By Fr Michael Lap, SDB
Yamanaka, Japan, 8 June 2016 -- We came together to the Yamanaka FMA retreat house (at the foot of Fuji mountain) to attend the 2016 provincial chapter. The 2016 chapter started from June 5th and will be concluded on 9th.
We are 30 chapter members, the youngest is 39 years old and the oldest is 82 years young and our average age is 55 years.
The theme of this historical chapter is: "A province for the Poor Youth". During a lengthy participatory process since November 2014 our province is slowly but surely moving towards a deeper awareness about the possible Salesian presence among the poorest young people in Japan. Each confrere and each local community did contribute with their reply to many surveys over past 18 month! Please continue to pray for our chapter!
The GIA province of St. Francis Xavier has at present 100 confreres and two novices, with most of the confreres involved in education - evangelization (from the kindergarten to the polytechnic) and in the parish ministry (during past 10 years directed more towards the various migrant groups). The celebration of DB 200 was a good occasion to launch the Federation of DB Past Pupils and the Salesian Youth Movement. 14 canonical communities are located from Tokyo area up to the most southern presence in Miyazaki.
During these days we remembered also the first provincial chapter under the leadership of Mons. Cimatti held in Kobe, March 1938 (file photo).
Since the evening of June 5, 30 confreres of the Japanese province are gathered at Yamanaka for a Provincial Chapter which seems to be the last in the whole congregation.
The chilly weather, the good food, a brotherly atmosphere and the good will of the participants seem to guarantee good results. This Provincial Chapter has been preceded by two provincial meetings, where a great number of proposals coming from all the confreres had been presented.
The Japanese province has to become “A province for the poor Japanese young people” has been declared. But that is not easy, for in Japan poverty is something shameful that has to be hidden.
So far the new POI has been discussed and approved. Discussions are now being carried on to come out with a new six year provincial plan that can be implemented by a not growing province.
Three points have been well stressed: ① there must be a team to help the confreres with the community’s PEP; ② The 6 years provincial plan must not only be presented, but must be explained and reminded on several occasions like monthly recollections, rectors’ meetings, spiritual retreats and so on; ③ the POI must be shared with our collaborators.
A time of free talking about relevant problems of the province proved to be very useful.
Discussions are now going on to complete the 6 years provincial project and come out with not so many, but good resolutions.
God bless this provincial chapter and help the confreres to implement it.
