The Fulcrum - Special Summer Edition

special summer 2020 edition

I am like a brook

that makes no effort to overcome obstacles in its way. All the obstacles can do is hold me up for a while, as a brook is held up; but during that time, it grows broader and deeper, and after a while it overflows the obstruction, and flows along again. This is how I am going to work.

~Bl. Chaminade

(In article by Jean Babtiste Lalanne, SM "The Society of Mary" in Dictionnaire des orders religieux, 1854)

LIFE Team Happenings

The summer program is happening, just not in the usual way.

Each region has its own program based on past programs, with some additions. All activities are based on the Pillars of the Marianist Charism: Community, Faith, Inclusivity, Mary, and Mission. While activities and prayers are different, each regional program brings LIFErs closer to their LIFE Team members, as they explore their own faith lives.

School and parish moderators participated in online training with members of the coordinating team in early July. It was a great time not only to familiarize themselves with the program, but to catch up with friends. The moderator community is indeed a blessing!

Chaminade College Preparatory - St. Louis, MO

We completed our four-day overnight retreat with our new core members on Sunday. It went very well. We had 16 retreatants take part. Safety protocols were in place – masks all of the time, private bedrooms and bathrooms, morning temperature checks, and assigned chairs placed 6 ft apart in every room. We were able to incorporate our 10 returning core members (who attended LIFE last summer) to lead the new guys through a series of activities on the first day and to commission the new guys on the last night. We were blessed to have Marianist provincial Fr. Oscar Vasquez join us to celebrate Mass twice.

Chris Shaver

Moderator

Gross Catholic - Bellevue, NE

The new members of the Gross Catholic LIFE team met on July 14th to participate in the summer program. We began our day at 8:00 a.m. in our upper meeting room at Gross. We began as all things should with prayer and our welcome video and then we jumped into the pillars of the Marianist Charism. While the students were disappointed that they did not get to experience a full LIFE week with students from other schools, the joyful spirit of the girls really made the day full of energy and excitement! After dinner we were focused on mission.

The returning core team members were invited to come and be a part of the discussion about what we want LIFE to look like this year at Gross. As one of our students said, “if the greater LIFE community can figure out how to do the summer program the way they did, we should be able to overcome any obstacles we may face.” We concluded our day around 10:30 with an evening commissioning service in our chapel where they received their necklaces and their “I am like a brook” shirts. It was definitely a shift from what I am used to a summer program looking like, but the passion and enthusiasm that I am used to seeing was still present!

Kim Matzen -

Moderator & National Coordinating Team Member

Saint Louis School

Sacred Hearts Academy - Honolulu, HI

Saint Louis School and Sacred Hearts Academy have a long tradition of supporting one another in family spirit. We were fortunate last week to be able to participate in the (abbreviated) LIFE Retreat at Paewalani Retreat Center in Kane’ohe, HI. The twenty-one LIFErs spent three full days engaging in faith sharing, worship, prayer, reflection and praise. As they learned about the Marianist charism and various leadership styles, the journey towards serving in the upcoming school year became clearer. We look forward to connecting with other LIFE Teams as we strengthen our bonds with each other in the same mission as our Mother Mary, to bring Christ to the world. “I AM LIKE A BROOK…”

Christopher Casupang -

Moderator and National Coordinating Team Member

Archbishop Moeller - Cincinnati, OH

Chaminade Julienne - Dayton, OH

We had a great day. We were able to safely hold our LIFE day at Bergamo. We had the whole place to ourselves, and only 14 students (5 from Moe, 9 from CJ), so social distancing wasn't an issue. We had two small groups, and two adult leaders in each group. We also were able to celebrate Mass, which, for a lot of students, is the first time they've been since quarantine started.

Kevin Wood -

Moderator & National Coordinating Team Member