The weekend of 18-20 November 2016 over 70 members of the Aotearoa New Zealand Family gathered in Auckland to celebrate #Jubilee800.   The gathering opened with liturgy followed by a time of sharing three words that speak of living the Dominican Charism in our world today.  These words were captured on ribbon and woven together into a tapestry to represent our Dominican community gathered from around our beautiful country.  We remembered those who weren’t able to be with us this weekend. In the opening address Margaret Butler OP reflected on the challenges of today’s world, most especially that of communication.   We were reminded that communication calls for listening as well as speaking.  It involves all our senses – seeing, feeling, touching, hearing.  We were challenged to consider some of the situations we find ourselves in where communication can be a real hurdle: caring for Mother Earth the urgent call to understand the first people of this country connections with  international bodies connecting with the diverse group of people who make up our local community succession – how do we keep young people connected and living the Dominican charism? It’s impossible to do justice to Margaret’s keynote in just a few sentences.   We will share more in the coming weeks. On Saturday we explored the four pillars: Prayer, Community, Study and Mission.  Each region took one pillar and shared on how it is lived out in today’s world.   Kevin Toomey OP, Elizabeth Mackie OP and Mike Kelly OP
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