austraLasia
1433
A frog story to add
to your collection - with a happy
ending?
CHENG CHAU HK: 6th February 2006
-- How many frog stories do you know? Most of the Aesop's kind have
unhappy endings: the frog and the crocodile, the frogs who wanted a king, the ox
and the frog, but there are happy endings like the frog in the milk-pail,
remember?
So! Thirteen youth ministry delegates from
most of the provinces in our region (AUL and VIE couldn't come), with only three
of them ever having attended a YM meeting before - most have come into the job
since Lysterfield 2003 - met today, and will meet on the morrow too. They chose
a frog story to 'kick off' with. Three of the group have only just been
appointed, so with change management high on the list of practical priorities,
here is the story they began with.
They say that if you
put a frog into a pot of boiling water, it will leap out straight away to escape
the danger.
But if you put a frog into a kettle with water
that is cool and pleasant - it stays.
And if you gradually
heat the kettle until it starts boiling, the frog will not detect the threat
until it is too late.
Frogs are geared towards
detecting sudden changes, not gradual change.
The
story is open-ended! So, what was the reaction of our delegates (who also
include 1 provincial, 1 vice provincial and 4 Rectors, suggesting that YM has
the high priority it deserves).
"Who put it inside the
pot?" (ITM - lateral thinking!). "We didn't plan our YM and we are happy
what we do. It's more reactive that way" (KOR). "Our changes are very
sudden, we are always reacting "(CIN). "We'd like to make it happen
immediately - you know flashy work, instant style" (THA - can frogs get tongue
in cheek?). That's just a sample of reactions from around the table.
The general consensus, however was that most people, most provinces find
themselves in a rapidly changing world. Planning is important, very
important, but if the plan takes too long then... goodbye
frog!
The delegates are dealing with a 'new pastoral
model'. In some respects it is not new, and if you don't know what it is
check it out anyway on Bosconet (go to the YM page). It is a model that
needs to be enculturated, probably needs to move from being simply tolerated to
being respected, as the FIS delegate put it so well. The RMG delegate, one
of a team whose task is to keep in touch with all the others and support them in
every way possible, talks about the 'Seven Habits of High Effective
Frogs'! Now that certainly has possibilities. Any
takers?
The meeting continues and so will our reports on
it, and it moves into some serious material as it considers the core issue of
the Salesian Community, the Educative and Pastoral Community.....there, we said
the model wasn't new after all, but fully understanding it and getting everyone
to understand it remains a challenge. This frog story is heading for a
happy ending,
methinks.
________________________________
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