This series includes correspondence about the Associates Program, including between Sr. Doreen Kraemer, Director of the Associates Program and Associates, and between Sr. Mary Diesbourg, General Superior and Associates, about the current state of their activities. The series also includes information about the vision for the Associates and the program. There are also meeting notes and reports, as well as drafts and final copies of speeches given about the charism and the Associates. This series also includes information about the Associates/Companion Prayer Project. Also found in this series are histories of the Canadian Associate Networking committee and the congregational Associate Program, event invitations, and a brochure for the Associates Program. There are newspaper clippings concerning the benefits of palliative care and efforts to halt the abuse of women. Finally, there are talking points for a video about spirituality in the modern world, and a speech linking charism and alcoholism recovery by Francis Ann Gilchrist.
This subseries contains materials pertaining to various Associate conferences that were held and related to the congregation. There are brochures and agendas for conferences in Canada and the United States, as well as a schedule for a retreat at Oxley, Ontario. The subseries also includes minutes of planning meetings in 1989 for the co-membership international meeting and a complete list of the North American Associates for the June conferences in 1991.
The Charism Connection is the ceremony that involves laypeople taking vows to be guided by the charism of the Sisters by which they become Associates. There is a commitment ritual in which the incoming Associates pledge to pray and offer love, commit to continual spiritual growth through personal prayer, and join the congregation’s mission of working to achieve unity of neighbour with neighbour and neighbour with God. In return, the Sisters pledge to accept and welcome the Associates, offering them prayers, and encouraging them in spirit. Ceremonial materials such as invitations, agendas, and correspondence regarding commitment are included within this subseries. This subseries also features a questionnaire for potential Associates that determine the readiness for the commitment ceremony and a copy of the mutual agreement for the Associate’s relationship between the potential Associates and the Sisters. There is also sheet music of hymns that were sung during the Charism Connection ceremonies. The commitment ceremonies took place in both Windsor and London, Ontario.