GENERAL CONFERENCE 2015,

REPORT ON DAY 4.

The Conference entered its fourth day on the 4th of November 2015. We started the day with a beautiful prayer service prepared and presented by the Malawi Province. The prayer which was very inspiring centered on the deepening of our Apostolic Mission. The rest of the day was devoted to Reports from the Provinces. Each PROVINCE was given forty-minutes to make a presentation and to answer questions from the floor.

The Chile province was the first to make a presentation. Chile is still grappling with the problem of decreasing membership. They are however motivated by the person of Jesus. They are concerned about the future of the Province and also the lack of vocations. They also recognize the role played by Lay people in their apostolate and how this has helped them to keep the spirit of our Founders alive. The Chile Province has sent out an appeal through the GC for support from the other Provinces.

To ensure that there is unity of purpose in their schools, the PC has set up a management team that takes responsibility for defining values and type of curricula for all the schools, this team also supervises the schools. The Province also enjoys some tax exempt thus bringing some amount of financial relief

The Province has joined other congregations in what they describe as the movement for associated life in a search for Lay associates.

The Ghana Province was next to make a presentation. The Ghana Province is experiencing relative peace. There is very little misunderstanding in communities. The PC has set up liaisons for all communities to help keep the communities in constant touch with the PC. In Ghana the PC has acted on almost every proposal that was made at the provincial Chapter and this includes the organization of leadership workshops, talks on avoidance of sexual abuse, reflections on our mission etc. The province has also made tremendous progress in the development of the human resource by giving many brothers the opportunity to go for further studies. This situation has also lifted the income level the brothers.

To help the Province realize the mission and vision of its apostolate, the attention is now on the establishment of private schools. Building private schools is the surest way to inculcate sound Christian values to the students without any interference. The Province promises a lot for the future.

The Indonesian Province came next with it’s report. This is the largest province in the congregation with one hundred and forty-eight (148) brothers. They have the biggest number of schools (86) and largest number of communities. The province has a well organized Foundation that takes care of all the schools. The PC also places importance on the community life of the brothers and so a lot of retreats, recollections and counseling sessions are organized for the brothers. Despite the progress made by the Province there are still some challenges which include, leadership regeneration and vocation shortfalls. The province will focus in the coming years on the aged brothers and the deepening of religious life among the brothers.

The Malawi Province in its report, lamented so much about some recent events in the province that led to the total disintegration of the PC. In fact it was the grace of God that intervened to put the province back on its feet. The province seems to be experiencing some turbulence as brothers have lost trust for one another and many seem to be more interested in positions of power and wealth instead of servant leadership. In the midst of all this chaos, seems an upsurge in vocations. There are however some doubts about the motivations behind this. The future will tell. All is not lost in Malawi and it is possible to change the trend because there are other religious congregations that are making it in a genuine way.

The Dutch Province which describes itself as the” Mother Province” was the last to report. For them the main apostolate and focus is on the care of the elderly brothers to the end. The expect other provinces to see this as a very important task. The future of the Mother House DE Beyarte is very uncertain and so many options are being considered by the GC.

At the end of every report, members were free to ask any questions of clarification, for explanation  or make remarks or recommendations to the province concerned. The discussions were very lively, sometimes very humorous but sometimes too very sad. In all this we realized our solidarity for one another in the suggestions that were offered. It was a good day well spent.

Bro Kanmwaa Cosmas