LEAD Story 322

Leadership. Sustainability. Vitality. On 9-11 January 2020, the Courtyard by Marriott Hotel in Sha Tin, Hong Kong, stood witness to these values from the Lasallian community as it became the venue of 3 simultaneous Pacific-Asia Regional Conference (PARC) meetings and a Lasallian East Asia District (LEAD) District Council meeting. 

48 Brothers and Partners from Australia, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Malaysia, Myanmar, New Zealand, Pakistan, Philippines, Rome, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Vietnam attended the meetings. 

Brother Visitors and Auxiliary Visitors from the PARC Region gathered for PARC46, which was presided by Br. Ricky Laguda FSC, PARC General Councillor.

Concurrently happening in another meeting room, the PARC Bursars met with Br. Martin Rocha FSC, General Bursar of the Institute.

The PARC Workshop on Pastoral Ministry on Youth and Lasallian Vocations took place in a 3rd meeting room. Brs. Rey Mejias FSC and Antonio Cubillas FSC facilitated the 3-day workshop with young Brothers and Lay Partners from all over the PARC Region.

On 11 January, more Brothers arrived to meet for the 33rd LEAD District Council. It was, through God's grace, a successful event – one that is certainly productive and optimistic.

The LEAD District Council members met in Hong Kong on 11 January for the 33rd LEAD District Council (DC33) Meeting. This may be the shortest DC meeting, which only lasted for half a day.

The DC members didn't waste time and went straight to the first part of the meeting, which was the Chapter of Vows.

During the break, cakes were given to Brs. Felipe and Dennis, who celebrated their birthday on 7 January and 11 January, respectively.

Mr. Jay Gervasio, a member of the LEAD Executive Team and Chair of the Mission Council, gave a report on the LEAD Mission Council and alumni engagement. Other business matters were discussed and the meeting ended in record time.

The Pacific Asia Regional Conference (PARC) convened a 3-day workshop on Pastoral Ministry on Youth and Lasallian Vocations held in The Courtyard Marriott Hotel in Hong Kong last January 9-11, 2020. Participated in by representatives from Australia, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Vietnam, the workshop aimed at gathering the Pastoral Ministry of Vocations (PMV) leaders in the region to heighten awareness of the culture of vocations, be more involved in promoting Lasallian vocations, participate actively in identifying high potential candidates to the Brother’s life, and discover other forms of Lasallian communities that cultivate the Lasallian spirituality and charism.

The program included presentations and discussions on the state of Pastoral Ministry on Youth and Lasallian Vocations in the Institute level, dialogue of vocational experiences and PMV work, models of Pastoral Ministry and Lasallian Vocations, various ways in involving the youth in vocational discernment, use of social media in PMV, interaction with the Lasallian youth in Hong Kong, interaction with the visitors in the region, and strategic planning on PMV for the region.

As an output of the workshop, the PMV representatives in the region proposed to take actions on the following agenda: (1) common digital platform for collaboration in sharing PMV documents (photos, videos, and programs), international intentional community in the region, ministry for the poor volunteer program, and alignment of the existing Lasallian youth and partners’ gatherings in PARC like Asia Pacific Lasallian Youth Conference (APLYC) and Asia Pacific Lasallian Educators Conference (APLEC) with pastoral ministry of vocations.

The 3-day workshop was filled with dialogues and sharing of perspectives on the realities of the pastoral ministry in the region. The delegates ended the program with excitement for more collaboration and hopes for more vocations in the region.

Brother Visitor, Armin, wasted no time after the PARC and District Council meetings in January 2020. Straightaway, he embarked on the canonical visit to the two Brothers Communities in Hong Kong - St. Joseph’s College and La Salle College.

Personal Interviews of each Brother took time, followed by a general meeting of all the Brothers in the community. Br. Armin asked the community to reflect on the Brothers’ ministry of presence to the different La Salle schools. This opened up explorations on what it means to be a Brother in LEAD having a mission in a very secular society and discovering the God-encounter in this context.

The community was also reminded to keep in close contact with one another and have joint community gatherings regularly.

Moreover, now that Hong Kong has had some experience in welcoming new Brothers, perhaps an evaluation can be carried out with a view to possible improvements.

Brother Visitor also threw out a challenge, wondering if international Lasallian volunteerism can be promoted in Hong Kong. The possibility of creating an intentional and international community of Lasallians is well worth a try.

A fine buffet dinner at a nearby hotel rounded off the proceedings.

Last 18th of January 2020, the 2nd LEAD Initial Formation Board (IFB) gathered for its schedule meeting at La Salle College in Bangna, Bangkok, Thailand. Ms. Coreen and Brs. Nicholas, Rey, Joseph Klong, Joseph Aung, and Antonio started working of the agenda of the meeting.

During the meeting, the IFB worked in advancing the elaboration of the LEAD Guidelines as well as the Parmenie Program Guidelines for the Brothers who are preparing for Final Vows. After the Chapter of Vows done by the District Council in Hong Kong, the IFB reflected on the commendations and recommendations done during the evaluation of the communities as well as those expressed by the DC members. In particular, the team determined how this feedback could be integrated into formation activities and evaluation formats for this year. More information will be provided in due time to the Brothers in the District.

The afternoon was dedicated to meet the young Brothers working in Thailand. Among the 9 young Brothers, 5 were able to participate. The rest, due to their master degree studies, were not able to participate since their classes are on Saturdays and Sundays.

The first part of the gathering was dedicated to know each other or catch up for those who were familiar which each other. Sharing vocation stories and new years resolutions helped create the right environment for the last part of the meeting. The last part of the meeting was a dialogue where these three aspects were the main content: 1) sharing positive experiences in ministry, 2) identifying positive practices that increase identity as LEAD District, and 3) identifying elements that facilitate working in other sectors of LEAD.  Among the elements that facilitate working in the different sectors of LEAD is the importance of accompaniment for the young Brother assigned in a particular community and the role of the Director of the community in the accompaniment as well as the importance of welcoming communities. Also, defining what is the role and work of the Brother in the assignment in another sector will facilitate that transition. 

The IFB expressed their gratitude to the Brothers’ Community at La Salle School in Bangkok, the Provincialate for hosting both gatherings and their warm welcoming of the IFB members, and the Young Brothers working in Thailand for their fraternal and meaningful sharing.

Br. Normandy Dujunco FSC successfully defended his PhD dissertation with the title, Inculturated Faith Formation of New Teachers Through Narrative Theology at Yarra Theological Union, University of Divinity located in Melbourne, Australia. He was supervised by Rev. Michael Kelly, CSsR, PhD, and Edmund Chia, PhD. 

His graduation will be on 2020 March 27, in St. Patrick's Cathedral in Melbourne. 

Congratulations, Br. Mandy!