The Province together with the Australian Province sponsored a meeting for 8 young Marists at Whangaparoa from Sunday 15 to Saturday 21 February. The meeting was for two members of each of the provinces of Australia, Oceania and New Zealand and two from the Philippines District.The initiative came from the MAP (Marist Asia Pacific) meeting held in Sydney last year. It was suggested that with smaller numbers particularly in the units other than Oceania it was difficult for younger Marists to establish a peer group for sharing and support. So the Young Marists Gathering hoped to provide an opportunity for each of those attending to just “hang out” with a group of Marists at the same stage of progress, more or less. And as well maybe to gain some experience of what Marist life had been like for each of the others and to together share “war stories” and something of their personal experience as a Marist in formation and soon after that time.
Tim Duckworth organised and facilitated the meeting. It began on Sunday with the men from the Philippines arriving via Hong Kong and the two from Oceania arriving from Vanuatu. Kevin Redmond had already arrived from Sydney and Oscar Ichiba from Japan had arrived earlier too. It was hoped that each of the participants from overseas might also get a chance to see some of the country either before or after. Frank Bird arrived back fresh from the Marist Vocations Pilgrimage and Matt Crawford while he would like to claim he arrived from Mexico for the meeting actually was already back at Marist Seminary in Auckland.
Some in the group were known to each other. Oscar had been at Novitiate at Maryknoll under Dave Kennerley’s tutelage. Kevin had done much of his formation in Auckland, Denis Revi and Cornelius Giris had three years in New Zealand at Marist Seminary and Frank and Matt had been with them there. For the men from the Philippines it was an entirely new experience but having lived with and been formed by Kiwis all their Marist life they did not find it that daunting.
The programme consisted each day in an outside speaker coming to work with the group from 9.00 am till lunch at about 1.00 pm – the rest of the day was free for more informal work together, and some well deserved rest and recreation. Those who had travelled a large distance enjoyed the chance to catch a few missed hours sleep on the first day too.
It’s hard to judge the success of a project such as this. Its aim, to provide opportunities, was certainly one that was taken up with relish by all the participants. I imagine the effects were appropriated more in quiet ways over time and perhaps not even until participants were well back at home some weeks later. Overall the programme will no doubt be evaluated at this year’s MAP meeting which is due to be held 9-11 June in Wellington. For the Kiwis involved it was a good opportunity to just be with others today about their age group and to get a feel for the internationality of the Society.
Lauro and Lionel from the Philippines got a chance to see some of the rest of the North Island and in particular to visit places like Greenmeadows and the Mission that so many times had been described to them but now they can picture for themselves. (Mind you the Philosophers’ Study was not quite a wine tasting place in the old days and the chapel was not carpeted and the meals while good were not quite up to the standards that they serve there today!) They stayed for a couple of days at St Mary of the Angels and Pat Devlin took them for the tour Napier way.
Denis and Cornelius spent some time with old mates too. Denis with Tim on holiday in the new rest house at Grantley Avenue and Corny with Dave Gledhill occasionally touching down in spots over the North Island.
Frank and Matt were straight back to work and are living in the hope that the next such meeting might be somewhere a little more exotic so that they can go exploring too.