Nancy Sylvester, IHM, Mary Jo Klick Co-editors

Cover and Chapter Art by Doris Klein, CSA
Sor Juana Press, San Antonio, Texas

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Introduction by Nancy Sylvester, IHM

Crucible for Change is an invitation to journey with those who entered into a unique process of communal contemplation and dialogue to engage the impasses encountered in church and society.

Nancy Sylvester, IHM introduces the stories as she discusses the origin and fulfillment of the Engaging Impasse project in the context of the tensions between old and new paradigms in our world today. Twelve women share their stories of how participation in the circles of contemplation and dialogue awakened in them fresh insights into being and acting in new ways as they continue to engage ecclesial and societal impasses.

When you read Crucible for Change you will enter into the stories and the perspectives of the Design Team as told by Mary McCann, IHM; of Margaret Swedish, human rights activist; Patricia Bruno, OP, preacher; Joellen McCarthy, Peggy Nolan, and Mary Ann Zollmann, who reflect as the BVM Leadership Team; Elinor Shea, OSU, spiritual director; Mary Hunt, theologian, Margaret Galiardi, OP and Rose Mary Meyer, BVM, who write from their commitment to the new cosmology and Earth spirituality; Simone Campbell, SSS, lawyer, lobbyist, and poet; Pat Kozak, CSJ, congregational leadership. Doris Klein, CSA offers an artist’s vision through her exciting illustrations.

Each story is inspirational, informative, inviting, and instructive – and the entire collection recognizes the power revealed in communal contemplation and nurtured in contemplative dialogue.

CONTENTS
CRUCIBLE FOR CHANGE
Engaging Impasse through Communal Contemplation and Dialogue
Edited by Nancy Sylvester, IHM and Mary Jo Klick

Everything Before Us Brought Us to This Moment:
Introduction and Context
by Nancy Sylvester, IHM

Being Present to a Process:
Designing Circles of Communal Contemplation and Dialogue
by Mary McCann, IHM

One Inch Long, Many Miles Deep:
A Preacher Mines Ecclesial Impasse
by Patricia Bruno, OP

Becoming the Change We Want To See:
A Leadership Team Discerns New Ways of Exercising Power
by Joellen McCarthy, BVM; Peggy Nolan, BVM; and Mary Ann Zollmann, BVM

Resisting the Isolating Allure of Impasse:
A Lawyer, Lobbyist, and Poet Risks Moving Into Uncharted Territory
by Simone Campbell, SSS

Be-ing in the Story:
A Conversation Reflecting on Impasse through the Lens of the New Cosmology
by Margaret Galiardi, OP and Rose Mary Meyer, BVM

Embracing Impasse and Her Sisters:
A Feminist Liberationist Theologian Comes to Live Confidently with Uncertainty
by Mary Hunt, Ph.D.

“Communal” Quest Makes the Difference:
A Congregation Leader Finds New Ways To Speak Truth with Love
by Pat Kozak, CSJ

A New Energy, A New Hope:
A Spiritual Director Releases the Oppressive Hold of Impasse
by Elinor Shea, OSU

The Horizon Just Before Dawn:
A Dark Place of Promise for a Grieving Human Rights Activist
By Margaret Swedish