Lasallian Partners Council Strengthens Implementation of Shared Mission

The District Council (DC), an association of La Salle Brothers in the Philippines, takes a major leap towards implementing the Shared Mission in the country with the establishment of the Lasallian Partners Council (LPC).

The LPC is DC's lay counterpart. DLSU-Manila Executive Vice President Dr. Carmelita Quebengco, chair of LPC, defines the Shared Mission as "the equal participation of Brothers and Lasallian Partners in decisionmaking structures concerned with the Lasallian Mission." The difference, Quebengco adds, is that "We don't have a say in things related to their vows, lifestyle as religious, and their formation. We do not have the appropriate background and experience for that."

Even in Rome, the call for the Shared Mission reverberates. In the 43rd General Chapter held in Rome in 2000, the Superior General and his Council paid tribute to the Lasallian Partners. "The Lasallian Partners permitted us to realize how far we have already come over the past seven years in sharing the mission and in strengthening the bonds of association so necessary for its future."
In a message to the assembly, Pope John Paul II himself acknowledged the contributions of the Partners to the Shared Mission. “I am particularly attentive to this collaboration, which permits an ever greater missionary efficacy. The presence of the laity alongside the Brothers is a notable sign of the increasingly important place that they are being called to take in the life of the Church."

Recently, the LPC was tasked to handle the Lasallian Star of Faith Award 2003, a project of the Philippine District. The Award is to honor a person who embodies the Lasallian values of faith and zeal, and has rendered exemplary and outstanding service to the Filipino nation, including service to the poor and the youth-atrisk. The LPC laid the groundworkdefined the concept, set the criteria for selection, and the process for selection—and later screened nominees and recommended the prospective awardee for confirmation by the Brother Visitor. Considering that the Lasallian Star of Faith Award is the highest award given by the Philippine Lasallian Family, delegating a significant task to the Lasallian Partners shows how strong the Shared Mission has been ingrained among Lasallians in the Philippines. This is also evident in major Lasallian gatherings such as the Lasallian Synod, and in the upcoming Lasallian Family Convocation in 2003.

During the Synod, both Brothers and Partners together planned and determined the priorities for the Lasallian institutions in the Philippines and drew the Lasallian Ministry Action Plan (MAP). In this visioning exercise, Quebengco noted that Brothers and Partners had equal say in determining where the Lasallian institutions should be heading.

Convocation 2003, a gathering of Brothers and Partners, will re-visit the MAP and evaluate the status of its implementation, and establish more specific and concrete actions in line with the MAP. Prior to the grand reunion of Lasallian representatives, three Regional Reflection Councils in the areas of NCR-Rizal, Visayas, and Mindanao will be held to engage the community in reflection to discern the direction of the Lasallian institutions. Brothers and Partners, once more, will sit together and tackle the four different areas, namely: Lasallian formation and governance; new apostolates; Lasallian relationships and association; and current apostolate.

Quebengco proudly says that the Philippines, being the only District to have lay counterpart, is one of the most, if not the most progressive relative to the Shared Mission.” The partnership between the religious and the lay is healthy to the Lasallian institutions because of the unique contributions of both sides. "We enrich the experience of the Brothers by pointing to them certain truths, tacts, events, situations in lite which they may not be too conscious of because these do not figure in their life. In like manner, they enrich our being Lasallian by being 'guardians of the Lasallian institution."

Appointed as member of an international commission called "Associated for the Educational Service of the Poor" by the Superior General and his General Council, Quebengco feels that the lay role can "only get stronger and stronger." With the number of Brothers dwindling, the more it becomes necessary to operationalize the Shared Mission. “That way, we continue to propagate what St. La Salle begun."

Abut-Tanaw Vol. 29 No. 2, May 2002