THE MISSIONARY CENACLE FAMILY COUNCIL
March, 2007
Father Judge declared that . . . "if the right spirit is maintained, if
the primitive spirit is passed down, this family idea will engender
the most beautiful fruits for the honor and glory of God and for
the edification of the Church." Rule of Life Article 8
Welcome to the Missionary Cenacle Family Council newsletter!
The Family Council exists to safeguard the family spirit, the family ideal. Because of this purpose, the Council reflects upon and makes decisions on situations, programs, or directions that are Family focused. The Family Council operates as council of the whole. The issues of the different branches are not normally the focus of this group. This newsletter is about two of the major discussions occurring in the Council in 2007.
In 2000, the Missionary Cenacle Family gathered in Philadelphia to celebrate a year of Jubilee. The members of the Family, who gathered for this event, gave direction to the Family Council. This has served as the agenda for the Family Council over these last years. In the year 2009, the Missionary Cenacle Family will celebrate its 100th anniversary. It is a wonderful time to celebrate our past, our present reality, and to look for where God leads us into the future. The Family Council called forth a committee of Family members to prepare us for this momentous event. These members represent the four branches: BTMI-Helen Marshall; MCA-Joanne Jones, Alma Robles and Geraldo Perfecto; MSBT-Nancy Walsh, Joan Marie Keller, Debbie Wilson; ST-Paul Michalenko and Gerado Oliva. This committee is known as MCF 100.
They have met several times and have developed a process that will engage all of the Cenacle Family meeting in areas of the USA, Puerto Rico, Mexico-Costa Rica-and Columbia. While each branch is not located in every area, the focus of discussion will remain on the Family. It will be the responsibility of the members in each area to discuss the agenda as well as to elect delegates to attend the meeting in 2009. The MCF 100 committee has submitted the following dates for the calendar.
April 17-19, 2009: meeting of the delegates elected from the various areas and the members of the Council of the four branches. This gathering will discern the future direction for the Family.
June 8-10, 2007 meeting and training of the liaisons who agreed to coordinate the efforts in each area. This training will take place in the Sisters' motherhouse in Philadelphia, PA.
Prompted by a report submitted to the MCFC at the September 2006 meeting, "Statement on the Aging of the Cenacle Family," the Family Council believed that it was imperative to find out more about the youth of today's world. Aging of the members brings forward the question of how each branch will carry on the mission and spread the charism in the near and distant future. This, in turn, brought about the question of how we can put forth the call to young people to be apostles and invite them into our respective branches.
The MCFC resolved to take an "option for the young." The first step would be to focus the next MCFC meetings on learning more about young adults and what information is needed in order to relate to these members of the church. Beth Henken and Charley Piatt, were invited as the respective vocation directors of the religious branches of the Missionary Cenacle Family to the January 2007 meeting. They shared with the Family Council information gained through their experiences as well as results of research done from other sources. These included the variety of ways in which young adults relate to technology, the Church, religion, and culture.
Several young adults are invited to the April 2007 meeting. It is hoped that through listening to these young adults light will be shed on how to relate to and attract more and more young adults to the Missionary Cenacle Family charism.
The Family Council would welcome any thoughts on how we are called to build better relationships with young adults from those who are doing such in their ministries. If you have any ideas to offer, please send them to joskrost@hotmail.com.
In addition to these two topics, the Family Council also reviewed the various ministries they oversee. These include the Missionary Cenacle Press, the TMC, and Communications. They also received information on the Missionary Cenacle Volunteers. A DVD on formation into the Missionary Cenacle Family will soon be available through the press. Each of the branches also shared a report on their activity. The MCA will be having their assembly in April in Holy Trinity with a focus on leadership and their call to be apostles in the providence of their everyday lives. The ST's will conduct their general cenacle in June. As of September, 2007, there will be new members of the Missionary Cenacle Family Council.
Family Council Meeting dates in Philadelphia: April 15-17, 2007 and Sept. 7-9, 2007