The RSCJ who shared his book with me was very excited about the idea of networking and how vital it is for the future… how important it is for RSCJ and others to make real connections world wide. We need to move outside the boundaries of a concept all too familiar to us: “We can do it alone.” The next step is “Together, we can [must] do it.” This concept and outlook applies to our spiritual lives as well as to our ministerial lives and our lives in community. No longer are we satisfied to go it alone. The old concept of “rugged individualism” does not appeal. Now, for most of us, our natural instinct is to move outward in committed connections with others…with the earth... and most especially with God who is at the center of all we do and who we are.

O’Murchu’s book Our World In Transition speaks of the power of networking:

Networking is a wholistic concept that nurtures a number of processes otherwise considered to be independent and autonomous functions. People begin to link up with a whole range of others, irrespective of background, expertise or the traditional distinctions of race, creed or colour of skin; people link up because the linking itself is somehow felt to be the right thing to do…A new sense of neighbourliness and befriending ensues…As a network coheres, and people share their ideas and resources, a creativity from within can begin to unfold… (p. 80,81)

In the Society of the Sacred Heart, we are very accustomed to the concept of “network.” Thanks to the forward thinking of bright and creative minds in the 70’s, we established a Network of our Sacred Heart Schools. What began as a vision about connection and collaboration has become a strong reality of support, conviction, creativity, and a set of relationships forged by a common mission. RSCJ are part of many other networks that work for transformation: Pax Christi, Amnesty International, Network Social Justice Lobby, and numerous education networks. It is important that we continually make new connections among ourselves and with others in mutual ways that name our commitment to one another and to a mission of manifesting God’s love in many circumstances and among many people.

O’Murchu says that networking and “mutual collaboration” is a must for the future. Again, it is not a new concept for many of us, but when we look at how we live our lives, how we want to live, and the commitments we make, it can give a new spark of energy for the future. O’Murchu goes so far as to associate the concept with the vow of obedience which he prefers to rename as the vow of “mutual collaboration.” As such, he stresses the importance of “deep listening” to others, to God, to Christ in the scriptures, and even to the cosmos itself. He writes:

The root word, ob-audiere, means to listen attentively. It requires a radical and attentive openness to the deeper message and meaning of all that we are asked to attend to. Only in the light of such deep listening can we respond in a more wholesome way….There is within every human being a creative urge, a power that comes from within. Only in a culture of mutual collaboration can this creativity be tapped – to the benefit of all creatures and to the mutual advancement of life in its evolutionary grandeur.
(Poverty, Celibacy and Obedience: A Radical Option for life p. 88, 93)

One example of mutual collaboration and networking takes place at the Little Sisters of the Assumption Family Health Service in East Harlem, NY. I was thrilled to read news paper accounts about the agency which has just expanded into a new building. One of our sisters, Judy Garson RSCJ is the director of the agency which was founded by the Little Sisters of the Assumption. The article spoke about the collaboration that is a natural part of this very successful enterprise which is focused on the needs of people in East Harlem. Several religious congregations are part of the agency but even more so, the agency is truly connected with many lay men and women and numerous agencies in New York City. They are all working together “to provide nurses, social workers, crisis counselors, educators and child development specialists to families in East Harlem. At any one time, the center serves about 2,000 families.”

The work of NGO’s at the United Nations is another fine example of global networking and working together across boundaries of culture, nation, or political persuasion for the good of the whole. NGO’s operate on the understanding that networks and joint efforts are more effective than any organization or country doing this alone. Cecile Meijer, the RSCJ NGO representative at the UN says: “Alone you are nothing at the UN, you simply have to work together with other likeminded groups.” Currently, close to 1,400 NGOs from all regions of the world are associated with the Department of Public Information at the UN.

These examples point to what O’Murchu believes about networking:

The call to mutual collaboration is a call to a new quality of global participation. It is a new way (in fact a very old way) of engaging with our co-creative God at the heart of the world.
(Poverty, Celibacy and Obedience: A Radical Option for life p. 98).

Ellen Collesano rscj