| Every six years the Maryknoll Society (priests and brothers) and the Maryknoll Congregation (sisters) have a Chapter and General Assembly respectively. These are required by the canon law of the church and their purpose is to elect leadership and set the direction of the priests' and sisters' groups. This year the MMAF (lay missioners) and the Affiliates (flexible term missioners) were invited to participate also in a Mission Forum, preceding the formal assemblies, which will examine the idea of mission in the current era. |
Day 1 |
The planning committee caucus after the opening session. (L-R: Ann Carr, Wayne Fitzpatrick, Mary Lou Daoust, and Gerry Lee) |
Maryknollers from Africa catch up with each other. (L-R: Pat Ryan, Liz Mach, Ken Thesing, and Tom Tiscornia) |
Day 2 |
| The Wednesday program began with a prayer service which invited participants to bring forward to a sacred space the symbols of their countries they had brought from home. In this picture Latin America is processing to the front with their symbols before others gathered around to see the different offerings. |
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Most of the day's program centered around a panel of Maryknoll "elders" who recounted some of the history and development of the different groups. Speaking for the Maryknoll Mission Association of the Faithful was Vicki Armour-Hileman; for the Society, Bill McCarthy; for the Congregation, Camilla Kennedy; and for the Affiliates, Fred Goddard. Their presentations were interesting, full of facts and nuances, and in the afternoon we had a chance to question them and comment on their understanding of our history and its implications for our future. |
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Heidi Cerneka and Efu Nyaki |
Barbecue supper at Bethany |
Day 3 |
| The morning prayer was led by Sr. Efu Nyaki (seen above with Heidi Cerneka). The rest of the day centered around Fr. Robert Schreiter, a theologian from Catholic Theological Union in Chicago. He spoke on the contexts and modes of mission today. Really interesting! His presentation was well received. He spoke in the morning and then we had time to reflect together in small groups and then ask questions of Bob in the afternoon. In the evening we were supposed to go on a boat trip on the Hudson River but the rain and cold prompted a cancellation. Instead we ate our boat supper--appropriately a huge submarine sandwich--downstairs in the employee dining rooms since the regular kitchen meal service wasn't prepared for us because of the planned boat ride. |
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Day 4 |
| After a contemplative morning prayer, the Forum participants began to process what we have learned and experienced so far. We worked in small groups to discuss what has excited us in the ideas we have heard and what is that we would like to follow up on and not lose. In the pictures below, Regina Pellicore captures on newsprint the ideas of the Southeast Asia group, and then later all the Forum members review the work of all the groups. During a break many participants signed a petition against going to war with Iraq, and then we moved to the chapel in the Sisters' center for a closing liturgy at which Ray Finch was the presider and Helene O'Sullivan the homilist. Then there was a social upstairs before dinner in the sisters' dining room. And then it was all over....
--THE END-- |
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