In order to innovate without breaking with the tradition of the summer meetings of the Teresian Association in Belgium, France, and Luxembourg, known as Sessions d’été, a weekend meeting was held at the end of August near Brussels.
About forty people from France, Luxembourg, and Belgium participated, a very international group in terms of their origins: four continents and a dozen countries!
Current events inspired the choice of the theme: Par temps de turbulences ne pas se perdre, something like Don't lose your way in times of turbulence. To begin with, they delved into these turbulences: How do they affect us?
To overcome them, there were various presentations encouraging “strength,” such as that of Olivier Hamand, available in this attached video, which can also be subtitled in other languages on YouTube.
You may turn-on the automatic translation of YouTube.
There were also calls for courage, interiority, and building up from the smallest things... These were questions that gave participants time to exchange opinions in small groups.
The meeting continued with references to Pedro Poveda and the difficult and turbulent times he went through, his call to respond to them with gentleness. Violence did not stop his projects, his commitment, his hope.
The weekend ended with the celebration of the Eucharist: a moment of thanksgiving filled with hope. Enough to return with strength to go through the turbulence of our time with gentleness and fortitude.
Here are some comments from the participants:
“I am leaving with renewed hope despite our rather difficult context, with the feeling that I am not alone because I believe I have the support of a community that shares the same mindset, and that is encouraging.”
“I am leaving... with the joy of having seen some people again, of having been able to meet others, with energy and enthusiasm to return to work and apply it in my life...”
“This weekend has brought me peace and confidence.”
Some also found it very intense, even too much... accustomed to week-long meetings, it was a summary! The evaluation elements will help to build new proposals for the future.
Catherine Chevalier, Béelgium.
Published in News