On September 2011, our community had a visit from Dorothy Mansen from Provincial Council. Our community also finalized the 2011 study of the Way of Perfection by St. Teresa of Avila.
Dorothy made a presentation to us on Leadership in Your Community. She began with “There is always a call for leadership…” She talked about the meaning of leadership, what is called for in members, and the growth of a community experienced through good leadership; that is servant leadership. Dorothy spoke about the formation of good leaders, training formation leaders to discuss service leadership skills, and some of the reasons people have been unwilling to serve. Dorothy said, “It is important that all members contribute in some way to the Carmelite life in Community.” She ended her talk with a quote from Jean Vanier’s book, Community and Growth, “It is Him that we serve when we serve others.”
Maron, our formation director, introduced The Way of Perfection project we would be discussing in our general formation today. Maron showed the new board to the community. Each member provided a quote from St. Teresa’s Way of Perfection which he found most transformational (or simply made his life better) and a picture of him or herself to be placed on the study group board. Each member shared his quote and what it meant to his life.
