Although a number of people from IofC Canada had registered for the Global Fellowship Gathering at Asia Plateau in January 2025, I was the only one who was able to attend. There were two other Canadians, but living in Switzerland and the Middle East.
The Gathering was fellowship-focused, with a stated intention of re-grounding the work in our mission of ‘building the moral and spiritual foundations of society.’ Approximately 130 people from 35 countries spent 10 days hearing stories of change from the past and the present, exploring the four pillars of our work, reflecting individually and together in the oasis-like setting of Asia Plateau, and forming or deepening the bonds that allow our work to grow.
At the same time, the Global Gathering was a place for individuals and teams to repair broken relationships and to rebuild trust.
Of particular interest to me was the strengthening of an emerging regional grouping of the Americas. A number of efforts have been made over the years to create a cohesive and focused sharing of support and action. A handful of people have been meeting monthly since the most recent (15th) Encuentro (Encounter), held in Brazil January 2024. At the Global Gathering now were people from Canada, US, Mexico, Costa Rica, Columbia, Uruguay and Brazil. A regional trust building project has just been approved, which will take place in Brazil and Uruguay, and will focus on migration.
Another exciting development was the interest for joint action by the youth from Costa Rica to build on their experiences in iListen Teens.
The Americas region has a center which has had minimal recent usage - Sitio São Luiz, in Petropolis, Brazil. As the Brazilian team rebuilds under the new leadership of Jeforson, supported by Albertina, the retreat center will hopefully again be a resource of benefit to the whole region. Jeforson has requested that people come for between 2 and 12 months to help rebuild the Brazilian effort so the work can again thrive.
We can look forward to the next Encuentro (16th) as plans become clearer.
- Lorne Braun