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Guidelines 2011-2012
Every year, new guidelines are proposed to the communities to nurture and lead the monthly meetings. Written by an international team, it encourages the unity of all the communities throughout the world which gather around a common theme. This year, we are all called to live as "messengers of joy".
"Messengers of joy"
The pilgrimages to celebrate the fortieth anniversary of Faith and Light have been underway throughout the world since the official launch of the jubilee on 2 February 2011 at the end of the first Council of Coordinators meeting.
The theme of this meeting was: “I have come to bring fire on the earth and how I wish it were already kindled”. On the last day, the province coordinators, meeting around a large brazier, were sent on a mission. Because the pilgrimages that had been organised or were in the process of being organised during this year were not an ending but a beginning! A beginning of a mission to proclaim to the world who we are and what we experience in our communities. Each of us, people with a disability, parents, friends and chaplains, we are all called to be messengers of joy and love, witnesses to the miracles that God has done for us.
Each month, we will be called to proclaim the joy of the Beatitudes. The joy of doing the will of the Father, the joy of living the Gospel, of welcoming the poor, the joy of gentleness, of compassion and of peace.
How do we proclaim this joy to the world? We can continually invite new friends and new families to join us: “Come and see!” We can leave our comfort zone… There are still so many people alone and in pain. And when there are enough of us, we can multiply. What a beautiful perspective this new fruitfullness of Faith and Light is!
There is the growth of the community as well as our own growth. To nourish our personal life between two meetings, we have chosen a “great witness” who, through their life and their message, will help us to look more deeply at the theme that we have experienced as a community. We can place their image in our prayer corner and each morning or evening, we can pray with them.
A huge thank you to:
Father Isaac, international chaplain for the monthly meditations.
Tim Dobbin (Anglican pastor, province chaplain to Canada West) and Marian Crawford (Methodist pastor and province chaplain to UK North) for the times of prayer.
Sophie, Anne, Veronika and Jean-Michel for the practical suggestions for the other times of the meeting.
Amgad Edward (provincial coordinator of Egypt North) for illustrations.
It was a joy and a grace to work together, even if with some this was via the Internet!
To each and every one of you, big or small messengers of joy, have a beautiful and fruitful year!