International Association of Catholic Missiologists

Third Meeting of the IACM Executive Board

Pieniężno, Poland

30 August–1 September 2006

Were present:

William LaRousse, President
Eleazar Lopez, Vice-President
Bertrand Roy, Executive Secretary
Luisa Melo Leyton, Treasurer
Silvester Arinaitwe Rwomukubwe (Region of Africa)
Lazar Stanislaus (Region of Asia/Pacific)
Paul Steffen (Region of Europe)

Were excused:
Joaquin Garcia (Region of Latin America)
Nicanor Sarmiento T. (Region of North America)

The third meeting of the Executive Board of IACM was held at the SVD Seminary of Pieniężno, Poland, from August 30 to September 1, 2006. The first meeting had been held in Cochabamba, Bolivia (October 2-3, 2004) after the 2nd Plenary Assembly and the election of this Executive Board. The second meeting has been held in Rome, Italy (July 4-8, 2005).

This third meeting began on Wednesday morning, August 30, with words of welcome by the President. Reviewing the report of the meeting in Rome (2005), the Executive Board put up the agenda of this meeting. Many points of the agenda were discussed repetitively during the meeting and this report will focus mainly on the final decisions.

1. WHY IACM EXIST ?

The members of the Executive Board shared some thoughts about the objectives and the identity of the association. The following points have been mentionned:

The Executive Secretary will prepare an article to present the IACM (Why? Who? What has been done? What plan for the future?) and also to inform about the next Assembly in September 2007. This article will be put on our WEB site and should be proposed to the SEDOS Bulletin before the end of 2006.   

2. MEMBERSHIP

It is observed that many persons with degrees in missiology are not included in the list of IACM members. A list of possible members should be prepared, in particular from Central and Eastern Europe, considering that our next Assembly will be held in Poland. Fr. Andrzej Pietrzak could help us to prepare this list. The Executive Board shared thoughts about the services which could be offered and will motivate missiologists to join the association. To participate in a regional or national asso­ciation seems more practical and interesting. The relationship between the IACM and regional associations of missiologists should be improved and the IACM should discover its specific contribution in a network of missiological associations.
 
Concerning the members who have not paid their annual fees, a policy should be established by the next plenary Assembly. We need some kind of individual reminder (facture, personal letter).

3. IACM IN THE REGIONS

Information about each region was given by the regional representatives:

- Asia-Oceania: In India, the regional Assembly planned for 2006 could not be organized. IACM has been invited at the Asian Mission Congress in Thailand (October 18-22, 2006).

- Africa: There is the need to promote IACM in French-speaking Africa. Communication with people working in universities (ex. Kenya, Uganda, Nigeria) has been tried but few answers have been received.

- North America: The hypothesis of a workshop in 2006 didn’t materialize.

- Latin America: There was no meeting of the Latin American Association of Missiologists; there was communication among people involved in the research on “teologia indigena” (Congress in Manaus in 2006); the Mexican Association of Missiologists is involved in the preparation of CELAM V in Brazil (2007).

- Europe: The European Conference of Missiology (Paris, August 2006) was an opportunity to inform about IACM and to invite people to join the association; to involve a new generation of missiologists is urgent and the IACM Assembly in Poland will be an good opportunity.

The Executive Board began a reflection about the understanding of “regions” as the basic level of participation in the IACM. The regions are not necessarily “continental” and should be deli­mited according to common preoccupations, to what is helpful for regional needs.

4. MISSIOLOGICAL CONFERENCE AND THIRD PLENARY ASSEMBLY

In Cochabamba (2004), the Executive Board has decided that the next Assembly of IACM should be held in three years in order to be on a different schedule from IAMS Assembly which will take place in Budapest (Hungary) in 2008. In Rome (2005), the Executive Board has decided that this Assembly will be held in Poland in September 2007.

What type of Assembly?

Organizing Committee

The authorities of the SVD Polish province were contacted and they have accepted to sponsor this event. On August 31, Thursday morning, the Executive Board discussed the organization of the Missiolo­gical Conference and Plenary Assembly with Fr. Andrzej Pietrzak and Fr. Ludwik Fas. They will constitute the Local Committee with Fr. Ireneusz Piskorek, Provincial of the Polish SVD Province, who joined the meeting for a while on Thursday afternoon. The Rector of the SVD Seminary in Pieniężno, who met the Executive Board on Friday p.m. (September 1), will also be invited to join the Local Committee. The President will confirm the formation of this committee in an official letter.

For further communication, the contact persons will be Fr. Andrzej Pietrzak for the Local Committee, the President and the Executive Secretary for the Executive Board.

Venue / Schedule

The Missiological Conference and the Third General Assembly of the IACM will be held from August 28 to September 2, 2007 at the SVD Seminary in Pieniężno, Poland.

The Executive Board agreed on the following schedule which includes the trip from Warsaw to Pieniężno (Tuesday, August 28) and the trip from Pieniężno to Warsaw (Sunday, September 2):

The arrival at Warsaw will take place at the latest on Monday, August 27. The participants will spend the night in Warsaw so that all can leave together to Pierniężno on Tuesday morning. Travel reservations should be made accordingly.

This one-day trip (9:00-16:00) on Tuesday, August 28, will be a time of exposure (information on Poland and its history, visits of historical sites, etc.) under the guidance of the Local Committee. Upon their arrival at the SVD Seminary in Pieniężno, the participants will register (16:00-19:00).  Dinner will be at 19:00 and the opening celebration will be at 20:00.

The Missiological Conference will last three full days, from Wedneday, August 29, to Friday,  August 31, and the IACM Plenary Assembly will be held on Saturday, September 1.

On Sunday morning, September 2, the participants will travel together from Pieniężno to Warsaw. This one-day trip (9:00-16:00) will be a second opportunity for exposure (Sunday Eucharist with a local community, visit of historical sites, etc.). The participants will spend the Sunday night in Warsaw.

The departure from Warsaw (for home, for the optional tour or for any other destination) will take place at the earliest on Monday morning, September 3. Travel reservations should be made accordingly.

Participants

We expect 50-60 participants to Missiological Conference and IACM Plenary Assembly. This is a good opportunity to promote the participation of missiologists from Central and Eastern Europe and to invite them to join the association. We welcome the participation of students with the recomman­dation of their professor and we should ajust in consequence the cost of participation. A member of IAMS has been invited as an observer in the last IACM Assemblies in Rome (2000) and Cochabamba (2004).

The Executive Secretary will confirm the number of inscriptions to the Local Committee at the end of May 2007. The participants who must apply for a visa and need an invitation from the Provincial of the Polish SVD Province should communicate with Fr. Andrzej Pietrzak before March 31, 2007. Participants will be invited to bring their publications (possibility of a bookshop) and some photos (exposition).

Methodology of the Missiological Conference

The following theme has been chosen in Rome (2005):

“The word of God grew and multiplied” (Ac 12: 24) (King James)
Sharing the Good News in the Interaction of Cultures

“La palabra de Dios crecía y se propagaba” (Hch 12, 24) (Biblia de Jerusalén)
Compartir la Buena Noticia en la Interacción de la Culturas

“La parole de Dieu croissait et se multipliait” (Ac 12, 24) (Bible de Jérusalem)
Partager la Bonne Nouvelle dans l’interaction des cultures

The Executive Board in Pieniężno agreed on four sub-topics for the study of this theme:
- Migration
- Integral healing and reconciliation
- Cultural globalization and asserting identity
- Intercultural communication in the Church.

Reviewing the methodology elaborated in Rome, the Executive Board agreed on the following:

- After discussing many hypothesis for the keynote address at the openning of the conference, the Executive Board decided that it will be more appropriate (at the end of a day of traveling) to give an orientation on the theme and the methodology of the conference as a second part (30 min.) of the opening celebration. This orientation will be given by Lazar who is in charge of the methology of the conference.  

- Instead of five (5) main papers, there will be ten (10) continental presentations in order to promote a larger participation: Europe (2), Africa (2), Latin America (2), Asia (2), North America (1), Oceania (1).  The regional representatives will contact possible contributors for these continental presentations. We should contact first IACM members and we expect that these presentators will attend the conference from the beginning to the end. Some names were mentionned: Asia (Andrew Recepcion, Francis Vincent Anthony, somebody from Indonesia or Japan); Latin America (Gabriela Zengarini, a member of the Mexican Association of Missiologists); Africa (Laurent Mangasa from Tanzania, Leonard Santedi from Congo, Stuart Bate from South Africa, Bede Ukwuije from Nigeria); Europe (a missiologist of Warsaw or, if not, the bishop of Lublin; Michael Sievernich or, if not, Roman Malek); North America (Thomas Mooren); Oceania (Philip Gibbs who will be contacted by Lazar). Regional representatives will inform the President of the results of theses contacts (deadline: October 1).

- Continental presentations (5 000 words or 12-13 pages) will be given in plenary sessions (presentation: 30 min. + questions: 15 min.).  They will approach the general theme from a regional perspective, not necessarily according to the sub-topics intended for the group sessions where other contributions will be presented. The text of each continental presentation and a summary (500 words) should be sent for translation to the Executive Secretary (electronic version in Word by e-mail) for April 30, 2007. They should be sent to the Local Committee for printing at the latest for July 31, 2007.

- Each participant will be invited to prepare a contribution on the conference theme according to one of the sub-topics. These members’ papers (3 000 words or 7-8 pages) will be presented in group sessions (presentation: 15 min. + questions: 15 min.). Each group on a sub-topic will have nine members and will meet for three sessions (three presentations per session).

-  Hypothesis of a daily schedule:
   07:00   Eucharistic Celebration
   07:45   Breakfast
   09:00 Plenary Session (Two Continental Papers)
               Wednesday (Europe); Thursday (Latin America); Friday (N.-America and Oceania)
   10:30 Break
   11:00 Group Sessions (Members’ Papers)
   12:30 Varia (ex. info on IACM, on the Plenary Assembly, on the Study Groups)
   13:00 Lunch
   15:00 Plenary Session (Two Continental Papers)
               Wednesday (Africa); Thursday (Asia); Friday (Workshop/Discussion)
   16:30 Break
   17:00   Workshops
               Friday (Plenary Session – Synthesis)   
   18:30 Varia (ex. Info on IACM, on the Plenary Assembly, on the Study Groups)
   19:00 Dinner
   20:00 Varia (Wednesday: Executive Board Meeting; Thursday: Cultural Evening;
               Friday: Meetings by Study Groups or regions; Saturday: Cultural Evening/Farewell.   

- The process of the conference will be under the responsability of a steering committee (Lazar, Bill, a member of the Local Committee, a representative of the participants). This committee will designate the chairpersons for the plenary sessions. It will also proceed to the formation of a listening group in order to facilitate the synthesis at the end of the conference. The steering group will have a first meeting on Tuesday evening, August 28.

- IACM Third Plenary Assembly (Saturday, September 1). In the morning, the participants will share about their vision of IACM; its orientations for the next years; its activities at the regional level and the understanding of “continental” regions; the revitalization of the study groups. The afternoon will be dedicated to a business session (administration, fees, constitu­tional ajustments) and to the election of the Executive Board officers. The immediate planification of this Plenary Assembly (program, electoral process, etc.) will be at the agenda of a meeting of the Executive Board on Wednesday evening, August 29.

- Translation will be offered in English, Spanish and Polish as far as possible. The text of the continental presentations will be translated in English and Spanish (cf. Executive Secretary) and in Polish (cf. Local Committee) and, for this reason, should be submitted at the latest on April 30, 2007. A service of translation will be offered for the plenary sessions (with the help of the Local Committee for the technical installation). As we cannot hire professional translators, we will need to find voluntary translators, ex. SVD missionaries contacted by the Local Committee or participants at the conference (eventually with a reduction of the cost of their registra­tion/board and lodging).  Group sessions will be multilingual; the text of the members’papers could be printed if submitted to the Secretariat (in electronic copy) before June 30, 2007.  The workshops will be in linguistic groups.

- After consulting with the Local Committee, a first estimate of the cost per person would be: Registration (60.00 US$ / 30.00 US$ for students); Transportation / Board and Lodging in Pieniężno and Warsaw (150.00 US$); Optional Tour in the South of Poland (150.00 US$). This first estimate will be examined during the next weeks in consultation between the President and the Local Committee and a final decision will be taken at the end of October.

- Information about the Missiological Conference and the IACM Plenary Assembly will be given in the Newsletter and on the WEB site of IACM. A press release prepared by the Secretariat will be sent to Fides and to the Local Committee (for information in Poland). The proposal of the Local Committee to build a special WEB site for this event was received with enthousiasm by the Executive Board.

- Liturgy will be under the responsability of the Local Committee (with the help of a liturgical team). The cultural diversity of the participants as well as the location of this event in Poland should be considered in the preparation of the liturgy (readings, prayers of the faithful, songs, etc.). A small booklet of songs (ex. songs of Taizé, etc.) could be prepared. The local Bishop will be invited to preside the opening Eucharist Celebration on Wednesday morning, August 29. The Provincial of the Polish SVD Province will preside the Eucharist on Thursday, August 30, and the Presi­dent of IACM on Friday, 31 September.

- The opening celebration on Tuesday evening, August 28, will under the responsability of the Local Committee. The first part (30 min.) should have a worship character and will also include greetings by the President, the SVD Provincial and the local Bishop. The second part (30 min.) will be an orientation to the conference (theme, methodology) given by Lazar.

5. WEB SITE

The association needs its own WEB site and this project did not yet materialize. The Executive Secretary will try to begin its implementation before the end of 2006. It will be an important tool for the information about the Missiological Conference and Plenary Assembly in 2007. This site should be located on an independant server. An intranet is not necessary for the moment. The site will be in English, with a Spanish and eventually a French version. The name “iacmiss” is proposed for the address of this site.

6. IACM NEWSLETTER

The IACM Newsletter will be published four times before the next Plenary Assembly. It will be edited in English and Spanish by Bertrand. Lazar will e-mail it to the members.

October 1: A letter from Bill; presentation of the theme of the Missiological Conference by Lazar; a word from the treasurer (information already published in the last Newsletter); some information on the Missiological Conference and the Third Plenary Assembly by Bertrand.

December 1: Christmas & New Year greetings by Bill; presentation of the methodology of the Missiological Conference by Lazar; presentation of the Web site and some information on the Missiological Conference (costs, continental presentators, etc.) by Bertrand.

March 1, 2007: Letter of the President; info on the Assembly; info on the Study Groups; etc..

June 1, 2007: Letter of the President; info on the Assembly; info on the Study Groups; etc.

7. PUBLICATION (COCHABAMBA 2004)

The papers presented in the scientific session of the Second General Assembly of the IACM, held in Cochabamba, Bolivia (September 30-October 3, 2004) have been published. Cf. L.Stanislaus SVD and John F. Gorski MM, (eds.), Sharing Diversity in Missiological Research and Education, New Delhi: Ishvani Kendra / ISPCK, 2006, 255 pp; ISBN 81-7214-924-7. Price: $15 (including postage). Copies can ordered to Fr.Lazar Stanislaus, SVD, Director, Ishvani Kendra, P.Box 3003, Off Nagar Road, Sainikwadi, Pune 411 014, M.S., INDIA. Email: ishvani@dataone.in

8. FINANCIAL ADMINISTRATION

- The treasurer was authorized to sell at the best price possible the computer and the fax which are the property of the association.

- With a cover letter from the General Superior of Maryknoll, a request of sponsorship for the IACM was sent to 23 different Missionary Institutes and one congregation. Positive responses were received from 10 different groups. The treasurer will prepare a report of the contributions we have received. We should try to contact other Missionary Institutes (ex. Comboni, Consolata, Xaverians, Spiritains, IMIC, Sacred Heart, etc.).

- The Executive Board agreed on an annual contribution of 30.00 US$ for every member, without distinction, beginning in 2007.

-  For the cost of the Missiological Conference and the Plenary Assembly of 2007, we will ask some financial sponsorship: MISSIO, the German Bishops’ Conference, etc.  Lazar will prepare the requests. During the Asian Mission Congress (Thailand, Octobre 18-22), Bill will meet with Cardinal Diaz (CEP) and inform him of our needs (letter of recognizion of IACM, bank account in Vatican, financial help for the Missiological Conference and Plenary Assembly in 2007).

- If we have the money, we will help the participants at the Missiological Conference who need help. For example, the continental presentators can ask help for half of the cost of their trip to Poland. From members who need help, we will expect a request through their regional representative before April 30, 2007. Bill and Bertrand will meet in New York in May and will decide what can be done with the funds available at this time
  
9. STUDY GROUPS

The Study Groups did not function as expected. Participation at a regional level seems more relevant. We need a link (Newsletter, Study Groups, etc.) between the members and the asso­ciation during the four years between two Assemblies.

After a discussion about the themes of the Study Groups and theirs convenors, the Executive Board agreed to revitalize the Study Groups on the occasion of the Missiological Conference. Before our gathering in Pięniężno, each theme could be presented by the respective convenor in the Newsletter. During the Missiological Conference, more information will be given and the participants will be invited to join a Study Group for the next years. Each Study Group will fix the orientation of its work on this occasion. The Executive Board agreed on the following Study Groups:

10. SUPPORT TO IACM MEMBERS

Learning from the experience of Eleazar and the difficulties he experienced with ecclesial authorities after his intervention at Cochabamba in 2004, the Executive Board discussed how the IACM can support its members who are facing difficulties in their missiological research. It did not seen appropriate that the officers of the association enter in a discussion without a correct knowledge of a particular situation, but an expression of solidarity (letter of support, information about the academical nature of an intervention) would be appreciated. At the international level, sharing the information would be useful. More directly, a concrete support should be expected at the regional level.

11. NEW MEMBERS

The Executive Board approved the admission as a new member of Socrates Calamba Mesiona from the Mission Society of the Philippines.

Three new possible members from The Missionaries of Africa (Bernard Ugeux, Jacques Charron and Marc X from Zambia) will be accepted if they present their demand for membership.

The application form for membership will be sent to the members of the Executive Board.

***

The 3rd meeting of the Executive Board of IACM was closed on Friday afternoon, September 1, with words of gratitude by the President for the participation of each one in this meeting and for the warm and gracious hospitality offered by the SVD Polish Province at Pieniężno.
 
William LaRousse, MM
President
Bertrand Roy, PMÉ
Executive Secretary