Synergy, Synergistic, Synergism!

The Sisters have every reason to see God’ s hand at work in the emerging plans for the Albany Spiritual Life Center, and to believe that he is calling us and the Diocese to a very exciting new partnership. The original vision for the Diocese of Albany in the 1860’s, included the presence of Sisters. The development of plans for a full Spiritual Life Center today gives us not only a place to live but a complementary role in the ministry of the Center. In the past yea’s discussions the word “synergy” has been bandied about a good deal. The dictionary defines this simply as “combined operation or action.” But the further implication is that two agents working together accomplish more than the sum of their separate efforts.

Often a conference center is simply an empty space where a group brings only whatever community and resources it already has. But a permanent residential community offers something more: it also has an ongoing life of its own and draws others into this life and prayer. Our Convent, Beaver Cross, and Barry House are already communities of this latter type. The Spiritual Life Center should be able to expand the common life and enrich it by joining all these communities. It will be very interesting to see what new reality emerges when we all come together.

The Sisters are beginning to see the Center as concentric Circles. The innermost would be the permanent resident community: the Sisters and our resident associates, and the resident chaplain and staff with their families. The second, wider community would include the Bishops, staff who do not live in, other diocesan staff and other clergy and lay members of the diocese who come to consider the Center a second home. The third will be those who attend retreats or conferences, either individually or as parishes, on an occasional basis. The fourth and outermost circle would include those who may come once, or attend some function without being members of a parish or of the diocese. The present camp program at Beaver Cross attracts many children from unchurched families. The Center’s way of “making disciples” will involve drawing people from the outer circles to the inner one, thus helping to bring the whole diocese into one family.

This synergy might be worked out in a number of ways. The Center will expect to offer all of the existing programs: retreats, conferences, facilities for groups like Alpha and Cursillo at the Conference Center, the youth camp, and provision for individual guests. It will large enough to handle many and multiple groups we now have to refuse. The Sisters hope that many of our present regulars in Peekskill will continue to come for retreats, visits, and spiritual direction in Saratoga. The Beaver Lake property is easily accessible from the Albany airport, the Saratoga Amtrak station, the New York Thruway, and the Mass. Turnpike. It will be farther than Peekskill for some, closer for others.

We also hope to establish some new activities. For the Sisters, one of these will be making our library more available as a resource. It is an excellent collection in some areas, and increasingly valuable as “real books” become an endangered species. For example, one of our Associates is currently writing a graduate paper on St. Basil of Caesarea, and finds that we have considerably more material to offer her than she could find at the Fordham University library. Another will be expanding our present offering of hospitality at holiday times into real community gatherings for days like Christmas, Holy Week, and Easter. Other possibilities range from involving the campers with our goats (if they go with us) to nature study to speaking in surrounding parishes, and doubtless to several things no one has though of yet.

Even on the practical level the synergy is very promising. The Sisters will, of course, remain autonomous, but we are planning on sharing services like chaplaincy, maintenance, and purchasing. The Center will do the retreat planning and the logistics. We will be asked to lead retreats and short programs. There well also be the advantages of smaller spaces and facilities designed for 21st-century functions, with energy efficiency, at least some solar power, recycling, and reduced costs. It will be a great relief for Mother Miriam and others to spend less time running around with a telephone in one hand and a screwdriver in the other! +