Palm Sunday 2005

Dear Brothers,

The General Chapter of 1972 reaffirmed the decision of the Special Renewal Chapter of 1968/69 when it legislated for a biennial meeting of the General Officials with the Provincials of the Congregation. I believe that the original intention of this legislation was that the work of renovation or rejuvenation of the religious spirit and life of the family of Edmund Rice might be more effectively promoted through our joint studies and discussions; that such a meeting as this would be a powerful means of inculcating a unity of purpose, a unity of ideals and aspirations throughout the Congregation; that, through a sharing of our experiences, of difficulties and failures, of development and successes we might assist each other in the responsible task of leadership which falls to each of us. (Br. Linus Kelty to Provincials in January 1974)

It is in this spirit that we on the Congregation Leadership Team invite our Province, Region and District Leaders and some Deputy Leaders to a leadership conference to be held in Manila, The Philippines, from January 15^th to 25^th, 2006.

Over the next few pages we are placing before you some of our expected discussions during the Conference. We ask that you use the questions as a guide to reflection and as a preparation for January.

Over the past three years (and even before that) work has been in process to adopt new structures that would better reflect the present reality of our Congregation and its future direction. The leadership conference will be an opportunity of sharing what has happened so far, and what still needs to be done. We will be able to look again at the challenges we face, the obstacles we meet and the little breakthroughs that have been achieved.

Deepening the Spirituality of Being Brother: A hatching of the heart.

This has been the focus of our thrust as CLT. Our Vision Statement for ourselves is "to revitalise our Religious Brotherhood with a clear focus on heart-centred spirituality." Our hope would be that during the Conference we would model what we mean by this and also deepen our understanding of it.

What is my understanding of the Eucharist, and how can my spirituality be described as Eucharistic?

Our Ministry of Leadership

We are called to exercise leadership for the sake of God’s Reign. Our time together in Manila will be a good one for us to review how we exercise this ministry. When the CLT gathered three years ago, we endeavoured to be compassionate, collaborative, empowering and non-violent. We still stand by these values. Recently, Sean Sammon, the General of the Marist Brothers mentioned three qualities for religious leaders today:

        Keep the Vision alive

        Tell the truth (even when it is about death)

        Be a herald of hope.

Can I recall an experience of leadership that left me FEELING DEPRESSED AND TIRED?

Because of the changes that are taking place in our Congregation structures, it is important that we consider carefully the implications of all of this for our Constitutions and for the requirements of Canon Law. We have invited Br. Michael Colasuonno to assist us with this study. We are also inviting you to write in to us if you have any queries in this regard. In the run-up to the meeting in Manila we hope to present some relevant material to the leaders. We are also looking at the complex question of representation at Chapters, given the restructuring that is taking place in our Provinces and Regions.

We believe that as a Congregation we need to re-assess our work in the area of justice. While a number of Brothers are caught up in justice issues, and while many of us are involved with working with people on the margins of society, as a Congregation we have not been outspoken about the oppression of vast sections of people in our Church and world. We can refer to exceptions to this, but it is our silence that is deafening. The CLT has entered into dialogue with Br. Donal Leader of St. Helen’s Province, Ireland, to look at the possibilities of advocacy at the International level. Donal is studying the feasibility of collaborating with others with United Nations Non-Government Organisation (NGO) status. At the moment we feel that our special mission within the Church of the evangelisation of youth through Christian education, would enable us to speak up for the rights of children wherever these are being trampled on. Perhaps our leadership conference might enable us to sharpen our focus, and give us a clear mandate in this regard.

Please pray for our coming together in Manila: that God’s Spirit might fill us with a thirst for the newness of life that Easter brings. How can we as Brothers and as a community of leaders bring this new life to those we minister to?

Every good wish on you and your ministries.