The Religious Formation Conference (RFC) hosts ForMission 2.0, a dynamic learning and accompaniment experience designed for those engaged in formation, leadership, and ministry who seek to go deeper together. This two-day virtual workshop is open to all who feel called to strengthen their capacity for formation and mission. The program is scheduled for Tuesday, Feb. 17 and Tuesday, Feb. 24, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Central each day.
Participants will explore a focused topic through shared reflection and practice, renew and deepen essential skills, and engage in meaningful dialogue with peers across diverse contexts. Rooted in mutual learning and peer supervision, ForMission 2.0 offers space to pause, reconnect with purpose, and be reinvigorated for the work of accompaniment and leadership in today’s Church.
Sister Mary Pat Garvin, RSM, PhD will explore how members of religious congregations – both those in initial and lifelong formation – might navigate experiences of grief in a healthy and holy manner. Grief, a most human and natural emotion, follows all types of losses. Many religious congregations, in particular those in the northern hemisphere, are experiencing a series of losses; the passing of beloved members, the closing of valued ministries, the withdrawal from parishes and schools, etc. For other congregations, after much prayer and discernment, the decision to stop accepting new members generates a deep communal experience of grief and loss. Drawing on insights from theology, spirituality, and contemporary psychology we will explore our topic seeking ways to notice God’s graced companionship as we navigate this time in history.
Since 1994, Sister Mary Pat has ministered both nationally and internationally in vocation and formation ministry, explicitly focusing on the education and training of vocation and formation ministers. Having served on her congregation’s general leadership team, she currently works with congregations worldwide, teaches in the UISG program for the preparation of formators in Rome, and serves on the board of the Intercongregational Collaborative Novitiate (ICCN) in Chicago, Illinois. Sister Mary Pat is the 2025 recipient of the LCWR Outstanding Leadership Award and the 2017 recipient of the Mary Emil Penet, IHM Award from the Religious Formation Conference.
Cost is $180 for RFC members and $230 for non-members. For more information and to register, visit relforcon.org/formission-2-0.
