Symbol Presentation

- Accountable Brothers - Good Stewardship in CMM -

SYMBOL PRESENTATIONS Tuesday 11 October 2016

- Accountable Brothers - Good Stewardship in CMM Symbol presentations

For the workshop Team-based Leadership on Tuesday 11 October 2016, the participants of the international meeting ‘Accountable Brothers Good Stewardship in CMM’ were asked to bring a symbol of ‘leadership’.

My symbol is a shell.

You will remember that if you put a shell on your ears, you can always hear the sea. Good leaders should also be good listeners. They should be able to hear the deeper registers (the sea) in the people they work with.

Brother Athanasius Onyoni CMM

My symbol is this Buddhist temple, it is a famous monument from my country. It is a symbol of the deepest values, the deepest authenticity in my country.

Leaders should be aware of what is authentic, of what is valuable.

Brother Ronald Randang CMM

My symbol is a ship.

As a leader I have, like the captain of a ship, to bring people safely to their destination. Often through dangerous situations, through tempests, on long travels‌

Brother Herman Mandagi CMM

My symbol is a basket with bread and fish.

It reminds of course the miraculous story of the feeding of the multitudes in the Gospel. They are hungry, there is nothing but in the end, there is abundance.

I admire Jesus’ leadership in this situation: he made people sit in smaller groups and in this way created order; the apostles were able to take up the practical organization and distribution of food. Everybody received according to his needs. What does it mean for our leadership?

Let us try to be organized, orderly, honest and careful.

This should be our way of being stewards!

Brother Lawrence Obiko CMM

My symbol is a jeepney, a popular means of transport on the Philippines. We call them angkutan umum in the Indonesian language.

The jeepney brings us to our destination. The jeepney is a collective means of transport, it is not easy to run it for this reason. I was reflecting on the best way to run a jeepney company: you have to sell the tickets well and take care of a good bookkeeping system; you should distribute the income fairly and honestly; you should not squander money, but use everything in an honest and transparent way.

Brother Rofinus Banunaek CMM

My symbol is a little boat.

It is a small, but let us not forget that there are many small boats crossing the seas and the oceans.

These boats connect different worlds. There are very different people on these boats. A captain should take care of all these people and be able to connect to the different worlds he visits. Let us remember what Jesus said when he was on a boat during a tempest: be not afraid.

Brother Nisensius Mety CMM

My symbol is the Borobudur.

It is an important place in the history of Indonesia, also a place of many battles.

A temple complex consisting of many different stones.

It reminds me of my time in a community not far from this place.

We worked hard together, we were really a good team; with Christ at the heart of the community. This symbol reminds me of this happy community experience, we were all brothers united around Christ.

Brother Martinus Mangundap CMM

My symbol is a magnet, I received it from the Padre EustĂ chio School in Belo Horizonte.

It is an important object for me. I like to see how the schoolchildren are attracted to this magnet. And it has a deep meaning. As a leader, you are a magnet of unity. And you can make others in their turn a magnet of unity as well. Let us be leaders who work on a sense of belonging, a sense of responsibility, a sense of family.

Brother Benyamin Tunggu CMM

My symbol is coffee, taken with me from my country.

Coffee, when it is dissolved in water, changes its taste and colour.

In the same way a leader interacts with his people. I don’t see myself as a leader, but in my work I do try to prepare a nice blend and give colour to the congregation!

Brother Aloysius Ungkang CMM

As a leader I am always working on unity: in a community, in my communication, through the internet, in taking charge of our foundations and activities… I have chosen a symbol which represents this important aspect of ‘connecting’ and ‘being connected’ of a leader. It is this little Rosary. This one, in the shape of a bracelet, is used in the Orthodox Church. It symbolizes for me the unity between people. We are all brothers and sisters of each other and it is Christ uniting us.

Brother Jan Koppens CMM

I have two symbols: a belt and a staff.

This is what you need if you have to go a long way. The belt is indispensable, otherwise you cannot walk conveniently.

But also the staff is practical. It is a sign of authority. Do you remember that the pope often has a staff with him? God gave to Moses a staff in order to lead his people. Moses used it when he was tired, or angry, or had to explain things.

In times of hunger the belt becomes practical again, we can tighten it in order not to feel our hunger.

Brother Emarius Gulo CMM

My symbol is a stone.

Just like this little stone is part of a rock, I as a leader am part of a big community. As a leader I am like a stone. I need to be solid and stand firm. I have to be a strong pillar.

Brother Zachaeus Atieno CMM

My symbol is the lamp in the chapel.

It is always shining. You can see the beauty of the chapel in this light. We need Jesus to light the lamp: Jesus is our lamp. He will take care that there will always be light, always be faith in our lives. In his light we can live and work together. May our leadership radiate this light.

Brother Bosco Wuarmanuk CMM

My symbol is this little stone carving, given to me by a pupil at my school.

You can hardly see it‌ can you tell me its shape and structure, may I invite one of the brothers to describe this stone in more detail?

You can only do that when you come close to it. Indeed, as a leader we have to come close to our people.

When I have to work with people and have to lead them, I have to know who they are and what they are capable of. Let us thus be close to our people.

Brother Elijah Agilo CMM

My symbol is a ship.

A captain has to use his full potential of his capacities to direct a ship safely on all its journeys.

As a leader I feel challenged to develop my full potential as well, in order to guide people, indicate the direction, to create a team and work all together to realize our journey.

As a leader you cannot promise good results, but you can promise to give your very best.

Brother Agustinus Abi CMM

My symbol is this holy water front.

A good leader should never forget the sources of his life.

I received this holy water front from my grandfather at the occasion of my first Holy Communion.

It reminds me of his love and meaningful presence in my younger years; it symbolizes my baptism and my first communion.

Brother John H. Grever CMM

My symbol is this little stone.

It represents strength and stability: water may pass around, but the stone will remain where it is. If you look carefully at the stone, you will see different colours and lines on it. It is our responsibility as leaders, to stand strong as a stone, and at the same time to carefully see the colours and the love in the people around us.

Brother Henrique de Fatima Marques CMM

My symbol is this magnetic statue: a group of person united by a hidden force. As leaders we often have to make use of hidden forces, such as ideals, desires, spiritual forces. Jesus is our hidden force.

The statue also represents teambased leadership. In a team there are many leaders, all of us are leaders.’

Brother Theo Adams CMM

My symbol is this picture, representing ‘all hands together’. I received it as a gift after a sharing. A hand is a very strong symbol. As a leader, I try to bring all hands together so that they can do His work.

Brother Leo van de Wijer CMM

My symbol is an elephant, the strongest animal on earth. I chose this symbol because of the situation in my region. As leaders we should stand firm, not being afraid, but strong as an elephant.

Brother Paschalius Ghuwanga CMM

My symbol is a pen.

It supports my memory, it helps me in my daily work. For example: I use it for taking minutes and notes. I also use it during visits to families in need on behalf of a Vincentian organization. I write down what is needed, which is an essential step before we can come into action.

Brother Paul Damen CMM

My symbol is a bowl.

In my family we were many and sometimes we had not enough bowls; we had to share them. It is a symbol of hospitality. It visualizes the resources entrusted to us. It is a symbol of good leadership, which means: sparing, sharing and caring.

Mr. Vincent Mokaya

My symbol is this trunk of little orchids. I put them in place and take care of them. I cannot give them extra roots or leaves, they have to grow themselves, but I can support them. Some do better than others, one of them is already making flowers. I have to encourage the small ones.

Sometimes I have to cut away rotten parts, which is painful and not good for my plants. It is always better to prevent than to cut‌

Brother Niek Hanckmann CMM

My symbol is a pencil.

I use it for my daily work as a teacher, secretary, reader, writer, translator… The pencil is a symbol of service and community, it supports and connects people. In all its simplicity, it can become an instrument of mercy: ‘My words were almost forgotten, but you wrote them down.’

Mr. Charles van Leeuwen

My symbol is a camera.

It helps me to see people.

I like to give people the feeling that they are being seen.

Ms. Nathalie Bastiaansen

Facilitator of today: Mr. Arnold Roozendaal