Assembly 2007 - Bangalore

Day 6 - 19 November

Day six began with prayer led by the Sisters from the United States of America. The Sisters from Latin America shared their symbol.

The task of the day was to listen to the desires of our own hearts and the wisdom of one another in deciding the directions that need to come forth from this Assembly.

In the afternoon, the Sisters from Papua New Guinea led the Assembly in prayer. They then presented their country’s symbol, as did Zambia.

A number of participants were missioned to do preparatory work or synthesizing work for tomorrow.

Reflections by Participants:

Maria Lazzaro, Victoria, Australia: “Our prayer this morning, led by our Sisters from the North American Conference, opened our hearts for the work of this day. The stories included in the prayer brought to our attention the impact of unjust trade practices on the lives of people in many parts of the globe. We owned our own betrayal of those people in the ways we have failed to create and live in just community the entire human family. As we moved into reflection and conversations with one another, we engaged in deep listening, hearing our passion and heart’s call for the earth and its people. Many voices, one song!”
                                   
Dorothy Scesny, New Windsor, United States: “A magnificent sunrise and the melody of a variety of singing birds were the backdrop for this morning’s call to worship. The mystical chant VANDHANA “Praise you Lord, I worship you Lord.” This chant prepared our hearts to hear the word and break the Bread at morning liturgy. The Sisters from the Conference shared morning prayer which called us to hear and respond to the cry of those in need. This prayer was the perfect introduction to our talk of the morning: Do we affirm the need to choose and act upon a single global issue for all members of IPA? The decision was unanimous so we set ourselves to the task of discerning the issue. The process entailed the simple method of sitting in a circle and prayerfully listening to each other. This listening circle was a powerful experience of the “holy” among us.

The afternoon flowed out of the prayerful atmosphere of the listening circle as we continued to seek out our response to the cry of the Earth and the cry of the Poor. My heart rejoices deep within me, for I have seen and touched the face of Nano in each Sister here!”

Suzanne Takes, Bolivia, Latin America: “The gathering prayer this morning set the tone for today as we listened to the voices of those made poor by unjust structures and excessive wealth.
The APLA group while presenting their symbols compared the process of the weaving of the basket by the Guarani women in Bolivia to the spiral effect of the Latin American women’s groups, APLA and IPA uniting in solidarity and making their voices heard.

Our sharing about our hopes for the Assembly outcome was encouraging as we heard different voices with the same message of mutuality and reverence for all peoples and mother earth. During the Listening Circle we heard and pondered our collective wisdom, the Spirit’s wisdom that will lead us to take our next steps together.”

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