Lay Dominicans
Deepen Leadership Skills
DETROIT,
MI --On November 1-4 Lay Dominicans of Saint Albert the
Great Province in the Midwestern area of the United States
sponsored a Leadership Workshop for moderators, formation
directors and spiritual assistants of each of the 20
chapters and groups in the Province.
The theme
of the gathering was “Preaching as Being.” The
conference focused on helping leaders understand and
carry out their respective roles in accord with newly
revised documents that guide Lay Dominican Leadership
functions. Mrs. Ruth Kummer, the Provincial President,
walked participants through the responsibilities of
the leaders of local communities of Lay Dominicans.
Dr. Normand Laurendeau, Ph.D., of the West Lafayette
Group helped those attending appreciate the preaching
role of Lay Dominicans by presenting and demonstrating
and leading a discussion of what lay preaching might
look like. Dr. Thomas Ryba, S.T.D., the Formation
Director of the Province presented a new formation
program to guide individual groups and chapters in
preparing Lay Dominican candidates to become fully
informed and active members of the contemporary Church
as lay members of the Order of Preacher. Michael
Porterfield and Cynthia Ricard of the St. Louis chapter
showed how the materials related to the program can
be obtained from an Internet webpage sponsored by Aquinas
Institute. Information about the new formation
program can be obtained by contacting the Provincial
Promoter, Fr. James R. Motl (motljr@slu.edu).
Those who attended the workshop went away with a new
enthusiasm for their roles as leaders, formators, and
spiritual guides for Lay Dominicans throughout the
Midwest. They talked about the growing interest
in Lay Dominican life throughout the area and discussed
how their groups could become better known through
evangelizing efforts and by living as a fully committed
lay Catholic in the Dominican Order. They expressed
their gratitude to James Irvine, a former Lay Dominican,
whose generous bequest to our Province’s lay
branch made this meeting possible.
Jim Motl, OP
Promoter for Lay Dominicans
Province of St. Albert the Great, USA |