"Thursdays with La Salle" is a four-part online formation series for Lasallian Partners during this time of COVID-19. In 4 constructive Thursday in May 2020 we organized an online formation program via ZOOM. This was conceptualized by formators from the Lasallian East Asia District who have been in quarantine in their respective countries.
Through this initiative, we hope that the Lasallian family will be able to grow in their faith, find creative ways to serve others, and deepen their relationships at home/social circles and connect with the Worldwide Lasallian Family.
For Part 1, we are happy to have Br. Michael Broughton FSC, talks about the Lasallian core value of faith as finding meaning, purpose, and joy. He proposes that faith can be conceptualized as faith in ourselves, faith in others, and faith in God as we understand God -- something higher, greater, and bigger than ourselves.
For Part 2, Br. Dennis Magbanua talks about the Lasallian value of service. Service is rooted in our faith -- why we do the things we do. He asks us to reflect on what moves us in this time of deep distress, just like our Founder. He also encourages us to find creative ways to help the last, the lost, and the least.
For Part 3, Coreen Paul from La Salle Centre in Malaysia talks about how we can build personal relationships in our homes, especially now that we spend more time with our loved ones while in quarantine.
In the last episode of “Thursdays with La Salle”, Br. Armin Luistro, the Brother Visitor of the Lasallian East Asia District, reminds us that even though we are in the middle of the same furious storm, we are not on the same boat. Some of us have the privilege of being in a big boat -- where at times, we can experience some seasickness and discomfort, yet we have the security of income, shelter, and food. However, there are many others who are in tiny little boats, whose lives are rendered vulnerable to the storm. Br. Armin challenges us to look at the storm from the perspective of those in tiny little boats -- just as our Founder, St. John Baptist de La Salle did for the children of artisans and the poor, more than 340 years ago. As Lasallians, we can actively participate in re-creating and re-shaping our world in the "new normal".
In total, we had connected with 290 Lasallian from LEAD and 18 Lasallians from other sector directly. And the recorded session also uploaded to Facebook viewed by more than 10.8K user. This is a new try for us, from the idea to meet up with other formator in LEAD, then, to running the first episode, everything happened just in a month. Other than the program content, we, the organizing committee also experience a kind of formation through our Lasallian solidarity and service. On behalf of the organizing committee, we are thank for our speakers, country coordinators and all the participants who join us in the past 4 weeks. We hope everybody can stay healthy and safe. God Bless.
