On the occasion of the recent Christmas holidays, the President of the National Council of the Vincentian Family of Panama wrote the following letter to all the members of the Family of the country, summarizing what has been done so far and projecting with enthusiasm towards the future…

Dear Brothers and Sisters:

May the Grace and Peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with us all!

I greet you with great joy and hope, from the National Council of the Vincentian Family, to express our greatest gratitude for all your readiness and service you have been providing, in the accompaniment and national coordination during this year 2016.

As a Council, during this year we began the organization of our Vincentian Family, the goal of being able to verify the existence, validity, vitality and incidence of the Charism at a national level. They have been small steps, but manifesting the greatness of the task done a team work; let’s emphasize some of them:

• Creation of the Internal Rules (Panama being one of the few countries at the International level to have its own).
• Formation of the First Regional Council of Vincentian Family (Colón-Panama).
• Formation of the second Regional Council (Chiriquí).
• National Meeting of the Vincentian Family.
• Participation in the Vincentian Family Collaborative Action Program in the Dominican Republic, a seminar that allowed the elaboration of the 2017 Collaboration Training Project for the Vincentian Family of Panama.
• Organization of the 2017 Pastoral Plan, year in which we will be commemorating the 400 years of the Vincentian Charism.
• The first steps are already being taken for the 2017 National Vicentian Meeting.
• There are seven virtual meetings held with the International Office of the Vincentian Family and the presidents of the Vincentian Family of Central America, the Central American Council and the Latin American Council, respectively, trying to consolidate ties, to know and share the Vincentian experiences in their different aspects.
• Through these meetings and seeking the reactivation of the FAVICA and FAVILA Councils, the dates for renewing the directives have been established, with the meeting of the Vincentian Family for Central America in San Salvador in June 9-11, 2017, and the Meeting for the Latin American Vincentian Family in March 1-18, 2018, in Bolivia.

We are facing many challenges for the next years in each of our Vincentian Branches, but we are convinced that the service to the poor is done better and is more effective when done together. Difficulties will never be lacking, thay are there and we must let the force of the Holy Spirit act and give us the strength to grow and mature more and more.

In this time of Christmas holidays, and new year, everything is reborn; may our love for God, present in the poorest, love for our Vincentian Branch, love for our great Vincentian Family, will be reborn as that ardent fire that our beloved Saint Vincent speaks to us. Let us be a living gospel!

COURAGE, BROTHERS! God bless our walk.

His brother in Christ,

Carlos Kelvin Rye
National Council of Vincentian Family
Panama