Annual Meeting of the MID Board: 2003
A pleasant oak-lined drive and drapes of Spanish moss greeted MID board members arriving at Mepkin Abbey, Moncks Corner, South Carolina, for their annual meeting on October 10-13, 2003. Mild sunny weather, the ubiquitous foliage, and the unbounded hospitality of the Trappist monks of Mepkin complemented an ambitious business agenda over the Columbus Holiday weekend.
Meeting in the conducive environs of the Clare Booth Luce Library, the board members fashioned a renewed mission statement for MID, conducted ordinary business, and laid plans for several new ventures in keeping with a refreshed vision and mission.
The MID Board was pleased to welcome Fr. Pierre-François de Béthune, OSB, general secretary of DIM/MID, who brought a renewed international perspective to the work of MID and reported on commissions for interreligious dialogue worldwide. Part of his report focused on DIM (Dialogue Interreligieux Monastique), the European component of the international effort toward dialogue. Due to the proximity of many houses, especially in Belgium where there are 14 monasteries, contact persons for each monastery meet periodically for one-day regional meetings. DIM continues to be active in an exchange program with Buddhist and Hindu monastics, with emphasis on a lengthy stay in a single monastery.
An international perspective was further enhanced by a report from Fr. William Skudlarek on the meeting of the European Commissions of DIM/MID convened in Assisi on September 17-21, 2003. His report included a copy of the text of Archbishop Michael Fitzgerald’s comments and recommendations that were presented at the Assisi conference.
Ordinary business included a review of revenue sources, expenses, and accounting procedures; the MID Bulletin report with discussion of production and distribution costs and concerns; and the executive secretary’s report in which Sr. Margaret Mary Funk indicated a firm intention to retire from this position in 2005, thereby setting in motion a search process for her replacement. A report on the Nuns in the West Conference hosted at the Hsi Lai Temple in Hacienda Heights, California, in May of this year testified to a fruitful exchange between 15 non-Christian and 15 Christian nuns.
In other business, the board elected Sr. Catherine Cleary, OSB, and Fr. Charles Cummings, OCSO, to first terms on the board and re-elected Fr. Donald Grabner, OSB, to a second three-year term. These individuals complement the remaining current board membership consisting of Sr. Barbara McCracken, OSB, Abbot Francis Kline, OCSO, Br. Gregory Perron, OSB, Fr. James Conner, OCSO, Sr. Jeanne Ranek, OSB, Fr. Joseph Wong, OSB Cam., Abbot Leo Ryska, OSB, Sr. Margaret Michaud, OSB, Abbot Mark Serna, OSB, Sr. Sarah Schwartzberg, OSB, and Fr. William Skudlarek, OSB, who were present for the Mepkin meeting. They were joined by Fr. James Wiseman, editor of the MID Bulletin, and guests representing the Fetzer Institute, Kate Olson (one of the board’s advisors) and Paul Gailey. Absent members included Sr. Kathy Lyzotte, OCSO, Br. Patrick Cooney, OSB, Fr. Joel Rippinger, OSB, Fr. David Bock, OCSO, Fr. Philip Simo, OSB, and Fr. Daniel Ward, OSB.
The advisory board was expanded to include Sr. Rebecca Cown and Fr. Damon Geiger, who were named to first terms; second terms were extended to Fr. Thomas Ryan, CSP, and Sr. Rosemary Huber, MM.
Significant time was devoted to re-envisioning the mission of MID using a card-sorting process to elicit each one’s insights and achieve consensus. The process also surfaced directions for board action resulting in an ad hoc committee structure to address issues in the interim between annual meetings. Five committees were formed to lay the groundwork for several foci for board action: (1) a Transition Committee to conduct a search and prepare for new board leadership, namely, a board chairperson and an executive director; (2) a Fund Raising and Finance Committee to review finances and explore ways of raising needed funds; (3) a Nuns of the West Committee to plan a second conference and facilitate a sociological study; (4) a Monks of the West Committee to explore the possibility of an interreligious meeting of monks on issues of sexuality and celibacy; and (5) an Islam Committee to initiate plans for continuing board education and explore potential for dialogue on the local level.
The board gratefully accepted invitations from Fr. Joseph Wong and the Camaldolese monks of Big Sur to host the annual board meeting on October 14-18, 2004, and from Sr. Sarah Schwartzberg and Fr. Donald Grabner to host the group at Clyde and Conception, Missouri, in 2005. Expressions of gratitude to Abbot Francis Kline and the Mepkin Abbey community for an exceptionally hospitable reception concluded the meeting.
Meeting in the conducive environs of the Clare Booth Luce Library, the board members fashioned a renewed mission statement for MID, conducted ordinary business, and laid plans for several new ventures in keeping with a refreshed vision and mission.
The MID Board was pleased to welcome Fr. Pierre-François de Béthune, OSB, general secretary of DIM/MID, who brought a renewed international perspective to the work of MID and reported on commissions for interreligious dialogue worldwide. Part of his report focused on DIM (Dialogue Interreligieux Monastique), the European component of the international effort toward dialogue. Due to the proximity of many houses, especially in Belgium where there are 14 monasteries, contact persons for each monastery meet periodically for one-day regional meetings. DIM continues to be active in an exchange program with Buddhist and Hindu monastics, with emphasis on a lengthy stay in a single monastery.
An international perspective was further enhanced by a report from Fr. William Skudlarek on the meeting of the European Commissions of DIM/MID convened in Assisi on September 17-21, 2003. His report included a copy of the text of Archbishop Michael Fitzgerald’s comments and recommendations that were presented at the Assisi conference.
Ordinary business included a review of revenue sources, expenses, and accounting procedures; the MID Bulletin report with discussion of production and distribution costs and concerns; and the executive secretary’s report in which Sr. Margaret Mary Funk indicated a firm intention to retire from this position in 2005, thereby setting in motion a search process for her replacement. A report on the Nuns in the West Conference hosted at the Hsi Lai Temple in Hacienda Heights, California, in May of this year testified to a fruitful exchange between 15 non-Christian and 15 Christian nuns.
In other business, the board elected Sr. Catherine Cleary, OSB, and Fr. Charles Cummings, OCSO, to first terms on the board and re-elected Fr. Donald Grabner, OSB, to a second three-year term. These individuals complement the remaining current board membership consisting of Sr. Barbara McCracken, OSB, Abbot Francis Kline, OCSO, Br. Gregory Perron, OSB, Fr. James Conner, OCSO, Sr. Jeanne Ranek, OSB, Fr. Joseph Wong, OSB Cam., Abbot Leo Ryska, OSB, Sr. Margaret Michaud, OSB, Abbot Mark Serna, OSB, Sr. Sarah Schwartzberg, OSB, and Fr. William Skudlarek, OSB, who were present for the Mepkin meeting. They were joined by Fr. James Wiseman, editor of the MID Bulletin, and guests representing the Fetzer Institute, Kate Olson (one of the board’s advisors) and Paul Gailey. Absent members included Sr. Kathy Lyzotte, OCSO, Br. Patrick Cooney, OSB, Fr. Joel Rippinger, OSB, Fr. David Bock, OCSO, Fr. Philip Simo, OSB, and Fr. Daniel Ward, OSB.
The advisory board was expanded to include Sr. Rebecca Cown and Fr. Damon Geiger, who were named to first terms; second terms were extended to Fr. Thomas Ryan, CSP, and Sr. Rosemary Huber, MM.
Significant time was devoted to re-envisioning the mission of MID using a card-sorting process to elicit each one’s insights and achieve consensus. The process also surfaced directions for board action resulting in an ad hoc committee structure to address issues in the interim between annual meetings. Five committees were formed to lay the groundwork for several foci for board action: (1) a Transition Committee to conduct a search and prepare for new board leadership, namely, a board chairperson and an executive director; (2) a Fund Raising and Finance Committee to review finances and explore ways of raising needed funds; (3) a Nuns of the West Committee to plan a second conference and facilitate a sociological study; (4) a Monks of the West Committee to explore the possibility of an interreligious meeting of monks on issues of sexuality and celibacy; and (5) an Islam Committee to initiate plans for continuing board education and explore potential for dialogue on the local level.
The board gratefully accepted invitations from Fr. Joseph Wong and the Camaldolese monks of Big Sur to host the annual board meeting on October 14-18, 2004, and from Sr. Sarah Schwartzberg and Fr. Donald Grabner to host the group at Clyde and Conception, Missouri, in 2005. Expressions of gratitude to Abbot Francis Kline and the Mepkin Abbey community for an exceptionally hospitable reception concluded the meeting.
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Sr. Jeanne Ranek, OSB, is a member of the MID board. She participated in Gethsemani Encounters I and II and Nuns in the WestI and coordinated Nuns in the West II. She is a member of the community of Sacred Heart Monastery in Yankton, South Dakota.