International Forum on the Lay Marist Vocation – Stage II
July 2021 marked the beginning of STAGE II of the International Forum on the Lay Marist Vocation, inspired by the text of Luke’s Gospel: “He started to walk with them” (Lk 24, 15). This stage emphasises reflection meetings at local and administrative unit level. It lasts one year and ends in June 2022.
This phase includes the study and deepening, at personal and community level, of the proposed themes arising from the four objectives of the Forum. The dynamics will be developed in small groups made up of brothers, mixed communities, lay men and women with a vocation, fraternities of the CMMF or other movements face-to-face, where possible, or virtually. It is important to stress that each Administrative Unit will schedule this stage according to its internal programming possibilities, which means that it is not necessary to cover all the months assigned in the proposed year.
- Publicise the proposal: July 2021
- Generate small group dialogues: July 2021 to May 2022
- Select 3 representatives: July 2021 to May 2022
- Hold Provincial/District Forum: July 2021 to May 2022
- Submit findings of the Administrative Unit: by 30 June 2022
From July 2021 to May 2022 each Administrative Unit:
- Publicise the proposal of the International Forum.
- Generate dialogue among all the participants, in small groups (communities), in person or virtually, according to the guidelines given by the Secretariat of the Laity.
- Participatory selection of representatives (two lay people and one brother) to attend the International Forum. Their participation will be in November 2022 (Rome, in person) and in November 2024 (virtual).
- It will hold a Provincial/District Forum or a similar face-to-face or virtual event in which representatives of the local phase will participate. Each AU organises this experience according to its reality. The three representatives of the AU will be sent to the Forum.
By 30 June 2022, the provincial Lay Animation Teams will send to the Secretariat of the Laity the conclusive documents in which the results of the local and provincial/district process and the representatives are consigned.
Reflection sheets for community meetings
To support the dialogue of the communities, the Enlarged Bureau of the Laity has prepared a series of instruments both to guide the animation of the Provincial or District Teams and to help in the reflection of each fraternity or community of lay people and brothers and sisters. It consists of a series of cards to animate the meetings and which touch on each of the objectives of the Forum, with the intention of generating reflection and dialogue among all the lay people and brothers involved in this process and of formally welcoming their opinions and contributions to the Forum. The Provincial or District Teams responsible for the Forum in their respective Administrative Unit will animate this stage and distribute this material according to the calendar which each one has organised.