13th PNG Cluster Assembly (19 August to 21, 2022)

We, in Papua New Guinea, gathered with joy and enthusiasm in our house in Korobosea, Port Moresby for our 13th Cluster Assembly on August 19 – 21, 2022 with the theme of the 23rd General Chapter, “Reimagining spaces for the Charism, in synodality, committed to the emerging reality”. The participation of the Sisters is hybrid: ten were onsite and four were online, which was composed of the Provincial Team (Marcelina Sta. Cruz, Victoria Terenate and Jennifer Uy) and Nguyen Kim Thi, who is newly assigned in PNG while having her vacation with her family in Vietnam.

Opening Ceremony: A Call to Gather Together

The Cluster Assembly started with the Eucharistic Celebration on August 18, 2022 at 5:00 P.M.

with the procession of the Sisters and lay women collaborators at Korobosea.

Each community-taller carried the symbol of their lived experience of the discernment process of our presence and projects: Tolai (indigenous) basket with fruits and flowers for C-T Rabaul;

the fire in the furnace that refines gold for C-T Butinya Home;

and an oil lamp for C-T Bonifacia Home.

Fr. John Auram, in his homily, reminded us to wear our wedding garment that is our identity as SSJ, so that we will be identified and received at the banquet of life here in PNG.

The meaning and dynamism of the whole discernment process permeated the celebration. It is in this note that Aurora Yolanda Pugal, the Cluster Coordinator, officially opened the 13th PNG Cluster Assembly with the beating of the kundu, an indigenous percussion instrument used to gather people.

She posed the challenge and invitation for us to have the humility of St. Bonifacia and the courage of Fr. Butinya as we continue our discernment process during these days of the Assembly.

This was followed by a joyful camaraderie during the meal sharing. Later, the Sisters gathered for the Review of the Discernment Project undertaken in the Province and Orientation on the Cluster Assembly as presented by Yolanda. She motivated us to enter into prayer and silence in preparation for the next day’s task.

Day 1: Our Discernment Process as a Cluster began. . .

C-T Rabaul motivated the sisters in the opening liturgy to enter into a prayerful reflection and be disposed to listen to the talk of Fr. Ramon Maria Luza Bautista, SJ on Ignatian Discernment via Youtube.

Ample time was given for personal reflection, which was followed by sharing in groups, named Trabajo, Fe y Amor, where significant points or elements that can help in the Cluster discernment process were expressed. In the plenum, the richness of the sharing was affirmed.

In the afternoon, each Community – Taller presented the Description of their Presence. After each presentation, Sisters, both online and onsite, freely expressed their affirmations, observations and points for clarification. It turned out to be a very enriching moment of appreciating each presence. Then, Yolanda presented the Cluster Summary of the Demography of Presence with positive resonance from the assembly. We had the profile of the SSJ in the communities-taller and in the projects together with the lay collaborators, sustainability, impact and uniqueness of our presence, etc.

After a short break, each Demography of the C-T Project/s was reported in the plenum. Emphasis was given to the relevance, effectiveness, sustainability and impact of each project. The Sisters acknowledged each project and how these made an impact on their respective realities. Appreciative feedback and feedforward were well articulated.

This day’s session was facilitated by C-T Butinya Home and concluded with the prayer led by C-T Rabaul. After dinner, we gathered to revel our bloopers in the Mission telling funny stories and experiences in our encounter with the people. We ended the day with a song to Mary.

Day 2: A Contemplative Look at the Reality of the Cluster: Reimagining spaces and dreaming together

We began the second day with much enthusiasm with the prayer led by the C-T Bonifacia followed by the recap of Day 1 by CT-Rabaul. Then, we proceeded to the presentation of the Cluster Summary of the Demography of the Projects by Elma. This report was very reflective of the projects in the Cluster deeply affirmed and owned by all.

Having had a clear picture of the Cluster Presence and Projects, we proceeded to another period of personal reflection and prayer to make an exercise of “realistic dream” to visualize the congregation in the context of the Cluster with the provided guide questions.

Sharing groups were formed according to the formation stages. It became so interesting when the youngest group (Joseph) reported first, followed by the mid-lifers (Mary) and the wisdom figures (Jesus). The consensus on the Visualization of the Cluster came out as everybody’s dream since there were many common points from each group. Steps that we need to do in order to arrive at that our desired future, strengthening the Charism were defined clearly as well as what we need to safeguard so that these steps would be possible and generate life.

In the evening prayer, gratitude resounded for the synergy to accomplish the tasks of the day. We still had time after dinner to have the sharing of the experiences of our collaborators working with us in our Skills Training Centers. Those in Korobosea shared personally

while those from Boroko and Rabaul had theirs recorded.

Everyone was enriched, affirmed and delighted by how they appreciated working with the SSJ and learned a lot from them.

Day 3: In synodality, we walk and journey together

We worked on the consensus of the five (5) Criteria of Discernment and the Proposals after the Day 2 recap by CT Bonifacia. The collated list of criteria worked on by the Cluster Coordinating Group presented by Lucrecia was the basis of the group deliberation. The active participation, contributions and interventions from the Sisters facilitated the process of consensus. The same experience is applied to the consensus on the Proposals. After every consensus, all joyfully sang Jesus is Alive with their dance!

We finished the Assembly Tasks ahead of time and dedicated the remaining hours to the Cluster matters/concerns. There was a life-giving sharing of experiences, ideas, opinion and suggested steps to address the following: Vocation Ministry in the PNG context particularly popular vocations, reactivation of the Lay Josephine group formation and the realities and challenges in a multicultural setting in the community-taller and in the apostolate.

Closing Ceremony: The call continues… as we make Nazareth alive here in Papua New Guinea.

With grateful and joyful hearts, we concluded our Cluster Assembly with the celebration of the Holy Eucharist with Fr. Gregorio Bicomong, SDB, the Salesian Provincial Superior of the Vice Province of PNG and Solomon Islands.

This time, the conch shell was blown by Cecilia as a call to gather! Yes, we gathered once more around the table of our Lord bringing with us the fruits of our Cluster discernment process.

We presented to God our Proposals as our prayers of supplication and offered our evaluation where we looked back with gratitude for our Cluster lived experiences these three days. Everything was loaded with meaning.

After the Eucharist, Yolanda expressed her thanksgiving for a very dynamic and fruitful assembly and closed the Cluster Assembly bearing in us how Mary pondered everything in her heart and the promptness of Joseph to do God’s will. She exhorted us to invigorate our response with audacity to the emerging realities as the call of God continues because the love of God is unending!

Indeed, our Cluster Assembly was an encounter with God-with-us as we kept our lines of communication to the Spirit open looking in and, at the same time, being extra perceptive to external realities in order to move forward as a Cluster with humility, courage and zeal to reimagine spaces for our Charism in synodality committed to the emerging reality.

Your Sisters in the PNG Cluster