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Brother
Visitor's Letter
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Educational communities in the District of San Francisco enjoy a rich diversity of locations, specialized purposes, personnel, and populations served. Inspired by Saint John Baptist de La Salle, the common thread in our diversity is the Lasallian mission itself, which draws its life from our belief in the presence of God. This issue of Signs of Faith shares stories of ministry and stories of ministers - people whose lives and work, and the lives and work of those whom they touch, are transformed by our Lasallian mission. They are teachers and coaches, parents and students, young people on the football field, and young people caring for animals at Rancho de Los Hermanos. They represent every Lasallian student and every Brother and Partner in the District of San Francisco. The strategic plan set forth in our Context for Action requires that we constantly seek the benefit of the young people God calls us to serve. We do this through human and Christian education in both traditional and non-traditional apostolic ministries, as we continue to make direct service of the poor more and more our effective priority. The Church and the Institute call us to extend the boundaries of our District's ministry beyond our immediate works in California, Oregon, and Washington, to Lasallian ministries in other parts of the world. We respond to a God who says, "Come see me where I live." Financial resources are shared with Districts in India, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Romania, and Vietnam; District Brothers currently minister in India, the Philippines, Mexico, Africa, Rome, and at Bethlehem University. Partners - lay and religious - provide hands-on help in our summer immersion programs in India and Sri Lanka; students and teachers travel to Mexico and El Salvador to help people in greatest need; and still others, like Joan Haan, whose desire to touch hearts led her to Lasallian ministry in Kenya, fully give over their lives to God's call. Stories of men, women, and young people who are themselves signs of faith could fill volumes. The 320-year-old story of Lasallian education, and the impact of the work of every Lasallian minister, are visible each and every day in classrooms, meeting rooms, chapels, and locker rooms. At times, proximity, frustrations, and busy schedules can cloud our vision and diminish our zeal. It is often newcomers to the Lasallian philosophy who see our work for the first time, affirm our mission, and remind us that we are doing something very right, as evidenced in the stories of two distinctly different football teams that share an equally distinctive bond - they are Lasallian. Together in the District of San Francisco and around the world, Lasallian educators are forming young people of faith to live justly and peacefully, and to minister to others through service. As the end of another school year draws near, we ask God's blessing on graduating seniors throughout the District, and on their families and teachers. May all they have learned guide and inspire them to remember always that they live in God's holy presence.
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