BROTHERS’ VOCATION
SERVICE OF
EVANGELIZATION
ASSOCIATION/FORMATION
Increase access and opportunities for all Lasallians to participate in Association/Formation programs.
Goals & Preliminary Tactics
- Afford opportunities to encourage and facilitate alumni/ae of the major District, regional, and international programs to share their learnings and contribute post-program to relevant projects in their local ministry and beyond.
- Nurture the networks established by each program through resources, apps, and social media.
- Solidify some of the more localized geographic links e.g. joint professional development days with local Brothers as key participants.
- Engage with Chief Administrators around the importance of their support to Association program alumni/ae who are prepared to bring lessons learned and relevant projects back to their ministry.
- Compose a District-wide curriculum involving Lasallian history, pedagogy, and spirituality for various constituencies (including Trustees, new hires, parent groups, and students and clients served at the middle school, high school, and tertiary age levels).
- Contribute to and access the digital library of Lasallian resources maintained by the San Francisco-New Orleans District.
- Foster and energize Lasallian vocations.
- Use the power of personal invitation to engage all Lasallians in activities pertaining to Lasallian Association programming.
If interested in offering suggestions or learning more about this strategic priority, please contact Br. Lawrence Goyette, FSC, Auxiliary Visitor
Association & Formation News
Strengthening The Bond
Brothers and Lasallians attend a virtual seminar.
Associating for mission is quintessentially Lasallian. De La Salle himself viewed all who helped minister to the young as co-heirs to the mission. Last year, on the tenth anniversary of the creation of the District of Eastern North America (DENA), Brothers, faculty, staff, administrators, and volunteers from DENA ministries gathered at a handful of sites to reflect and to connect, to inform and to brainstorm. A keynote address from the Superior General, Br. Robert Schieler, FSC, highlighted the importance of the shared work between Brothers and non-Brother Lasallian Partners globally and in ministries throughout the District.
Shortly thereafter, the realities of the 2020 pandemic challenged Lasallians across DENA to creatively and intentionally provide alternate opportunities to gather “together and by association,” while also protecting the safety of individuals, communities, and ministries.
To do so, we have utilized modern technology to develop specific, relevant, measurable, timely, and innovative formation. Starting in the spring, the Office for Mission & Ministry (OMM) has facilitated weekly centering prayer and bimonthly global prayer services. In addition, the OMM has offered several new programs seeking to provide opportunities for association: a Digital Learning Series to share best practices and pedagogical resources between and among Lasallians; a Let’s Talk Series to address contemporary social issues; ongoing forums with job-alike groups to provide time and space for continued association; and a New Lasallian Orientation to introduce participants to association and our global mission.
While none of these efforts or events can fully, authentically replicate direct interaction and replace in-person activities, we have been working diligently to ensure strong, thriving, and ongoing association efforts. We are also prepared to proceed full-steam-ahead when in-person gatherings are once again allowed.
-By Justin Martineau, Associate Director for Mission & Ministry