Lay Spiritans continue to meet once per month on Saturday for a day of reflection. Morning session focuses on prayer, sharing ‘ministry moments,” JPIC advocacy, followed by an afternoon presentation with guest(s) speakers. Afternoon topics for the last few months have included: Crossroads: Spiritan Charism as Encounter and Dialogue (Damien Meki, C.S.Sp.), Intercultural Living and Radical Welcome: Listening to the voices of African Spiritan Scholastics and The First 50 years of Evangelization of Eastern Africa (Jean-Michel Gelmetti, C.S.Sp.).
    
Lay Spiritans have been welcoming interested laity to join their monthly gatherings. Several members of the Lay Spiritan leadership team have visited Spiritan parishes and met with interested laity at Holy Spirit Parish in Hemet, CA and Our Lady of the Lake, also in Hemet, CA. The leadership team will be planning more Spiritan Parish visits for fall and winter 2019. 

Lay Spiritans continue to be participating in a range of provincial activities and serving on committees. They are also engaged in many different ministries, reaching out to those on the margins in their respective local ministries and parishes through hospice care, music, meals on wheels just to name a few. 

Globally, Lay Spiritans continue to be involved in water filter projects in South America (I. Nettleship), Haiti (R. Gosser) and Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda (AM Hansen). Rich just returned from two weeks in Haiti, visiting various ministries. In spite of obstacles posed by economy and resulting in civil unrest, Rich in Mercy supports many projects in Haiti including lunch programs for children, schools and support to build a rectory for the Spiritans at Bokozelle. Reflecting on his recent experience Rich noted “All in all, I think I cried more on this trip than I have for a long time…the losses seem far more than the gains…life is still good though, even when hard.”

For the past seven years, Anne Marie has been working closely with the Sisters of our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd who serve those on the margins through ministries within a Spiritan Parish, Our Lady of the Sick in Kampala, Uganda. Lay Spiritan Janet Berna is also involved in this project as well as Rich Gosser and Rose Velgich.

Recently she initiated a broader collaboration, with Joyce deGooijer, Director of the Trans-Canadian Spiritan Ministry, Volunteers International Christian Service (VICS) and the Lay Spiritans of Uganda joining the efforts. Mirembe, a micro-financing project, collaborates with mothers and their families who are refugees living in a slum near the Spiritan parish. The women desperately want to change their daily occupation from one that is demoralizing and violent (prostitution) to occupations that are life-giving.

The project empowers the women by giving them a small loan of $20/month, and helping them create small income generating businesses to earn money to feed and educate their children. The Lay Spiritans are raising funds to support 37 women currently in the program at a level of $20/month for up to three years. In addition, they hope to hire a local nurse, counselor and social worker so the project can provide the necessary services to keep the women on track.

Lay Spiritans are looking forward to the annual retreat (June), the North American Lay Spiritan gathering in Toronto (September) and a re-commitment mass and ritual (late September, early October).