To:                  Superiors General, Delegates of the Constellations

From:              The President of the Union

Re:                  Assembly of the Union, November 2005

Dear Delegates,

It gives me great joy to convoke the next Assembly of the UISG that will be held in Warsaw, Poland from  November 23 (a.m.) through November 26 (p.m.), 2005.

Having met and reflected, the Executive Committee chose the following theme:

Witnessing Justice, Reconciliation and Peace to the World.

The Assembly program will be aimed at sharing and deepening the May 2004 Plenary Declaration and the work of the November 2004 Congress on Consecrated Life.

This sharing and deepening will have a special character.  We will do this not only among ourselves as members of the Assembly, but also with the religious of Poland with whom we will meet in Czestochowa.   In the same spirit, we have invited the Presidents of the Conferences of the former Soviet Union countries and of several Eastern European countries to spend an entire day with us.  This will be a way to live the solidarity suggested by the Statutes, Art. 14b: The Assembly is at the service of the communion and is a vehicle of communication.  We will have a unique opportunity to know and form relationships with religious from countries that have experienced diverse realities while, at the same time, offering them the possibility of knowing the life of the Union.

The meetings with the religious of Poland and with the Presidents of the Conferences require preparation.

1. The focus of the dialogue and sharing during the meeting with the Polish religious will be on Reconciliation, the theme of the Plenary in relation to Passion for Christ, Passion for Humanity, the theme of the Congress.  In preparation for this sharing, please reflect on the following:

In the Plenary Declaration of 2004 we committed ourselves to live a spirituality of compassion, respect, courage, truth and reconciling hope that becomes a reality in the two icons chosen by the Congress. We pledged to collaborate to bring reconciliation to situations of violence and injustice, to promote inter-religious and intra-cultural dialogue and to continue efforts to counteract human trafficking and to advance the education of women and girls.

Share briefly, in relation to the theme of the Congress, one or two specific examples that describe some of the ways in which the women religious of your Country or Constellation are putting the 2004 UISG Declaration into practice.

2. The day of reflection and dialogue with the Presidents of the Conferences of the countries of the former Soviet Union and of Eastern Europe will be centered on the Congress of Consecrated Life.

The Congress on Consecrated Life of 2004, Passion for Christ, passion for humanity, chose the icons of the Good Samaritan and the Woman at the Well as challenges for women and men religious of today.

A.  What are the major challenges in today’s society that make us resistant to living out our “Passion for Christ and Passion for Humanity?” How can these resistances be transformed into “living water?”  What are the challenges that awaken hope in us?  How do we incarnate this hope day after day?

B.  In the context of your country and of the local Church, what are the “wounds” that we must address?  Share an experience.

     What is the “living water” that we need to mutually share with the people of God so that we can work together to build the Kingdom?  Share an experience.

We would be grateful if you could bring a copy of your written responses to the Assembly.

This Assembly is being organized in collaboration with the Conference of the Religious of Poland.  We are most grateful for all that the Conference is doing to assist with preparations.

It would be helpful to review the Acts of the last Assembly that were sent out last October as a way of revisiting the work and process that led to beautiful outcomes. In Warsaw we will follow the same procedure.  Delegates who were recently elected who do not have the Acts can obtain them by requesting a copy from the Secretary of UISG.

 Sister Victoria Gz de Castejón, RSCJ, will communicate all the information concerning organizational matters and confirmation of your presence at the Assembly.

As Church, we are experiencing an historical moment!  It has been less than a week since Cardinal Ratzinger was elected Pope Benedict XVI.  I would like to quote a statement from the end of his homily at the opening of the Conclave that is relevant to our theme:  “We must be animated by a holy restlessness to bring to all the gift of the faith, of friendship with Christ”.  To bring the gift of faith and love to all is to bear witness to justice, reconciliation, and peace.   We ask the Spirit to enlighten the new Pontiff in the enormous mission of guiding our Church in this rich and complex time in which we are living.

With affection and gratitude,

Sr.  Therezinha Rasera, SDS

President UISG