4th Meeting of the International Commission for the Revision of the Formation Guide
The International Commission for the Revision of the Formation Guide continues with the work for which it was mandated. On March 3, they had their 4th online meeting, where the main agenda was to listen to the reports of the two sub-groups who where tasked to reflect on distinct topics. These groups were formed during the 3rd meeting on January 26; the English-speaking group dealt with “Contents” of the Formation Guide and the Spanish-speaking group, “Process”, which refers to the possible steps and stages in the work of the Commission.
The group “Process” had a separate meeting on February 14; while the group “Contents” came together on February 24. Each group then prepared a summary which was shared during the March 3 meeting. Afterwards the members were sent to the breakout rooms to deepen what they have heard from the presentations.
The need for a vision
One of the main issues that surfaced during this recent meeting was the need for a vision. The English-speaking group calls it Concept Design and the Spanish-speaking group refers to it as the Horizon. In essence, it is the response to the basic questions: How do we see Marist life today and in the future? What kind of formation then are we going to offer?
The Brothers Today, for its part, after having evaluated the first three meetings, came up with the idea that the Commission should think of itself and its work not so much in terms of producing a Revised Formation Guide. Rather, the direction is more towards a New Formation Guide. This paradigm shift, the Secretariat believes, will have a great influence on how the Commission should proceed. Hence, as far as the members are concerned, they are the International Commission for the New Formation Guide.
The next meeting of the commission will be on April 14. In the meantime, the Secretariat of Brothers Today is working on the synthesis of all that has been discussed so far. Things are indeed moving forward.