Whatmightbeunleashedbybringingthesetwo
communitiestogether:nunsandnones?Wedecided
tofindout.Therewasa giddysenseofanticipationanduncertainty
intheroomasabouta dozenmillennialsanda dozen
Sistersarrivedtoourfirst“Nuns&Nones”gathering
inCambridge,Massachusetts.Andyetit didnot
takelongtomovefromthebuzztodeeplistening,
aswetooka sharedbreathandbegantogoaround
thecirclerespondingtoa firstprompt:“Whatis
movinginyou?What’ssomethingalive,thatyou’re
grapplingwithorwonderingaboutatthismoment?”It hadn’tevenbeena monthsincethe 2016 presidential
election,andwewereallstillreelingwiththe
implications.Butthiscirclewasn’tspeakingtothe
minutiaeofnewspaperheadlines.Collectively,our
wonderingstolda muchlongeranddeeperstory,
ofhumanvulnerabilityandyearning,thepresence
orlackofcaringconnectionandcommunity,
leadershipinthefaceofuncertaintyandrisk,thequestforjustice,thedancebetweentheurgencyof
nowandthelongview,commitmentandfreedom,
howtolistenforone’scallintimessuchasthese.Bythetimewehadcompleteda firstgo-around,
withintwohours,it wasasif wewerealreadyfamily.
SisterMaryDaceyputit succinctly:“Wehavesomuch
moreincommonherethancouldeverdivideus.”Thedominantnarrativeofourtimeisoneof
divisionandpolarisation.Butthere’sanotherstory,
lessfrequentlytold.Overthepasttwoyears,I’ve
experienced,againandagain,a sensethattherapid
paceofchangeandscopeofneedintheworldis
enablinga bridgingofdifferenceanda quickening
ofrelationship.Peoplearebeingcalledtostandat
theouteredgeoftheirtraditionsandidentities,to
reachoutwithothersdoingthesame,andtotake
somenextsteptogethertowardssomethingnew.Sparkedbytheelectricenergyofthatfirstmeeting,
webegan hosting gatherings in cities across the country.Adam (right) with Sr. Clare in Illinois, US
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