A BRIGHT FUTURE

At their XIth General Chapter meetings this summer, Scarboro missioners gathered in Canada to look to the future and to lay the groundwork for a new model of partnership between priest and lay members

By John MacInnis
October 2002

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This past summer, Scarboro Missions held a General Assembly prior to its XIth Chapter. The Assembly was the second such meeting in the Society's history. It allowed the Society to consult all members on a number of major issues, such as mission priorities; a new partnership between the priest and lay members; and what new form the Society might take in the next five years.

As we pondered the future of Scarboro Missions, it was evident that its structure and some of its ways of making decisions would require a new sense of cooperation and dialogue between priest and lay members. As Scarboro laity, we felt a new sense of equality and partnership. Our contribution was recognized and valued as together we sought to discover answers to complex issues.

Together, as priests and laity, we opened the road to a new model to take us into the future. In this new model, our participation as lay people is invited in a spirit of cooperation and oneness. We are a family and we will work together to share dreams, set policy, reach consensus and forge the direction of the future.

Throughout the Assembly, I experienced acceptance, recognition, belonging and partnership. We were invited and encouraged to express our opinions and share our point of view. As laity, we were listened to and sometimes challenged to further clarify our stated positions.

Many stories were shared about priests and laity working together in mission. It was clear that the lay members are recognized as equally representing the Society through our presence in mission. Many priests also shared the struggles and achievements they experienced throughout their missionary journeys.

The Assembly also provided a great opportunity to meet many of the other lay members serving in other parts of the world, and to hear their experiences. Up until then, my only contact had been with the mission team in Guyana where my wife Jean and I have served since 1998.

Each evening during the Assembly, the Scarboro lay members met to discuss and decide upon issues concerning the laity. We listened to each other, shared, deliberated and reached consensus so that together we could discover new pathways to the future as members of the Scarboro family. It was very satisfying for me to discover that some of my own struggles were shared by others. I also discovered that all the lay members shared the same deep sense of commitment to the Society.

At the Assembly, all Scarboro members recognized the need to promote the Society with renewed energy, so as to attract more priest and lay members, allowing us to continue the work of mission. We know that the future is bright. We will continue, as priests and laity, to cooperate, dialogue and build bridges.

I sense that a new foundation has been laid for Scarboro Missions. On this foundation, a powerful structure will emerge, one that will help fulfill God's dream of a world where people treat each other with respect and dignity, working together to promote justice, peace and love.

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