On April 9-12, 2019, Sr. Helena of Mary and Sr. Lois Ann attended the Annual Formators' Workshop sponsored by the Council of Major Superiors of Women Religious (CMSWR) at Malvern Retreat House in Malvern, PA. The event was attended by approximately ninety women religious from different religious congregations. This year's topic was on "Formative Listening." The speakers chosen for this year's event gave great presentations in the areas of their expertise: Father Thomas P. Acklin, O.S.B and Father Boniface Hicks, O.S.B from Saint Vincent Archabbey, Latrobe, PA spoke on Subjectivity/Interiority, Listening/Challenges to Listening in the context of Spiritual Accompaniment; Sister Mary Madeline Todd, O.P gave a presentation on Cultivating A Listening Heart: Silence and Prayer, Cultivating A Listening Heart: Hearing God's Will with Others; and Stephen Giodano, President and Founder of Day One Group specializing in leadership development gave a rousing presentation on Guiding Others Through Coaching.
The gathering was filled with special graces as we gathered for liturgies, meals and fraternity with Formators seeking out opportunities to consult and share with one another issues pertaining to vocation and Formation.
