BROTHERS FIC, GHANA PROVINCE.

REPORTS ON THE FIRST SESSION OF THE 2024 PROVINCIAL CHAPTER

The first session of the 2024 Provincial Chapter of the Brothers FIC, Ghana Province took place from Sunday, 21^stJanuary to Friday, 26^th January, 2024. The Chapter was convoked under the theme: “Deepening Our Religious Identity as Brothers FIC in the 21^st Century.” The session was held in St. Louis Community, Wa. In his welcome/opening address, the Provincial Superior, Br. Seregeous Dery, highlighted the key reasons for convoking the Chapter before proceeding to declare the 2024 Provincial Chapter duly opened. In all, twenty (20) participants, comprising of fifteen (15) elected delegates and five (5) ex-officio members took part in the session. The sessions were moderated by Very Rev. Fr. Dominic Apee, M.Afr.

The entire first session of the Chapter was characterized by a tranquil atmosphere and the discussions among delegates were animated by a spirit of fraternity. Plenary discussions were based on issues; devoid of emotions and/or personalities. Delegates listened to each other with open and receptive minds in a manner that showed respect and tolerance for dissenting views and opinions. 

At the onset of the Chapter Proceedings, Delegates were invited to share their expectations of the 2024 Chapter and they took turns to do so. Prominent among the varied expectations were: the emergence of new leadership for the Province; formulation of actionable, implementable and pragmatic policies for the new leadership; ensure the supreme interest of the Province is placed over and above any individual parochial interest; remain open to the direction and promptings of the Holy Spirit among others. In a nutshell, Delegates were excited about the prospects of having a fruitful and incident free Chapter.

Many topical issues were given considerable attention during the first session, including, inter alia, plenary reflection on the joys and challenges that affect Brothers in Communities with special emphasis on how to tackle or minimize the recurring challenges, presentation of the PC’s Report for the period 21^st November 2018-31^st December, 2023 and the consequent reactions by Delegates to same report, election of delegates for the impending General Chapter, preliminary consideration, profiling and fine-tuning of the Chapter Proposals etc. These and some other emerging issues were thoroughly discussed in groups and in plenary sessions and Delegates consciously and actively participated in the process. There was a general sentiment of active involvement in the Chapter proceedings and this further heightened the prospects of having a truly fruitful Chapter going into the second and last sessions.

Towards the end, the evaluation of the first session of the Chapter by Delegates only highlighted one thing: the peaceful and brotherly nature of the discussions.

In his closing remarks, the Provincial Superior, Br. Seregeous Dery expressed his satisfaction for the manner in which delegates contributed to the success of the first session; he further thanked all the functionaries for the services rendered and proceeded to declare the first session of the 2024 Provincial Chapter duly closed on Saturday, the 26^th day of January,2024.

Br. Prosper Ganye.