II Marist International Mission Assembly

In March the members of the Preparatory Commission met for the fifth and last time in order to prepare for the II MIMA to be held in Nairobi, September 16-27, 2014.   As always, it was a happy reunion for the participants to work together and to celebrate Marist life.  Having met last October in Nairobi, the group had already designed the master plan.  This time, they split into smaller committees to accomplish various assigned tasks.  Some developed liturgical celebrations; others designed the methodologies for presentations, discussions, and reflection; the third group worked on the logistics and infrastructure that will make the entire program run efficiently.  

While the nine original commission members have been working on the project since June 2012, three new members were added last fall to bring much needed expertise:  Sr. Pilar Montero of the Missionary Sisters of Our Lady of Africa (MSOLA) was invited to be our facilitator, Br. Miguel Angel from Mexico is serving as secretary, and Br. Albert of PACE (the Province of Africa Center East) is our liaison to Kenya.  It would be safe to say that the program now has meat on its bones!  

Don’t think, though, that it was all work and no play:  the Commission was joined by some of the community members of the General House on an excursion to Pompeii, to visit the archeological site, and to nearby Giugliano where we received a warm welcome from a group of Marists, brothers and lay, who live and work there.  

Once the preliminary work is completed, the Preparatory Commission will become the Central Commission, whose task it will be to animate the assembly and accompany the 150 delegates throughout their stay.  We look forward to this shared moment of exploring our international Marist identity which we believe will bring new life to the Marist Mission.

“New Marists in Mission”.

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