The III Assembly of Marist Association of St Marcellin Champagnat is well underway

The III Assembly of the  Marist Association of St Marcellin Champagnat  will hold its third meeting from August 26 – 28, in “blended in-person/online” mode, with the theme: ‘Known and Loved – That you may shine among them like the stars’.

The III Assembly is well and truly underway. The initial online forums were held on 7 June and 27 July. Both were met with great enthusiasm.

The meetings expected to be an experience inspirational and life-giving for all concerned. This aspiration is reflected in the theme.  ‘Known and Loved – That you may shine among them like the stars’. This scriptural reference alludes to theto the Members of Marist Association of St Marcellin Champagnat, and their desire to be their best selves – both individually and together, as an Association”.

Talking about how the process unfolds, Michael Evison, Chair, National Assembly Working Party, said: “Fundamentally, we are challenged to ponder: Why do we associate? What is our vocation in doing so? What are we longing for? This, then, naturally flows over to the whole area of mission: How are we called to ‘be’ in the world? What is our unique gift to the Church, to the world, to life? In responding to the promptings of the Spirit, it is vital that we do so as ‘family’, not as an institution.

Members must truly own the process, with future directions set by the Membership – rather than a ‘top-down’ approach. It is a time to not be weighed down by too many preconceived ideas. As Br Graham Neist says, ‘Free of any burden, you can be a gift to the process’. He also reminds us that the work of the Spirit in our evolving universe is always to create, to heal, to form and to ‘make whole’. This is surely a very strong intimation of what our work needs to be”, concluded Michael Evison Chair.