A New Chapter
Friends,
The start of the school year has begun in Illinois for students, parents, teachers. It marks the changing of seasons, the ending of summer and the movement to fall. It is an ending and a new beginning. This letter begins a new chapter in the ongoing story of the Woodstock Business Conference begun in 1991 that continued in 2016 as the Ignatian Business Chapters at RENEW International and now Ignatian Business Chapters sponsored by our Scranton Chapter and its prime mover, Patrick McMahon. Our purpose remains making connections between faith and work to support leaders in their work, community and family life in the Ignatian tradition of becoming “contemplatives in action and men and women for others.”
This is a time of renewal and Patrick, with others, is seeking to reenergize and recruit this decentralized organization of small chapters that has been aging out. Like the mustard seed in our scripture reading for the month expect modest beginnings but with the accelerating change in our business and professional lives there is a great need to create circles of trust and support to foster conversation and discernment and thus contribute to career and leadership development and ethical and faith reflection. If you have been receiving emails or part of a group let Patrick know of your interest as we transition an old mailing list and we renew existing groups and encourage leaders to start new chapters. Patrick can be reached at pmcmahon@ignatianbusinesschapters.org and I can be reached at jjfontana3@aol.com. Know feedback is a gift and any suggestions for the development of this next stage is welcome! Let us know of at least your minimal interest in being on the email list.
Our Topic this month is What a Legendary Winemaker Can Teach Us about Leadership based on the insights of Antonio Magalhaes and Sergio Rebelo. It should wet your thought, in vino veritas!
My book recommendation for the month continues the wine theme.
This summer while driving across country my wife and I listened to the number one best seller Theo of Golden by Allen Levi and when we arrived home, we still had five hours to finish. I immediately bought the paper back to finish this beautiful story of an 86-year-old man who is a great story listener and storyteller. It is the most moving book I have read in years with a great story about port. I recommend both methods of listening, a great narrator and always the written word.
In closing, join us as we begin another chapter in making connections between faith & work. Appreciate people as they adjust to new starts and the changing season. Remember we are a people called to live the virtues of Faith, Hope, and Love! And pray for our country and our democracy as we celebrate 250 years of a great human experiment in freedom.
AMDG,
John Fontana
SEPTEMBER MEETING
Welcome and Self-Introductions
Ignatian Business Chapters Mission Statement:
The Mission of the Ignatian Business Chapters is to establish and lead a national and international network of business executives to explore their respective religious traditions in order to assist the individual executives: to integrate faith, family, and professional life, to develop a corporate culture that is reflective of their religious faith and values to exercise a beneficial influence upon society at large. The chapters, grounded in the Roman Catholic tradition, welcome believers who are open to and respectful of one another’s religious tradition. They are committed to the conviction that ethics and values grow out of one’s religious heritage.
SCRIPTURE READING:
Matthew:13:31-36 The Mustard Seed and the Leaven
“The reign of God is like a mustard seed which someone took and sowed in his field. It is the smallest seed of all, yet when full-grown it is the largest of plants. It becomes so big that the birds of the sky come and build their nests in its branches.”
He still offered another image: “The reign of God is like yeast which a woman took and kneaded into three measures of flour. Eventually the whole mass of dough began to rise.” All these lessons Jesus taught the crowds in the form of parables only, to fulfill what had been said through the prophets:
“I will open my mouth in parables, I will announce what has laid hidden since the creation of the world.”
REFLECTION: 5 minutes of silence followed by sharing insights
Further Reading
What a Legendary Winemaker Can Teach Us About Leadership
Be Attentive: Besides your possible interest in wine and port, what is your assessment of the insights of Antonio Magalhaes as it applies to leadership?
Be Intelligent: How do you build resilience in yourself and others? Any stories?
Be Reasonable: How have you listened to the landscape of your lives in work and family? How do you respect the people who do the work?
Be Responsible: What where key insights that surfaced in today’s discussion? Any food for further contemplation? Any action steps? What are the implications for you at work, in your community and at home? Leverage the conversation for good!
Closing Prayer:
Personal Prayer of Pedro Arrupe S.J.
Grant me, O Lord, to see everything now with new eyes. To discern and test the spirits that help me read the signs of the times. To relish the things that are yours, and to communicate them to others. Give me the clarity of understanding that you gave Ignatius.
Send forth thy Spirit, Lord
And renew the face of the earth.--Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit as it was in the beginning is now and ever shall be world without, Amen!