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The
Buttimer Institute:
"A Formation Program of the Heart"
Sitting
on the spacious deck of the Aquinas dormitory lounge at Saint Mary's College
on a balmy July evening, the thirty participants at this summer's Buttimer
1 session introduced themselves to one another and began to tell their
personal stories. Who were they? What brought them to Buttimer? What did
they hope to gain from their experience? One high school counselor shared
his feelings: In order to guide young mens' lives in the fullest Lasallian
tradition, he must have a strong, fundamental understanding of the person
of Saint John Baptist de La Salle, his teachings and philosophies. Another,
a campus minister at a Lasallian school, hoped to enrich her school's
staff formation and spirituality programs with the knowledge gained at
Buttimer. Not only Partners were there to learn, but Brothers as well.
One Brother remarked that he finds himself "reinvigorated by the experiences
of other teachers 'in the trenches' -- especially by our lay Partners."
Another participant, a former Brother, hoped to be able to better articulate
to his faculty and students the qualities which distinguish a Lasallian
school. These stories and more formed the basis on which a singular community
would be formed during the three weeks of the summer 1999 program, over
the three years of the Institute cycle, and beyond, in the lives and work
of the participants.
The
Buttimer Institute, named for Brother Charles Henry Buttimer, first American
Superior General of the Christian Brothers, was developed in 1986 as a
formation program for Brothers. However, in recent years, with an increased
emphasis on Lasallian Partnership, the program has attracted more and
more Partners. The comprehensive education provided at Buttimer helps
to ensure that those who work in Lasallian schools and apostolates gain
a deeper understanding of the Lasallian tradition.
The
Buttimer Institute is completed in a three-summer cycle. Year One (Buttimer
1) introduces participants to the life and spirituality of De La Salle
through study and discussion of the works of various biographers and the
Founder's own writings. Lectures and multimedia presentations by Lasallian
scholars Brothers Luke Salm and Augustine Loes transport Buttimer participants
back to seventeenth-century France and introduce them to a wealthy and
influential young priest, called by God to leave his comfortable life
and respond, often in the face of substantial resistance, to a great need
to provide educational opportunities for the children of the poor and
the powerless.
Year
Two (Buttimer 2) examines the educational vision of De La Salle and its
application to current Lasallian works. By looking back at De La Salle's
world, Brothers Jeff Calligan and Gerard Rummery enable participants to
discover the contemporary relevance of De La Salle's educational philosophy
in today's classrooms.
Year
Three (Buttimer 3) examines the religious vision of De La Salle. Through
study of the Founder's Meditations and Explanation of the Method of Interior
Prayer, Brothers Donald Mouton and Bill Mann provide participants with
new insight into the spirituality of De La Salle.
For
both Brothers and Partners, the Buttimer Institute offers a comprehensive
look at John Baptist de La Salle. Since the 1960s, much to the credit
of the French Christian Brothers, a vast amount of in-depth, historical
research has been conducted about De La Salle's life and work. Until fairly
recently, many Brothers in formation had little access to such detailed
information about the Founder. Much of the valuable information gathered
over the past thirty years is new to many Brothers. Along with De La Salle's
own writings, much commentary on his works is now available. Brothers
Luke Salm, Augustine Loes, and other members of Lasallian Publications
have translated recent research into English from the original French,
making a large and comprehensive body of information accessible to English-speaking
Lasallian Brothers and Partners.
A
Sense of Community
Participants
come to the Buttimer Institute to learn about Saint John Baptist de La
Salle, and take away with them a wealth of knowledge regarding his educational
vision. Often, however, many are surprised at another immensely rewarding
facet of the program -- the discovery of community and deepened personal
spirituality.
Buttimer
participants are diverse in age, race, gender, and vocation. They are
men and women ranging in age from early twenties to mid-eighties; they
are lay, religious, and former religious. Their personal and professional
diversity, combined with a communal living experience, during which they
study, discuss, share meals, recreate, and pray together every day for
three weeks, create, for many, a true transformation. "The Buttimer Institute
people, especially our lay colleagues, have been a great inspiration to
me. Their enthusiasm is infectious," said Brother Steve Caplice from Tijuana,
Mexico. "I experienced the love and faith among the Brothers and the laity
through the studies, prayers, and recreational moments," commented Sister
Catherine Nguyen of the Lasallian Sisters from San Jose, California. Buttimer
participants are consistently inspired by the individual gifts participants
bring to the program and share on so many levels during their three weeks
together. Colleagues discover that theirs is a unique and almost privileged
opportunity to form community with others engaged in the Lasallian mission.
A
singular aspect of the Buttimer Institute is the opportunity for personal
spiritual renewal. The community gathers three times each day to pray
and share their faith. Tremendous enthusiasm and profound spirituality
are palpable, as together participants select readings and sacred music
for prayer services and liturgies in the College chapel.
Bringing the Experience Back Home
While the Buttimer experience is a highly personal and prayerful one,
participants are expected to share and bring their experiences to life
in their home communities through development of practical projects. Projects
undertaken by participants this year include: opportunities for "daily
spiritual food" through posting a "Daily Reflection" on the Lasallian
web site and opening the site to all Lasallians to share educational experiences
and activities; integration of the familiar phrase, "Enter to Learn, Leave
to Serve" into Lasallian Family language in such media as publications,
videos, and posters; and creation of a Lasallian prayer book for daily
use in the classroom, containing selections on the life and teachings
of Saint John Baptist de La Salle.
The Lasallian Leadership Institute:
Carrying the Heritage of the Past into the Future
As the Buttimer
Institute looks back at the history of Saint John Baptist de La Salle
and the Christian Brothers, the Lasallian Leadership Institute (LLI) looks
forward to the expansion of the works of Brothers and Partners into the
next century and beyond.
The two programs
are similar in the opportunities provided for study of the Founder's life
and work, and for building community and deepening spirituality. In other
ways, the programs are quite different. Buttimer participants meet for
three weeks during the summer, while LLI attendees gather for one week
during the summer and two weekends during the school year. Additionally,
the Buttimer Institute affords a more personal formation program which
includes aspects of team-building, while LLI offers a decidedly intentional
"team approach" to formation.
The primary
goal of LLI is to provide training for teachers, administrators, staff,
and other school leaders who are committed to the Lasallian educational
tradition of making a human and Christian education available to young
people, particularly those to whom it is least accessible.
The first
three-year cycle of the LLI will be completed in Spring 2000, and a new
cycle will begin that summer. Each year of the Institute focuses on a
different theme. In the first year, the theme is Lasallian Spiritual Leadership.
Year Two concentrates on Lasallian Educational Leadership, and Year Three
concludes the program with its concentration on Lasallian Management/Community
Leadership. Each theme seeks to develop an understanding and appreciation
of one's own personal development and that of others. Further, each seeks
to identify the core principles of the Lasallian tradition, develop skills
to advance the mission, and create structures that will sustain the mission
into the future.
As it offers
participants a structured approach to study of the Founder and Shared
Mission, the LLI also provides opportunities for reflection on and rededication
to the work of Brothers and Partners.
"It is inspiring
to me as an educator to get away from the daily grind and regroup; to
be among people who are talking about the larger ideas of the mission,
the ministry, our vision and goals," says Cathy Ronan, a teacher and Assistant
Principal for Student Life at Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory in San
Francisco. Cathy continues, "Schools are such busy places that it's easy
to get lost in the details of one's everyday work. For me, LLI serves
as a reminder that being 'Lasallian' is all about touching hearts, and
that happens one-on-one, one student at a time. LLI helps keep me grounded
in the realities of those things that are truly beneficial to students
in a school environment."
Many Brothers
at LLI have remarked on their satisfaction at hearing lay Partners express
such a strong connection to the Shared Mission. "I'm very encouraged to
see Partners embracing the idea of serving the poor in their schools,"
said Brother John Montgomery, Principal of Cathedral High School in Los
Angeles, "because it is the road less traveled, and it is the more difficult
road. In effect, the LLI assures participants, 'If you've chosen the road
less traveled, we're here to help you grow in a spirituality which will
sustain you along the way.'"
"The
concept of 'Shared Mission' is such a beautiful idea. It's an expression
of great humility -- that we're all on common ground; we're in this together.
And truly, the Brothers want the organization to take whatever direction
is best to serve the students who are entrusted to our care."
-- Cathy Ronan, Religion Teacher and Assistant Principal
for Student Life, Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory
A primary
benefit of LLI is the opportunity to meet others working in Lasallian
schools, a powerful tool for community-building and mutual support. "One
thing in particular that I've really valued in the LLI has been the opportunity
to develop relationships and friendships over these past three years,"
says Greg Schmitz, Principal of Justin-Siena High School in Napa. "Those
relationships will carry me a long, long way. Now I have a whole new line
of resources, so that if I have a problem or need some advice, I have
colleagues on whom I can call."
As with the
Buttimer Institute, LLI participants are expected to share their formation
experiences with those back home through special projects. Three projects
of note this year are: creation of ongoing Lasallian teacher formation
programs conducted by and at individual schools, a retreat program for
spouses of Lasallian educators and administrators to promote a deeper
understanding and appreciation for the mission and its traditions, and
development of a strategic plan for a Lasallian high school.
"I will never
forget the first evening of my first year at the Lasallian Leadership
Institute," says Mark Warren, President of Christian Brothers High School
in Sacramento, California. "Brother Bill Mann gave a talk about the Brothers'
work around the world that moved everyone to tears. He told us a story
about a group of children who lived up on a hill in a garbage dump; every
day, the Brothers brought these children into their Lasallian school.
The children were bathed, fed, and educated, and then, at the end of the
day, they would return to their 'home' in the garbage dump. At that point,
I recall turning to one of my colleagues and saying, 'This is the star
to which I want to hitch my wagon. This is the work to which I feel called.'"
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