Convocation 2022 – Communion, Participation, Mission
After a four-year hiatus – an extra year thrown in because of Covid 19 restrictions – OMI Lacombe Canada once again gathered for our triennial Convocation. Already, on Saturday, May 28, the preparation team, ably organized by Isabelle Gigault had been hard at work assembling participant packages, ensuring sound and lighting were properly set up, purchasing snacks, and attending to a myriad of other last-minute tasks. Of course, work had been begun months earlier as Isabelle Gigault, Ken Thorson, Jaroslaw Pachocki, Sandra Prather, Fr. John Renken and facilitators Peter Bisson SJ and Laurence Loubières xmcj planned a process that was respectful of our Province’s history and personnel. They were aided by Leszek Kwiatkowski, Laurel Lutes, Serena Shaw who planned the liturgies and the Logistics Committee of Dan Dionne, Monique Cloutier, Dan Friedt, and Isabelle Gigault.
On Monday afternoon, participants began registering in the lobby of the St. Albert Inn. There was a palpable sense of excitement and joy as Oblates and Associates greeted one another, shaking hands, and giving hugs for the first time in years. It was a powerful reminder that as helpful as Zoom had been during the pandemic, nothing measures up to being together in person! Not surprisingly, after four years, one noticed the slower walk, the greyer hairs, the searching for names and, especially, the absence of the many who passed away since our last gathering. Registration flowed into our evening meal, followed by the opening remarks by Ken Thorson, who welcomed Oblates and Associates as did Archbishop Richard Smith of the Edmonton Archdiocese. Rod Alexis, the former chief of the Alexis Sioux Band welcomed people to Treaty Six Territory and Harry Lafond lead us in the opening prayer. And then, we got down to doing what Oblates and Associates do best – spending time together in animated joyful conversation.
Fr. Ken Thorson, OMI
Archbishop Richard Smith – Archdiocese of Edmonton
Rod Alexis, Former Chief of the Alexis Sioux Band
Harry Lafond – Muskeg Lake Cree Nation
Tuesday was the commencement of our real work. Using the preparation material sent to participants earlier, we had a prayerful conversation based on John 1:38 “What are you looking for?” We were invited to share in our small groups what we had come looking for, how we felt moved to respond, what feelings were aroused in us, what our hopes were, and what concerns or fears we might carry. To anyone who has taken an Ignatian retreat, the process would be very familiar. Afterwards, we gathered and shared with open hearts what our experience had been. For the afternoon session, we were invited, through a series of reflection questions, to loo k at the significant moments in our history – as OMI Lacombe Canada, but also extending back to the beginning of our history in Canada. After time in small groups, we gathered and, again, had the opportunity to share thoughts and reflections. Oblates spoke of times of joy, but there were many painful experiences raised as well. It’s hard to speak of our history without acknowledging the part we played in residential schools, the dearth of vocations and the reality of our diminishment.
After the Oblates spoke, Harry Lafond was invited to respond to the group. He acknowledged the deep sense of sadness he felt in the room and said, “You remind me of the people of Muskeg Lake.” He elucidated his statement by describing how at one time the people of Muskeg Lake felt lost and social dysfunction gripped the community; however, through a concerted effort of reconnecting with their past, with their heritage, they gradually came to celebrate who they are. He invited us to reflect and reconnect with our charism, with our foundational documents and to celebrate the good we have done. It was a sympathetic and affirming response to the despondency which he undoubtedly sensed in what had been earlier shared.
After a joyful Eucharist, during which Ken Thorson related the gospel account of Mary visiting Elizabeth to our own journey as Oblates, we gathered for supper and then, once again, got down to spending time catching up with one another during an evening social.
Convocations are somewhat like Christmas … we spend months looking forward to the opportunity to reconnect with one another and then, suddenly, the day is here … inevitably, the time passes too quickly. Already, the first day of our journey together has ended; we look forward to the next three in anticipation of being led by the Spirit to places we had not dared dream about.
By Harley Mapes, OMI
