highlights for October: International Lasallian Day of Prayer for Peace

a letter from the International Council of Young Lasallians

To: Brother Visitors and Auxiliary Visitors, Young Lasallian leaders and Young Lasallians

Dear Brothers and Young Lasallians,
Greetings from Rome, where the International Council of Young Lasallians has been meeting these last days. We would like to take this opportunity to renew our invitation to all Young Lasallians coming from various Districts and Regions to join in an international experience of sharing and prayer. The launch of the activity of the International Lasallian Day of Prayer for Peace (ILDPP) last year, saw a very encouraging number of groups taking up that invitation and participating in this wider community effort of sharing faith and hope for peace.

This activity had originally stemmed out from the YL needs as put forward by the delegates present at the last International Symposium for Young Lasallians. At the time, a collective call to respond to worldwide issues and to strengthen our international network were paramount issues. ICYL would like to envisage the establishment of ILDPP initiatives in the annual calendars of all local YL movements and schools within the various Districts and Regions. We hope that more Lasallian communities avail themselves of this activity to show solidarity with our brothers and sisters, especially the young and the poor, who lack peace in their lives on many levels and who are suffering unjustly.

This project should be taken up in unison by as many Regions, Districts, Young Lasallian movements, schools and communities as possible during the 4th week of October, that is between Monday 20th and Sunday 26st October 2008, acting as ONE International Lasallian Community. Even though activities could be spread out throughout the whole week, these could possibly culminate on Sunday 26th October so as to ensure as much as possible, that we share our intentions together.

Shortly we shall be updating the ILDPP web page on the Institute's website. This section shall also include the final programmes coming from the different corners of the Lasallian world. For this reason we encourage you to finalise your programmes so as to share them with the rest of Lasallian Community on the occasion of this international activity.

The initiatives in the different Districts and Regions could take the form of, but are not limited to, the following:
· Voluntary work experiences both within and outside your own district
· Commitment to live a simpler, less consumerist life
· Assembly activities in schools
· Prayer services
· Workshops / Campaigns / Art Exhibitions
· Peaceful marches
· Sending of letters to local authorities calling for peace in specific areas
· Intercultural or Inter-religious activities
· Others

We encourage you to forward us any relevant resources and materials related to the theme of "Peace" you might have and which could be useful to other groups in preparation of this event.
It would be greatly appreciated if you could forward us the contact details of other people who you think would be interested in participating in or coordinating such an activity within their District or Region. We also urge you to express your feelings and thoughts, accompanied by any suggestions or comments regarding this promising international activity.

For further updates and correspondence regarding this initiative or any other ICYL project, kindly contact us at icyl@lasalle.org or visit our website on www.lasalle.org/icyl.

Sincerely yours,

International Council of Young Lasallians


so....happy peaceful working everyone ;;D