Following reflection on the DVD titled "Together and By Association" the International Council of Young Lasallians believes that there are some key issues facing the Institute in the coming years, which require the attention of all Lasallians.

As Young Lasallians we recognize the unfortunate decrease in vocation to the Brotherhood, leading us to believe that the Brothers may be a minority in the future. This reality calls us to transform our ideas of Lasallian community to include new models that are more inclusive for associates and youth while we continue to nurture the existing relationships between Brothers, lay, associates and youth. We see that all members of the Lasallian family are called to share the Lasallian charism as we continue to look for new ways to be in a more global community as a Lasallian family.

It is a growing challenge to continually model the Lasallian behavior and values that we attempt to inspire in others, as society reflects a growing skepticism toward devotion to religion, vowed religious life and a dedication to serving the economically poor. We understand that youth are looking for support and acceptance not only from the Lasallian family, but also from their churches as they attempt to counter society's expectations for them.

As a community we struggle with the different emphasis each individual Lasallian places upon faith, service and community because of the communication problems this creates. At the same time we seek to learn how to die together as one, in order to be born together, that we may work as one for the Lasallian mission and the ideals of the founder. We are united in our common effort to find balance between faith, service and community in all of our personal works.

We see that the Lasallian family is faced with the growing needs of the youth and the poor in our ever-changing societies, but is also coming up with many new and innovative ideas to meet those needs. It is essential that we continue creating and proposing new ideas, especially for student experiences. De LaSalle provided an innovative response to the world around him and never stopped reacting with creativity to the situations that presented themselves. Despite the ever-increasing funds and bureaucracy needed to maintain good schools, we see the necessity of the continued work of bringing meaning to the lives of the young by touching their hearts and teaching their minds.

As youth, we see the changing forms of poverty, which no longer include only the economically poor. We encourage the formation of youth through strong experiences of service rather than relying solely on classroom education and we recognize the challenges that modern consumerism has created regarding the effort to teach youth about the realities of poverty.

We feel called to create and give hope to those most in need by allowing those we serve to become the protagonists. We understand that we do not decide the needs of the poor, but instead must be willing to approach them, and then we must be willing to allow them to make their needs evident to us in their own time and their own way.

We recognize that lay and youth can have different experiences of service and community than Brothers do, but that they are equally called to be active participants in the mission. We realize the importance of this statement and its implications and thus choose to challenge one another to be more proactive in both our work and our relationships.
^(ICYL)

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