The Chapter space is ‘holy ground’.
“You are here, so
this is Holy Ground...”
The morning reflection that began with a contemplative listening to this
mantra based on Exodus 3, 1 - 5 and a slow reading of the passage itself, reminded
the assembly of the sacredness of all that is, and will be.
It created the atmosphere for this time of ongoing listening to our
present reality.
The Reports from the Units
Prior to the Chapter, all communities received information on the political, cultural,
social, economic, and ecclesial context of every country in each continent where
there is a Holy Family presence. The
statistics of the Institute were also circulated.
In their reports
delivered to the Chapter, the delegates spoke enthusiastically about the growth
and development in their Units over the past six years, and honestly about the
difficulties encountered.
The guidelines from
the 2008 Chapter were generally a source of new life for all Units.
They told of what is
being relinquished because of lack of personnel, or as no longer relevant today
because it can be done by others, and the pain of letting go of old,
established ministries and moving into the unknown.
The ISSUES they want the Chapter
to address include matters affecting the global community and the Holy Family community.
Among the former are
the most urgent global problems today, notably:
·
the
crime of Human Trafficking, the modern form of slavery,
·
the
loss of trust in leadership in all areas including the Church,
·
care
of the earth,
·
pastoral
care of marginalised people – asylum seekers, migrants, the poor, and the ‘new
poor’.
For the Holy Family is to be a prophetic voice
in the word today, some things the Chapter might look at are:
·
structures
of Leadership at all levels, to develop a truly feminine form of this;
·
strengthen
networking for justice, peace and integrity of creation issues, to be able to
take action as a body when crises occur;
·
give
opportunities to young members to experience intercultural living;
·
how
to be relevant, make an impact as Holy
Family?
These and more will
be raised in the coming weeks.
The day came to a
close and Facilitator, Christine, who had firmly guided the process, thanked
the delegates for their hard work and congratulated the members on the quality
of the reports.
She gave them one
task for the rest of the evening, to go apart in silence for an hour and dwell
on this question from the Steering Committee:
- “In the light of the vision of the Institute what are, for you, the three key questions the Chapter must deal with to give a strong direction to the Institute for the next six years?
Each Capitulant was
asked to bring her three questions to the next meeting on Sunday at 9.30 a.m. when
the real work of the Chapter would begin.
*******************************************************
TO THE MEMBERS AND FRIENDS OF THE FAMILY
The Chapter is also
yours. We would like it to be interactive.
Do send us questions
and issues you think might be good for the Chapter to raise.
___________________________________________________________
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