Sunday, March 2, 2008

The Thirtieth Congregation Chapter officially opened with a Eucharistic celebration that began at 10:15 am and continued throughout the day on March 2, 2008 in Munnar, Kerala, India.

The celebration began as some eighty-six Chapter participants, inclusive of Christian Brother delegates and invited guests from around the world, gathered upon the main stairwell at the Tea County Hotel and Conference Centre. There, we were treated to an Indian welcome by Brother Gerard Alvarez (Leader of the Indian Province) and a group of young female Indian dancers who performed a ceremonial dance for our benefit. A procession into the Chapter meeting room then took place as each participant was seated.

Here, Father Frank Andersen led us in the opening prayer. Following the day’s Readings, our Congregation Leader, Brother Philip Pinto, delivered a typically challenging and inspirational reflection in which he asked that all present “dare to be disciple.”

Following Philip’s reflection, he called out the name of each formal delegate to the Chapter. As each delegate stood, he responded, “I am present.” Philip then invited the Chapter guests to rise. Once all were standing, Philip declared the Chapter officially open.

The celebration then continued with the Liturgy of the Eucharist. Following the reception of Holy Communion, several announcements were made and many of the invited guests were introduced by respective members of the Congregation Leadership Team. This led directly into the afternoon meal and a generous break.

The group reassembled at 4:30 pm at which time small groups were formed to briefly discuss each participant’s lasting images from the pre-Chapter immersion experiences which had taken place in Delhi, Mumbai, and Kolkata.

This was followed by the report of the Oceania Province to the Congregation Chapter. The Oceania report included the showing of a video that spoke to the Province’s efforts at restructuring and its involvement in ministry throughout Oceania. Much symbolism was used to depict the Province’s response to the call to restructure, as the presentation ended with the Chapter participants from Oceania mimicking a canoe ride through the waters of the Pacific.




The day concluded with our Eucharistic celebration coming to a close and each participant being sent forth to love and serve the Lord!

DAY 2 - MONDAY, 3RD MARCH

Day two of the Chapter saw the continuation of province and region reports as we heard the story of Latin America, Europe, Africa and North America, despite the intervention of a number of technical glitches brought about by power cuts.

The story of Latin America was told by Juan Casey ands set in the context of a region with two hundred million people living in poverty and in a time when religious life is in crisis. There are nine communities in the region based in Argentina, Paraguay, Peru and, for the first time, Bolivia. Stella Maris College in Montevideo, Uruguay, is a Christian Brothers’ school. There are currently seven junior professed brothers and five novices, almost all Peruvian. Vocation promotion is being carried out by two of the junior professed brothers. There is a challenge in seeking new members, freeing brothers to work in formation, while continuing to maintain the various ministries of the region. It is often found to be the case that holiday time is the busiest time for many brothers. New and more supportive ways of living together continue to be explored by many. The report concluded with a sung reflection in Spanish led by Pablo Keohane.

The European Province, through mime, narrative, poetry, images and music, attempted to capture its journey since 2002; a journey to life from what was no longer life-giving. Those present saw how brothers relied on each other for support as they continued to take their tentative steps towards the unfamiliar, towards the margins and along the path of exploring spirituality, while recognizing the ageing profile and the lack of new members. The presentation reflected on the journeying in the four areas of “Deepening the Heart of Being Brother”, “New Wineskins for New Wine”, “Seeking New Members” and “The Quest for Justice”. Excerpts from “The Journey” by Mary Oliver and “Why cling to one life…” (Rumi) were used, with the refrain “Consciousness rising…” (Jan Novotka) interspersed throughout. At the conclusion Kevin Mullan and Andrew Hickey of the Presentation Brothers challenged us all in the words of Brendan Kennelly to “Begin Again”.

The presentation of the African Province introduced us to the great beauty and terrible pain of the continent. Beauty, majesty and wealth contrasted with civil war, famine and HIV/AIDS. Those gathered were invited to sing the African Anthem, “Nkosi Sikeleli Africa”. A Power Point presentation, led by Richard Walsh, provided historical, geographical, and statistical information regarding the brothers, leadership, new structures, novitiate numbers, internationality, formation, study, renewal programmes, volunteers, finance, ministries, communities, child protection and new ministries at the margins. The group prayed an African psalm honouring the continent’s many forms with the response “Bless the Lord”. Some questions and challenges arising related to
- formation and seeking new members
- HIV/AIDS
- low level of self-sustainability
- Are we really liberating minds and hearts?
- the need to further explore eucharistic living

The final presentation of the day came from the Edmund Rice North American Province, who led those gathered in a guided meditation to give a sense of how hearts have been transformed by contact at the margins and elsewhere. The Chapter heard of the journey from three provinces to one, how portfolios were created by the new leadership team to cater for initiatives in each of the seven insights of the 2002 Chapter and how two new communities had been begun in order to respond to the needs of Hispanic immigrants in Texas and victims of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. A new model for structure and governance has led to a collaborative and pastoral approach to leadership.

At the day’s end, reflecting on the presentations, those gathered were struck by the stories of the heart, how the face of the congregation has changed, how we now have a new congregation identified, not by what we do, but by how we are as brothers, with ourselves and others.

The evening concluded with a dance and blessing with incense, performed by Michelle and Seema from India, to honour Martin O’Flaherty on his 56th birthday.

INDIA

This morning the Chapter experienced the story of India, our host country. Creativity was the hallmark of the presentation. Through meditation, fire ceremony, water ritual and fire dance our brothers and sisters of the Indian Province and region introduced us to their life and ministry through the four elements: WIND brothers, FIRE brothers, WATER brothers and EARTH brothers.
We heard of the “wind brothers”, those prepared to “fly” to new areas of ministry throughout India, and of the “fire people” in this province and region who are on fire for the economically poor and who are moving into the villages to spread Edmund’s charism. We were given examples of “water brothers” also. These are the brothers who are flexible, adaptable and hospitable, brothers who are open to growth and freshness. “Earth brothers” are earthed in the Gospel of the Scriptures, in the Gospel of the land and culture, in the Gospel of the poor. They can hold others in crisis, absorb the pain and anger of the earth, responding to the cry of the planet. These men, including the novices, live a very simple life among the poor.
We were all invited to dance the earth dance with our Indian brothers and sisters leading us, then we were gifted with a package to take home….such generosity and hospitality has been constant throughout the immersion and chapter.

JUSTICE, ECO-JUSTICE AND THE CONGREGATION RENEWAL TEAM
The day continued with reports from the Donal Leader, Congregation Co-ordinator for Social Justice, and Moy Hitchen, the Eco-Justice co-ordinator, followed by the Congregation Renewal Team of Peter Harney, Francis Hall, Kevin Mullan, Valda Dickinson and Barry Lynch.
Donal introduced us to Edmund Rice International, now set up in Geneva and beginning to work at the United Nations in an advocacy role for the poor and needy children of our world. We watched a deeply moving video depicting the ones they advocate for and then listened to the other members of the community (Brian Bond, Kevin Cawley and Denis Claivez) as they outlined their dreams and hopes for the work ahead of them. We heard stories from this planet’s children trapped in forced prostitution, slavery, child pornography, war and devastation.
It is an exciting time for our charism… adding more and more countries to its influence… Switzerland and France where this new community will live as it works at the United Nations. Incidentally, the flags in the photograph represent the countries in which the Christian Brothers have a presence. The cross represents the suffering children of those countries.

Eco-Justice
Moy’s presentation began with a blessing from each area of the world, using an animal of that area as a symbol… the Elephant (Africa), the Puma (South America), the Black Bear (North America), the Albatross (Oceania), the Tiger (India) and the Red Deer (Europe).
Moy used a power point presentation to report on the work he has been doing since 2005 to bring about the Heart Insight from the 2002 Chaper: ‘To encourage brothers to engage in radical relationships of equality with all God’s creation and to support the Earth Charter’ This ministry has taken him round the world visiting eco-initiatives in our schools and communities especially set up to integrate traditional spirituality with eco-spirituality. He has worked with Leadership Teams, the CLT, schools and communities; over 6000 people in total. He spoke of our need as a congregation to reduce our carbon footprint, to take responsibility for greening our schools and communities, to be in constant dialogue with the poor, the Earth and Global Religions for the sake of the planet and its ecosystems. It is time we began to recapture one of the two great revelations of God and find God in nature. After all, he quoted, ‘we cannot build a just world on a damaged planet.

Congregation Renewal Team
The final event of the day was a report from the Congregation Renewal Team of Peter Harney, Valda Dickinson, Kevin Mullan, Francis Hall and Barry Lynch. This was an opportunity for us all to review and wonder at the progress that has been made in developing the Heart centred spirituality called for at the 2002 Chapter. The many and varied opportunities, including Karibu, God in the Now Retreats, Mitakuye Oyasin, and the Flare Up Like Flame Social Justice Symposium were recalled and celebrated.

The major thrust of the day focused on the Congregation Leadership Team’s Report to the Congregation. Thus, March 5th began with a gathering prayer that included the lighting of five candles – one for each member of the CLT.

Following prayer, Philip Pinto introduced the CLT presentation by imaging the Congregation as a people coming out of exile, so that we could have a whole new experience of God. Philip spoke to how the prophet Elijah met God not in earthquake, fire, or storm, but in sheer silence. Philip stated, “There is a new God being revealed to us in our brokenness and vulnerability and this is what will give us hope as it did those coming out of exile.”

The CLT Report was presented in the form of a power point which emphasized that “our God walks with us and promises to be with us always.” The presentation traced God’s presence to humanity through the stories of creation, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, the Kings, the prophets (Elijah, in particular), Jesus, and Edmund. Several questions were posed for reflection from the perspective of looking back over the past six years. These questions included:

- Where has God been leading us?
- How have we experienced exile?
- What has been stripped from us?
- What does our being stripped mean for us?
- How have we experienced hope for the future?
- What has my personal journey been like?
- How have I experienced exile?
- How has my experience of God changed?
- Where am I in the unfolding story?
- What gives me hope for the future?

At the conclusion of the presentation, each Chapter participant went on an Emmaus journey with one other person to explore the question, “How has the journey of the past six years brought us a different relationship with God or given us a different way of imaging God?”

Following the Emmaus walks, participants met in groups of five to discuss the question, “What are the signs of hope that I see in the evolving restructured Congregation?”

These small groups were followed by an open forum with the CLT to discuss any items raised as presented in the CLT’s written report to the entire Congregation.

The afternoon session began with each member of the CLT offering a refection on his experience of the past six years. Following these reflections, five members of the Congregation gave personal thanks on behalf of the Congregation to each member of the CLT.

The day concluded with an open forum to ascertain a response to the question, “What are the crucial areas that leadership will have to deal with over the next six years?” A discussion on these topics would be the content for a later session at the Chapter.

The twelve people at the Chapter, representing various aspects of the Edmund Rice Network (ERN) worldwide, were gathered in ritual by Frank Andersen and the rest of the group. The twelve are:
Mr. Tom Lesser (USA); Mr. Gonzalo Irigoyen (Uruguay); Mr. Peter Hay (Australia); Mrs. Monica O’Reilly (Ireland); Mrs. Evona Rebelo (South Africa); Mrs. Damaris Kingdon (New Zealand); Ms Michelle Francis (India); Mr. Tom Ondrla (USA), who is accompanied by his wife Christine; Mrs. Julianne Manson (Australia); Mrs. Seema Paul (India); Mr. Mark McGlaughlin (Australia) and Mr. Wilf Hammond (England).

The Chapter was given a brief history of each person’s contact and engagement with the congregation and each was thanked for their presence at the Chapter in Munnar. The ERN group was then invited to meet on their own, facilitated by Br. Mark DaCosta, to look at the issues they would like to bring back to the larger Chapter group.

Brothers were then asked what they might like to say to the representatives of the ERN. The following is a flavour of the feedback:
• We delight in your involvement, participation and willingness, and we are grateful for your inspiration and energy.
• We recognize the wide variety of expressions of the ERN worldwide.
• This is a vital time for you. Set directions for the next six years. What structures need to be put in place?
• Act and speak with courage in dealing with the brothers.
• How can the brothers contribute to the formation of the Network and its members? What do you yourselves want it to be?
• What is frustrating for you as an ERN member?
• What is the ERN vision, purpose, common desire around the charism of Edmund Rice? What ministries attract you?
• Do we need an international desk/forum to develop common understandings?
• Exploration of brothers as members of the ERN.
• Your spirituality is a lay spirituality and differs from a religious life spirituality.

Sessions Two and Three of Day 5 took the brothers of the Chapter Group into the area of Resources for Mission: Finances. Mark McDonnell introduced Mr. Des Lamont and Mr. Shane Cowley of L&P Financial Trustees, who are presenting to a congregation chapter for the third time.

The L&P presentation covered many areas including
♣ Resource Assessment of the Congregation (Manila 2006)
♣ Setting up the Edmund Rice Bicentennial Trust
♣ Edmund Rice Shrine and Heritage Centres
♣ Edmund Rice International

The brothers were taken through congregation responsibilities in matters relating to Canon Law and Constitutions, Civil Law and Vatican Law. The significance of having charitable purposes was outlined and we were reminded that
“What you have you hold in trust for the mission of the congregation.”

Responsibilities of congregation membership, and particularly the Congregation Leadership Team (CLT) as trustees, were explained. Br. Dan O’Keeffe gave a detailed report as Congregation Bursar.

We were reminded by Des and Shane that our goal of stewardship at all times has to be to ensure the continuity of the mission of the Congregation into the future. The challenges of this task need to be met in an informed manner and L&P’s study and reports are a part of this process.

At the conclusion, Shane expressed thanks to Dominic, Mark, the CLT and the Congregation Bursars past and present. Philip thanked Des and Shane on behalf of the CLT for walking the journey with us, for their professionalism, openness and ability to make the hard decisions.

Following the evening meal, Moy Hitchen, promoter of eco-justice, conducted a lively and engaging workshop, “A Sustainable Congregation by 2014”. During the workshop common eco-justice terms were explained, good practice from around the world was identified and the group was facilitated to come up with some achievable ways of living in a more eco-friendly relationship with the planet at local , regional and province level.

Today began acknowledging two birthdays, Mark McDonnell, present here in Munnar and a man in another continent, in New Zealand, Rardy Mills, who turned 101 today, the chief elder of our world community.

Prayer took us to a place with Jesus, a quiet place, a place of prayer and discernment from where he told his disciples that they must go out, move beyond where they were to the outlying districts to preach. The prayer led to reflection on discernment as we face the question as a group gathered here: WHAT IS BEING ASKED OF US AS A DISCERNING COMMUNITY IN THIS CHAPTER TIME?

Reflections on the nature of discernment were shared among the group and then Renée led in a brief exposé on the Movement of Discernment, as a movement between the “I” and “We”, between our own individual awarenesses and voices and the awarenesses and voices of the group. This discerning community will move much between the “I” and “We” over the next few weeks. The challenge will always be how to hold and manage our individual selves in the less ideal moments of this time together!!

The second part of the morning’s session led us to consider a very vital issue for our Congregation today, especially in certain parts of the world and that is our policy in relation to the admission of candidates and HIV/AIDS. Great wisdom was shared by many members of the Chapter and especially by our African Brothers who are faced with this reality of life on a day-to-day basis.

Many good opinions were shared and more time needs to be given to this in the days and weeks ahead before we come to a consensus.

Before lunch, a short time was spent on the discernment process for the election of the CLT (Congregation Leadership Team). It provided good information for us to consider as we move to that in about week three. So in all, this morning at the Chapter was mainly about discernment. We are surely moving into a different and important phase of this time in Munnar.

The afternoon session began with Edmund Garvey introducing the topic on Constitutions and Statutes. Certain proposals have come to the Chapter concerning the above topic and a committee has been dealing with them and designing a way to deal with them.
We moved then into a consideration of the Recommendations emanating from the survey carried out on the ERN. We were asked to choose an interest among the six recommendations for conversation and depthing. Conversations centred around appointing an ERN Coordinator at both a Congregational and local levels; defining ERN more clearly; whether a study of possible forms of commitment to ER charism should be commissioned by the incoming CLT; Trust funds to finance the ERN; and the term itself, ’network’. Lively discussion was shared in the larger group and the Chapter now awaits what will come from the discussions of the ERN members here at the Chapter, who have been working separately from us since yesterday morning.

Frank Andersen led us in a prayer ritual of holding the fire of the Spirit who may have come to us individually today. “Where may we each have been touched by the Spirit today?” For me, personally, it was during our discussion on HIV/AIDS when our African brothers said: The Body of Christ has AIDS!

For the previous two days, Chapter participants met in two separate groups to discuss issues pertinent to the Edmund Rice Network. The Christian Brothers met among themselves to explore recommendations regarding the ERN that had emanated from a study which had taken place prior to the start of the Chapter. Meanwhile, the non Brother invitees at the Chapter met among themselves to converse and dialogue with one another about the role of the ERN from their own unique perspective.

Thus, Saturday, March 8th began with a gathering ritual that was immediately followed by the reunification of the two groups, and the entire day was then given fully to discussions concerning the Edmund Rice Network.

As the non Brother invitees returned to the main meeting space, they joined the Brothers who had been situated in groups of seven throughout the room. A spontaneous yarn toss across the room took place until each person had a piece of the yarn. As this activity unfolded, it was most obvious that a web was being created to symbolize the interconnectedness of the ERN. Each of the twelve groups was made up of six brothers and one of the returning invitees. In the small groups, the Brothers then listened attentively as the invitees reflected deeply on their own spiritual journeys in light of the charism of Edmund Rice.

The small group sharing was followed by a power point presentation that intertwined Scripture readings (the story of Creation, the day of Pentecost, and the call of Samuel) with three main areas (Structure, Formation, and Spirituality) pertinent to Identity and Membership in the Edmund Rice Network, as developed by the non Brother invitees. At the conclusion of the power point, Michelle Francis (a representative from India), on behalf of the non Brother invitees, expressed gratitude for the invitation to attend the Chapter. Michelle then shared a moving testimonial based on a dream in her own life that gave much insight into her own spiritual journey in seeking Jesus and coming to appreciate the heart of being Brother.

Following Michelle’s thank you, the non Brother invitees moved to the center of the room where they gathered water and a leaf that would be used to bless each of the Brothers in their group.

The remainder of the day was given to discussion in a variety of ways on the recommendations of the invitees as presented in the power point. The main focus of conversation centered on “what conversation was still needed regarding the ERN” prior to the departure of the non Brother invitees from the Chapter the next day. A flow of questions, answers, insights, affirmations, challenges, etc. between the Brothers and invitees ensued throughout the remainder of the day. It was evident that the dialogue was mutually genuine and that a deep respect for all aspects of the ERN pervaded the room.

As the meeting portion of the day concluded, all were ensured that the recommendations from the invitees would be taken up by the Chapter Delegates as the Chapter proceeded. One thing that was most evident (and may explain the sometimes awkwardness of this writing) is that the language we use in describing the Edmund Rice Network is important, as the ERN consists of the Christian Brothers and many other groups throughout the world who identify with, share in, or are in relationship with the charism of Edmund Rice. Thus, we speak not of the Christian Brothers and the ERN, but of the ERN which is inclusive of the Christian Brothers and these many other groups.

Following the afternoon session, Frank Andersen led all in a celebration of the Eucharist which commenced indoors with the singing of We Walk by Faith and proceeded outdoors where the rest of the celebration would unfold. As the Chapter participants processed outdoors and into the prayer circle, each took part in an Aboriginal penitential rite with fire and smoke. A moving part of the Liturgy included the calling out of blessings from nature and creation which surrounded our environment. This spirited Eucharistic celebration provided a fitting ending to the Chapter’s first week and was immediately followed by a social gathering of song, dance, and libations alongside the still burning fire, but not before Philip Pinto presented each non Brother invitee with a beautiful shawl containing the Congregation logo. These shawls were given as well to those invited Brothers who would be taking their leave from the Chapter following Sunday’s well deserved day of rest.