On 9 June 2019, Pentecost Sunday, in Rome, CHARIS was officially launched at international level during an international meeting. This meeting allowed the different charismatic realities of Europe to reflect on articles 15 and 16 of the CHARIS statutes with the general lines for the implementation of CHARIS in the different countries through the creation of “National Services of Communion”.
Article 15 deals with the functions of this body. It states: “The goal of National Services of Communion is to build up and strengthen the wide and diverse family of Catholic Charismatic Renewal. They should therefore be as inclusive as possible and open to new and emerging realities. The model focuses on communion rather than government or structure.”
Article 16 organises the composition and states: “National Services of Communion should consist of representatives from realities and expressions of the current of grace who identify themselves as a part of Catholic Charismatic Renewal, and who are seeking to build communion within the wide en diverse family of Catholic Charismatic Renewal. This may include prayer groups, communities, networks, schools of evangelisation, religious institutes, publishing houses, particular ministries, ecumenical initiatives, youth, etc.”.
The “Guidelines for the Formation of the CHARIS National Communion Service” explains these articles further. In particular, it states that “National Communion Services are an organisation ‘at the service of’ and not a governing body, and represent the highest instance of communion of the ‘stream of grace’ in a country. There is only one National Communion Service per country or per bishops’ conference in countries where different regions, languages and cultures coexist.”
Each “National Communion Service” elects a coordinator from among its members. The coordinator is not responsible for the stream of grace in his/her country. His/her task is to seek communion with all the realities of the stream of grace. The term of office of the SNCC coordinator is three years, renewable consecutively for one term. An ecclesiastical assistant appointed by the Dicastery of the Laity, Family and Life accompanies all the activities proposed by CHARIS.
The Belgian National Communion Service consists of a college of two coordinators elected respectively by the French and German speaking realities and by the Dutch speaking realities. At the national level these spokespersons work together. At the international level, the first three years are taken over by the French-speaking coordinator, the following three years by the Dutch-speaking coordinator, and so on.
At present, the coordinators are:
(F) : Annick Beuten, elected at a meeting in September 2021 and appointed for a three-year term as coordinator for Belgium on 17 November 2021, tel. 0470 56 20 17
(N): Geert Moerkerke, elected at a meeting in September 2021, tel 0475 39 12 88.
The ecclesiastical assistants are E.H. Filip Hacour (N) and E.H. Marc Leroy (F).
By royal decree of 14 March 2023, legal personality was granted to the public utility foundation “Charis Belgium” (company number 0800-439-446).