“At the Service of the Kingdom to Go Forth and Bear Fruit”
35 Years Ago: XI World Assembly – Guadalajara, August 29 to September 7, 1990. 147 delegates and observers from 51 countries gathered for ten days in a space of discernment, prayer, and communal work.
These were days dedicated to sharing realities and walking together in reflection on how to live the CLC vocation in service of the Kingdom.
A typical day included group prayer by language, an opening talk, time for personal reflection and prayer, and small group sharing. In the afternoons, the General Principles, then under review, were read and discussed in relation to the day’s theme. Each national community shared its experiences of consolation and desolation, allowing everyone to recognize and appreciate what was unfolding in the process. Through this journey of journey of communal discernment, the Assembly voted on and approved the revised text of the General Principles
The Grace and the Call of the Assembly
- God’s grace is not an attribute that we possess by right. It is a quality of our relationship with the Lord. Grace develops within this relationship and is therefore necessarily historical, incarnated in our present cultural reality and shaped by the needs and capacities of our current stage in this journey with the Lord.
- Grace has a historical purpose…
During these days, through imperfect efforts, we experienced the grace of being moved by the desire to serve with Christ in the work of the Kingdom, and of being confirmed in this call. At the same time, we recognized our ongoing need to grow in unity and spiritual freedom as a community of disciples.
This grace will be especially important for the way in which the revised General Principles and General Norms are received and lived. The creative energy of the global community will be essential as we move along this path, seeking to grow in the effectiveness of our communal service to the Kingdom.
