← [[centrality-of-the-order-fh|Centrality of the Order and the Church]] | [[formation-handbook-toc|Table of Contents]] | [[celebrations-fh|Celebrations]] → # Fellowship — The Social Hours As previously stated, formation in OCDS communities and groups is not limited to formation sessions and spiritual conferences. Our program of formation embraces all facets of Carmelite life in a community setting. Fellowship is an integral part of the community meetings, and the Council is responsible for fostering the sense of “togetherness” in the community. While study and prayer are important, meetings also need to include time to relax together as friends (see Welcome, pgs. 94-95). We could take a hint from St. Teresa when she was forming St. John of the Cross to be a Discalced Carmelite. In The Book of Foundations, she writes: “…there was an opportunity to teach Father Fray John of the Cross about our way of life so that he would have a clear understanding of everything, whether it concerned mortification or the style of both our community life and the recreation we have together. … [I] could have learned much more from him than he from me. Yet this is not what I did, but I taught him about the lifestyle of the sisters” (Foundations, 13:5, emphasis added. See Welcome, pgs. 94-95). So, we take that hint, that fellowship is part of formation. Recreation is a very Teresian term. For some people, recreation — spending time together — is simply a waste of time. If you don’t know how to waste time together, you are not building a relationship. It’s really not wasting time; it is using time to relax together. There must be fellowship as part of candidate formation, getting to know everybody, because that is what avoids divisions (see Welcome, pg. 95). --- **Source:** [[maps/bibliography#^biblio-ocds-fh|OCDS Formation Handbook]]