Theme of gratitude is explored at opening day of District Chapter
Day 1 of District Chapter 2023 was held in Castletown on Saturday April 15th and attended by delegates, observers and guests from across the District of Ireland, Great Britain and Malta.
It proved to be a very busy but positive day with one of the main outcomes being the Chapter Capitulants unanimously voting to ratify the District Mission Assembly 2023 Final Report for implementation.
The gathering, which was superbly facilitated by Sr Liz Murphy and hosted by the communities in Castletown, was opened by Brother Visitor, Ben Hanlon, who welcomed all to the event, before Br Martin Curran led the opening prayer followed by a reading from Br. Lawrence Cahill.
Br. Ben delivered the Visitor’s Report which was based on the theme of ‘Gratitude’ and reflected on the last four years. He stated that the primary object is to consider significant aspects of District life and try to gauge what is going well and where there are challenges.
He reflected on topics such as the decisions of the District Chapter 2019, the life of the Brothers, District administration and the Educational Mission of the District.
During his address, Br. Ben paid tribute to his predecessor, Br. Laurence Hughes, for the compassion, generosity, integrity and professionalism he displayed during his time as Brother Visitor. He pointed out that during his eight years as Provincial, Br. Laurence gave great encouragement to the Lasallian Family and was the driving force behind many of the developments that we see today.
Br. Ben offered his sincere thanks on behalf of the District and wished Br. Laurence well in the next phase of his life.
District Bursar, Kevin Humphrey, then outlined the many changes and developments that had taken place, and also provided an update on the finances in each country.
One of the main topics of the day was to reflect on the Mission Assembly that took place in Malta in February, and Director of Mission, Joe Gilson, reflected on the journey from the first Mission Assembly in 2018.
He pointed out that the decisions from that Assembly and the work with Caplor Horizons helped create the Horizon Statements, which provided the foundations for the development of Direction Statements in Malta.
The success of the Mission Assembly was conveyed by Br. John Deeney who spoke in glowing terms of the experience in Malta, while a video capturing the efforts and positivity of the event was played for the gathering.
The Direction Statements created by the three thematic groups at the Mission Assembly were outlined by Mariella Vella (Theme 1), Jo Millea (Theme 2) and Mary McDonagh & Jason Poole (Theme 3). Time was given for delegates to consider the outcomes and to comment or ask questions.
The morning session concluded when the Chapter Capitulants unanimously voted to ratify the District Mission Assembly 2023 Final Report for implementation.
In the afternoon Brother Aidan Kilty’s paper on ‘Our Intimacy with God – Our Spiritual Life’ was presented to the District Chapter. This was followed by a good discussion on this topic. The Chapter delegates may take the opportunity at a future session to consider any propositions that may arise from this topic.
The Chapter ended with a Mass of Thanksgiving, celebrated with the Miguel House, and Castletown Communities. During the Mass all the Brothers renewed their vows and then the Provincial Team, Br Ben Hanlon, Visitor, Br Tommy Walsh, Auxiliary and Br Michael Curran, Auxiliary, were inducted and anointed with oil by Fr Joe OFM, chaplain to Miguel House.
The day ended with a celebratory meal in Miguel House.
