After reveiwing the group reports of the characteristics and hearing the first draft of the "Description of the Xaverian Charism", the associates, collaborators and brothers met in their "groups by affiliation" to discuss the next steps of the process. Each group came up with either action steps they would do to follow-up on the experience of the Assembly, or they talked about practices they could incorporate into their daily lives that would help them to live out the Xaverian Charism.
As part of the follow-up to Assembly 2012, brothers, associates and collaborators will need to continue to discern what action steps or practices they can implement or develop.
Here are the reports from the associates, collaborators and the three groups of brothers. A link to download the report is at the end of the post.
Results of Meetings by Affiliate Group – Friday, 20 July 2012
Associates
- Each of us will write our own story about what we experienced this week and share it with all other Associates – 41 of us.
- We want to create prayer experiences using the Fundamental Principles and discussion questions on how these shape our lives.
- Move toward organizing spiritual days in the various regions: NE, NY, MD, Louisville
Collaborators
- Resource us to empower us to engage in reflection with you
- Spiritual Exercises
- Sources/Letters
- Updated version of “March On, God will Provide”
- Website – epub with lives of the Brothers
- Creating XB basic reflections to ground students commitment to service
2. Discerning ongoing intercultural possibilities building on the connections we have established in this time and this place fostering connection and mutual prayer
3. Commit to discern on and bring back the spirit of this gathering to the chief administrators/schools creating an openness to the transformative possibilities
4. How do we come to make this gift/spirit as compelling and foundational as the values of XB education as means of continuing to form and inform the work of our schools?
5. Seek means to empower faculty/staff to embrace their role/call as collaborators in ministry with the XB’s
6. Assessing the possibilities to connect with the Brothers to cast the net wide in involving our students to consider vowed religious life.
Brothers Group 1
- Personally reflect and rewrite the statement in light of the changes you see as needed
- Engage Brothers in an appropriate ways in each Brothers community, intentional groups or with groups of people in your area who were part of this Assembly.
Brothers Group 2
- Develop a structure/schedule for brothers to gather to pray, dialogue and share our lives.
- Be part of a group to create prayer in light of this articulation.
- Create examen for Brothers
- Work on spiritual exercises for Brothers
- Monthly recollection – instill a deep commitment to the community as the primary recipient of my affection – deep consciousness of community, danger of individualism
- Get a pen pal from Africa
- Aging issues – get together to do animation around this articulation so the older brothers feel connected.
- Commit myself to reinforce spiritual formation of our collaborators
- Talk about Ryken and our charism in our schools, as the American schools do.
- Make this a priority to speak with Faculty Formation Committee in the schools
- Work harder to disseminate what Regj has uncovered by Ryken
- Be content with work I’m trying to do
- What we’ve done is profound. I cannot read the document without help. However, together with brothers contact those here this week and in the spirit of renewal be present in our communities in the Congo, with faculty, children in our schools. I commit to the promotion of this spirit and prayer in our communities. Prayer be the foundation upon which our work is built and our internal depth. Our band of brothers in Africa take root using our lives so that our call can find resources locally. We are aksing brothers in Beligum and US to accompany us in this process and that is a way to embody our vision of Ryken – praying together, self-sufficiency. Together with cooperatives and find sources of revenue locally to continue our work.
Brothers Group 3
- Plan structured community meetings – engage each other in structured conversations about issues of our life. Once a month, for example, have a community meeting.
- Find times for communities to spend together periodically without television, internet, etc., similar to how we met in the past for community recreation.
- Each community meet annually to determine ways of presence to each other, developing greater accountability and responsibility.
- Create times of sharing community with others (hospitality) with a common vision & concerns (other religious, clergy, collaborators) – similar to what the Lodwar community does on a weekly basis with local communities, or what Harry Eccles helped to organize on a monthly basis in Port au Prince, Haiti.
- As a community do some ministerial outreach (to hospitals, hospice, soup kitchen, etc.) as well as individual ministries.
- Encourage the Spirituality Commission to work to develop meetings and resources where Brothers can deepen in Ryken’s Spirituality, that would also be open to Associates and Collaborators
- Define a “common work” for these times – a band of brothers who work together (something that all brothers, active and retired could feel engaged with or part of)
Here is a link to download the full report of the Action Items/Practices Download Results of Meetings by Affiliate Group – Friday
Feel free to post any comments you'd like to make on the Action Items/Practices or to suggest other action items or practices you would suggest we make.