Kaleidoscope Standing Committee
Winter-Spring 2007

The Kaleidoscope Standing Committee is an Alliance-sponsored committee with Federation-wide representation. The weekend of February 22-25 found the following KSC members enjoying hospitality at the beach house of the San Rafael Dominicans in Santa Cruz, California: Martha Carmody (Springfield), Eileen Marie Connor (Amityville), Rebecca Ann Gemma (Springfield-Leadership Liaison), Megan McElroy (Grand Rapids), Patty Riley (San Rafael), Julie Schwab (Sinsinawa), and Mary Soher (Adrian). We enjoyed a gloriously warm and sunny day touring the ocean’s edge together before beginning our meeting Friday evening.

At our February meeting and May Conference-Call meeting (May 18, 2007), we focused on improving the communication among Kaleidoscope members by making better use of the following websites and the Kaleidoscope List Serve -kaleidoscope@lists.dominicans.us :

Dominican Life Magazine: www.domlife.org

Dominican Alliance-Kaleidoscope Committee (Blog): www.domalliance.org

Federation-Dominican Sisters USA: www.dominicans.us

We also discussed three upcoming Kaleidoscope endeavors that we invite you to consider participating in:

Alliance 10 year Anniversary Celebration: Fall, 2007

New Orleans Service Project –November, 2007 – June, 2008 - Invitation posted below

Retreat(s) at the Common Dominican Novitiate in St. Louis-Summer, 2008 - Invitation posted below

Luncheon Gathering at the Federation Convocation: April 24-27, 2008

Watch for future invitations through the Kaleidoscope List Serve and this Alliance-Kaleidoscope Committee (Blog) regarding your interest and availability for the aforementioned endeavors.

Peace and Blessings to all!

Eileen
Eileen Marie Connor, OP (Amityville) for the Kaleidoscope Standing Committee:
Martha Carmody(Springfield), Rebecca Ann Gemma (Springfield-Leadership Liaison), Ruth Hamel (Oxford), Megan McElroy (Grand Rapids), Patty Riley (San Rafael), Julie Schwab (Sinsinawa), and Mary Soher (Adrian).

KSC%20Katrina%20Survey.doc NEW ORLEANS INVITATION

KSC%20Retreat%20Survey.doc RETREAT INVITATION

Celebrating 800 Years of Dominican Women Singing Our Song!

Kaleidoscope III –Dominican Women Singing Our Song 1206-2006 gathered 112 younger members (55 years of age and under and/or 10 years Finally Professed or less) of 20 Dominican Women’s Congregations from the United States and their International Provinces abroad at Ohio Dominican University in Columbus, Ohio from July 20 – July 23, 2006. This descant of Dominican Internationality included Dominican Women from the Dominican Republic, Iraq, Korea, Mexico, Peru, and Viet Nam.

Under the direction of the Kaleidoscope III Planning Committee co-chairs Kathleen Ann Taite, OP (Springfield) and Rebecca Ann Gemma, OP (Springfield), the three movements of this awesome symphony of the “younger” members of these Dominican Women’s Congregations was conducted by: Arlene Flaherty (Humming the Melody: a Polyphony of Voices) , Donald Goergen, OP (Singing in Tune: the World’s Deep Hunger and a Person’s Deep Gladness) and Mary Ann Nelson (The Rhythm of Memory Love and Understanding: The Vows in Dominican Life) with the Prelude and the Postlude orchestrated by Catherine of Siena (Nancy Murray, OP). Interpretation into Spanish, and Vietnamese enhanced the harmony of this magnificent polyphony of voices.

Dominican Alliance, Cluster and Federation Congregations adding their individual melodies to this polyphony of Dominican Women’s Voices included: Adrian, Amityville, Blauvelt, Caldwell, Columbus, Elkins Park, Grand Rapids, Hope, Kentucky, Mission San Jose, Oxford, Racine, San Rafael, Sinsinawa, Springfield, St. Catherine-Iraq, St. Mary’s-New Orleans and Tacoma.

Each of the conductors encouraged us to Be Sharp as well as to Be Flat, but most of all to Be Natural when singing our individual melodies, regardless of our ministry and living situations. The world longs to and needs to hear our individual harmonies as well as our dissonances, for it is when we creatively arrange and integrate these individual melodies, that we transform the dissonance into an awesome , harmonious polyphony of voices that not only sing of, but put into daily practice justice, peace and right relationships as Jesus did, as Dominic did and as Catherine did. As we celebrate the 800th Anniversary of St. Dominic’s founding of Prouilhe, let us continue to “Sing, sing our Song, keep it simple, to last our whole lives long, don’t worry that it’s not good enough for anyone else to hear, just Sing, yes, sing our Dominican Song!!!” For all that has been, Thanks! For All that is yet to be, Yes!

Hi All,

Mary Ann Nelson's presentation at Kaleidscope III has been uploaded. Enjoy!

Megan McElroy
Grand Rapids

KIII%20-%20Mary%20Ann%27s%20Presentation.doc

Possible Uses

Hello All,
We are checking to see if this site will be used by our Kaleidoscope cohorts. Hopefully the talks from the July gathering will be posted here.

Stay tuned for further developments.

Mary Soher
Adrian

Kaleidoscope III Conference

The members of the Kaleidoscope Committee are planning their third Conference which will be held July 20-23, 2006 at Ohio Dominican University in Columbus, Ohio. This Kaleidoscope gathering will be open to Federation members who have been finally professed less than 10 years or are 55 years old or youinger. Registration information will be available early in 2006.
Donald Goergan OP, Nancy Murray OP and Mary Ann Nelson OP will be among the speakers for the event.
Watch this site for more information about Kaleidoscope III.

First Blog for the Dominican Alliance Kaleidoscope

A first blog entry for the Dominican Alliance Kaleidoscope