Day 2 of OLAC2022: Connecting with the global Oblate family

By Gerard Bennett

If food be the music of life, play on! So Shakespeare wrote all those years ago. And there is no doubt but that what we eat can play a big part in how we can enjoy our time – or otherwise.  I have spent over 40 years going to Lourdes with the pilgrimage and when people ask: “How is your hotel?” what they are asking is, “How is the food?” Of course, a comfortable bed, and good surroundings are all important but let’s face it, if the food is not good, then we’re not really off to a very good start, are we? 

On arrival, Kirk told me to expect sausage, and Polish sausage at that, with every meal. Now don’t get me wrong, Polish sausage is very nice but every day? Kirk’s information wasn’t quite right, and I can tell you now, having started with supper on Thursday and now finished supper on Saturday, it certainly is not all sausage and the food is very good and very tasty. Yes, there is a focus on traditional Polish food. I mentioned yesterday about the complete Trout, head and eyes included. But their soups are delicious and today, both lunch and supper were top class. And real Polish sauerkraut – absolutely delicious. Second helpings please!! So if the measure of success is based on food alone, then it is a win! 

Today’s theme was “Connect!” This morning, we had two sessions. First, three groups provided feedback to the general European audience on the preparatory work that we had undertaken prior to the Congress.  For the Anglo-Irish Province (AIP), this was they online survey and the Conversation Evening. Time and again, we said to you that “your voice counts” and that, “we would bring your feedback to the Congress and have your voices heard by a wider audience.” This morning, we fulfilled that promise. We told them about AIP, we told the audience how we had gathered the feedback, and then we told them of that feedback. It was very well received. Of course, that is not the end of the story by any means. However, as the person designated to give the report on behalf of AIP, it felt very good to deliver on the promise that we made, that your voice would count and that your voice would be heard.

In the second half of the morning, our group split up and went to different workshops. We engaged in workshops on poverty, on co-responsibility, on working with youth, and on new communications channels. This evening, we come together to share with each other what we had heard and learned in the workshops that we had individually attended. There was an incredible richness heard, some of which resonated with our team and which they could identify in our own experiences. In other cases, it was to hear of ideas that might be of value to us. And certainly, it was very affirming to share with others what we are doing in our own areas and how much this impressed those who were listening.  We are innovators! The session on poverty moved beyond the financial to other ways in which we could be poor, such as the poverty that can be loneliness, how this affects peoples’ lives and how being part of the Oblate family can make such a difference. In the area of youth, then at one level, we heard that the challenges in these islands are not a lot different to those elsewhere in Europe.  However, our team also heard of how these challenges are being addressed in other places. Not every solution or strategy can be translated into the AIP context and make the same difference, but our team listened and over the time ahead, need to consider whether some of this can be implemented in AIP. Co-responsibility proved to be a very interesting workshop for our team. This is all about an active programme of moving from ‘helping Father’ to a more collaborative model, one built on equal partnership and valuing the strengths of all parties. Formation – or to use the simple English word, training, was identified as key. Some places already have clear formation / training programmes in place, with the clear intention of bring lay people onboard in leadership roles. Not alone is there a need to be open to lay leadership but equally, to actively invest in its development. 

In the final workshop, that of new channels of communication, there was much praise for our Communications Team and what they have achieved. Our Morning Prayer, online digital pilgrimage, retreats, and other online events – the workshop audience listened with huge admiration for these achievements. And there are things for us to learn too. A key learning from this particular workshop is that while digital communications usually focus on how this can leverage the sharing options, too many countries this morning talked about how connecting with those outside their own countries was not as easy as it should be and while we have much to share of what we have achieved, no doubt by a greater exchange and partnership with other areas, we too can learn.   

Our afternoon was once again with Rome and the worldwide Congress. This was a great afternoon, great content, great speakers, and it made for a tremendous day. There is little doubt but that in the months ahead, we have much to process, and from this, much that we might do. As we have said more than once, the journey really starts on the day we return home. 

Oliver said the Mass this evening for the European group and our small team were very actively involved. What others saw – and maybe not everyone was entirely comfortable with it! – was a Mass where the lay team were core participants (not just ‘involved’) in music and reading and central to the homily where four of our team took a word or phrase from the Gospel and why it spoke to them. Maybe one or two would see the role of homilist ‘reserved’ for the priest but there were quite a few who found that the model visible from the AIP, a  close-knit lay and priest experience, quite powerful. 

After dinner we had an hour of worship and song and what a deeply moving, spiritual, and prayerful experience it proved to be; in every sense, it was the perfect end to the day. Well, on second thoughts, maybe not the ‘end’ of the day because of course, we gathered with our brothers and sisters from throughout Europe for a small social gathering.  

And yes, we had a drink or two. Some of our group were known to get up on the floor and dance! Oliver and myself seemed to have avoided it but the rest of the team more than made up for our hesitancy! In every sense, it has been an amazing day. Hard to believe that tomorrow is the last day. 

So, off to bed, tired, but with a great sense that we have all been part of something special and, please God, we will look back on these days as the catalyst for some great days ahead in AIP. 

Goodnight!

Tags: Kokotek, Lay Congress, OLAC2022, Poland