Our Chapter Reports, 2nd, 3rd and 4th Days
Alison McKenzie, General Secretary, Laity of the MSC, addresses the Chapter
Second Day. 19th September.
The day began with Communal Wisdom Prayer. Fr. Chris Chaplin, msc, read the Gospel from the on Emmaus (Luke 24:13-27), the same reading that inspired the journey towards this General Chapter. After a moment of silence and personal reflection, the capitulants went to different rooms to share their reflections of prayer with one another.
Peter Carroll
Back in the Chapter Hall and before beginning the work of discernment, Br Joe McKee, one of the facilitators, presented the methodology that will be used on this second day: ‘World Cafe‘. A method of listening and dialogue across language groups to enable the sharing of the concerns and proposals that each senses is emerging from the Chapter for the Congregation.
Each World-Cafe group has large sheets of paper on the table to write, draw or doodle the ideas that arise during the dialogue and that will be put in a ‘parking space’ at the end of the day for delegates to ponder further.
Four questions were posed for this dialogue:
- What strengths do you see?
- Are there areas for growth?
- Do you see any risks or possible difficulties?
- What seems to be emerging that you sense the Chapter needs to consider further?
Tim Brennan
The purpose of these questions is to enable the capitulants to have a conversation; sharing the ideas that were collected in the document ‘Compilation of Congregational Feedback’ that was presented at the Online Pre-Chapter Session on June 20-21.
At the end of the day, the reflections of all the working groups, written and drawn on the sheets that were given to them at the beginning of the day, were placed on boards and the walls of the hall, for the Chapter reflection the following day.
To end this second day of work, Mass was presided by Fr. Juan Tomás García, msc, dedicated to St. Joseph, as the father of Jesus, the heart of God incarnate. An image of St. Joseph occupied an important place in the hall throughout the day.
_____________________________
Third Day. 20th September.
The day began with the daily Communal Wisdom Prayer (Mark 6:30-34), personal reflection, and subsequent sharing in prayer groups.
Ho Tombokan, msc, Indonesian delegate, welcomed the Papua New Guinea capitulars, Fr. Sylvester To Warwakai, Provincial Superior, and the delegates, Fr. Christian Waira and Fr. Fabian Manukailona.
John Mulrooney (and Chris Chaplin)
There were some special moments at the beginning of the day. The whole assembly congratulated Fr. Abzalon on his birthday, Fr. André Claessens on the anniversary of his first profession. and there was a remembrance for the Korean Martyrs, Ss. Andrew Kim Taegon & Companions.
The day’s work began with Frances, facilitator, who explained the main attitude that should be present in the day’s work. Following on from the reading from Emmaus, the main idea of the day was the time for sharing at the table. It was a day of accompaniment as the issues that would be dealt with by the capitulants had to do with the attitude of ‘being present on the road‘.
- General Leadership Team vision and accompaniment: The document ‘General Admin Report’ was used.
- MSC Brothers and MSC Identity: Joe, facilitator, introduced the topic with three questions:
- Jesus’ question: “Who do you say that I am?”
- “Who do you say YOU are?”
- “Who do you choose to be?”
Carl Tranter
In the afternoon session, two other themes closely related to accompaniment were also addressed:
- Initial Formation: Fr. Humberto explained the process that started from the first document written on formation 60 years ago, the Valladolid document, to the current one, “Emmaus: Formation of the Heart” with Formation as an idea of accompaniment.
- Safeguarding: The working sessions ended with a theme that the congregation has been dealing with for some time and which will also be important in the future.
The day ended with the celebration of Fr. Absalon’s birthday, where some capitulants participated in games and songs to liven up the party.
_________________________________
Fourth Day. 21st September.
September 21, Feast of Saint Matthew. Both the morning prayer and the evening Eucharist were dedicated to the Evangelist. In the Communal Wisdom Prayer, the reading from James 2:14-26 was read, then each capitulant reflected on the text personally first and then in prayer groups.
Fr. Simone Volavola was the host of the day. He took care of communicating the daily housekeeping: the ordination anniversaries of Fr. Joe McGee and Fr. Herman Van Dijck, as well as the anniversary of their first vows and those of Fr. Carl Tranter, Fr. Michael Curran, and Fr. Ton Zwart.
Michael Curran
The day marked the end of the process of discernment and of work with the documents provided by the General Administration, which were presented and commented on during the Online Pre-Chapter sessions.
- Finance: As in the previous sessions, the morning began with a personal reflection, followed by a presentation in groups. At the end, there was a plenary wherein the capitulants were able to ask direct questions to the people in charge of drafting the document: Fr. Absalon, Fr. Chris Chaplin, Ms. Sofia Amante, Fr. Benny Laisana, and Fr. Michael Huber.
- Laity: The morning ended with a presentation by Frances, facilitator, on the new role of the laity in the Church and the impulse that Pope Francis is giving them. The session was completed by the interventions and testimonies of Ms. Alison McKenzie, Secretary General of the International Council of the Lay Chevalier Family; Mr. Javier Trapero, Responsible for Communications in Spain Province; and Ms. Doris Maldonado, Deputy in the International Council of the Lay Chevalier Family and a lay missionary.
The afternoon’s work dealt with the final topics on the documents of the General Administration:
- Secretariat, Communication, Archives, and Postulation: topics that required less time for dialogue but are of utmost importance for the overall development of the congregation.
Then it was time to conclude the work on the documents provided by the General Administration, and Joe, as facilitator, encouraged the whole assembly of capitulants to have a moment of discernment and to make a synthesis of what had been discussed in these working sessions.
At the end of the day’s work, a Mass was celebrated, presided by Fr. Carl Tranter, in which he reflected on the call of St. Matthew and how his particular vocation and transformation story could resonate with our own discipleship stories.
