On Saturday 22 June, the CES Community did our annual gathering to close up the year. We did it, as always, at the Claretian House of Dima, which is perfect for the children to enjoy a nice play area; and luckily, the weather was sunny and hot. This year, the topic was our own community, about how we want to organize ourselves next year, in addition to having a good time together.
Previously, we had answered a survey on community availability that we had discussed in small groups. The organizers had called for a broad participation and due to that, many people attended, including one person who, coming from the family groups of the Askartza Claret School, wanted to know about our communities.
After the initial prayer and some time for personal thinking to set ourselves into community tuning, with the help of the text on the community that has been developed as background material for the general assembly of Medellin, we moved on to the common work. The Permanent Council (Junta Permanente) presented our proposal of new distribution, that was discussed among all of us in a fraternal spirit, despite the existence of different visions.
As the discussion took longer than originally planned, we decided to discuss other themes after lunch, and went on to celebrate mass. After lunch and over the coffee, we were informed of the preparations for the general assembly and the proposals of the commission in charge of reviewing some of the CES economic issues. Finally, in the afternoon, specially the families with children, we enjoyed playing music, water games or simply, sharing some time together.
Ignacio Crespo (CES de Leioa, North Region of Spain España)