MSIN Assembly: Tuesday, June 18
MSIN Assembly | Photos in Facebook
The second day of the Marist Solidarity International Network Assembly, June 18, was marked by the presentation of the Institute’s documents on mission and the work of the focus groups.
The group gathered in the Champagnat Hall at 8:45 a.m. for the opening prayer, prepared by Joe Nacianceno, from West Asia. The participants were invited to meditate on the mystical meaning of what surrounds us: “the universe unfolds in God”.
After the prayer, the directors of the Secretariat for Education and Evangelization took the floor. Brother JosĂ© Sánchez Bravo presented the III Marist International Mission Assembly, the final document that has just been made public. The MIMA III was held last April at El Escorial and indicated 7 priorities for the missionary activity of the Institute. Another beacon in the Institute’s mission is the document “In the Footsteps of Marcellin Champagnat: Marist Educational Mission“, a new edition of which was presented during MIMA. This document was presented by Niño Pizarro, Assistant Director of the Secretariat of Education and Evangelization.
Focus groups
The Marist Solidarity International Network covers five different areas inherent to solidarity: children’s rights, social works, ecology, NGOs/Foundations and education for solidarity. These areas are called focus groups. One of the objectives of this assembly is to create a space to report on the work that each of these groups is doing and, at the same time, to draw guidelines for the future. To implement this objective and create an action plan for each of the focal areas, for much of the second day of the Assembly participants worked in six groups, analyzing the five themes, reviewing the progress made, their dreams and possible actions until 2026. “Coming together as a global family we bring many cultures, many stories, many apport and our aim is to put together concrete actions to forward the message of Champagnat”, stressed Peter Monaghan, from Australia, Province of Star of the Sea.
In the second afternoon session, three ONGs presented their own line of action and gave hints on how they can help the Institute: FMSI, the foundation of the General Administration; SED, which operates in Spain; and Australian Marist Solidarity of the Star of the Sea Province.
At the end of the day’s work, there was time for various communications and observations, among them the need for a communications plan, a shared space in the cloud and the plan to send the Institute a final message from the Assembly.