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William of Saint Thierry
from Meditation 6.4
LCG Advisory Council Met in Oxford, Ohio in April
It was a Cistercian weekend in Oxford, Ohio according to Fr. Len
Fecko, Pastor of St. Mary Church in Oxford. Fr. Len made welcoming
comments to the Lay Cistercians attending Sunday Mass at St. Mary.
Fr. Len joined the Lay Cistercians on Saturday for Evening Prayer,
supper, and Night Prayer.
A meeting of the LCG Advisory Council occurred the weekend of April
21-23 in Oxford. The Greater Cincinnati area Lay Cistercian
community hosted the event at the Izaak Walton Lodge facility in
Oxford. Br. Paul Quenon traveled from the Abbey of Gethsemani to
participate in the weekend gathering.
The Advisory Council members in attendance participated in a team
building session on Saturday morning that was facilitated by Jane
Endriss of Toledo. This session included an opportunity to share how
we have been changed or transformed by our commitment as Lay
Cistercians. We also shared our vision for the future of the Lay
Cistercians of Gethsemani. Our reflections will be compiled and
posted on the LCG website.
On Saturday afternoon we convened the Advisory Council meeting. Bob
Siegel of Midland, Michigan chaired the meeting. A summary of the
meeting will also be posted soon on the LCG website. Bob agree to be
the chair of the Advisory Council for an undetermined length of
time.
The discussions during the Advisory Council meeting included the
need to develop a plan for the future needs of the Lay Cistercians
of Gethsemani, the function of the LCG Advisory Council, and LCG
applying for tax-exempt status, Each representative of local LCG
communities in attendance provided an update of their respective
community’s activities and growth. LCG communities are encouraged to
share their experiences of effective group activities and efforts to
build community.
On Saturday evening local LCG members and candidates joined the
Advisory Council members for Evening Prayer, social hour, and
supper. A presentation by Br. Paul followed by Night Prayer
concluded the day.
The next Advisory Council meeting is scheduled for Friday afternoon,
September 15, prior to the beginning of the 2006 LCG annual retreat
at Gethsemani.
CLICK
HERE TO SEE PHOTOS TAKEN AT THE ADVISORY MEETING
Advisory Council Begins to Implement Changes
As a result of the meeting of the Advisory Council in April, follow
up informal meetings and conversations have occurred to begin the
implementation of changes and new responsibilities. As noted above
Bob Siegel of the Midland, Michigan LCG community will serve as the
ongoing chair of the Advisory Council. Bob has been serving as the
mentor coordinator. He will continue with this responsibility, and
will also begin processing LCG inquiries and applications for
membership received from the LCG website that was previously
performed by Mike Johnson.
Mike will continue to serve as LCG
liaison to the International Lay Cistercian steering committee and
liaison to the USA Lay Cistercian communities. Don Buckingham of the
Columbus, Ohio LCG community will complete the paperwork and
processing for obtaining tax-exempt status. Mary Guilbert also of
Columbus will continue to serve as the LCG website administrator.
Jane Endriss who is relocating to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania from
Toledo, Ohio will take over the editor role of the LCG News
(newsletter), formerly done by Mike Johnson.
Additional roles and responsibilities are being identified and
implemented. The Advisory Council is expected to finalize these
matters by the conclusion of the next meeting in September. The LCG
Advisory Council encourages LCG members and local LCG communities to
strengthen their commitment in living the Plan of Life and to build
genuine communities of support and prayer as we journey together on
the Cistercian spiritual path.
Letter to LCG Members and Candidates:
With this issue of the LCG Newsletter, I complete a twelve year
stint of editing the Newsletter. It truly has been a “labor of joy,”
but it is way overdue for a change in editing responsibilities.
Fresh ideas and perspectives are needed.
Jane Endriss, a member of the LCG Advisory Council, has graciously
agreed to assume responsibility for editing the Newsletter. We
welcome Jane to this role and look forward to new perspectives and
creativity. Jane would like to know of your suggestions for and
needs in a newsletter. She can be contacted at: JENDR@aol.com.
As I was recollecting the years of writing and putting together the
CLC and now LCG Newsletter, I reviewed the back issues of the
Newsletter. I traveled back through approximately 48 issues to the
first issue that I wrote in January 1994. Much has happened in
twelve years as our Cistercian lay associate program has matured and
grown in numbers. The Holy Spirit has led us in these many years to
achieve a clearer sense of who we are and what we are called to as
Lay Cistercians. Our relationship with the Abbey of Gethsemani has
been strengthened.
I would like to share a few excerpts from remarks that I made in an
open letter contained in the first issue that I edited:
“With this issue a renewed effort is being made to produce the CLC
Newsletter on a quarterly basis. The work and time commitment that
is necessary to produce the Newsletter with any regularity can be
demanding…
The vision of those who came together several years ago to dialogue
about a lay contemplative lifestyle, to develop the Plan of Life,
and to form the CLC association is still very much alive…
…it was never the intention of those who initially met at the Abbey
of Gethsemani and formed the organization known as CLC to establish
a formal lay organization. We simply challenged ourselves to live
the Plan as best we could given our individual situations. Some
monks of the Abbey of Gethsemani have supported this endeavor…there
are local CLC support groups in Louisville and Cincinnati who shared
a variety of activities that support a sense of community among CLC
associates and friends.
This Newsletter will be one means in which the mission of CLC can be
further communicated and by which those who have adapted the Plan of
Life can build community…
Also, in this issue were responses from CLC members to a survey
question, “ What do you mean by contemplation?”, I wrote:
Contemplation for me is the gift of the awareness of God’s presence
in creation, uniquely within me and my fellow human beings. This
gift allows us to experience this presence in all dimensions of our
being. We celebrate and communicate this presence through silence.
Let us continue to support each other in prayer, as we journey
together along the Cistercian contemplative path.
Mike Johnson
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Reminder ! Do Not Forget Your Annual Offering to LCG
So far, approximately 30% of the LCG membership has responded to the
request for an annual offering to LCG. It has become necessary to
increase the suggested offering to $10 a year. The LCG Advisory
Council has been discussing the possible need to increase the annual
offering for over a year now. An additional amount will be
gratefully accepted.
It is anticipated that our expenses will be increasing due to higher
postal rates, cost of administering the LCG website, printing of
formation/mentoring materials, and LCG’s support of the
International Lay Cistercian website. If you have not already done
so, please provide your 2006 financial support for LCG by submitting
at lease the $10 amount. A form for this purpose is available on the
website for those who access the newsletter electronically. The
annual offering form is also available on the last pate of the
newsletter for the use of those who receive the newsletter by
regular mail.
CLICK HERE HERE FOR
FINANCIAL OFFERING FORM
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