Faith and Praxis for Global Leadership defines itself as an association of skilled discerners and focused leaders and administrators with international experience who seek to share these skills by providing development and training with and for local people. They work in an interconnected way through the integration of faith and experience with a view to contributing to a more just world.
Faith and Praxis was founded by Sr Christine Anderson, fcJ and the FCJ Society in 2011, drawing on the work that Christine had developed for many years, in particular since the International Congress on Consecrated Life Passion for Christ, Passion for Humanity which took place in Rome in November 2004.
Sr Christine and her team brought their vision alive both through training programs and through consultancy to congregations and other organizations. They have worked with both leaders and members to enable their organizations to engage fully with their potential for apostolic ministry in the twenty-first century.
Last year Faith and Praxis started a new stage. Brother Emili Turú was appointed as the new director of Faith and Praxis as of January 1st 2019. Emili is a Marist Brother and had recently finished his term of office as General Superior. The organization of Faith and Praxis moved to new offices within UISG.
Sr Christine, fcJ wrote recently for the Faith and Praxis newsletter:
I was asked recently what I saw as the most important characteristics of Faith and Praxis for Global Leadership. Faith and Praxis was formally opened by the FCJs in 2011 although it had been developing informally since 2005 when the Congress Passion for Christ, Passion for Humanity took place. It was handed over to the Marist Brothers in January 2019 and Brother Emili Turú replaced me as Director. For me who was engaged in setting up the organization in the beginning, and still in my heart, the three most important characteristics are:
a) the commitment to work constantly to grapple with some of the current intercultural global world we are facing in the context of faith. Faith and experience are always at the heart of the work.
b) to work with integrity at the integration of life and faith requires a robust methodology and processes to carry this out. Sometimes both as staff and participants we can confuse methodology with ‘tools’ – it isn’t the same thing! By methodology I mean informed discernment processes based on prayer and inner freedom, the social pastoral process of experience, analysis, theological reflection and action, the Cardijn dialectic which isn’t just reduced to See-Judge-Act but comes out of a detailed study of the social teaching of the Church. The Christian workers movements from whom we arose are especially committed to areas of poverty and injustice and systemic analysis of seeing the interconnection of all things through different cultures, contexts and the cosmos.
c) Faith and Praxis has been concerned both through training programs and through consultancy to groups congregations and other organizations to work with both leaders and members to enable the organization to engage fully with their potential for apostolic ministry in the twenty first century. We learned more from the participants than we were able to share with them! Looking back now at the many people I have had the privilege to accompany over my many years in this ministry in Europe, Africa and Asia I know and have experienced that the greatest transformation has taken place in those groups for whom leadership, membership and holiness are one. They may not be the organizations with the greatest strategies and apparent outcomes but they are the ones who have dug deep into the treasures of God at work in our world and enable their members to respond to them especially the poorest and most unjustly treated as we contribute to the development of God’s Kingdom.
Holiness as wholeness, integrity and faith-filled commitment is at the center of our lives and our own efforts to live this and reflects the same efforts and graces of the participants and staff.
Christine Anderson, fcJ
Christine continues connected with Faith and Praxis as an Associate team member and engages in spiritual accompaniment and supervision in a variety of settings.
Visit Faith and Praxis for Global Leadership website.
