Assembly of the Marist Mission of the Norandina Province

On 15 and 16 April, the first Provincial Assembly of the Marist Mission of Norandina (Venezuela, Colombia and Ecuador) was held virtually. This Assembly was conceived as a forum for reflection and listening as part of the process of preparation for the VII Provincial Chapter to be held from 3 to 6 June 2021.

Brothers, lay people, coordinators of the different areas of animation, management teams of all our educational works and young leaders of Marist Youth Ministry gathered together to reflect on the social context of the places where the Marist mission is shared and lived in order to identify challenges, appeals, calls and finally to propose ways of acting.

On the 15th the participants were accompanied by Dr. Jaime Rendón, who presented practical elements for a critical reading of the reality of Latin America and, especially, of the three countries that make up our Province: Venezuela, Colombia and Ecuador. Once he had finished his presentation, a reflection session took place in groups of 10 people, in which they had the opportunity to go into greater depth on the subject presented, based on a discussion guide with two guiding questions.

On the 16th April, the participants shared with two brothers from the province who are currently serving the Institute and are part of the General House community in Rome, Brothers Libardo Garzón, Econome General, and Carlos Alberto Rojas (Beto), Director of the Secretariat of Education and Evangelisation. They shared with the participants their vision of the Marist mission from the global perspective and their knowledge of the Institute. Once they had finished their presentations, the work began in the reflection groups established on the first day.

The Assembly ended with a moving message of gratitude to all the Marists of Champagnat Norandino from Brother César Augusto Rojas Carvajal, who is coming to the end of his service in Provincial animation, a leadership he assumed in 2014.