Close to 500 vowed Religious and Associates from religious communities across North America recently celebrated the tenth anniversary of the North American Conference of Associates and Religious.(NACAR)
Sr. Diane Brennen, Council liaison for Providence Associates and Providence Associate Alayne Scanlon attended the historic conference in Cincinnati, Ohio.
The conference celebrated the achievements of NACAR, including the development of a publication that reports on the growing Associate Movement in the United States and Canada.
There are over 12,000 Associates in Canada and almost 28,000 in the United States.
Keynote speaker was award-winning author and lecturer Ronald Rolheiser, OMI, who addressed Religious Charisms and the Spiritual Journey.
A new logo was developed for NACAR. Designer Sister Catherine Martin, O. Carm. says the symbols’ deepest meaning comes with your own reflection. Spiraling motion represents Mission. The Centre is the desire for deepening one’s spirituality and relationship with God. The Cross symbolizes our call to witness the gospel . By following the lines that form the Labrynth, one can walk from the cross to the centre, or from the center outward through the cross.