Preparations for the International Forum on the Lay Marist Vocation
As part of the preparations for the International Forum on the Lay Marist Vocation, the Extended Secretariat of the Laity, Brothers Today Secretariat and Forum Facilitators met on November 10th with representatives of the laity from the provinces of Norandina, Santa Maria de los Andes and Ibérica. Also participating were the Links Councillors: Joao Carlos and Sylvain. Vicar General and the Coordinator of the European Team of Laity.
The main objective of the meeting was to get to know and bring together the experiences of the Link to the Charism conducted by the provinces of Norandina, Santa María de los Andes and Ibérica. These three provinces have been on this path for a number of years and are the only ones to have taken this step and given that it is one of the objectives of the Forum (the third) it is important to be aware of the process, its implications and how to welcome this experience in the Forum.
This meeting is one of several preparatory meetings for the International Forum. There have been meetings with other congregations which have experiences of lay associations and now meetings with Marist experiences.
Among the conclusions, or fruits of the exchange of this meeting, the following stand out:
The three provincial experiences have similarities in terms of their processes, lay maturity and even their difficulties along the way.
The experience is a charismatic vocational response, which responds to an itinerary that is accompanied by suitable people in each province.
The provincial experiences also show that it is a way of making more visible the vocation of the lay Marist.
The experiences highlight the relevance of life in community to accompany personal processes, the challenge of working with young adults to continue projecting the charism with a lay profile into the future.
It also points out that there is a free public commitment. It also emphasised the innovation of this experience, which has not yet been placed in the context of life in the Province.
The next meeting will be announced at a later date.