First meeting of the Director and Co-ordinators of the Bureau of Laity
The Bureau of Laity has taken a step further in its organisation. In September 2010, it met with the Enlarged Bureau in order to draw up a three year Plan. Recently it met again in Rome, from 7 to 11 January, to share the comments from the meetings organized in the Provinces in reaction to the Bureau’s Plan of action. The Director, Br. Javier Espinosa, met for the first time with the Co-directors, Ana Sarrate and Tony Clarke.
The work agenda included a first reflection on three meetings planned at regional and international levels to promote the formation of provincial animators who will work on the new Brother-laity relationship, the drawing up of a programme of discernment on the lay Marist vocation, and the process of updating the Champagnat Movement.
The Bureau also reflected on the autonomy, co-responsibility and communion, as well as the meaning of the lay Marist vocation, the sense of attachment and belonging, the better connecting up of the laity in the Provinces and Regions, and the harmonizing of efforts among the Bureaus.
Other points of the Plan were studied at the meeting: identification of the regions of the Institute most in need of attention, dialogue with other Congregations on the subject of laity, the projection of activities over the three years, promotion of the spirit of the document Around the same table, elaboration of a Marist vocabulary, joint formation, support for experiments favouring new ways of living the Marist charism, etc.
The meeting offered an opportunity for reviewing the Bureau’s means of communication and of becoming familiar with the current state of the laity web site.
The plenary session of the General Council in Rome met the Directors of the Bureaus of Mission, Brothers today and International Missionary Collaboration. The Bureau of Laity took the opportunity to present the Plan it hopes to develop over the next years and to exchange on the possible mutual implications. The different Bureaus met the Council to share their plans for the future.
The presence of the two lay persons – a man and a woman – in the Council room underlines the determination to promote greater co-responsibility and leadership on the part of the laity. For the same reason, it is necessary to enlarge the Bureau from 4 to 7 persons representing the main Regions of the Institute and thus covering all the feelings of the Institute. The first meeting of the Enlarged Bureau will take place at the Hermitage at the end of May 2011. It is planned to have the first meeting by Region of the animators of the lay process in the Provinces this same year.
The meeting witnessed to the new relationship between Brothers and laity invited by the General Chapter, in an attitude of communion and with a common horizon of hope.