Bachelor Of Arts Religious Studies

Permanent URI for this collection

http://192.168.4.170:4000/handle/20.500.12342/1340

Browse

Browsing Bachelor Of Arts Religious Studies by Author "LASWAI, FRANCIS G."

Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    SMALL CHRISTIAN COMMUNITIES AS EXPRESSION OF COMMUNION A Case Study at St. Bhakita Catholic Church in Mukuru, Nairobi
    (Tangaza University College, 2005) LASWAI, FRANCIS G.
    In the Catholic Church, we emphasise the idea that our Christian community is to have all the valuable elements of a human community. This is due to the fact that our Christian community is simply a human community transformed by the I loly Spirit. In this community mutual trust and affection has to exist among the members. The guiding principle of such community has to be grounded on the word of God, Eucharistic celebration and it should be apostolic, making sure that there is a truly sharing and caring spirit among the members. SCCs are the Church at the grassroots. 0' I lalloran says "The small community is a living cell within the Church; a small-scale group with human warmth; a group in which the Gospel can be lived totally; a nucleus that projects itself into the wider community be it parish or diocese." They make the Christians live their Christian faith in a more profound way, making sure that what the Church teaches is well lived. SCCs lead to the involvement of every member in the common task and mission of the Church. In fact they affect the structure of the Church life as "they engage parishioners in the personal relationships needed for mutual support, faith reflection, and participation in the mission of Christ."2 I J. O'HALLORAN, Living Cells, 11. 2 htt://www.nplc.org/small communities.htin The members of such a community come from a given geographical area. Every member of the Church is called to participate in these communities. Hence, these communities represent the members of the Church in each area and can take decisions in their name, and their leaders can constitute the Parish Council. Through the SCCs, 'Immanuel' that means God is with us is really experienced and lived. It is in SCCs that Christians live the sacraments in a more practical way. Besides that it is in the SCCs that the Christians experience the Church as a new way of being together, communion with each other. When I started participating in the SCCs during my short pastoral at Masii Parish in Machakos, Kenya, and later in Tanzania at Usa River Parish and Mkuu Parish, I witnessed all what I have stated above. The members of the SCCs in their respective areas were sharing the Bible according to their own understanding. They were applying the gospel in their daily lives. They were praying together with confidence, and breaking bread together in the Eucharistic celebration. They were ready to attend to the needs of anybody who has a problem and sometimes they were able to say no to different injustices in their society. They were living closely just as the early Christian communities lived according to the Acts of the Apostles. These aspects motivated me to choose this topic for my long essay that I may research on the way SCCs bring people more closely to one another in order to have a good Christian community. I will use St. Bhakita Catholic Church in Mukuru, Nairobi, as a reference, trying to show how the SCCs bring people more closely to one another. In the SCCs of St. Bhakita Catholic Church, we realize that among the services in which they involve themselves, each of them contributes in the building of communion in the Church. Communion put people in the position of sharing the life of God among themselves. This is the communion, which is rooted in the life we share with Christ by the virtue of Baptism. Due to the presence of the Spirit in us, we have the love of God in us. We are called to share this love to others, something that leads to communion among us. Moreover, in a community centered on the love of God, it opens a room for dialogue and mutual trust and understanding among the family of God-the Church. The main objective of this paper is to reflect on the idea of communion in our Church today. All the faithful are called to be in communion with God and one another in building up the Kingdom of God. For a missionary in the world today should be aware that SCCs are a way of living the communion of the Church fully. As we are now in 2131 century, we should be aware that since 1973 in Africa, SCCs have played a significant role in development and in proclaiming the gospel of love. They have enabled believers to develop a more profound union with God and with one another. This work is divided into four Chapters. In chapter one we shall have an overview on the SCCs in East Africa. This will include the definition of the SCCs, and the understanding of SCCs in the New Testament. Then we shall have a historical background of the SCCs and the difficulties encountered by SCCs in East Africa. I will also point the comparison between the SCCs in Africa and in Latin America. This will be followed by the purpose of SCCs in our Church today. Chapter two will deal with communion in the Church. We are aware that SCC are a way of incarnating the Church, the way of making Christ more manifested among his people, the grass roots of the Church. Hence, the communion lived in the whole Church should be made real in the SCCs. We shall start by defining the term Communion, which will be followed by an explanation of the communion of the Baptised. Here we shall see the participation of the faithful in building the Kingdom of God from the doctrinal basis. Besides this, we shall explore the participation of the Laity in our Church today. It will involve an explanation about the position of the lay people in making sure that communion is manifested and lived in the Church. We shall also see the source of unity in the Church. Chapter three is on how SCCs bring communion among the Parishioners of St. Bhakita Catholic Church in Mukuru, Nairobi. We shall look at St. Bhakita Catholic Church, its location and the economic activities of the people. We shall have an overview on SCCs from this Parish that which will include a general understanding of SCCs according to the faithful of this centre. Then we shall examine the elements that express communion in the communities. Since any organization cannot exist without some drawbacks, challenges, we shall have a section on the challenges facing SCCs at St. Bhakita Church. At the end of this chapter we shall make a comparison of SCCs of St. Bhakita Church and my personal experience on SCCs in Tanzania. The last chapter will be about practical suggestions. It is a chapter, which gives some possible steps to be taken in order to have a well-established SCCs. Lastly; we shall have evaluation and conclusion of this essay, which will be followed by the questionnaire used in the collection of necessary material for compiling this work.