As we pass the middle of Lent, on our journey toward Easter, these words from Brother Robert Wickman, FSC, President of Justin-Siena High School (taken from his column in the February issue of the "Braves Bulletin") are a reminder of what the Lenten season can be:

"…What I have to remember is that almost a whole year has passed since the last Lent. During those 365 or so days I have been called continuously by God to be open to all the utter unpredictability of life and to know that I am not the same man who prepared last winter for Ash Wednesday and the days of fasting, prayer, and almsgiving that followed and which led me to celebrate the death and resurrection of our Lord. Neither I nor the life that I encountered a year ago is the same. While the cycle of things may seem predictable, what I do with the actual circumstances and events of this new cycle must not be.  As we take an inventory of ourselves this Lent and repent and draw closer to God, may we do so convinced that we are that new person made possible by the Father’s creative power, the blood of His Son, and the love of their Holy Spirit. So, by all means, give something up during Lent and take some special steps for the Lord. But in addition, pray for the mindset and the spiritual vision to let “another Lent” be as dazzling an experience as the first time you were marked on the forehead with a symbol of repentance on Ash Wednesday."

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The District Action Plan is Ready
"Reaching Out, Touching Hearts" is the continuing title of our District’s Action Plan, of which there is a new edition every four years.
Printed booklets of the new Action Plan, which will carry us through 2011, are being distributed to all Brothers communities and to all faculty, staff, and board members at District schools and works.
An INTERACTIVE PDF version of the Action Plan is downloadable on the District web site and is highly recommended as a resource, reference, and record-keeping tool; it has live hyperlinks, dialogue boxes in which to type notes and comments, and other user-friendly features.
Go to www.delasalle.org and click on the cover-page icon, then follow the simple instructions to create your own personalized Action Plan for the coming years.

First Vocations Retreat for Female Students.

Two vocations retreats were held recently in the District of San Francisco, including the first annual retreat for female students. The “Called and Chosen” retreats were November 1-3, 2007, for males, and January 10-12, 2008, for females. High-school students from throughout the District came together at St. Joseph’s Camp at the Russian River for three days of intensive activities: assessing gifts and talents, understanding the Lasallian mission, exploring faith, service, and community, and learning to hear vocational calls. Daily prayer, meditation, journaling, and lots of discussion elicited very positive evaluations by the two dozen retreatants. Plans are to make the retreat for females, like the retreat for males, an annual event. For more information, contact Marilyn Paquette in the Office of Education at mpaquette@dlsi.org or 707-252-3858.

The New Orleans-Santa Fe District and the District of San Francisco
Continue Their Joint Activities.

Closer collaboration between the two Districts, as envisioned in a five-year plan agreed upon in 2006, is continuing. Joint formation activities are becoming frequent, with shared participation in retreats for faculty and staff, and Lasallian orientations and governance workshops for trustees. NO-SF secondary school students have come to the west coast for Lasallian Student Leaders and Lasallian Youth Assembly programs, and a new student Immersion Program is being developed that will bring west coast students to New Orleans. Presidents and Principals of secondary schools from both Districts will meet as a group in New Orleans during the Conference of Chief Administrators this month, and will plan two joint meetings a year beginning next academic year.  The Mission Councils of both Districts will have their first common meeting in May in New Orleans, and the District Leadership Teams from both Districts have scheduled regular joint meetings to discuss governance and related matters.

Good News of All Sorts on District Web Site.

In case you missed any of the stories posted on www.delasalle.org, visit the web site regularly to see what’s happening.  The latest story posted is on an alumnus of La Salle High School Pasadena who has helped to create a foundation to support college students stricken with cancer.

Stimulating Reading, Rich Resources, Challenging Questions.

• The District of San Francisco report on Demographics and Statistics for 2007-2008 is now available online. This handy, colorful four-page report in PDF format gives information compiled from all the District’s schools and is produced by Jackie Berlogar of the Office of Education. It is ready for reading online or for download and print in PDF format. Go to www.delasalle.org, click on the RESOURCES & LINKS page.  Printed copies can also be requested from Jackie at jberlogar@dlsi.org

• A Resource on School Choice and Lasallian Education is at your fingertips.The District of San Francisco’s binder of resources, reflections, and recommendations in the area of ‘school choice’ was released in January 2007. Entitled “Family Choice and the Lasallian Educational Mission,” the Report, in printed form and on disc, was distributed to the District’s schools and Brothers’ communities, as well as to the Region’s Visitors, the Regional Education Board, and interested colleagues. It has also been shared with other Catholic educators. “Family Choice and the Lasallian Educational Mission” is available in PDF format on the District of San Francisco’s website www.delasalle.org. Go to the RESOURCES & LINKS page. Download it and print whatever selected pages you may need to start or continue a discussion of these crucial questions of educational policy.
  

• The Future Is Closer Than Ever:  A tool for preparing is available exclusively on the District of San Francisco web site.  What will the Lasallian world look like in 2015? What are the possibilities and probabilities? What might the course of development in those years be? In May 2000, the District of San Francisco published the results of an intensive study that used 'scenario thinking' to illuminate the course of four divergent futures between the years 2000 and 2015. This document, "Reading the Signs of the Times: Scenarios for the Future of the Lasallian Mission in a Changing World" was created with great care and with the involvement of many Lasallians in our District and from across the Region.  Here, now, at the start of 2008, we find ourselves halfway toward the end date of 2015 projected in the study. How does the future look from this new vantage point? This stimulating piece of work is unique and well worth reading. It is downloadable in PDF format at www.delasalle.org. Click on the RESOURCES & LINKS page to find it.

New Resources for Brothers’ Vocations.

A newly revised and streamlined “Brothers Vocation” web site has been created by the Christian Brothers Conference. The Internet address is the same, but the look and content are different. Check out www.brothersvocation.org     •     In the District of San Francisco, a vocations retreat for adult men is planned for May 30-June 1 at Mont La Salle in Napa. For details and to register, go to the District web site at www.delasalle.org and click on the button labeled BROTHER VOCATION.

Christian Brothers’ Jubilees in the District of San Francisco.

2008 marks significant anniversaries of their vocation as Brothers for nine members of our District. These Jubilee milestones were acknowledged at the recent Convocation at Mont La Salle.  This year’s Jubilarians are as follows:

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NEWS of the U.S./TORONTO REGION

The Complete Works of John Baptist de La Salle Are Online.

The foundational writings of the Founder and the founding Brothers of the Institute have been converted into digital files and are available at the Regional web site. These nine volumes can be read onscreen or can be downloaded in PDF format and printed. Printed and bound paperback copies can also be ordered online. Visit the Regional web site at www.cbconf.org and click on LASALLIAN PUBLICATIONS.

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NEWS of the INTERNATIONAL LASALLIAN MISSION

Complete documents from the 44th General Chapter Are Online.

Go to the International Institute’s web site at www.lasalle.org -- choose your preferred language -- and check under RECENT PUBLICATIONS for any and all of the important documents of the General Chapter held in 2007 in Rome.

□ Teachers of languages and cultures: The Web site of the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools is multi-lingual and multi-cultural, with publications and postings in Spanish, Italian, and French, as well as English. It’s a gateway to the wider Lasallian world. □

LASALLIANS WEST - MARCH 2008
A newsletter of the
De La Salle Christian Brothers ● District of San Francisco

For information, contact
J. A. Gray
Director, Office of Communication
De La Salle Institute, Napa, California
707-252-3739