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Intercommunity Noviciates


HeavenlyCalling

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HeavenlyCalling

I was fooling around on line a bit, and I found a novices blog, and she said she went to an intercommunity noviciate. wHAT EXACLTY IS THAT? Do most communities have one? Pros and Cons? I really had never even heard of anything like that, so any imput would be helpful. Thanks a ton!!!

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[quote name='HeavenlyCalling' post='1259526' date='Apr 29 2007, 11:38 AM']I was fooling around on line a bit, and I found a novices blog, and she said she went to an intercommunity noviciate. wHAT EXACLTY IS THAT? Do most communities have one? Pros and Cons? I really had never even heard of anything like that, so any imput would be helpful. Thanks a ton!!![/quote]

I'd have to have more details to venture even a guess. Where is the blog?

Blessings,
Gemma

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Obviously I'm no expert, but I think those are novitiate programs shared by religious communities where their novices gather for common instruction for a set period of time. There are common collaborative Franciscan and Dominican novitiates that I am aware of here in the midwest. You can do a google of it and probably link on to a community website that practices this.
I don't think it's necessarily a bad thing, but more a way for communities with few novices to combine resources and allow novices some fellowship during this part of formation.

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Intercommunity novitiates have been around for a long time, particularly in the Dominican women's and Franciscan women's and men's congregations.

the typical stay is 9-12 months. The remained is on the home turf.

There's a common Franciscan Novitiate in Joliet, IL and Kearny, NJ.

Also there are a number of INTRA-community novitiates among the Jesuits, Vincentians, OFM's, Felician Sisters. They are also very common in Australia and Europe.

Midwest Collaborative Dominican Novitiate has 22 member congregations. The profiles of these novices is striking for their diversity, maturity and high levels of schooling, training, and leadership experience.


Eastern Common Dominican Novitiate has 15 member congregations.

Just Google collaborative, common, novitiate(s), and a particular charism and you'll get a lot of hits. There are also a lot of collaborative workshops for different orders of the same charism.

There are good reasons for the collaboration. The novices meet each other; they receive high-quality teaching and training; they meet people from their own federations and related congregations whom they will know for the rest of their lives.

In the link www.calledfortoday.com, which is based in UK, there is mention of an Anglican-RC intercommunity novitiate!

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[quote name='HeavenlyCalling' post='1259526' date='Apr 29 2007, 10:38 AM']I was fooling around on line a bit, and I found a novices blog, and she said she went to an intercommunity noviciate. wHAT EXACLTY IS THAT? Do most communities have one? Pros and Cons? I really had never even heard of anything like that, so any imput would be helpful. Thanks a ton!!![/quote]
I know many/all of the women who attend the [b][url="http://www.domlife.org/cdn/"]Collaborative Dominican Novitiate[/url][/b]. A friend of mine, in formation with the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, will be moving to California next year to participate in her Federation's novitate. [b][url="http://csjslnovitiate.blogspot.com/index.html"]Here is her blog.[/url][/b]

Hope that's helpful. :blush:

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[quote name='jkaands' date='Apr 29 2007, 07:24 PM' post='1259582']

Midwest Collaborative Dominican Novitiate has 22 member congregations. The profiles of these novices is striking for their diversity, maturity and high levels of schooling, training, and leadership experience.


Yes, but they are six novices only, for 22 congregations. The congregations that "were modernized", committed suicide simultaneously, almost without finding out. This is a tragedy.

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I am new to the phorum, but I can tell you a little about my experience with an Intercommunity Novitiate here in Chicago. When I was a first-year novice in an active women's community, we participated in an intercommunity novitiate. During the academic year, the novices and novice directors met one day per week for prayer, presentations on various topics germane to preparing for first vows and as a source of colleagial support for one another. It was an "interesting" mix of men's and women's communities, all different charisms and spiritualities. There was a huge range of backgrounds among the participants so that provided a richness. But there was also somewhat of a disconnect, I felt, in the lack of a common tradition or spirituality. All the communities were very "modernized" -although I think some of the men's communities had and wore habits for special occasions.

I should say that I left the community after the first year of novitiate.

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[quote name='Graciela' post='1261267' date='Apr 30 2007, 09:27 PM']I am new to the phorum, but I can tell you a little about my experience with an Intercommunity Novitiate here in Chicago. When I was a first-year novice in an active women's community, we participated in an intercommunity novitiate. During the academic year, the novices and novice directors met one day per week for prayer, presentations on various topics germane to preparing for first vows and as a source of colleagial support for one another. It was an "interesting" mix of men's and women's communities, all different charisms and spiritualities. There was a huge range of backgrounds among the participants so that provided a richness. But there was also somewhat of a disconnect, I felt, in the lack of a common tradition or spirituality. All the communities were very "modernized" -although I think some of the men's communities had and wore habits for special occasions.

I should say that I left the community after the first year of novitiate.[/quote]
Thanks for your contribution to the discussion and :welcome:

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Totus Tuus

All I've heard of is different communities taking classes together. It seems they couldn't formally share a novitiate unless they actually lived together under one novice mistress, and in that case they would have to be members of the same Order to receive instruction from him/her on the charism and spirituality they are supposed to strive for...

As Graciela mentioned, it seems like it would be an academic experience that you shared during formation, not the full novitiate experience.

By the way, Graciela, Welcome!!

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[quote name='Totus Tuus' post='1262461' date='May 2 2007, 11:58 AM']All I've heard of is different communities taking classes together. It seems they couldn't formally share a novitiate unless they actually lived together under one novice mistress, and in that case they would have to be members of the same Order to receive instruction from him/her on the charism and spirituality they are supposed to strive for...

As Graciela mentioned, it seems like it would be an academic experience that you shared during formation, not the full novitiate experience.

By the way, Graciela, Welcome!![/quote]
I've understood there to be both. Intercommunity and intercongregational (for lack of a better distinction). My friends at the Collaborative Dominican Novitiate each come from different religious communities (in MI, NJ, TX, etc). They study together for one year--but engage in academic and ministerial work together. The Intercommunity novitiate here in St. Louis (and I would use the word "intercongregational" here) includes men and women and is (so far as I understand it) for both social and academic purposes. They have "class" together once a week, but also social gatherings throughout the year.

HTH. :)

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Totus Tuus

[quote name='shortnun' post='1262765' date='May 2 2007, 06:45 PM']I've understood there to be both. Intercommunity and intercongregational (for lack of a better distinction). My friends at the Collaborative Dominican Novitiate each come from different religious communities (in MI, NJ, TX, etc). They study together for one year--but engage in academic and ministerial work together. The Intercommunity novitiate here in St. Louis (and I would use the word "intercongregational" here) includes men and women and is (so far as I understand it) for both social and academic purposes. They have "class" together once a week, but also social gatherings throughout the year.

HTH. :)[/quote]

Yeah, all of what you described is what I had in mind when I said "academic". :)

What does HTH mean?

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[quote name='Totus Tuus' post='1262773' date='May 2 2007, 06:57 PM']Yeah, all of what you described is what I had in mind when I said "academic". :)

What does HTH mean?[/quote]
Yes... and I think different intercommunity novitiates have more or less academic focus to them.

"HTH"= hope that helps... as in, gee I hope this is pertinant and I'm not just blabbing aimlessly. :topsy:

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The "academic" aspect in such a mixed intercommunity novitiate can be a very odd mix. Some of the novices had very little background in theology or philosophy, but we also a smaller subgroup that had already completed master's and doctoral degrees in theology before entering religious life. I would not have wanted to be one of the presenters who was trying to find the middle ground to aim the presentations. I have to say that some of the best sections were things like serious and high quality input and discussion and reflection about living vowed chastity, poverty and obedience, about appropriate boundaries and psychosocial health in religious communities and in ministry relationships. (As I read the thread about what to watch out for in communities, it reminded me of the helpful guidance of the intercommunity novitiate).

We prayed together every week, usually morning prayer, did not have Mass together weekly. And an occasional picnic, but not a huge amount of social time. The formation directors also used some of the time each week, meeting separately from the novices to share ideas and provide support to each other in being formators.

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