PC Report

REPORT FROM THE PROVINCIAL COUNCIL
January 2008

As our communities turn their attention to elections, we pray that those approached to serve will recognize how important service is within our communities. Without our councils, meetings would not be so organized… discernments would not happen… retreats wouldn’t happen… and all sorts of important things would not happen! But they do because the council looks after the “spiritual growth and well-being of the community” (Sec. XVI.8). We’ve sometimes heard people say “but I’m not worthy to be a council member”. It’s not about worthiness. Anyone who’s ever served on a council knows that it’s not about prestige, it’s about service and often involves some hard work. After all, discernment is hard work and certainly not easy when a council has to tell someone that they do not have the vocation. So…don’t worry about whether you are worthy or not… if someone has nominated you, then you are more than worthy to serve!

With that in mind, we’d like to take this opportunity before they roll out of office to thank all our council members of the past three years for their dedicated service to their communities. We know some of our councils have had some pretty difficult situations to deal with in this triennium and we really appreciate everyone’s efforts in resolving them.

Speaking of elections, we were a bit disappointed in how few nominations we received for the Provincial Council elections. We received six nominations and after some discernment on the part of the nominees, ended up with only three candidates to fill the three open slots. So, we petitioned Fr. Provincial for postulation to appoint these three candidates since there seemed no reason to hold elections. We certainly hope that in three years, more people will be nominated for the Provincial Council and able to serve.

There was only one visitation in the past few months. Pascal visited the Conyers, GA community and some of us are a touch envious that he got to say at the Cistercian monastery. In January, Elizabeth is scheduled to visit one of our Houston communities. Gerald is still trying to get to Topeka and with that, we will have visited all the communities in our province over the past three years. What an accomplishment! As you will remember, our Provincial Delegate, Fr. John Michael, was only able to visit a few communities each year so many of our communities had not had a formal visitation in many, many years. We have learned so much about our province in the course of these visitations. You’ve seen some of what we’ve learned in the various “special issues” of the Flos Carmeli where we’ve focused on a particular topic. If you check our provincial website, we’ve posted all sorts of stuff that we’ve come across that we felt would be helpful in light of what we’ve learned. The best part has been the opportunity to meet so many wonderful people. We wax a bit eloquently about this since soon Amelia, Gerald, and Pascal will complete their term of service on the Provincial Council… but not until the end of May… so we do still have some work for them to do. Do not think that having visited all our communities at least once in the past three years, we’re done… we are not… the Provincial Council will continue to visit all our communities at least once every three years as part of our service to the province. Not only is this helpful to our communities (or so we’ve been hearing!) but it is also helpful to us for having a good feel for the people we serve.

Finally, we ask that you do hold all our communities and our friars and nuns in prayer as everyone holds elections this spring. The friars will be holding their Provincial Chapter in San Antonio on May 26-June 6. The OCDS Provincial Council with its new members will have their annual meeting over the weekend of May 31 and meet with the chapter friars on Tuesday, June 3rd.

Provincial Council:
Pascal Alfano, Gerald Alford, Elizabeth Korves, Nancy Thompson, and Amelia Wilken

Elections

Pre-election survey of ability to serve

This form is provided to inform nominating committees of members' willingness and ability to serve in the upcoming triennium.

Name: _______________

In order to facilitate the election process, we ask that you review and consider any position or positions that you would be willing to serve in during the 2008-2011 term. The Nominating Committee will then have information to help them develop the slate of candidates for the new Council, as well as an aid for the new council in assigning the other positions.

Please review Section III of the Statutes, "Community Elections," prior to the Elections.

After reviewing the following, please circle any positions you would be willing to serve in.

PRESIDENT
The President, elected from among those who have made final promises, has the duty to convoke and preside over the meetings of the community. He should show fraternal service to all the members of the community; foster a spirit of Christian and Carmelite affability, being careful to avoid any demonstration of preference for some members over others; coordinate contacts with those members of the community who because of age, illness, distance or other reasons, are not able to attend meetings; aid the Director of Formation and Spiritual Assistant in carrying out their responsibilities; in their absence, but only temporarily, he may take their place or designate another to do so from among those who have made definitive promises.

COUNCILORS
The responsibility of the three Councilors is to form with the President, the government of the community and to support the Director of Formation. Generally they are community members with definitive promises. In particular circumstances, members with first promises can serve as councilors.

The new council elects the following positions:

DIRECTOR OF FORMATION
Elected by the Council from among those who have made definitive promises, and has the responsibility of preparing the candidates for first and definitive promises. The Director works in collaboration with the Assistant and with the support of the President. In the absence of the President, the Director of Formation is his substitute for any function.

SECRETARY
Keeps up to date the register of the community, recording the elections, admissions, Promises and dismissals. The Secretary is to present the register to the Council when it meets and to the community at the time of the elections. The Secretary attends the Council meetings and records the minutes of the meeting, without the right to vote.

TREASURER
Takes charge of the administration of the funds of the community. The Treasurer is to present a report of the funds to the Council every six months, to the community and the Provincial, or Superior of the Circumscription, once a year. The local statutes are to determine how the community attends to the needs of the poor.

INFIRMARIAN
Maintain phone contact with someone who is ill, sends cards to our sick members, if someone is in the hospital, if possible visits them, sends flowers if approved by the Council. All information regarding sick members should be report to the Infirmarian.

FACILITATORS OF ASPIRANTS, OF 2-YEAR GROUP (CLOTHED), OF 3-YEAR GROUP (PROFESSED), OF DEFINITIVELY PROFESSED GROUP

From the Provincial Council, concerning upcoming elections

Outgoing councils encouraged to orient new councilors

A reminder that councils leaving office are asked to consider how to orient new council members to their duties. Newly elected members will need to know about current concerns of the council and might need training on certain council tasks, such as discernment. A rule of thumb: outgoing councilors should think back to their early days on the council, remembering areas they found confusing. These are the areas that will require orientation for the new councilors.


Preparing for elections

The Provincial Council encourages communities to review, prior to community elections, the following documents: the Constitutions, Articles 37-53, and the Provincial Statutes, Sections III and XVI.

Community members should also reflect on such questions as,

What are the current needs of the community?
Who on the ballot would be the best person to meet those needs?
Who has the gifts that will best serve this community over the next three years?

Communities are reminded that community elections are not popularity contests, about whom we like best. Rather, they are about who can best serve the needs of the community..

--OCDS Provincial Council

An Election Thought

A willingness to give of self in service to the community by accepting leadership roles is a way of putting into practice the three Evangelical Counsels: as an act of chaste love for fellow members, an act of self-emptying for the sake of the good of the community and as an expression of obedience in response to the needs of the community.

- Gerald Alford, O.C.D.S., provincial councilor

Elections are Coming

Provincial Council elections are approaching next Spring. We have asked all our canonical communities to nominate someone (deadline is June 1) With that in mind, we thought it might be good to hear some comments from current Provincial Councilors:

Amelia H. Wilken, ocds

"When I was asked to be on the Provincial Council, I did not know what it would involve. I was first aware of the Provincial Council when the new Constitutions were sent to all the communities for suggestions/corrections.

One day I received an email from Fr. John Michael asking if I would consider serving on the Provincial Council. My first reaction was that it is an honor to be asked! Then - reality set in. and I asked myself, "What will this involve?" I thought of our Blessed Mother, how she accepted what the Angel told her and trusted that I could do the same.

I'm not sure how to say this, but being human, we always want to see what benefit there is for me? I know serving the Province is a noble cause but that's not all! It's different going to Congresses and meeting everyone since it is just one time, but when making a visitation, you get to know them and be bonded with them. It is always a great feeling at visitation to be able to encourage, support and help communities grow in their Carmelite charism.

Another aspect is helping those people interested in Carmel but not close to a community who have to be an Isolate. One of my jobs on the Provincial Council has been to assign them to communities and it's great when they are happy with the outcome. I will not be telling the truth if I said all is dandy. Yes, there are bumps/trials along the way, but you are not alone because of the other members of the Provincial Council helping, but most of all, you learn to trust the Lord. This is very Carmel.

I recommend when asked to serve, please pray and accept the offer. Find out for yourself what God's plan is for you in Carmel.

Pascal Alfano, Jr., ocds
Who Me? A Provincial Council Member!!

God, in His overwhelming wisdom, reaches out to those not necessarily looked upon very highly by the world, and calls them to His service for the salvation of souls. We saw this in the selection of the apostles. After all, we are not serving on our own, but Christ is using us as His instruments. He is the one who is leading us. Trust in God is what is asked of us in fulfilling His command.

What do we look for in choosing someone to serve on the provincial council? First, we go to our room and pray to the Holy Spirit to inspire our minds and hearts. The person that may come to mind may be a member who has shown his or her love for the Carmelite life and has demonstrated this by their life of love for God and their relationship with their fellow members in their service to the secular order. We can recognize this in their lives by looking into their eyes and hearts and seeing the love, kindness, interest and brotherly affection they project.

What are the duties of a provincial council member? First, he or she must be open-minded, humble and not strong-willed. They must be someone who is people oriented. Whether they are employed, retired or homemakers, they must have the time, effort and ability to serve on the council. The first council has members who are full-time employees, retirees and part-time workers. The person must be able to use a personal computer due to the fact that most of the correspondence is done by email and on websites.

There is an annual meeting of all members, the secretary and the provincial delegate. This gathering lasts for about three to five days including traveling time. It is usually held in Little Rock at Marylake or in Dallas at the Mt. Carmel Center. These facilities are capable of housing and feeding the members. This period may also include a day of recollection. At no time is any financial expense expected of the council members. The cost is absorbed by the provincial fund. These meetings have produced results in drawing up the Provincial Statutes for our province and visitation rights granted to us by Fr. Ralph Reyes, Provincial of the order at that time. We have developed workshops in New Orleans and Dallas to prepare our members to function in accordance with our Constitutions, Statutes and the formation programs developed by the Provincial Council to be used by all chapters. A website was established to assist all in their many needs and questions about the secular order, how it functions and where books and information material may be acquired. The Provincial Council studies ways to improve on the duties, material and challenges of our chapters and study groups. Any chapter having problems should present them to the Provincial Council if the Local Council is unable to resolve them. Charity among our members must prevail.

Each member is asked to make four to six visitations of chapters or study groups per year. They have an option to present a conference to the group if asked to do so. What a joy it is to meet so many fellow Carmelites seculars in other cities and share in their love and commitment. The Provincial Council assigns all isolated members to chapters. It maintains a record of the status of all isolates. When study group members are prepared to make their promises, a discernment letter is submitted to the Local Council and then to the Provincial Council for approval. We also work with our study groups to help them make progress towards eventual canonical establishment.

The Provincial Council members have a great time being with each other, sharing ideas and experiences and just being down home brothers and sisters. What an honor it is to be nominated to the Provincial Council. God will bless you abundantly. The term of service for each council member is six years. The terms are staggered in such a way that every three years a batch of new comers will join with those who have at least three years of experience on the council.

The "Who Me" may be You. Remember always, not my will but God's will be done.

Provincial Council report

REPORT FROM THE PROVINCIAL COUNCIL
April 2007

The beginning of the year has been a slow time in general for the Provincial Council. We’ve been making arrangements for this year’s visitations as well as finally finding a date for all of us for our annual meeting. This took awhile because certain members (we’ll not name names) wanted to avoid having our meeting on their upcoming 70th birthday. If we didn’t know that their families will make a big deal about it, we’d think they were avoiding such an important event worthy of great celebration.

Only a couple of visitations have happened during this quarter. Elizabeth visited New Iberia, LA where the council offered to find her a husband. She politely declined. Pascal visited our Madison, AL study group.

We’ve also started the process for the first Provincial Council elections. Per Sec. XX of our Provincial Statutes, canonical communities are allowed to nominate one candidate. We’ve sent letters to all our canonical communities asking for nominations. Deadlines for the nominations are June 1 which will allow the Provincial Council to consider the nominees during our annual meeting. We will narrow down the candidates to five and contact each one with information about what is involved in this important service to our province. Ballots for the actual election will be mailed out at the beginning of December. In anticipation of all the elections in spring, we plan to focus the fall issue of the Flos Carmeli on leadership and election issues.

All this election business necessitated some discernment on the part of the current Provincial Council regarding who would like to step down next year and who are willing to continue serving until the 2011 elections as we start staggering the terms. Pascal, Gerald, and Amelia have all decided to step down and return to fully enjoying the life of the retired. Nancy and Elizabeth have agreed to continue serving (we note for those who might be asked to consider being nominated that Nancy and Elizabeth do both work full time jobs, so it is possible to serve on the Provincial Council without yet being retired). It is with some bitter-sweetness that we look forward to our meeting this year as we realize this will be our last time together as a Provincial Council since our 2008 meeting will be with the three new members. But it’ll be another year yet before we bid these three farewell from their service and in the meantime, we’ll have plenty of work for them.

Oh, and we should mention by way of preparing everyone that we promised Fr. John Michael that we would allow him to retire at the end of this triennium. So, we’re putting our minds towards discerning which friar we might recommend to be our new Provincial Delegate starting next year. The final decision rests with Father Provincial but last time he did ask for our input. So if you would like to recommend any of the friars, do feel free to contact any member of the Provincial Council with your thoughts. Fr. John Michael hopes to then be able to devote more attention to his duties as provincial archivist and write a history of the province.

Finally, Linda Klotz of our New Orleans, LA community has been asked to serve as one of our representatives to the OCDS National Council. She replaces Nancy who has served her three year term and now rotates off. This is the final year of Elizabeth’s term on the National Council (she’ll be replaced by whoever assumes the role of Provincial Council president next year) and Paul Shubert of our Mobile, AL study group has two more years in his term. The next OCDS National Council meeting will take place immediately before the Seattle Congress.

Provincial Council:
Pascal Alfano, Gerald Alford, Elizabeth Korves, Nancy Thompson, and Amelia Wilken