IN COLLABORATION WITH OUR CONGREGATIONS
Who are Associates?
Providence Associates are lay women and men of diverse faiths.
They come from all walks of life;
some are single, some are married, some come as couples.
Each Associate comes generally because they resonate with the charism of a particular community and want to be a part of that community’s mission. They want to collaborate with the Sisters in how they bring the gospel message to others.
Annual Covenant Commitment
Associates do not make vows in the Congregation, but rather make a covenant commitment for a year at a time, which is renewable annually. Each associate decides how they will make providence visible in their own individual lives wherever they may be.
They are invited to be in relationship with the Sisters, and also receive invitations to participate in various meetings, retreats, prayer days, mission experiences, and sometimes, even ministries. Associates receive some orientation sessions before they make any covenant commitment.
The Women of Providence in Collaboration work with the Associate leadership from their member congregations.
Every two years, a conference is sponsored by the WPC board for the leaders of all the Providence Associates in the United States and Canada.
Vision of the
Associate Leadership Group
We, the Associate Leadership Group (ALG), aspire to make Providence visible in our world by promoting the charism of Providence. Our vision provides a platform for Associate and congregational leadership to embrace the theology and spirituality of Providence as an integral part of our lives and ministries.
Goals
- Become transformational leaders who incorporate the Providence lens within and beyond the association.
- Define, develop and deepen the mutual relationship between sisters and associates honoring the heritage and charism of Providence.
- Gather as the ALG for stimulation and encouragement of the group in order to enhance our efforts to be Providence among God’s people
- Understand and experience the diversity of ministries and support global awareness among the WPC congregations.
Membership of the ALG
- Associate leadership and Leadership liaison from the WPC congregations
Frequency of the Meetings
- Meet in the Fall every two years (in the odd number years) for planning/direction and goal setting
“ Association is a call from God and of God…
Associates are initially drawn to the Providence charism or spirit of their respective Congregations because they are already living the charism in their daily lives.”
Sister Pauline Lally, Sister of Providence of St. Vincent de Paul
from her presentation at WPC’s 2017 ALG Conference