2019 WORKSHOP ON APOSTOLIC PLANNING AND DECISION MAKING THROUGH COMMUNAL DISCERNMENT

Welcome to our workshop at the Seven Fountains Retreat Centre in Chiang Mai!

This page is where you will find information on the workshop, as well as all the resources you will need.

This workshop is offered by the Ignatian Initiative for Teacher Excellence (IGNITE) for our Ignatian educators in Asia Pacific, especially our school leaders and administrators. It is designed as a module for the IGNITE stream called WISL (Workshop on Ignatian School Leadership).

Workshop Overview: This leadership workshop will focus on the exercise of Communal Discernment for the purpose of apostolic planning and decision-making – areas that are crucial in the exercise of Ignatian school leadership. The workshop is quite timely especially since the recently concluded 36^th General Congregation that elected the new Jesuit Superior General foregrounded communal discernment in its first decree, not to mention the recently announced Universal Apostolic Preferences that include Discernment in Common.

Some of the questions that we hope to answer are:

How can we engage one another in honest and meaningful conversations – both personal and professional – especially when there is potential friction or conflict?
How can we practice Ignatian discernment in communal decision-making for the more essential questions that we face in running our schools?

Dates: April 26 (Friday) to May 2 (Thursday), 2018 (Arrive by Friday evening. Depart by Thursday morning).

Place: Seven Fountains Retreat Centre, Chiang Mai, Thailand

Huaykaew Road Chiang Mai, จ.เชียงใหม่ 50300 Thailand

Click HERE for a map of the retreat centre.

METHODOLOGY

Simulation (role-play) of a communal discernment exercise and processing of the experience

All participants are going to assume the role of being constituted as a body to discern and to choose priority directions of the JCAP Education Ministry for 2019-2029 in response to the Universal Apostolic Preferences.

The participants will be guided through the steps in the communal discernment exercise. After going through each step, they will analyze, reflect, and share on their experiences in order to identify the necessary knowledge, skills, and dispositions to conduct communal discernment more effectively.

Some input on select steps and processes will also be given by the facilitators.

BASIC FRAMEWORK

“The conviction that God is acting in history and is constantly trying to attract our attention is the foundation on which our efforts to discern in common are based.” (see Arturo Sosa, SJ, “Discernment in Common.”) Thus, it is important for those taking part in the discernment to imbibe and nourish those dispositions of the human spirit that make them more attuned to God: faith, prayer, and interior freedom to know and to do the will of God. The practice of spiritual conversation is a privileged means for the community to discern in common.

It can be said that mission, that is, “God’s call to a community in a specific time and place lies at the intersection of its identity and charism, its internal situation, and the surrounding external context.”

YOUR TEAM OF FACILITATORS

Fr. Roy Ragas SJ is a Center Associate of the Emmaus Center for Psycho-Spiritual Formation in the Philippines. Trained and experienced in formation and facilitating group processes, he is much sought after as a resource person and facilitator in Asia Pacific and elsewhere especially for Discernment in Common. Fr. Roy served previously as a Math teacher at the Ateneo de Manila High School, as well as a missionary in East Timor where he was among those instrumental in building the Colegio de Santo Inacio de Loiola in Kasait.

Ms Jennie Hickey is the Executive Officer of Jesuit Education Australia at the Australian Province of the Society of Jesus. She was formerly the Provincial Delegate for Education in Australia, and has served in various teaching and executive positions in schools across Sydney, most recently being at St. Ignatius Riverview, Sydney Australia.

Ms. Je Ching is currently the Coordinator for Catholic and Ignatian Education of the Ateneo de Manila Institute for the Science and Art of Learning and Teaching (SALT). Formerly the regional coordinator for the Christian Life Community (CLC) in Asia Pacific, Je has over a decade of experience in the work of school professional development and Ignatian formation.

Fr. Johnny Go SJ is the Secretary for Secondary and Pre-Secondary Education of the Jesuit Conference of Asia Pacific., as well as the newly appointed Assistant for the Mission and Identity of Jesuit Schools for the Education Secretariat in Rome. He is also the Director of the Ateneo de Manila Institute for the Science and Art of Learning and Teaching (or the Ateneo SALT Institute). He teaches philosophy and education at the Ateneo de Manila University and the University of the Philippines.

DETAILED SCHEDULE

Please note the schedule of the workshop below. In general, there will be four sessions a day–some of them input, others small group discussions and personal reflection and prayer.

There will be a one-day break on Wednesday, as indicated below.

Day 01: 26 April (Friday)

05:30 pm Arrivals/Registration Socials, introductions, welcome, and dinner

Day 02 & 03: 27 – 28 April (Saturday to Sunday)

07:00 am Breakfast

08:30 am Session

10:00 am Coffee/Tea Break

10:30 am Session

12:00 nn Lunch

02:00 pm Session

03:30 pm Coffee/Tea Break

04:00 pm Session

05:30 pm Break

06:00 pm Eucharist

07:00 pm Dinner

08:00 pm Socials

Day 04: 29 April (Monday)

BREAK / INDIVIDUAL TOURS – Participants are free the entire day to tour the city or shop on their own. (Only breakfast will be served at the retreat house)

Day 05 & 06: 30 April -1 May (Tuesday to Wednesday)