KHARTOUM – SUDAN – VISIT OF SUPERIOR GENERAL: I was fascinated by my visit to Sudan which was for me a deeply religious experience. Three years ago the District of the Mideast opened a community in Khartoum, Sudan, thus beginning the Lasallian adventure in a new country for us thanks to the preparation made over the course of several years by Brother Michel Fleury. Today we have four Brothers there, each from a different country, living signs of the internationality of our mission: Yves from France who spent many years in Egypt, Jerome from the LI-NE District who had missionary experience in Kenya and Tanzania, Joseph our only Sudanese Brother, and Hossam, a young Brother from Egypt. Two Brothers work at the Archdiocesan school, Saint Augustine College, and two respond to the needs of students from the small parish schools. These schools are very poor and they are made out of adobe bricks. These Brothers also mentor the teachers there and they offer encouragement to the catechists who embrace a deep and moving faith.

There are catechists who are true witnesses of the faith, as well as young, native volunteers who give up their free days to help the Brothers in various formation and child centers. In one of the centers a catechist told us that the Brothers were true shepherds for him and that he felt a certain distance from the priest and that the most important thing for him was that the children not only learn doctrine but that they are aided in embracing their faith. All of this, such as the suffering and poverty of the people, had a deep impact on my heart. The spirit of the community is very fraternal and community prayer is very well prepared and participatory. The Brothers also direct a language center, known as CLIK (Arabic and English).

There is a wonderful relationship with other native religious and priests and the Brothers have a wonderful ability to attract people. I gave a talk to some 40 men and women religious about the enchantment of consecrated life and another day I met with representatives of the various communities. The main problem is a mentality of a "temporary nature" because the majority of the displaced persons who arrived after the peace accord want to return to the South since they do not "fit in" in the North. All in all, they are people who have suffered a great deal but they would like to overcome this and get on with their lives. As I was thinking about the Beatitudes as recorded in Luke for the sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time, the Scripture proposed to us for that time, I thought about the Christian people of Sudan and that some day they will rejoice in the Kingdom, have something to eat, cease mourning, and stop being persecuted.

The Institute has accepted the role as coordinator for the educational portion of the project put forward by the two Unions of Superiors General, which has to do with opening an inter-congregational center for teacher training and for health workers in the southern part of the country which is recovering little by little after the war.
^{(Brother Álvaro Rodríguez Echeverría)}

PORTO ALEGRE - BRAZIL - INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF LASALLIAN UNIVERSITIES: The International Association of Lasallian Universities (IALU) held Encuentro VIII in Porto Alegre, Brazil, January 8-12, 2007, the date of which coincided with the 100th anniversary of the arrival of the Christian Brothers to Brazil. The main theme of Encuentro VIII was “The Mission of Lasallian Higher Education.” Brother Ronald Gallagher, IALU Regional Director; Brother Ivan José Migliorini, Rector of Centro Universitário La Salle-Unilasalle-Canoas/RS; Brother Marcos Antonio Corbellini, President Director of the Lasallian Province in Porto Alegre; and Brother Paulo Petry, President Director of the Lasallian Province in São Paulo warmly welcomed fifty-two (52) participants from Lasallian universities worldwide to the conference.

Major presentations were given by the Superior General Brother Álvaro Rodríguez Echeverría; the International Secretary for Lasallian Educational Mission Brother Frederick Mueller; Brother Manuel Pajarillo, President of De La Salle Lipa in the Philippines; Mr. Josep Piqué Huerta, Enginyeria i Arquitectura, La Salle, Barcelona; Ms. María del Carmen de Urquijo Carmona, Universidad La Salle-Mexico; and Brother Marcos Antonio Corbellini. Two panel discussions also took place. Panelists who addressed the theme of “The Mission of Lasallian Higher Education and Social Responsibility” included Brother Óscar Azmitia, President of ESEDIR/PRODESSA, Guatemala; Brother Raúl Valadez García, President of Universidad La Salle Nezahualcóyotl; Brother Ronald Gallagher, President of Saint Mary’s College of California; and Mr. Philippe Choquet, President of Institut Ploytechnique LA SALLE BEAUVAIS. A panel of Brazilian professors from Centro Universitário La Salle-Unilasalle-Canoas/RS also spoke on the theme of “Brazilian Social, Cultural and Political Realities.” Copies of their talks with translations will be available mid March 2007 on the Encuentro VIII Web site: http://www.unilasalle.edu.br/encontrointernacional/index.php

During the General Assembly Brother Ronald Gallagher was unanimously elected President of IALU. The Regional Directors for IALU were elected by their representative groups and include Brother Antonio Cantelli (South America/Central America), Brother Armin Luistro (Philippines/Asia), Brother Ambrosio Luna (Mexico), Brother Michael McGinniss (USA/English-speaking Africa/Bethlehem), and Mr. Philippe Choquet (Europe/French-speaking Africa). Dr. Joan Landeros was elected to the Executive Committee as a member-at-large and David Ford will continue as Executive Secretary to the association.

Appreciation and thanks were extended to the Organizing Committee and staff of Centro Universitário La Salle – UNILSALLE, de Canoas/RS and the Province of Porto Alegre for their extraordinary hospitality and tremendous efforts to plan, organize and carry out such a successful event.

Thirty-one (31) of the participants enjoyed a post-Encuentro excursion to Rio de Janeiro for several days and were kindly met with the generous hospitality of Brother Ignácio Lúcio Weschenfelder and his staff from Institutos Superiores La Salle – UNILASALLE – Niterói/RJ. ^{(David R. Ford - IALU Secretariat)}

BETHLEHEM - PALESTINE - PILOT PROGRAM IN INTER-RELIGIOUS DIALOGUE AT BETHLEHEM UNIVERSITY: On 27 and 28 December 2006 nine Bethlehem University students, 6 Muslim and 3 Christian, participated in a program of inter-religious dialogue organized by Dr. Inge Tiemann, Guest Lecturer from the German Association for Development Cooperation and Brother Peter Iorlano, Coordinator of Institutional Values. The program was conducted here in Bethlehem at Mary’s House, the convent of the Sisters of St. Bridgette.

The warm hospitality of the Bridgettine Sisters set the tone for our program.
The program consisted of: several fun and thought-provoking ice-breakers to help students get to know a little about each other; small and full group discussions about such topics as encouraging and difficult experiences they may have had with people from religions other than their own, what is means to them to be a Christian or a Muslim, what they have in common and what makes them different, and their favorite verses from their respective holy books.
Clearly this was a learning experience for all involved. We recognized the diversity of understanding and expression in each religion, i.e. not every person who calls him or herself Christian or Muslim gives the same emphasis on the same religious items like others in their religion may do.

We discovered that while we don’t see things exactly the same way, there are common values and beliefs in the two religions, e.g. the One God who is compassionate and just, the reverence given to Jesus and the esteem for his mother, Mary. We became more aware of how talking about our religions in the face of the other touches deeply on our identity and can be very sensitive; that our religious expression can be more cultural then spiritual. By the end, each participant recognized misconceptions they have about the other religion and their need to learn more about their own and the other religion in order to have serious and intelligent conversation.

The students and facilitators agreed that there is need for further conversation and that follow-up experiences that would include more participants would be helpful. Each one made a commitment to personally engage others in inter-religious conversation and to help organize a follow-up to this experience.
^{(Samer Hanania – PR-Development officers)}

ESOPUS – UNITED-STATES - LASALLIAN VOLUNTEERS ENJOY MID-YEAR GATHERING: On Martin Luther King Jr. weekend, the Lasallian Volunteers gathered together in Esopus NY for their mid-year retreat. The location of this Marist retreat house was great and the spirit of the place was very welcoming. There was plenty of room to reflect and play; to sleep, eat and pray. The hosts were quite gracious, preparing homemade meals during the three days.

The main focus of the weekend centered on the sharing of experiences from the first half of the school year. It was a time to enjoy the company of one another, to share prayer, and to hold discussions on various topics throughout the weekend. The schedule was well-balanced in that it allowed the Volunteers a significant amount of free time to help rejuvenate themselves for the rest of the year. Some caught up on sleep; some did added discerning about the future; and all enjoyed the socializing and fun time together.
Keeping in mind that half of the year had already flown by, room was also made in the schedule to discuss plans for next year.

These groups included returning as a Volunteer and applying to graduate school. Many Volunteers had not yet made up their minds for next year, but the LV staff showed great support in helping the Volunteers sort through their options.

We are grateful to Adriana Rodriguez (Volunteer at Martin de Porres School) for her review of the weekend. She has ended her reflection by saying, "Overall, it was a wonderful weekend that came and went too quickly. We were able to get our business taken care of, received vital information, shared funny stories, exchanged classroom strategies, and still had plenty of time to enjoy the company of one another. In my opinion, it was exactly what a LV midyear retreat was meant to be."
^{(News - www.cbline.org)}

PASADENA – UNITED-STATES - PATRICK BONACCI AND ROBERT GARDNER ARE AFFILIATED CHRISTIAN BROTHERS: The Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools has given its highest honor to two members of the District of San Francisco: Patrick Bonacci of La Salle High School in Pasadena and Robert M Gardner of Saint Mary’s College of California in Moraga, naming them “affiliated members” of the Institute and entitling them to the letters “AFSC” after their names.

Affiliation ceremonies for Pat Bonacci were held at La Salle High School in Pasadena on November 18. For the full story, and photographs, visit the La Salle High School, Pasadena, web site www.lasallehs.org and click on NEWS & EVENTS. Robert Gardner, our District’s other new honoree, is a veteran teacher in the Collegiate Seminar Program and other programs in the School of Liberal Arts at Saint Mary’s College of California in Moraga.
^{(News – District of San Francisco)}

BEYROUTH - LIBAN - NEW WEB SITE OF THE DISTRICT OF MIDDLE-EAST:

Dear Brothers and Friends,

I'm glad to announce the new website of the district of Middle-East. Thanks to M. Elie Austa and M. Johnny Zraibi for their generous help.

(Brother Georges Absi - Visitors)

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