The District of San Francisco New Orleans has concluded a series of Brothers’ District Days, fraternal gatherings in which the Brothers shared their thoughts on the needs, challenges, and opportunities for the new District.
“Looking Toward Chapter I” sessions took place in Covington, LA on March 21; Santa Fe, NM on April 25, and Napa, CA on May 2. Every Brother attended one of the three sessions, which were facilitated by Brothers Donald Johanson, Visitor, and James Joost, Auxiliary Visitor.
Each District Day began with prayer, after which Brother Donald presented on the context for the District, both reflecting on its origins and anticipating its next steps. He then led the Brothers in a feedback discussion of the “Context for Action” document. Drafted by the District Leadership Team, “Context for Action” is a thematic outline of the major areas and issues of the life of the District, and is intended to serve as an “anchor document” to assist with both the District’s first Chapter and first Mission Assembly.
Next, the Brothers were asked to reflect individually on what they considered to be the priority concerns and opportunities for the District. Brother James then facilitated a sharing of their thoughts, and also presented a Power Point tour of the District’s schools and vocation ministry within each of them.
In the afternoon, the Brothers divided into discussion groups formed around the major priority areas identified during the morning session. The groups met and then each presented reports on their ideas, concerns, and general observations regarding their area. They also heard the results of the same discussion held by the District’s Brother John Johnston Institute cohort in early March.
Each of the Days concluded with Mass, which included a celebration of the District’s Jubilarian Brothers, followed by a social and Jubilee dinner hosted by the local Brothers’ Community.
Commenting on the three Days, Brother Donald said, “I am very happy with the results of the discussions and the feedback we received. We will continue to develop our “Context for Action” document and look forward to discussing it in various other listening sessions in the next six months.”
District Days table groups in discussion at (L-R) Mont La Salle in Napa, CA; St. Michael’s High School in Santa Fe, NM; and St. Paul’s School in Covington, LA.
