MARCH 2019 SUMEDHA OUTREACH – DELHI, KOZHIKODE, CHENNAI, GURUGRAM

PBVM PROVINCE ASSEMBLY, DELHI

Dr. Jose Parappully, Director of Sumedha Centre facilitated the Post-General Congregation Province Assembly of the Northern Province of the Presentation Sisters of the Blessed Virgin Mary from 28 February to March 4, 2019.

The Assembly was held at Presentation School, Old Delhi, a beautiful campus close to the Old Delhi Railway Station. There were 43 participants.

Dr. Parappully had worked for more than a month with the Leadership Team of the Presentation Sisters preparing for the Assembly.

The Assembly focused on for themes that were part of the New Directions provided by the General Congregation 2018: Living Contemplatively, Being in Communion, Prophetic Witness and Decisions and Commitments.

The meticulous preparation for the Assembly, the highly professional style facilitation were very much appreciated. All were immensely satisfied with the process and outcome of the Assembly.

AGING GRACEFULLY

Dr. Parappully facilitated two three day programmes on “Aging Gracefully” for the southern province Sisters of the Little flower of Bethany ate their Provincial house in Kozhikode.

The programmes were held on 8-10 March and 12-14 March, 2019. Participants were Sister above 55 years. There were 28 Sisters for the first programme and 23 sisters for the second programmes.

Participants of both programmes found them immensely helpful. They appreciated the wealth of information shared and the tools and processes for Aging Gracefully that were presented, as well as the opportunities provided for the sisters to look at share their aging experiences.

PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT

The third outreach programme was Psychological Assessment of 13 Junior Sisters of the Nagpur province of the Good Shepherd Sisters.

The programme was held at the Jesuit run Dhyana Ashram in Chennai between 27^th March and April 1^st.

The participants found the Assessment very helpful in enhancing their self-understanding.

SEXUALITY AND SPIRITUALITY SEMINAR AT GURUGRAM

The fourth programme that Dr. Parappully facilitated was a two-day seminar on the Spirituality of Sexuality for 12 sisters engaged in the Family Apostolate.

The programme was organized by FRATRI Family Apostolate Centre run by the Holy Family Sisters of the New Delhi Province at Gurugram, Haryana.

There were Sisters from three different religious Congregations.

Participants found the seminar very informative and helpful.

SUMEDHA OUTREACH IN NEW DELHI

Dr. Jose Parappully, Director of Sumedha Centre, was invited to facilitate two programmes in New Delhi.

The first was for the Community Leaders of the Congregation of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary (PBVM), and the other organized by the Secretary of the Conference of Religious (CRI), Dr. Joe Mannath..

The programme for the PBVM Sisters was held at the Navjivan Renewal Centre, on the campus of St. Xavier’s Senior Secondary School on Raj Nivas road, New Delhi, from 15^th to 20^th October, 2018.

There were 11 participants, including the Provincial, Sr. Miriam Attel.

The programme was titled “Transformational Leadership for Religious Community Leaders.” It began with an exploration of Religious Life and Community, the context in which the participants were called to exercise Leadership.

An understanding of Transformational Leadership – Qualities of Transformational Leaders, Practices of Transformation Leadership, and Leadership Skills -- was then presented and explored. Participants had the opportunity to assess themselves using Leadership Questionnaires and Inventories.

The film “1492 – Conquest of Paradise” which deals with Christopher Columbus’s discovery of the Americas, was used to highlight various dimensions of transformational leadership.

The programme ended with an exploration of the “Spirituality of Leadership,” presenting Moses as an inspiring Transformational Leader.

All the participants found the workshop immensely useful for them. Some Comments:

“The inputs, exercises, ratings, reflection time, times of integration and interiorization were very good for application to our lives… Your facilitation process was excellent, never felt tired.”

“It really helped me evaluate my way of functioning as a leader.”

“An excellent work/workshop conducted. Thank you.”

“Input was very enriching. Each session was a little mirror where I could see myself/my behaviour/my actions at a deeper level. In other words these 6 days were very effective.”

“It has been immensely practical.”

“Immensely useful – 10!”

The second programme was held at the CRI House, Masigarh, Sukhdev Vihar, New Delhi. Dr. Parappully facilitated two days (October 21-22) of this seven day workshop on “Formation of Formators.”

There were 23 participants from different religious congregations in charge of initial formation.

Dr. Parappully focused on “Psychological Dimensions of Formation,”  “Sexual Boundary Violations” and “Healing from the Effects of Sexual Abuse.”

All the participants of this programme too, found it very useful for them. “It provided us clear notions and goals and helped us to be better equipped to carry out our role” was a common observation.