Secretariat for Association and Mission: working for a hopeful future
Because it is your duty to teach your disciples every day to know God, to explain to them the truths of the Gospel, and to train them in their practice, you must be entirely filled with God and burning with love for his holy law, so that your words may have their proper effect on your disciples. Preach by your example, and practice before their eyes what you wish to convince them to believe and to do. (Med 100. 2).
Since our foundation, association for the educational service of the poor has always been a challenging memory. Recently, this was more evident during the reflections of the delegates for AIMEL 2013 and the 45th General Chapter. These two events recognized the lived experience of the Institute in the area of association in recent years and the impact of association in the way we serve the poor through education. At the organizational level, we want to stress this connection between Association and Mission by having a single Secretariat to animate what, until the last General Chapter, was entrusted to two different Secretariats. Among the assets the Institute has and should be continued in this new Secretariat are:
- A long and solid professional heritage that motivates the commitment of Lasallians at the local level to ensure
“that the school runs well.” - A deeper awareness among Lasallians of their role in safeguarding the rights of children and the young.
- An increase in the number of Lasallian centers for higher education, and their role in the larger educational mission of the Institute.
- An increased will to facilitate more collaboration among Lasallian higher education institutions.
- A considerable body of publications and programs from the Center of the Institute as well as from Regions and
Districts that enable consistent progress in the promotion of association within educational communities. - A growing understanding of self-sufficiency in the context of solidarity and subsidiarity in worldwide Lasallian
institutions. - A full-time Coordinator for Young Lasallians and its accompanying International Council has fostered the commitment for the Lasallian Mission among young adults.
- A greater acceptance of the need for mutual accompaniment between Brothers and Partners in their respective journeys as Lasallian educators
Objectives
- To set in motion the International Council for Lasallian Association and the Educational Mission (CIAMEL) for
the animation and direction of the Lasallian educational mission in order to respond to the needs of the educational service of the poor in the worldwide Institute in the most effective manner. - To ensure the Lasallian character and quality of every educational work in the Lasallian network with a view to
instilling in a more effective manner our core values of faith, service, and community. - To actively continue the process of promoting association among the diverse Lasallian groups and religious
families for the purpose of encouraging mutual collaboration and, at the same time, deepening their own Lasallian identity. - To strengthen or create formation programs for formation personnel of Brothers and Partners at District and Regional levels with a view to address the growing need for qualified formation personnel in the Institute.16
- To prioritize our Institute’s role in bringing the good news and values of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to all peoples, affirming the role of Brothers and Partners as catechists and witnesses.
- To further the efforts of all Lasallians in the defense and the promotion of the rights of children and the young.
- To make full use of the potential from Lasallian institutions of higher education, encouraging them to bring about greater coordination with the Districts and to extend their contributions to learning, research, dialogue between culture and faith, teacher training and societal development within the whole Lasallian family.
- To encourage effective responses from our Lasallian institutions and Regions to the urgent educational needs of the vulnerable that are found on “the borders” of the societies where they are located.
- To strengthen the Young Lasallians Movement by supporting the representation of young people in Sector, District, and Regional structures with a view to involve them even more in the educational mission with the poor.
- To support the drawing up and implementation of a plan of communication at the local level based on the directives of the document entitled Guide for the Development of the Plan of Communication, in order to integrate communication policies and practices within the educational framework of the Lasallian mission.
- To promote and ensure the self-funding of formation initiatives and programs related to association.
