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Lasallians
-- Brothers, Partners, and students -- 720 in all -- gathered for this
extraordinary Convocation. They came from every apostolate in the District
of San Francisco, from other Districts in the US/Toronto Region, and from
Lasallian ministries around the world. In the opening welcome remarks
on Saturday morning, Brother David Brennan, FSC, Visitor, called on participants
to "recommit themselves to the Lasallian mission and to discover new ways
to reach out and touch the hearts of students through the legacy of De
La Salle."
Months
of preparation preceded the Convocation. The District Office of Education
sponsored pre-Convocation meetings at apostolates and Brothers' communities
across the District to present the Convocation agenda, themes, and expectations.
These meetings also provided opportunities to begin identifying steps
that would be taken following the Convocation, wherein each apostolate
would form a task force to develop a local plan in response to the Context
for Action and Action Plan. The two-day Convocation represented the transition
from discussion to action, as apostolates identified concrete initiatives
leading to implementation of the Context for Action and Action Plan at
local sites. Brothers and Partners collaboratively developed the Plan
over a four-year period, revised and expanded the document at the 1998
District Convocation, and forwarded it to the Tenth District Chapter,
where it was amended and ratified. Following the Chapter, the Plan was
forwarded to Rome, where it was endorsed by the Superior General and his
Council, thereby validating and enabling the District to move forward
with implementation.
The
District has continued moving toward implementation of the Action Plan,
as was evidenced by the 1998 opening of La Salle High School (Yakima,
Washington) in response to that region's need for Catholic secondary education.
Shortly thereafter, the District re-opened Saint Joseph School, which
serves a predominantly Latino community in nearby Sunnyside, Washington.
Plans are currently underway to open a new secondary school in the under-served
community of North Portland (Oregon) and an intermediate school in San
Francisco's Tenderloin District for young people from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Further, the District continues to expand its involvement in the ministry
of the International Institute and sponsored six Lasallian educators from
three District schools who traveled to Southern India in summer 1999 to
assist with renovation projects at St. Joseph's Boys Village in Tamil
Nadu.
In
keeping with the Convocation theme, Reaching Out, Touching Hearts and
the goal of District-wide implementation, every apostolate was called
upon to go beyond their current commitments in dramatic new ways that
would result in implementation of the Action Plan beginning by the 2000-2001
academic year. Each apostolate was also urged to demonstrate an enhanced
commitment to mission by increasing financial assistance to students who
cannot afford full tuition.
Brother
David challenged those gathered to imagine the possibilities for increasing
by 2010 -- from 800,000 to as many as a million and a half -- the number
of students served by Lasallian education. "Throughout the world," he
said, "we should make every effort to expand our educational ministries
in favor of those in greatest need." He continued, "Today, on the threshold
of a new millenium, De La Salle's vision calls on us to bring hope and
opportunity to young people, especially those to whom these are least
accessible."
Brother
David also stressed the importance of leadership that "should be prophetic
and grounded in deeply held Gospel values and should honor the culture,
history, traditions and values of their apostolates and the Institute."
"Except
for canonical positions defined by the Brothers' Rule," he said, "leadership
should be open to all who possess the requisite qualifications, experience
and commitment to Lasallian educational values." He encouraged attendees
to deepen their understanding of De La Salle's vision and to let that
vision guide them in their work and in their lives.
Cardinal
Thomas Williams, D.D., Archbishop of Wellington, New Zealand, inspired
Convocation participants with Saturday's keynote address, stressing the
critical role of Catholic education and its power to shape society. He
defined the task of the Catholic school to be the formation of "young
men and women who are prepared to put principle before expediency, who
will live by unchanging Gospel-based standards, and who will not seek
excuses for moral U-turns that will enable them to live more at home in
the de-Christianized society about them." He specifically commended Lasallian
educators as uniquely qualified to successfully accomplish this task.
The Cardinal also celebrated the Convocation liturgy on Saturday evening,
a celebration prepared by the District Liturgy Committee. An outstanding
District Choir of students and faculty members, under the direction of
Mr. Jesse Manibusan, gave the liturgy a special character.
Shared
Mission, Formation, and Commitment
The
1999 Convocation and its importance in the history of the De La Salle
Christian Brothers and the District of San Francisco coincide with the
commemoration of several anniversaries in the worldwide Lasallian Family
during the next two years -- the 320th year since the founding of the Christian
Brothers, the centennial of the canonization of Saint John Baptist de
La Salle in 1900, the Church's declaration of him as Patron of All Teachers
of Youth in 1950, and the 350th anniversary of his birth in 1651. The
Brothers of the San Francisco District, notably those now deceased, were
honored at a formal dinner on Saturday evening. Coordinated by Brother
Richard Moratto, FSC, the moving tribute included prayer and reflections
offered by several generations of District Brothers about the Brothers'
roles as "the heart, the memory, and the guarantors of the Lasallian tradition."
Together in song, Brothers and Partners ended the program with a stirring
chorus of the Brothers' traditional hymn to Saint La Salle, "Honneur á
Toi".
A
commitment to sharing the mission among Brothers and Partners continues
to be considered key to the implementation of the Action Plan. It was
apparent in discussions throughout the Convocation that the ongoing formation
of Lasallians about their heritage and their roles in their educational
ministry is essential to shared mission and, therefore, to the future
of the District and Institute. It was also apparent that the formation
and education that have taken place, especially since the first District
Convocation in October 1998, have been highly successful. One workshop
participant, new to Lasallian education, reflected that the call to her
own vocation "resonated with the purpose of the Lasallian mission," creating
for her a broader context in which to best respond to that call. In a
few short months she has come to admire the fact that Lasallians "walk
the walk," bound by a unity of purpose to which both lay and religious
are willing to commit their lives -- the human and Christian education
of the young, especially the poor. Many attendees remarked that the increasing
ability of Lasallian students to articulate their understanding of the
Lasallian heritage is especially symbolic of the formation work being
done in District schools every day at every level, from the classroom
to the Board room.
The
practicalities that are part of shared mission, particularly in the lives
of lay Partners, were addressed frequently during the Convocation. Although
the suggestion was made to create defined commitments to Lasallian life
specific to lay colleagues -- similar to a Brother's vows -- the effects
of family life and salary needs on the ability to make such commitments
were widely acknowledged. Several workshop discussions resulted in recommendations
to consider rotation of lay Partners' assignments within the District,
similar to the rotation of Brothers from one school to another. Of particular
significance was considerable dialogue about the critical importance of
the vitality of the Brothers' vocations, their presence in educational
communities, and their crucial role in the formation of Partners and in
identifying colleagues for leadership roles. "You can't love and serve
what you don't know," remarked Brother Michael Corry, FSC, Visitor of
the District of New York, during a discussion about the importance of
continuing formation at Saturday's workshop, Promoting Leadership in the
Future of Lasallian Schools. Referring to the Lasallian Leadership Institute
(LLI), another participant offered, "Previously invisible Lasallian leaders
are coming from where you least expect them." In recommending that specific
definition be given to the qualities that constitute a Lasallian leader,
a lay colleague remarked, "Leaders must first understand the Lasallian
charism in order to advance its characteristics."
The
work of the Convocation resulted not only in individual and communal rededication
to the core principles of the Lasallian tradition, but in specific commitments
to the implementation of the Action Plan at the local level. A particularly
moving moment in which such commitment was highlighted was the Sunday
morning presentation by the forty students representing District secondary
schools, apostolic works, and Saint Mary's College. They literally "pulled
an all-nighter" to discuss their personal responsibility for furthering
the Lasallian mission in their local communities. A standing ovation was
the response of the general assembly to their inspiring Statement by Students
and their pledge to carry the spirit of the Convocation back to their
peers.
Following
the student presentation, Convocation participants saw the results of
Saturday's Vision of the Future group sessions on the massive and impressive
Vision Wall which articulated through artists' colorful
renderings those group session themes and concepts considered to best
depict the vision for the future of the Lasallian mission in the District
of San Francisco and the International Institute.
During the
final session of the Convocation on Sunday -- From Vision to Implementation
-- participants were invited to declare publicly their personal commitments
to implementing the Action Plan in their local communities. Each speaker
opened with the now-familiar "I am Lasallian", and the voices and faces
represented the myriad of people and places whose lives have been touched
by the educational movement begun by the De La Salle Christian Brothers
320 years ago. At the microphone were teachers, presidents, Brothers,
lay persons, support staff, students, Americans, Africans, Pakistanis,
and more. Reflecting the heart of the Lasallian heritage, they pledged
to foster Lasallian spirituality through meditation; to teach and to learn
by experiencing the world beyond the classroom; to further De La Salle's
vision of education for all by increasing financial assistance to students
in need; to engage in weekly prayer with colleagues in the workplace;
to act as models of integrity and models of service; "to go to those places
where no one else wants to go." Symbolic of the journey Brothers and Partners
are taking together, and their willingness to create their future by embracing
their tradition totally, a teacher approached the microphone and humbly
stated, "I am on the road to being Lasallian. I hope that when I meet
my Maker, I can stand squarely and say, 'I am Lasallian!'"
[Complete
texts of Convocation remarks by Brother David and Cardinal Williams, along
with the Statement by Students and other Convocation information, are
available on the District website: www.delasalle.org.]
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