NEW YORK — As preparation for the June chapter of mats, Holy Name friars will be provided with an on-line discussion board through which they can review and respond to draft vision statements of the Province.
This feature is one of several steps being taken by the Province’s visioning and planning committee to prepare for this important gathering at which Holy Name friars will gather.
Despite travel challenges from the torrential rains of last week’s Nor’easter, the committee members were able to gather in the Provincial Office for an all-day meeting on April 16. Consultant Dominic Perri presented a summary report of the discussions at the seven Fraternal Gatherings held earlier this year in which more than 200 friars participated. Particularly important was identifying the themes that most frequently surfaced during the friars’ consideration of alternative future ministerial scenarios, said Francis Gunn, chair of the committee.
Earlier this month, members of a V&P subcommittee met in Silver Spring, Md., to examine the reports from the Fraternal Gatherings. They created several draft vision statements based on these discussions, each containing possible elements that might eventually be incorporated into a Vision Statement for Holy Name Province at the chapter of mats (June 5 to 8).
At its meeting last week, committee members discussed the next steps to involve friars in preparation for the chapter. First, a summary report of the results of the discussions from the seven Fraternal Gatherings will be mailed to all friars. This will enable them to see what consensus has emerged and to review topics in which there are differing emphases. Second, the committee has asked the Province’s Office of Communications to set up an online discussion board in the Friars-Only portion of the Province Web site.
The various draft vision statements will be posted on this discussion board, where there will be opportunities for friars to react to the 10 options and rank their preferences. Plans are for the discussion board to be operational on May 1. Friars will be given three weeks in which to comment on the draft statements; the visioning and planning committee will then have two weeks in which to review the responses of the friars on the board and to further refine drafts for a vision statement to be considered at the chapter of mats.
The committee will also post in the Friars-Only section of the Web site the full results of the discussions from the fraternal days. The visioning and planning committee’s goal is to approve a Province vision statement at the June 5 to 8 chapter of mats.
Friars are encouraged to watch the Web site’s home page for an announcement in the “New & Noteworthy”section of the launch of the discussion board.