Vocations Conference
Called to a Deeper
Journey (Te Ara Wairua)
Wednesday April 11
2007
Conference delegates representing the Christian Brothers in Europe, North America and Oceania, and the Presentation Family assembled at Kings College for the week-long Conference.
Br Dominic Sassi, co-host of the conference welcomed the 65 participants and stated:
The aim of this conference, Called To a Deeper Journey, Te Ara Wairua, is to deepen our appreciation of the vocation of a brother so that we may more confidently engage in vocation ministry in concrete and active ways. This calls for faith, imagination and a prophetic engagement with the key issues of our day. We have invited each of you here especially to participate in this conference because we believe you have a passion for seeking new Brothers in the spirit of Edmund.
Co-host, Br Martin Kenneally, Congregation Leader of the Presentation Brothers introduced the Planning Team for the conference: Br David Gibson (Europe), Br Kevin Griffith (North America), Br Paul Robertson (Oceania) and Br John Webb (Oceania). Martin also introduced the Conference facilitator, Sr Anne O’Leary and keynote speaker, Sr Gemma Simmonds and the conference liturgists, Sr Noreen McGrath and Fr John Jolliffe who led the group in an opening prayer ritual.
The theme for the first full day of the conference centred on the question: can you hear the call of God in what your brothers and sisters are saying to you? The format for exploring this question focused on the current realities of the four groups (CB North America, the Presentation Family, CB Oceania and CB Europe) represented at the conference. Thus, each group had the opportunity to deliver a twenty minute presentation on its current reality. These presentations were followed by a period for questions and answers allowing for feedback and interaction between and amongst the participants from the particular reality and the conference assembly at large. An opportunity for journaling in an atmosphere of gathered silence followed each presentation. The journaling focused on specific learnings about each reality and its efforts at seeking new brothers.
A special gathering took place at noon, allowing for a formal welcome by the Kings College Kapahaka group. The Powhiri was led by Maori Leaders. The symbolic gesture of their special welcome was well received by the conference delegates.
Perhaps the events of the day could be summed up in the following statement from Simon Purcell, a delegate to the conference from Perth, Australia. Simon commented:
Living with the Christian Brothers gave me a close up look at the life of a brother. The Christian Brothers are good men and live a life worth considering. Through my experience in community, I was able to recognise that living life as a Christian Brother is a real option for young people.
The theme for the morning, delivered by Sr Gemma Simmonds CJ, focused on seeking new brothers in a changing global context. In her comments, she expounded upon the tension between secular society and religious life in the third millennium. Gemma proclaimed that ‘our task is one of prophetic retransformation’.
Gemma challenged the conference delegates to develop a culture in which the option of becoming a religious brother is readily available to young people. She stated that ‘religious life is a public statement of commitment to the Gospel which needs to be made visible’. Gemma explained that in seeking new brothers, we must ‘offer something significantly different from what the secular world offers – otherwise why would someone come to us?’
Gemma concluded the first segment of her presentation by identifying three elements necessary for authentic growth in a mature autonomous faith. These three elements are:
• A direct personal relationship with God in Christ
• A sense of belonging
• Works of justice
The second segment of Gemma’s presentation focused on a theological response to the global context. In speaking of desire, Gemma noted ‘not what you are – not what you have been – but what you want to be is what God sees with merciful eyes’ (The Cloud of Unknowing).
The afternoon session consisted of small group gatherings around two questions:
1. How would you say the overall cultural context within which you work might affect vocation ministry? Positively? Negatively?
2. How might such cultural questions impact on the integration of new members into established communities? What sort of reinterpretation of the tradition might be necessary to facilitate this?
Feedback form the small groups revealed that young people are yearning for experiences of spirituality and community and that we, as religious brothers, can offer this to them.
Saturday April 14 2007
The theme for this day of the conference centred on the Human Journey Towards Wholeness. Sr Gemma Simmonds delivered a presentation that spoke to the human journey towards wholeness in religious life. Some of the topics that Gemma touched on included: our sinfulness, the humanity of Jesus, the need to provide tools for young people to explore their journeys, the incarnation and our sharing in the Body of Christ, redemption, transformation, and the role of the Liturgy in helping us to understand both the humanity of Jesus and our own humanity.
Gemma challenged us in our vocation ministry to help young people come to an understanding of how God sees them. As such, she stated:
Do I ask Jesus, ‘who do you say I am?’ In vocation ministry this is what we can offer people – the opportunity to stand before Jesus and ask, ‘who do you say I am?’ in finding this out, I will find my deepest, fullest self … I am a sinner, sure, but I am a loved and forgiven sinner.
In concluding the first portion of her presentation, Gemma encouraged the conference delegates to ‘create a spirituality of communion, seeing the indwelling of Jesus in our brothers and sisters’. She stated that ‘the gift of the Edmund Rice charism is that of holding a vision of a redeemed society, communicating that to others and inviting them into it’.
Brothers Kevin Griffith, David Gibson and Martin Kenneally, shared their experiences of the journey towards human wholeness in their lives. The three presentations focused on brokenness, sexuality, celibacy , spirituality and wholeness. Following each presentation, conference participants had the opportunity to interact with the presenter. The morning concluded with a leisurely Emmaus walk allowing each person to reflect on his or her own human journey with another person.
The final session was a brief presentation by Br Paul Robertson on the significance of the Edmund Rice Network in New Zealand. As such, four young New Zealand members of the ER Network fielded questions regarding their role in the network and in promoting vocations to vowed membership in religious brotherhood.
The day concluded with a Vigil Eucharist celebrating the first Sunday after Easter. Perhaps the highlight of the celebration was a symbolic act of reconciliation based on a Samoan ritual in which Brothers Dominic Sassi and Martin Kenneally lay beneath a mat as a sign of our need for healing and reconciliation, as the congregation sang, ‘Jesus, remember me, when you come into your kingdom’.
Sunday April 15 2007
Following an evening and three full days of conference deliberations, the participants earned a day’s break. Thus, Sunday April 15, 2007 allowed for conference delegates to go their own ways in exploring the beauty of New Zealand. A 9.00 pm gathering for prayerful reflection brought a fitting end to a glorious day of rest and recreation.
Monday April 16 2007
The first morning session focused on ‘Toward Seeking New Brothers: From Vision to Action’. The keynote speaker for this session was Mr Kevin Malloy who spoke to the delegates on the topic of marketing. Kevin offered insight into the world of marketing that challenged the conference delegates to devise new strategies for getting the message of our brotherhood out to young people. Kevin encouraged us to embrace the digital world and to use it to our advantage in promoting vocations. He asked that we find ‘connections that captivate’ in communicating to our target audience in seeking new brothers.
In relating marketing strategies to vocation ministry, Kevin offered seven recommendations for our consideration:
1. Have a plan
2. Be very focused
3. Make our own website the ‘storefront’ of our communications
4. Understand where our target audience is spending their time
5. Use our current assets
6. Paid search is a smart option
7. Monitor and measure
The conference then took a somewhat unexpected turn, as a group of young people asked that time be made available for their voice to be heard. Hearing that this was a need and listening to the call of the young, Anne O’Leary, the conference facilitator, shifted gears and devised a forum for the young voices to be heard. A five person panel of young participants then shared their insights with the conference participants. Following this panel, an open forum allowed for interaction in response to the young voices.
Tuesday April 17 2007
The final day of Called to a Deeper Journey began with a morning prayer centred on invoking the Holy Spirit and sending people forth.
The morning session focused on moving the conference participants and the four reality groups from vision to action. Reality groups met in clusters to further develop priorities and action steps for promoting vocation after returning home. Each group had the opportunity to read and reflect on the other groups’ suggestions. Following a break, each group presented a prioritised list of their top three strategies for moving the process forward of seeking new brothers. The morning concluded with a return to the reality cluster groups for further fine tuning of priorities, strategies and action steps.
As part of the morning session, Anne O’Leary used a tree to symbolise the growth movements that have taken place during the conference. Anne also presented three suggestions for follow up for each reality group on their return home. She then lead the group through a guided meditation that focused on helping the participants to reflect on the experience of the conference. This was followed by final thoughts about the gathering amongst the participants in groups.
The closing liturgy took place in a spirit of sending forth. Br Martin Kenneally delivered a stimulating homily that challenged all to seek Christ through Edmund.
Br Dominic Sassi thanked all those involved in bringing about this wonderful experience.