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New Learnings in Animating a SCC Model of Church in Africa More
By Rev. Joseph Healey, M.M.
Communities in East Africa - The Backbone of the Church More
by Janet Srebalus, MM
Tracking New Moments in SCCs Worldwide More
by Rev. Joseph Healey, MM
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New Learnings in Animating a SCC Model of Church in Africa Printable Copy
By Rev. Joseph Healey, M.M.
Salvatorian Institute*
Inculturation Week**
Morogoro, Tanzania
Talk given on 15 February 2007
My name is Father Joe Healey and I am a student, a learner – just like yourselves. Even though I have lived in Africa for 35 years I am a still a visitor, a guest, and in some ways still an "outsider." When it comes to African Culture, I am constantly listening and learning from the African people and African cultures. So you are my teachers. When it comes to Small Christian Communities in Africa we priests are not the experts, not the specialists. No, we are the students, the learners. The African lay people who meet every week in their SCCs are the experts and the specialists. We learn from them.
I first came to Eastern Africa in 1968 so "Nimekula chumvi nyingi hapa Tanzania" (that means "I have eaten a lot of salt" in Swahili). The youth in Dar es Salaam started calling me "Mzee," but I said: "Bado. Bado sana." So now they call me "kijana wa zamani" that means "a young person of a long time ago" in Swahili.
It is exactly one year since Paulines Publications Africa published my book Small Christian Communities Today: Capturing the New Moment. This book has eight chapters on Africa including Chapter 14 on “Pastoral Involvement of Parish-based SCCs in Dar es Salaam” by Father Christopher Cieslikiewicz. It is exactly 11 months since I joined the Coordinating Committee of the "Year of Small Christian Communities" in Dar es Salaam Archdiocese, Tanzania in March, 2006.
So during this time what are my new learnings in animating a Small Christian Community (SCC) Model of Church in Africa? I will be very practical, very concrete. If I repeat something that you are already heard this week, it is on purpose because of its importance. Here are my six new learnings about jumuiyas (the popular Swahili word for SCCs), especially parish-based SCCs:
Learning No. 1: We have a new language, a new terminology to describe this SCC Model of Church: All week I have been writing down the many times that I have heard the word "new:"
New Way of Being Church.
New Model of Church
New Vision of Church
New Mentality of Church
New Thinking of Church
New Meaning of Church
This "newness," of course, applies to the SCC, to the outstation, to the sub-parish, to the parish and to the diocese.
Learning No. 2: The importance of priests as animators of Small Christian Communities. Mkolezaji/wakolezaji in Swahili was the name proposed by Bishop Christopher Mwoleka, the deceased bishop of Rulenge Diocese, who was the founder of SCCs in Tanzania. You major seminarians are the future priests of Africa and are called to be animators of SCCs. This goes for brothers, sisters and certain lay leaders such as catechists as well. Other names for your different roles and responsibilities are facilitator, coordinator, and sign of unity of SCCs. Just last week I met a lay person in Immaculate Conception Parish, Upanga, Dar es Salaam. He said that it is very important for the priest to preach about SCCs at Mass, to teach about SCCs, and to visit the SCCs. He said that if the priest says nothing about SCCs, this communicates to the lay people that SCCs are not important, that they are optional, that they are just another organization in the parish.
During a seminar for priests in Dar es Salaam Archdiocese in April, 2006 "Mwanajumuiya" Bishop Method Kilaini emphasized the importance of priests getting involved in SCCs. He said that there is a danger that priests can live apart from the people, but through visiting SCCs they can experience ("taste") the daily life of their parishioners and thus know better the true condition of the life of their parishes.
It might surprise you that it “easy” to preach on Sunday if we use the SCC process. That is, during the week the priest or homilist participates in various SCC meetings in his parish that reflect on the gospel of the following Sunday. Then the Sunday parish or outstation liturgy becomes a “communion of the SCCs.” During the homily the priest reflects back the experiences, insights and applications he learned from the bible reflections that took place in the individual SCC meetings. A concrete example. Last Monday afternoon during the Bible reflection in our St. Bruno Sserunkuuma Small Christian Community one member suggested the following practical action based on next Sunday's Gospel Reading from Luke 6: 27-38 about Jesus Christ's teaching that we should love our enemy: A particular SCC should invite someone the members do not know/do not like/an outsider/a stranger to next week's meeting of the SCC. I plan to use this example in my homily at St. Mary's Parish, Modeko, Morogoro on Sunday, 18 February.
Learning No. 3: The importance of putting into practice the challenge of Bishop Patrick Kalilombe (formerly the Bishop of Lilongwe, Malawi) at the AMECEA (Catholic Bishops of Eastern Africa) Study Conference on “Planning for the Church in Eastern Africa in the 1980s" in Nairobi, Kenya in 1973. NOTE: AMECEA is an acronym for Association of Member Episcopal Conferences in Eastern Africa. It is a service organization for the National Episcopal Conferences of the eight countries of Eastern Africa, namely Eritrea (1993), Ethiopia (1979), Kenya (1961), Malawi (1961), Sudan (1973), Tanzania (1961), Uganda (1961) and Zambia (1961). Somalia (1995) and Djibouti (2002) are Affiliate members. Kalilombe said that every bishop, priest, brother, and sister should participate in a particular SCC – not as a leader but as a regular/ordinary member.
Over the years I have had lively conversations (and differences!) with African Sisters about their involvement/lack of involvement in SCCs. Often they say that they already live in a SCC, that is, their local convent so they don't have to get involved in the SCCs in their parish. But following Bishop Patrick Kalilombe's challenge, a scenario might look like this: In a particular convent one sister teaches in the primary school, one sister works in the local dispensary, one sister does pastoral work in the parish and one sister takes responsibility for the convent itself. But all four of these sisters are regular members of one of the parish-based SCCs to express their commitment to this new model of church and to better experience the ordinary life of lay Catholics in the parish.
At the AMECEA Study Conference on “Deeper Evangelization in the Third Millennium” in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania in 2002 Section 7 of the Pastoral Resolutions was on “Building the Church as a Family of God by Continuing to Foster and/or Revitalize the Small Christian Communities.” No. 43 states: “We recommend that a program on the theological and pastoral value of Small Christian Communities be included in the normal curriculum of the Major Seminaries and houses of formation of both men and women.” Now five years later, how many Catholic institutions in Africa have implemented this resolution?
Learning No. 4: Specific Youth SCCs are essential. Over the years I have tried hard to connect with youth in East Africa especially through two concrete areas: sports and music. I feel I have done well with the sports connection. But the many styles and varieties of African music still bewilder me sometimes. Father Benno Kikudo and I are good friends and we work closely together in animating SCCs. But we like different football teams! In his talk he mentioned that he roots for Yanga in Tanzania. I like Simba. In the English Premier League he roots for Arsenal. I like Chelsea.
Following African culture and traditions it is very difficult for youth to speak in a mixed group of adults. During this past year in Dar es Salaam we had a major breakthrough. Various "Mama Jumuiyas" started Youth Branches. The Youth SCCs meet on a different day of the week and along with the Bible Sharing/Reflection they discuss their own issues and concerns like boy-girl relationships and the use of leisure time. They also have special activities like jiving and football matches. Father Benno is modest, but in his Magomeni Parish last year the Youth SCCs staged the Kikudo Cup!
A powerful example of inculturation in Africa is the annual Beach Mass for youth in Dar es Salaam that attracts up to 10,000 young people. Bishop Method Kilaini mentioned this creative ("think outside of the box") approach in his talk on Tuesday.
Learning No. 5: The need of using a Pastoral Theological Reflection Process in SCCs to go deeper. Bishop Jacob Koda of Same Diocese referred to the importance of the pastoral circle in his talk yesterday. This process uses the well known "see, judge and act" methodology. Now SCCs in Africa are using various reflection processes and methodologies to pastorally and theologically reflect on their experiences, often using the tools of social analysis.
A helpful book is The Pastoral Circle Revisited: A Critical Quest for Truth and Transformation edited by Frans Wijsen, Peter Henriot and Rodrigo Mejia (Orbis Books, 2005 and Paulines Publications Africa, 2006). This book celebrates the 25th anniversary of the publication of the famous book Social Analysis: Linking Faith and Justice. It shows how the pastoral circle, in which social analysis plays a key role, has been implemented around the world. A good example is Chapter 4 by Maryknoll Lay Missioner Christine Bodewes that is a Case Study from the Kibera Slums in Nairobi, Kenya that documents how the use of the pastoral circle in SCCs can transform a parish.
An example of this process is to reflect on your experiences in a SCC:
1. Describe in detail your personal, concrete, practical experience of the event/ incident/happening.
2. Evaluate/critique the event/incident/happening.
3. Present concrete, practical suggestions for future pastoral planning.
Learning No. 6: Today’s challenge in Africa is to live with a creative, healthy tension between the different models of church using a both/and approach rather than an either/or approach. This is a bit "heavy," but it is very important to distinguish between different models in the Catholic Church.
1. Communitarian/Participatory/Collaborative/Circular/Inductive/Bottom-up Model vis-à-vis Hierarchical/Institutional/Pyramid/Deductive/Top-down Model.
2. SCCs Pastoral Model of Church/Parish as a Communion of Communities Model of Church vis-à-vis Traditional Parish Organizations/Societies/Apostolic Groups Model of Church vis-à-vis New Movements Model of Church.
I conclude by encouraging you to always "Think Jumuiya (SCC)!"
*Salvatorian Institute: A consortium of different religious congregations and societies that offers degrees in philosophy and theology. It is run by the Salvatorian Fathers and Brothers.
**Inculturation Week: Five-day institute run by Salvatorian. Lectures and seminars focus on one particular topic, this year it was small Christian communities in relation to the local African context and situation.
Father Joseph Healey, M.M. is a Maryknoll missionary priest based in Nairobi, Kenya. He animates small Christian communities in Eastern Africa. He has written many books and articles in English and Swahili on African culture, inculturation, SCCs, and mission. Email: JGHealey@aol.com
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Communities in East Africa - The Backbone of the Church Printable Copy
by Janet Srebalus, MM
“Jumuia Ndogo Ndogo!” That’s Swahili for “Small Communities.” My experience starts back in the mid seventies in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, when I was Secretary to the Diocesan Pastoral Council. The bishops of East and Central Africa came in contact with the bishops of Brazil and adopted their example after hearing how successful BEC’s (Basic Ecclesial Communities) were becoming in that country. With the difficulties of ministering to scattered groups of Catholics in rural and dense urban situations of Africa, the prospect of a structure of well-organized communities who could really know the needs of the people seemed to be a welcome solution.
The Pastoral Council of Dar es Salaam undertook a series of seminars to spread the word to the priests and the parish councils, which also were just getting a start at that time. Not only were the communities intended to be opportunities for spiritual growth in faith, but also the stepping stones for entry deeper and deeper into the sacramental life of the Church.
This was a vision that I did not see fully realized in the seventies, as I was called to the States for several years of Congregational Service at Maryknoll. When I returned to Tanzania in 1985, I was assigned to a small town in North West Tanzania, Tarime. Though the town was small, the parish was huge, about 20 to 25 miles square. In this vast territory, there were about 20 “out stations”, each with a small locally built place of worship, most of them mud brick with corrugated iron roofs. A designated local Catechist served each out station and these were further subdivided into smaller communities of eight to ten families which made up the SCC or “Jumuia Ndogo Ndogo”. By the eighties, the communities were well accustomed to meeting weekly for reflection on the upcoming Sunday’s gospel, approving and recommending couples for marriage and children for baptism, supporting and sponsoring youth for first communion and confirmation and providing references for those seeking to enter priesthood or religious life.
What is perhaps the most inspiring aspect of small Christian Community life for me is the visiting of the sick and the burying of the dead. As HIV/AIDS spread from a few cases in the eighties to the has epidemic it has became in the 21st Century, the Jumuias have responded magnanimously to caring compassionately for their neighbors, Christian and non-Christian, truly witnessing to the message of the Gospel and seeing the face of Christ in those suffering and outcast by society. I served in two other parishes after Tarime, from 1994 to 2000, and in each one, the communities were the backbone of the Church and the refuge for those in need.
Editor’s Note: While Srebalus was participating in the 2006 convocation she was also actively preparing to return to work in Tanzania.
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Tracking New Moments in SCCs Worldwide Printable Copy
by Joseph Healey, MM
As I write this it is exactly two years since Jeanne Hinton and I edited the 26 Chapters in our book Small Christian Communities Today: Capturing the New Moment (Maryknoll, New York: Orbis Books, 2005). As we continue to track the development of SCCs around the world here are "two" new moments that have emerged.
One very clear "new moment" that we don't emphasize in our book is "Small Christian Communities in Schools" (on both the high school and college/university levels). Here are some new examples that we have found:
1. Bishop Method Kilaini, the Auxiliary Bishop of Dar es Salaam Archdiocese, Tanzania, stresses that all the Catholic Boarding Schools in Tanzania should have SCCs of high school students.
2. Some of the Catholic major seminaries in Eastern Africa have SCCs of the seminarians.
3. In the Fall, 2006 issue of Gatherings (Hartford Archdiocese), there is an article by Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor of Westminister Archdiocese, England where he says three times that "I would ask every parish and school to establish small faith communities where they do not exist and to develop them where they are not already strong" (page 6).
4. The University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana has the Emmaus Program coordinated by the Office of Campus Ministry. Every year the program has some 35 Faith Sharing and Scripture Study Groups (six to eight college students each) that meet weekly to discuss the Gospel of the following Sunday. Some groups even meet from 11 p.m. to midnight! A Participant's Handbook contains weekly reflection materials on the Sunday readings geared specifically to the lives of the Notre Dame students.
5. The St. Thomas More Catholic Chapel and Center of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut has "Small Church Communities (SCCs) that are an opportunity for members of the chapel community, undergraduates, graduate/professional students, faculty, and other community members alike, to gather in an intimate setting during the week for faith sharing and personal support." A SCC Journal contains weekly reflection materials on the Sunday readings geared specifically to the lives of the Yale community. The journal also contains relevant articles to help students develop a Catholic vocabulary to be conversant about our Catholic faith at a level appropriate to university discourse. So far in the Fall, 2006 Semester a total of 126 students, faculty, staff and members of the community have signed up. A student can select a student only SCC or a mixed (with faculty) SCC.
6. Campus RENEW is "a two year process which facilitates renewal and transformation on college campuses. Small Christian Communities are the building blocks of this process. These communities create opportunities for students to experience community, spirituality, and service. They create leaders with a mature faith and social consciousness to guide the Catholic Church both today and in the future." It is coordinated by RENEW International based in Plainfield, New Jersey. Campus RENEW is very active in the following universities: Catholic University, Dominican University, Georgetown University, Louisiana State University, St. Thomas University (Florida) Texas A and M University and Texas Christian University as well as all nine universities in Charlotte Diocese.
A second "new moment" is the renewed interest in using a Pastoral Theological Reflection Process in SCCs. This process uses the well known pastoral circle/spiral or "see, judge and act" methodology. Our book documents how the Comunidades Eclesiales de Base (CEBs) in Latin America and how SCCs in various Asian countries have successfully used this creative process for a long time. But now SCCs in both Africa and North America are using various reflection processes and methodologies to pastorally and theologically reflect on their experiences, often using the tools of social analysis.
A helpful book is The Pastoral Circle Revisited: A Critical Quest for Truth and Transformation edited by Frans Wijsen, Peter Henriot and Rodrigo Mejia (Orbis Books, 2005). This new book celebrates the 25th anniversary of the publication of the famous book Social Analysis: Linking Faith and Justice. It shows how the pastoral circle, in which social analysis plays a key role, has been implemented around the world. A good example is Chapter 4 by Maryknoll Lay Missioner Christine Bodewes which is a Case Study from Nairobi, Kenya that documents how the use of the pastoral circle in SCCs can transform a parish.
A process of practical theological reflection will be used during the "National Joint Convocation on Small Christian Communities" to take place at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota from August 9-12, 2007. Brother Robert Moriarty, S.M., explains: "The convocation will follow an adapted version of the NAME process:
Name the experience to be addressed.
Analyze the socio-cultural and ecclesiastical contexts.
Make connections with the Catholic Tradition.
Enact strategies and tactics for action.
In this case the initial task is to name the experience of Small Church Communities along with the opportunities and challenges we face in advancing this vision for parish. The next step has to do with reflecting critically on the situation of culture and church in North America today in so far as it impinges on our Small Church Community experience. The process then moves on to connect with the resources of our Catholic Tradition to identify those resources that will support our effort to promote and support the Small Church Community experience. The final step will involve the enactment of possible strategies and tactics to capitalize on the opportunities and address the challenges we face in realizing the contribution Small Church Communities can make to church and world in North America in the years immediately ahead."
The original Orbis Books Edition of Small Christian Communities Today: Capturing the New Moment from Maryknoll, NY was published in July, 2005 with a print run of 1,720 copies. Cost: $20. There was a second printing in January, 2006. At present it has sold 2,258 copies. The Africa English Edition was published by Paulines Publications Africa (Nairobi, Kenya) in March, 2006 with a print run of 2,000 copies. Cost: $5. The Asia English Edition was published by Claretian Publications (Bangalore, India) in July, 2006 with a print run of 1,500 copies. Cost: $3.30. The book is presently being translated into Korean by the Seoul Archdiocesan Research Center in Seoul, Korea. An 80-page abridged and updated Swahili edition (the main African language in East Africa) will be published by Paulines Publications Africa (Nairobi, Kenya) in late 2006. An abridged and updated Spanish edition is being prepared that may be published by Editorial Claretiana in Argentina in 2007.
Editor's Note: Father Joseph Healey, M.M. is a Maryknoll missionary priest living in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. He animates SCCs in Eastern Africa.
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