On Friday 14th July, Lay Dominicans from many of out fraternities joined the Sisters of the English Dominican Congregation at a Mass of Thanksgiving for 170 years of Dominican life and mission at their convent in Stone, as the sisters prepare to leave the convent.
Fr. Martin Ganeri OP, the Prior Provincial, preached during the Mass, and Sr. Terry OP spoke on behalf of the sisters. You can read Fr. Martin’s homily and Sr. Terry’s statement here.
Fr Martin Ganeri, prior provincial of the Dominican brothers in the UK, preached. The gist of what he said was that ‘The way of the disciple is the way of the Master, which is through death to Resurrection’. Our life as a Congregation of sisters continues. Two of our sisters will remain to work in the locality. We do have new vocations, but as a Congregation we are smaller, more flexible, and therefore, arguably, more able to respond to the needs of the Church today. It is sad to leave a building – but it would be sadder still to allow a building to hamper our mission out of sentimentality. I pray that the new mission in that place – sheltered accommodation for the elderly – will continue and flourish. Meantime our sisters continue in the main work of Dominicans which is to spread the Gospel by word and work.
The Dominican sisters
