Nearly a year ago, the HEART Response Team gathered to create resources and reflection tools on behalf of the USC Province of the Society of the Sacred Heart. Over months, the reflections paralleled the global challenges we could never have imagined: COVID-19, political unrest around the world, unaddressed systemic racism, food and housing insecurities, unemployment and the instability experienced by nearly everyone.

Our guiding force was the Gospel and our desire to “discover and reveal” the heart of God globally, locally and personally. It became clear that reflections, no matter how powerful, were not enough. We have known the void of connection, the desire to be present with one another and the centrality of our inner landscape. Our prayer, our questions, our longing, and our spiritual quests have led us.

So, after months of providing video, musical, lyrical, artistic and written reflections, we invite you to join us for a pilot project, “Heart Conversations.” You are invited to sign up for a time that will work for you for just three one-hour times of meeting with others to connect at the level of heart on the year behind us and the emerging future.

Think of it as a “Vaccine Trial” for the heart. We invite you to gather on Zoom with 9-12 others and see what happens when we choose to listen deeply to the experience of others, articulate our own journey, and look ahead to see what is possible. Following this pilot, we will ask participants to complete an evaluation and see how this kind of connection might lead us in new ways of walking side-by-side.