mission and ministry

How can we stay grounded and resilient during challenging moments like these?

jkirby3 Mission and Ministry, Mission Monday , , , , ,

Reflection by: Mark Laboe, Interim VP for Mission and Ministry

Some version of this question has often been posed to me and my colleagues in Mission and Ministry over the past several weeks, as the university community braces for the impact of budget and staffing cuts. Unfortunately, there is no magic pill or solution that will serve to help every person or situation. These are hard moments for all. Many are feeling bad and maybe hurting. We may feel let down, angry, and without much hope in sight. We may wish things were otherwise. This is the reality before us. Yet, we can and will move through it together when we do so with care for ourselves and others.

In seeking some sense of support and orientation from our Vincentian heritage, a few pieces of wisdom may provide some sustenance or insight to aid us through the current realities. Also, in thinking about this question, it becomes clear that what is suggested here are mostly practices that are, ideally, always some part of our way of life. They just become even more important in times of challenge, stress, and difficulty.


1. Remember Who You Are

Vincent de Paul encouraged his followers: “Please be steadfast in walking in the vocation to which you are called.” (CCD 5:256) A good starting point is to remember, especially in moments of difficulty, that you are (still) a person who has much to offer to the world and those around you. You have a life of experience, learning, and successes. You have overcome challenges before. The external circumstances of your life do not change that fact. You also have a vocation (a purpose) to live out in whatever setting or situation you find yourself, and you are far more than just your work life. You have core values that are important to you and that you want to embody in your life. You are not just a machine producing widgets, but a human being who hopes and dreams, who loves, who has much to offer to those around you.

Though we may feel shaken, it is important that we do not allow difficult moments to lead us to forget or stray from our fundamental vocation and identity. Rather, we must use the occasion to reach even deeper into what is at the core of who we are and to find our roots there. This moment may simply be an invitation to grow stronger in understanding and conviction about what exactly that core identity and vocation is for us.

You may find that taking a moment to look at the “long view” of your life may help—using the well-known adage to “begin with the end in mind.” That is, envision who you want to have become as a person at the end of your life, then consider how you can continue to be true to that and to move in that direction even through this difficult moment.

2. Never Go It Alone

One of Vincent de Paul’s key insights came in the recognition that the mission to which he was called, or that he was entrusted with, was much bigger than he could fulfill on his own. He needed others, if his mission would ever be realized. We are all like Vincent in this way, even if we may lose sight of it when things are going smoothly. In a society that urges one to be an independent achiever, the fact remains that we are interdependent creatures. We each have a life to lead and a mission to fulfill as individuals, AND we can’t do it alone. At times like these it’s good to reflect on the fact that who we have become is a result not just of our own efforts and accomplishments but of the help and support of many other people around us. This is the human way, and it is the Vincentian way. So, especially in times of difficulty, don’t forget that, or pretend it can be otherwise.

Ask yourself who your people are, who you can lean on, who you can develop a stronger relationship with, and how you can put yourself in spaces to be surrounded by a community of support. This may require vulnerability. It may require a recognition of our limits. It will require an acceptance of our interdependence with others in our life and work. Who are your companions on the journey of life? Who are the people who understand you and what you are all about? Who can you lean on? Who helps you remember who you are and what you are all about? Who do you learn from or draw strength and comfort from? Who can you have fun and laugh with? Surround yourself with the people who bring you life along with the support and companionship you need right now—and all the time!

Additionally, one of the best ways to remain grounded and resilient in challenging times is to try and look for ways you can be supportive of and care for others. This is a very important piece of wisdom, and very Vincentian. Often when we are faced with difficulty, looking for ways that we can be of service to others will end up being exactly what WE need, more so than focusing only on ourselves. Interdependence means others are also counting on us to be a support to them. It’s both-and and not either-or.

3. Take One Step at a Time

Vincent de Paul advised his followers that “Wisdom consists in following Providence step by step.” (CCD 2:521) He reiterated that we should not seek to step on the heels or run ahead of Providence. My wife and I have our own similar phrase we share with one another and with our children during tough times: “just do the next thing.”

A common piece of Vincentian spiritual insight is that we need to look for and find God in the reality before us, the person before us, and with each present moment. In that moment or encounter, right in the midst of that reality, lies the opportunity to put charity and love into practice, or to practice who we seek to be and become.

As much as we’d like to sometimes, we can’t fast forward through our lives. Doing so wouldn’t be very helpful, either. Much anxiety is derived from stories created in our own mind about some imagined future outcome that has not yet happened. Such stories are often fear-based, or self-protective, and not often accurate.

So, can we “trust the process” and the unfolding journey of life? Vincent de Paul’s understanding of Providence portrayed a trust and belief that what was needed to live our vocation, to fulfill the purpose entrusted to us, has been given or will be given. It is incumbent on us to trust in this and to open our eyes to the gifts made available to us in the current moment and with each step along the way. One step at a time. Just do the next thing.

4. Trust that Love is Inventive to Infinity

“Love is inventive to infinity,” said Vincent de Paul! (CCD 11:131) His words offer an invitation to see and act creatively and to approach every moment and situation with an openness to what is possible. We can always do something coming from a heart of love. Do the next thing, or in this case, take the time to imagine and act on the next thing. Create the next thing. Actively explore what is possible. The current moment is not the end of the road, but the beginning of the next step of the journey.

There is a common piece of practical wisdom accredited to various public figures that says, “it is easier to walk our way into a new way of thinking” than to “think our way into a new way of walking.” The practice of design thinking suggests that we need to experiment and explore new ideas through our actions and not just in our heads.

When safe spaces are created to brainstorm together with others, new ideas can often surface. Many find the practice of creative arts like drawing or doodling, painting, journaling, dancing, or perhaps walking meditation can “loosen up” our thinking and help us to see in new ways. I find long runs are helpful breeding ground for new insight. Imagine various possibilities. Be open to the invitation to find ways to “love to infinity.”

5. Practice Gratitude

“You should not open your mouth except to express gratitude for benefits you have received…”, said Vincent de Paul. (CCD 5:51) Gratitude is the ultimate antidote against falling into despair or helplessness or escaping a mind that is caught in a spiral of anxiety, stress, or hurt. Yet, somewhat counterintuitively, sometimes the practice of gratitude, or truly allowing ourselves to feel gratitude, requires intentionality. It may take some regular practice or inner work on our part, especially when we are feeling anxiety, stress, or hurt. If we are feeling shut down or closed, we may need to consciously engage our will and our desire to work at locating gratitude in our minds and heart. For a little while, we may need to “fake it until you make it,” as the common 12-step wisdom suggests. Or, we might need to “act as if” we can, as a therapist may tell us, even if we are not feeling up to it in the moment.

In whatever way we manage to get there, allowing ourselves moments to sit with and feel gratitude for small or big things in our life, that we appreciate or recognize as good or beautiful, can be healing, grounding, nourishing, and re-orienting. It is a practice worthy of our time and energy, individually and collectively, especially as we move through difficult experiences.

 

Reflection Questions:

  1. When you ask what is most essential to who you are as a person, what comes to mind and how can you ground yourself more deeply in these values, commitments, or characteristics?
  2. What does accepting our interdependence mean to you in this moment and how can you recognize and live that out?
  3. What is one step that you can take forward right now… with love for yourself and others? With creativity and hope?
  4. List and spend a little time pondering on those things that you are grateful for in this moment.

 

A Note from Fr. Memo Campuzano, C.M. on DePaul’s New Mission Statement

bcicirel Mission Resources, Seeds of Mission , , , ,

 

Sunrise over Saint Vincent’s Circle, Thursday, Sept. 24, 2020, on the Lincoln Park Campus. (DePaul University/Jeff Carrion)

After 35 years, DePaul University has fully revised its mission statement. Through a 10-month participatory, historically grounded, yet forward-thinking process, direct feedback was gathered from over 600 community members. The updated concise statement is relevant and apt for the DePaul we all know, and for the DePaul of which we dream.

On March 4th, the revised DePaul University Mission Statement and its supporting document were approved unanimously by the Board of Trustees. The approval process went faster than an expected May timeframe. I believe this demonstrates that the participatory nature of the mission statement review process worked as we had hoped. It proves the value of shared governance in helping us to define a mutual understanding of who we are and how we want to live out our common mission in this historic moment.

The review process was a beautiful, concrete expression of communal discernment. While many may not realize it, our approach of inclusive reflection and community articulation of common dreams and values is very much in the spirit of Vincent de Paul and Louise de Marillac. As this process has achieved with many other institutions of the worldwide Vincentian Family, it both captured and embodied the Vincentian spirit so valued at DePaul.

Invitations to review the mission statement went out on Newsline and social media, through Colleges, departments, student groups, and administrative offices, via SGA and Faculty and Staff Councils. We listened to many voices at over 70 Dialogues. Many were impassioned and advocated for mission-related ideas that they felt were most important. I can say with confidence that great care was given to revising the statement, down to negotiating the meaning and inclusion of individual words. For instance, including “environmental” justice for students and others fiercely dedicated to sustainability. Or, discussing the wording “with special attention to” as all are served and all have agency, yet we must recognize our Vincentian legacy of reaching out especially to those most in need who are not well-served by systems. It is my belief that every word of the statement has deep meaning and that each word illustrates the common themes of DePaul’s mission that emerged clearly from the audiences we relied upon for community input.

DePaul stakeholders agreed that we are Catholic, Vincentian, and anchored in the global city of Chicago, and that our university educates the whole person in a variety of ways that uphold human dignity. Review participants insisted that DePaul commit to addressing the great societal challenges of our day as both an educational institution connected to local and global communities, and through our graduates whom we hope will be change agents for greater good as well as successful in their professions. The umbrellas of Vincentian personalism and professionalism express the culture and approach at DePaul that many feel differentiate it from other institutions. As we served an immigrant population in the late 1800s, so do we continue to educate underserved and underrepresented communities today.

Other values and core commitments that commonly emerged through the review process are summarized in the statement’s supporting document, “Distinguishing Characteristics, Core Values, and Commitments.” I am hopeful this document will be referenced by link in every online presentation of the new DePaul Mission Statement and I encourage you to read it.

The participatory review process was itself an education for the DePaul community. Before preparing for a dialogue or taking our survey, many of the participants had never read the full four-page mission statement. Many had never meaningfully discussed with colleagues or fellow students what DePaul’s mission meant to them or how they believed it must be communicated to remain relevant and compelling. A nearly universal desire became apparent for a new concise mission statement that could be fully known, embraced, and integrated into life at DePaul. This was also recommended to the university during the last Higher Learning Commission accreditation process. I hope the new statement fulfills that wish.

In many ways the statement review process—comprised of a rigorous four-phase approach of historical review, capturing mission in action through Seeds of the Mission videos, over 70 mission statement dialogues and survey responses, and the Board survey—seems completed after a year. But the work of the new mission statement has just begun.

It is time to begin sharing the statement broadly on websites, in syllabi, and on signage where it can be easily seen. Departments and areas need to reflect on their own internal mission and vision statements, and on their website and marketing language. We must integrate the language and ideas of the new DePaul Mission Statement and “Distinguishing Characteristics, Core Values, and Commitments” into our work. We must all attend to the ideals of the statement as more than just words on paper, but as a mission for which we are gathered that provides a central focus for what we do.

Thank you to all who participated in the review process. And thanks to all who will be enlivened by the new statement, making decisions in using it as a guide, holding DePaul accountable for living it, and celebrating our common Vincentian spirit. Together, We Are DePaul.

Rev. Guillermo (Memo) Campuzano, CM
Vice President of Mission and Ministry

Watch the Video on the Review of DePaul’s Mission Statement

DePaul University Mission Statement
Adopted by the Board of Trustees on March 4, 2021

As an innovative Catholic, Vincentian university anchored in the global city of Chicago, DePaul supports the integral human development of its students. The university does so through its commitment to outstanding teaching, academic excellence, real world experience, community engagement, and systemic change. DePaul prepares graduates to be successful in their chosen fields and agents of transformation throughout their lives.

Guided by an ethic of Vincentian personalism and professionalism, DePaul compassionately upholds the dignity of all members of its diverse, multi-faith, and inclusive community. Through education and research, the university addresses the great questions of our day, promoting peaceful, just, and equitable solutions to social and environmental challenges. Since its founding in 1898, DePaul University has remained dedicated to making education accessible to all, with special attention to including underserved and underrepresented communities.

Read our Distinguishing Characteristics, Core Values, and Commitments…

Plan to Review the University Mission Statement

bcicirel Mission Resources, Seeds of Mission , , , , ,

The Division of Mission and Ministry is pleased to announce that the Mission Committee of the Board of Trustees has approved a plan to review and possibly revise DePaul’s mission statement.  The 2020-21 Mission Statement Review is beginning now, and you are invited to participate in the process.

Building on the Vincentian practice of valuing experience and creating guidelines or statements that generally affirm what is already taking place as well as communicating aspirational goals, the review of the DePaul mission statement will take place through a 4-part process:

  1. Rolling out a “Seeds of the Mission” campaign to share stories and gain insights about where the mission is already operative at DePaul through highlighting mission in action. This campaign will start this month and its details will soon be shared.
  2. Creating a document over the summer and fall based on academic research about the history of DePaul’s purpose/mission statements that also brings in external perspectives through accreditation documents to outline how DePaul’s mission statements and understanding of mission have evolved to meet DePaul’s changing reality over time.
  3. Conducting a Mission Survey with the members of the Board of Trustees in the fall.
  4. Holding institutional mission dialogues in the fall to foster an understanding of DePaul’s mission with diverse community stakeholders as we seek to ensure DePaul’s mission statement reflects mission in a 21st century context.

In the winter, the information gained through executing the phased plan above will quite likely feed into a revised university mission statement, which we imagine will be concise, memorable, and actionable, and which would be accompanied by a lengthier supporting academic document.  A revised mission statement, if warranted, would be presented to the Board of Trustees for approval in May 2021.

Division of Mission and Ministry staff expect that the Seeds of the Mission campaign and mission dialogues will involve people at all levels of the university in the mission statement review process and expect it to generate new ideas for DePaul moving into the future, provide an opportunity to educate people on the mission, and increase DePaul community members’ knowledge about and ownership of our shared mission statement and mission.

 

We look forward to involving you in this process!

Guillermo Campuzano, C.M., Vice President for the Division of Mission and Ministry