News of Gen Verde in the “Vincentian Family Gathering 2023” in Chicago.
The North American Vincentian Family Gathering 2023 in Chicago was the anchor event of our US tour, which came about following this invitation from the Vincentian Family!
The conference was an important event that brought together representatives from 47 branches of the Vincentian Family: groups of students from Vincentian universities, priests, sisters, lay people and members of the Vincentian Family leadership team. As always, Vincentians were very open to including members of the Focolare Movement local community, seeing their presence as an enrichment.
The theme of theVincentian Family Gathering 2023 was: “Harmony in diversity: working for social justice and fostering a culture of encounter through the arts” and we organised a programme that had two tracks: a conference track and performance track. This meant that while everyone was involved in plenary sessions with keynote speeches, small groups and workshops, there was also the opportunity to choose – regardless of age – to participate in performing arts workshops..
This tour, which took us from coast to coast, is full of emotions and discoveries… and this time we want to leave it to some of the conference participants to describe what they have lived and experienced:
“Music and arts heal. They touch dimensions of our spirit that are otherwise difficult to reach”.
“You have helped me realise that there is more to life. I recently went through a very difficult time. It has been a real struggle and you have been the light in my darkness. I am happy to have met you and I hope we can stay in touch. Keep changing lives one by one”, the words of a young music student.
“I was reflecting, and it occurred to me that Gen Verde does not come to perform. You come to make friends and build relationships. You do this by sharing your amazing music and being intentionally present and engaged in conversations with everyone you meet. You have definitely raised the standards for artists! What a wonderful ministry!” said a young nun.
“In terms of the style of music that can reach a US audience, I think you have achieved the simplicity of the pop style that is really able to reach a North American audience in a very direct and powerful way. In every song, having the courage to reduce the number of concepts we try to communicate has led to a much more effective, impactful and attractive style”.
This tour has been a gift not without its challenges, but a very powerful experience for all of us is the number of invitations we have received to come back here… and we can’t wait!
But the adventure is not over yet! We are now in California… we’ll let you know how it goes!
Click here to read all about the first week of our U.S. Tour, in New York.
Click here to read all about our steps of the tour in Philadelphia and Atlanta.
Click here to read all about our weeks in Texas.
