Winter Sunshine
 
MercyWorks Volunteer Program on Winter Retreat

Welcome to Shared Visions, a quarterly newsletter brought to you by Catholic Volunteer Network and the Catholic Apostolate Center.  We hope this resource will encourage reflection and creativity as you continue your journey as a full-time volunteer! 

Our theme this December is Winter Sunshine. While the days grow shorter and the temperatures colder, this can also be a season of unexpected light and warmth. How about you? Have you experienced a special kind of sunshine as a volunteer so far? Has community living uplifted you? Have coworkers brightened your day? Has Advent, with its radiant promise, enlightened your days and nights?

This coming Sunday, the Advent Gospel tells us: "A man named John was sent from God. He came for testimony, to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him." This light is Christ, the "light of the human race," whom no darkness or winter can overcome. We rejoice in his advent, and we rejoice in the opportunity to share in this good news with you!

Below you'll find stories, reflections, testimonies, and resources to brighten your Advent and Christmas season. We wish you peace and happiness, and look forward to hearing from you in the new year. Thank you for reading, and thank you for choosing service!

Sincerely,
C atholic Volunteer Network & Catholic Apostolate Center

Into the Depths

By Ronnie Townsend, Mercy Volunteer Corps

Into the Depths Poem
My name is Ronnie Townsend, I am 22 years old and a recent graduate of Information Technology (B.S.) from Mount Aloysius College. I volunteer on the Navajo Indian Reservation, teaching autistic children and children with learning disabilities, in addition to being an IT specialist at Saint Michaels Association for Special Education. I work with an entire team of great individuals, and I have a small class size of about five students.

Every single day offers a unique set of challenges, while also being filled with many funny moments. I like to call my students gifted individuals; they have taught me patience, how to communicate on a deeper level, and how to find peace in any moment. Although I am only halfway done...   Click here to continue reading Ronnie's story, view his poetry, and view his images from Arizona.

Dwelling Among Us     

Christmas Day Reflection by Kate Fowler, Catholic Apostolate Center

Kate Fowler Christmas Reflection
"'And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us' (Jn 1:14). 
These words, that never cease to amaze us, contain the whole of Christianity! God became mortal, fragile like us, he shared in our human condition, except for sin, but he took ours upon himself, as though they were his own... The birth of Jesus, then, shows us that God wanted to unite himself to every man and every woman, to every one of us, to communicate to us his life and his joy." 

On Christmas Day, " the Father's only Son," the Word, Jesus Christ, is made flesh and makes " his dwelling among us." The world has never been and can never be the same. What is the cause of this miraculous event? God's love for humanity, which seeks to restore us to friendship with Him and invites us to become His sons and daughters.   After forty days of preparation throughout the Advent season, God's people have been made ready once more to welcome their King...  Click to continue reading Kate's reflection...  
 
Advent Resources

1) 
Advent Reflection Guide
Download y our copy of our Advent Reflection Guide, with  writings by current and former volunteers.  We hope this guide will help  enrich your spiritual journey over these four weeks of Advent: click here.

2)   Visit the Catholic Apostolate Center's Advent Resource Page 
for an excellent variety of resources to aid in your Advent journey:  click here.

3)  Check out Catholic Apostolate Center's webinar on St. Nicholas!   For many, the Christmas season is all about waiting for   "Jolly Ol' St. Nick;" but for millions of Eastern Catholic and Orthodox Christians, St. Nicholas represents so much more. 
In this webinar we'll meet the real St. Nicholas: Wonderworker, Defender of the Faith, and model of generous, Christ-like love to all people:  click here.  

4)  Check out the Catholic Apostolate Center Advent and Christmas E-Book: click here.

A Journey to Three Oceans
    
By Mike McCormick, Former Augustinian Volunteer

Ventura Beach
Ventura Beach at dusk
My service experience with the Augustinian Volunteers was really a journey to three different oceans. First, the Atlantic. Then the Pacific. Then the Atlantic again - but a different Atlantic than the one I'd left behind.

The journey began in August, after a week of orientation in sweltering Philadelphia with about two dozen volunteers. After so many icebreakers and formal activities, we were thrilled when the staff announced a surprise beach trip to the Jersey Shore. As soon as we parked the cars and got changed, we hurried to the water and played together under the bright sun. I cherished that day, especially the conversations with volunteers who I'd not previously had time to bond with. We all shared a delicious meal together that evening...  Click to continue reading Mike's story...  
 
Discover More Stories of Service
         
CVN's From Service to Sisterhood Initiative  has kicked off a new blog series:    Serving with Sisters Ambassadors. In an effort to share the joy, energy and fulfillment of serving alongside Catholic Sisters in CVN member programs, Melissa Feito (Loretto Volunteers), Ada Lee (Vincentian Service Corps West), Catherine Nguyen (St. Joseph Worker Program - Orange, CA), Allison Reynolds (Good Shepherd Volunteers), and Jessica Vozella (St. Joseph Worker Program- Los Angeles, CA) have been selected as 2017-2018 Ambassadors. 

Through creative reflection, conversation, and experience, Ambassadors bring awareness to their journeys of spirituality, social justice, community, and simplicity over the course of their service year. Hear from Serving with Sisters Ambassadors on CVN's blog 
Community Corner
  
1)  Looking for a good community night prayer and activity?
Franciscan Community Volunteers having fun!
Download Catholic Volunteer Network's Self-Care Toolkit - a handy guide for encouraging mental and physical health, especially during the winter months:  click here.

2)   20-Week Vocational Discernment Guide - Develop an awareness of God's calling in your life! Created by former program Benedictine Volunteers director Patricia Nguyen, the purpose of this 20-week reflection series draws upon themes central to the upcoming Synod of Bishops on "Young People, the Faith and Vocational Discernment." 

Composed as a guided faith journey, this series  invites young-adult volunteers to explore and engage with their own personal discernment journey: click here.
Share Your Story! 
 
Are you a writer, a photographer, or artist willing to share your volunteer story?

1) We are seeking current volunteers to share their service journey through art, poetry, photography, writing, or any other medium! We are accepting submissions beginning now for inclusion in our Spring edition of Shared Visions, "Branching Out," all about growth, learning, and possibility.  For submissions, questions, or to receive writing prompts related to our "Branching Out" theme please email Mike McCormick at  mmccormick@catholicvolunteernetwork.org
Catholic Volunteer Network and Catholic Apostolate Center may also share contributed stories on their blogs.  
 
2)  Become a contributor to our Lenten Reflection Guide!  We are looking for current volunteers to help in the formation of our Lenten Reflection guide, which will be distributed to prospective, current, and former volunteers. We will provide a theme, writing guidelines, and scripture to reflect on. Submissions will be due in mid-January. 
 
3) Tell us what you are reading!  Read any good books lately? Are there any that have been influential in your service experience so far? We want to know which books to add to our volunteer reading list.