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On Wednesday 8th October 2008, over 50 participants took part in a seminar entitled, Leadership for Ethos. The seminar was organised by the Mission Integration Team whose role is to promote the vision and values of the Vincentian Charism.
The opening address was given by Lord Mayor of Dublin, Councillor Eibhlin Byrne. A Social Worker, in the Daughters of Charity Child & Family Services before being appointed Lord Mayor, Eibhlin is no stranger to the Vincentian vision, values and ethos that drive Daughters of Charity Services.
In her introduction to the Seminar the group was reminded of the, urgent need for new quality civic leadership both in our cities and across the whole of Irish Society And when asked, where are the Leaders? The answer is, look in the mirror We are all called to apprentice ourselves to learning the skills of leadership.
Quoting from Putman and his idea of there being three stages of developing leadership skills - becoming a good neighbour; networking with societies, groups and clubs that work with and for others; and being a powerful force to bring about change - provided a useful guide for the thoughts of the day.
Every time and era has its defining moment. What mark will we leave in this time or are we prepared to let it pass us by?
Following this challenging introduction we were cast into a reflective mode of thinking by this contemplative reading of Ancient Echoes written and read by Ms Judith King.
Ancient Echoes
About the year 27 or 28 AD a Jewish man
Began to travel the villages and hills of his native area
Telling subversive stories and offering life teachings
And his fine words, along with his sense of authority
Brought him attention and regard
And he quickly developed a reputation for criticising oppressors,
For standing with the poor and against unjust structures
He was especially known as a healer, - he was known to heal
all kinds of physical ailments, even blindness
But also inner pain, like mental anguish and despair,
and even madness
And everywhere he went he talked about his God,
Present and active to transform the lives of all,
In a kind of intimate, even casual way that
annoyed the religious elders of his time
and they and the civic leaders were even more annoyed
when he began to gather all these poor and vulnerable people to share his life and his table
and to fill their heads with notions of their dignity and specialness
And they were incensed when he maintained that this gathering of the diseased
And the lame and the poor and the weak who were being pushed to
the edges of society were not there because of God
nor on account of the sins of their fathers
but he had the audacity to suggest that they were there
solely because those with power
and resources had organised it that way
So they had no option but to get rid of him,
Otherwise hed have caused consternation in the natural order
But... it didnt end there..some of his followers insisted that he was still with them
And in his name they began to do similar things
They too began to gather all the decrepit and the outcast
And continued to fill their
Heads with those same grand notions
And so it continued like for centuries, although it often waned at times until some man or woman
Would show such a loyalty to the healing, teaching ways of that Jewish man
That the gathering of followers and the tending of those on the edges would start all over again
And in the 17th Century in France there were several notable women and men like this
And we might name just two - a Vincent de Paul and a Louise de Marilliac -
And the same hallmarks were there tending those on the edges without power and resources
And asking difficult questions of those with power and resources
And believing in the full equality and dignity of all
And subscribing to a God who believes the same
And now in our time there are still people on the edges
But those on the inside have dropped that idea of it being the
Because of the sins of their fathers
And instead have agreed that it is just the system and in truth it
has much to do with their
Laziness and lack of commitment
Still... there are those who are sceptical of this new master-message and
Some of them yearn to follow that old pattern of care -
To find in the outsider a place of connection
To fill the little with a grand notion of their dignity
To call the powerful to account for their actions
And to speak a word of meaning when all seems like despair
And so still we hear echoes of the words of that Jewish man
His stories and life-teachings still finding holy ground
Among the poor and forgotten, those without economic value
And among the workers of services marked by his name
And some of them are here, in this very room,
Listen, and you will hear their postmodern words
Echo that old pattern of care -
Our humanitys bound up, they say, in the ones that are out there
Reach out to the edge, they command,
and know in that darkness new light for your life,
New meaning for your days and new dreams for your tomorrow.
Our guest speaker, Ms. Patricia Coyle, manager of the Jesuit Communication Centre, delighted the group with her conviction and enthusiasm on the Importance of communicating the message.
With anecdotes of personal, family and institutional messaging, Patricia enabled us to identify the importance of using with effect modern devices and modes of communication. The continuing progress in the field of technological science and communication media is here to stay. It demands a commitment from service providers as well as users to keep in tune with the ways of marketing the message and enhancing the quality of service through creative and emerging initiatives.
The afternoon was dedicated to hearing and discussing how the presenters of vision and values programmes engage at grass-root level with colleagues and volunteers in the work of promoting and developing the Vincentian Ethos in the workplace.
For a fuller account of the Seminar on Leadership for Ethos watch out for next edition of New Beginnings.
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