Systemic change

Facing a Medical Emergency Alone

by John Freund, CM | September 18, 2019 | Formation, Reflections, Systemic change | 0 Comments

Have you ever had a medical emergency after hours?

“Blessed Are Those Who Hunger and Thirst for Justice”

by John Freund, CM | September 11, 2019 | Formation, Justice and Peace, Reflections, Systemic change | 0 Comments

“Jesus himself warns us that the path he proposes goes against the flow, even making us challenge society by the way we live and, as a result, becoming a nuisance.”

Vincentian Influence on Catholic Social Teaching

by John Freund, CM | September 4, 2019 | Formation, Justice and Peace, Reflections, Society of St. Vincent de Paul, Systemic change | 1 Comment

Did you know how Vincentian Family members who set the stage and later advised Pope Leo XIII’s 1891 landmark statement of catholic social teaching “Rerum Novarum” (New Things)?

Hazard! – Dangerous Thinking Ahead

by John Freund, CM | August 28, 2019 | Formation, Reflections, Systemic change | 1 Comment

Vincent and Louise, Frederick, and indeed all the great figures of our Vincentian heritage, were not afraid to ask what has become known as the Vincentian question, “What must be done?”

We’re All In This Together!

by John Freund, CM | Mar 18, 2020 | Formation, Reflections, Systemic change

The graphic illustrates two common, but disastrous, attitudes.

Working For the Credibility of the Gospel During Lent

by John Freund, CM | Mar 11, 2020 | Formation, Reflections, Systemic change

Saint John Paul II said to Vincentians in 1986 “ …search out more than ever, with boldness, humility, and skill, the...

What Can We Do About Homelessness?

by Fr. Michael Carroll, CM | Mar 5, 2020 | Formation, Homelessness, Reflections, Systemic change

How can we blend sysemic change and a “culture of encounter” in serving the homeless.

“I Was in Prison….”

by Famvin Media Resources | Oct 16, 2016 | Formation, Systemic change

A group of women aim to break the cycle of incarceration in families in the U.S., caring for those who were formerly imprisoned much as St. Vincent and his collaborators were motivated by charity to care for the galley slaves in the 17th century.

The difference a lens makes

by John Freund, CM | Oct 12, 2016 | Formation, Reflections, Systemic change

"Seeing" calls for "judging." But judging presupposes a lens! “Two men looked out from prison bars, one saw mud, the other stars!” This quote, variously attributed, seems to express that what one sees depends greatly upon one’s mental model and expectations. An...

Seeing As The Beginning Of Systemic Change

by John Freund, CM | Oct 5, 2016 | Formation, Reflections, Systemic change

Seeing is the necessary beginning of systemic change. Systemic change requires looking anew at something we see...but do not see. This kind of seeing is really more like reading, reading the "signs of the times." St. Vincent was a man of the concrete whose starting...

The Three Verbs of Systemic Change

by John Freund, CM | Sep 28, 2016 | Formation, Reflections, Systemic change

What are the verbs of Systemic Change? Father Robert Maloney, C.M., former Superior General writes: Systematize, institutionalize and evaluate the project and its procedures, describing measurable indicators and results. In this strategy, all three verbs are...

Systemic Change and Systems Thinking

by John Freund, CM | Sep 21, 2016 | Formation, Reflections, Systemic change

Systemic change, consciously or unconsciously, operates in the context of recognizable rules of systems thinking. Luis E. Romero offers a summary of Peter Senge’s 11 laws of systems thinking. Reflecting on these laws might provide us with insights in our efforts at...

Looking Through the Eyes of Another…Fresh Eyes

by John Freund, CM | Sep 14, 2016 | Formation, Reflections, Systemic change

The connection between empathy and our efforts at fostering and enabling systemic change.

Systemic Change in 10 slides

by John Freund, CM | Sep 7, 2016 | Formation, Systemic change

Could you explain Systemic Change in 10 slides? Let this presentation on the Ten Principles to Facilitate Systemic Change make the process simple for you.

Who’s Missing: A Systemic Change Reflection

by James Claffey | Aug 31, 2016 | Formation, Reflections, Systemic change

A recent U.S.A. news headline: “Poor seem far down list on candidates’ agendas.” No real surprise there! In the last presidential campaign in the United States, neither President Obama nor Mr. Romney ever mentioned people living in poverty in major campaign addresses...

Seeds of Future Systemic Changes?

by John Freund, CM | Aug 24, 2016 | Formation, Reflections, Systemic change

Seeds of future systemic changes….Father Gregory Gay, during his twelve years as Superior General, consistently invited us to think beyond what we were accustomed to, especially in terms of collaboration for systemic change. Here are the questions that he presented in...