PROGRAMS AND COMMUNITY ISSUES
We would like to express our appreciation to the 78 communities in the Washington Province who responded to the Community Challenge Questionnaire. You rose to our request to identify the specific needs that your individual Communities are facing now and expect to face in the future.
Following are the results of ranking the topics in order of importance:
- Leadership and Training
- Outreach
- Communications
- Formation
- Carmelite Spirituality
- Administration and Organization
The 525 individual responses to these seven topics (a 50% return!) provide us with a significant level of detail regarding the nature of these challenges.
Your responses also clearly show that our OCDS communities have a number of common concerns, a common desire to embrace the challenges, and eagerness to explore possible solutions with one another. We are deeply grateful for your input. This information provided an objective basis for us to develop a meaningful program that will include practical workshops and panel discussions to be held during the 2009 Congress.
Because these challenges impact each and every one of the 151 Communities in our Province, we encourage each Council to send at least one representative to the Congress to participate actively in the workshops and panel discussions; then report back to his/her community. We believe that the format of this Congress will enable all OCDS attendees, and their respective communities, to better understand and cope with current challenges as we all strive to practice an 800-year tradition as Carmelites in the 21st Century.