Dialogue, discernment, regeneration
Nexus is a coaching, consulting, training, and facilitation firm, whose mission is to serve the development and regeneration of those organisations that our 21st century needs.
In this context, since 2006, we have been accompanying religious congregations seeking to find a new breath of life, a new momentum, in an ever-changing world and Church.
Our bespoke methodology at the service of your collective discernment
Our methodology is designed to enable all members of the congregation to listen, together and as One Body, to what God seems to be calling them to, and thus contribute to the process that will enable the right decisions to be made for the life and vitality of their congregation’s mission. In that way, since 2010, we have built our approach on the principles of synodality, developped by Pope Francis almost 10 years later.
An international, connected team
In 20 years, we have built a solid team, capable of intervening all over the world, and in several languages: French, English, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese (Brazil), Slovenian, Polish… It is composed of lay professionals, experts in accompanying transformation, and in the methodology of dialogue and facilitation of large groups; and we regularly work in pairs with religious women and men, to create an approach that integrates the dimensions of group facilitation, spiritual animation and canonical questions.
Silvia Gollini
Partner
Matthieu Daum
Partner
Etienne Gueydon
Consultant
Virginie Allard
Consultante
Stéphanie Léonard
Consultante
Nancy Bragard
Consultante
Olivier Barbelet
Consultant
Éric Langevin
Consultant
Our accompaniement
1. Preparation and facilitation of Chapters (General and Provincial)
Since 2008, we have accompanied about forty Provincial Chapters, and about twenty General Chapters, for groups ranging from 20 to 100 capitulars, and speaking up to 7 official languages.
Prior to a Chapter, we work with a Preparation Committee appointed by the General Council (or directly with the General Council as needed), to design and lead a preparation process that can involve the whole Body, and prepare the discernment that will take place at the Chapter.
2. Facilitation of meetings/assemblies
We facilitate all types of assemblies in the life of a congregation: “Ordinary” provincial assembly, meetings of young sisters/brothers, Extended General Council, meetings of treasurers, etc.
3. Accompanying reconfiguration
Many congregations also approach us after a Chapter, when the new team wishes to implement a reconfiguration mandate given by the Chapter – whether at the level of a province, a merger between provinces, or a reconfiguration of the whole Congregation.
We then design with the team a process that can involve as many members of the Body as possible, to allow them to be the authors of the new reality, rather than merely putting up with it, or even oppose it.
It is a profound Pascal journey that we accompany, where we explore both the kenosis to which the Body, and each of its members, is called, and the new that is called to be born.
4. Conflict Resolution
Thanks to our expertise in Generative Dialogue and Non-Violent Communication, we often intervene in situations of interpersonal conflict, within a Council, or between a Council and other parts of the Body, for example.
Our methodologies allow us to help stakeholders express what they are experiencing and feel heard; to make sense together of what is at stake at the heart of this conflict; and to agree on solutions to transform this conflict, enter into a dynamic of forgiveness and reconciliation, and find healthy foundations for resuming their relationship.
5. Leadership trainings for local, provincial and general leaders
Our experience has shown us the growing importance of training those who will be entrusted with responsibilities not only in administration but also in leading and animating the Body. To this end, we offer leadership training and supervision programmes at these different levels, both in person and remotely, and have even developed 100% self-directed online training courses.
Our consultants also lead a training course specifically for religious women – My Incarnated Leadership – hosted at each edition in a different spiritual center.
6. Support on difficult and painful topics
Beyond interpersonal conflicts, some congregations that we accompany may be going through particularly difficult and painful situations: spiritual abuse and control, financial misconduct, physical violence, sexual abuse and criminal proceedings for some of their members…
With sensitivity and confidentiality, we accompany them through these situations and help them make the necessary decisions.
7. Governance issues (Tutelle, Foundations, Associations, etc.)
In Europe and the Northern Hemisphere more generally, the aging and decline of their members present congregations with a major challenge: to strengthen the institutions in charge of implementing their mission by consolidating their governance through trusted lay people, who report to major superiors but without requiring too many religious.
We therefore accompany the creation of foundations, the consolidation of the governance of owner associations, as well as the structuring of the Tutelle for educational establishments in France.
8. Prospective studies (demographics, finance)
The aging and declining number of members in the congregations of the North have generated new challenges, which must be addressed as early as possible, in order to give them the means to choose, rather than letting life choose for them. When they also have communities or provinces in the South, these congregations experience a pivotal moment between North and South, which requires discernment and informed choices to live it in the best way, in service of the vitality of the Body and its Mission.
To accompany them, we conduct prospective studies on the demographics and finances of the congregation, and facilitate discernment processes enabling the Body to make the necessary choices accordingly.
9. Real estate assets
Faced with declining membership in the northern provinces, the real estate assets of congregations, once a real asset for the mission, are increasingly becoming a burden to manage, without necessarily having the internal skills to do so.
Through bringing into our team real estate experts (architects, real estate asset managers, etc.), we accompany congregations in evaluating their assets and making informed choices about the future of their buildings (sale, rental investment, transfer so that another work can continue, etc.).
Why work with us?
Since 2006, we have been developing tailor-made processes for each of the congregations we accompany, starting from their reality and co-constructing with them the process best suited to their intention.
We combine different areas of expertise (facilitation of large groups, organisational transformation, spiritual journey, management of dynamics and conflicts, multilingualism, some knowledge of Canon law) to accompany you with both deep empathy for your unique situation and sufficient experience from other congregations to help you take a step back and give birth to your own solutions, without ever imposing anything onto you.
Our accompaniment integrates both the functioning and transformation of the Body, as well as the conversion to which each of its members is called on this Paschal journey; fraternal relationships as well as those of roles; synodality as well as the just and adjusted exercise of authority and obedience.
Testimonies
They have placed their trust in us
congregations
accompanied
provincial chapters
facilitated
general chapters
facilitated
Discover the Congregations We Have accompanied
A book, an intimate and professional journey
Matthieu Daum has been a business consultant for twenty years. One day, he was approached by a religious community to resolve an internal crisis, and soon other congregations were calling on him to accompany their organisational transformation.
Over time, he developed a specific approach to help them renew and regenerate. But another, more subtle and unexpected transformation was taking place: his own.
Forging his own spiritual path, he reconnected with faith in “the mystery we call God”. He has become both transformer and transformed. The author recounts his profoundly human story: it connects people who are searching for themselves and seeking to be born into something new, to be reborn from above.(Jn 3, 7).
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