different models of leadership, including circular models, are described here along with their pros and cons.

The heart-work of change

This article reframes resistance as the doorway to change, not the barrier.

Victims, Villians and Martyrs

This article discusses the all to frequent experience of triangulation. Its basis is conflict avoidance, which quickly leads to camps (group triangulation), with Victims, Villains and Martyrs forming the basic triangle. 

Chapter walls have memories

Communal discernment of leadership has its goals, myths and challenges. This article discusses all three.

There is politics

While where two or more are gathered can bring Jesus among them, it often brings politics as well. This article discusses ways to minimize the politics.