CHARIS – New International Service for Catholic Charismatic Renewal

CHARIS – New International Service for Catholic Charismatic Renewal
Grace and peace.

As you may or may not have heard, a few years ago Pope Francis encouraged the International Catholic Charismatic Renewal Services (ICCRS) and the Catholic Fraternity of Charismatic Covenant Communities and Fellowships (CF) to work toward forming, on the International level, “a single service for the one current of grace.”  He appointed Michelle Moran, Past President of ICCRS and Pino Scafuro, of one of the member communities of CF, to be responsible for its development.

We recently received the following email with its numerous attachments, and are forwarding it and them to you for your awareness and prayer.  We encourage you to read it “carefully” as suggested, “following the order from number 1 to number 8.”  There is an implicit direction contained in the proposed Statutes for CHARIS about the formation on the National level in every country, a National Service of Communion.  “The goal of National Services of Communion is to build and strengthen the wide and diverse family of Catholic Charismatic Renewal.  They should be as inclusive as possible and open to new and emerging realities.  The model focuses on communion rather than government or structure.  (Emphasis added) (Part IV.4 Art 15 Functions)

There will be many questions.  The answers will only emerge as we go forward in prayer and unity.

In January, at the Gathering of National Leadership Groups, Michelle, who was with us to share about all this though she was limited as to what she could share about specifics, said that we will need “a new mind” to catch the “vision for the new service.”  Let us pray for such.

At the close of the Gathering, those assembled decided to form an Ad Hoc Committee to help us respond to the documents once they were received.  It consists of the members of the Planning Committee for the Gathering of National Leadership Groups:

  • Bob Canton – Alliance of Filipino Catholic Charismatic Prayer Communities
  • Chuck Hornsby – Catholic Fraternity
  • Msgr. Joseph Malagreca – Comité Nacional de Servicio Hispanic and Le Conseil du Renouveau Charismatique Catolique des Haïtiens d’Outre-Mer
  • Fr. Anthony Ouellette – Association of Diocesan Liaisons
  • Ron Riggins – National Service Committee.

Also, invited to serve on the Ad Hoc Committee were:

  • Andres Arango – ICCRS Representative to Hispanic North America
  • Jane Guenther – ICCRS representative to English and French speaking North America and the Caribbean
  • Walter Matthews – Executive Director for the National Service Committee.

All three of us agreed to serve.

We will have our first call soon.  Please pray for us as we seek the Lord on how we in the U.S. may be called to respond to this CHARIS Initiative.

We recognize there have already been conversations by Catholic Fraternity leaders, by Liaisons present at the recent Annual Convocation and in other configurations known and unknown to us.  They must continue – and many more be held – if we are together to hear the Lord.

Note this “introduction” is mine and mine alone and should not be understood as an official statement of the National Service Committee.  Its shortfalls are all mine and that which is helpful is all to the glory of God.

In Jesus, celebrating His love and mercy,

Walter Matthews
Executive Director
National Service Committee

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