Meeting of the International Team at Luxor (7-14 April 2010)

Our Final Message :

The international team of the Lay/Secular Fraternity of Charles de Foucauld met at Luxor (Egypt) from 7 till 14 April 2010. Firstly, we have taken stock of the situation of the fraternities in different countries, like we did two years ago at our meeting in Spa-Nivezé (Belgium). Secondly, to plan the targets for the next General Assembly 2012.

We are very grateful to dear Amad Zakir, the representative of the “Arab World”, and to his companion Little Brother Michel Le Claire for their warm welcome. We thank also the two fraternities of Hagaza (35 kms from Luxor) for their edifying witness.

We share the disappointment of the African representatives Gertrude and Peter Mbuchi- Methu, who have not been able to obtain their visa. Therefore, a member of the International Team will go to Africa to share the course and outcome of our discussions.

We were happy to welcome Shilanand Hemraj (India) as acting representative for Asia. He responded to our request for replacing Miong-jun (Korea).

The meeting took place in the residence of the Egyptian Sisters of the Sacred Heart, and we cannot but appreciate their kind hospitality and simplicity of life.

Our days were spent in moments of prayer, celebrations, sessions of reporting and planning for the future. More than ever, we think that our main concern should be to support the growth of the fraternities at the local, regional, national and continental level. This requires real team work at all levels, with sharing of responsibilities.

We realized that mutual exchange through correspondence, personal visits and meetings at the continental level can contribute a lot for creating links between fraternities of the same continent.

Our next General Assembly of 2012 will take place in Europe, according to a principle of rotation, depending on the possibility for each continent in turns (Europe, Americas, Africa, Asia-Australia, Arab World).

After prayer and reflection we have agreed to the theme of “Daring to Meet Others”. We feel that the whole process of preparation is not less important than the coming Assembly itself. We ask each basic fraternity to deepen out this theme in accordance with different suggestions which will be communicated *, so that the answers can be transmitted country-wise to each national responsible before 1 Jan 2012. The echo of all those reflections can then be considered at the General Assembly itself.

                                                                                                        United in fraternal spirit,

* Suggestions:                                                                                        Luxor, 14 April 2010

Our meeting of others (and also our inability to meet others!):

When has our meeting of others helped us to live together for the better?

When has our meeting of others been frustrating or disappointing?

Have we made deliberate choices to really try meeting others?

How could our meeting of  others have a strong impact on our lives?

How do I evaluate what is going on when I am in the process of meeting others (or not meeting others)?

While listening to the Spirit who is actively present in the world around us, how in this question of meeting others could we refer to Jesus of Nazareth and to the spiritual heritage of our Fraternity?

Nowadays, when it is so difficult for people to “meet” in the real sense, should I not dare to take concrete steps forward?

Could you summarize what you have discovered about this theme together and transmit it to your country responsible by January 2012? Thanks.