Acts of 8th European Assembly of Lay Dominican Fraternities
Friday 28 January 2011, Feast of St Thomas Aquinas
Dear brothers and sisters in St Dominic,
Following the invitation of 14 November 2010 to attend the 8th European Assembly of Lay Dominican Fraternities, which will take place from 26 to 31 May 2011 in Caleruega, Spain, please find enclosed the programme of the Assembly, the registration form and the letter of authorization template to be filled in and brought to the Assembly by each delegate.
The participation fee amounts to €445. It includes transport from Madrid to Caleruega and back, accommodation, meals and overall organizational expenses. The registration form must be sent back to the ECLDF Secretary by 15 March together with proof of payment of a deposit of €200 (detailed information on the registration form). The remainder will be paid on arrival in Caleruega on 26 May.
As mentioned in our November letter, delegates are expected to prepare short (10-minute) PowerPoint presentations to explain about present and future projects and challenges in their province or vicariate.
In accordance with the Statutes of the European Council of Lay Dominican Fraternities, every province or vicariate is invited to send two delegates to the Assembly as well as the provincial/vicarial promoter for Dominican laity. Provinces or vicariates with 500 or more professed lay Dominican members, or 30 or more fraternities, may send an additional delegate. Provinces and vicariates consisting of more than one country in which there are fraternities may send an additional delegate from each country.
Delegates must be finally professed. They are all required to have a letter of authorization from their lay Dominican provincial/vicarial council testifying that they have been chosen to represent their province, vicariate or country. The letter must be handed out at the registration desk in Caleruega. The province or vicariate having no lay Dominican provincial/vicarial council may send a representative to the Assembly, although this representative will have no voting right.
According to the Statutes, only one delegate per province or vicariate is entitled to vote at the Assembly. The electoral body is composed of the delegates mandated to vote by their province or vicariate and members of the current European Council. The letter of authorization must specify that the appointed delegate has been mandated to vote by his/her province or vicariate. Otherwise the delegate cannot vote at the Assembly.
During the Assembly, a new five-member European Council of Lay Dominican Fraternities will be elected as well as a European representative to the International Council of Lay Dominican Fraternities. When appointing delegates, provinces and vicariates are therefore advised to check whether the delegates sent to the Assembly have the relevant skills for working on the European Council, especially with regard to the duties of president, secretary and treasurer. ECLDF members should have adequate speaking and writing skills in English.
During the Assembly, room will also be provided for discussion about any proposals or motions submitted by provinces and vicariates or submitted by the European Council.
Looking forward to hearing from you,
In St. Dominic and St. Catherine of Sienna,
the Council members,
Gabriel, Bénédicte, Małgorzata, Anne-Marie, Jean-Michel, Fr. David and Eva
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