SMALL CHRISTIAN COMMUNITIES AS EXPRESSION OF COMMUNION A Case Study at St. Bhakita Catholic Church in Mukuru, Nairobi
Date
2005
Authors
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Publisher
Tangaza University College
Abstract
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.
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SMALL CHRISTIAN COMMUNITIES AS EXPRESSION OF COMMUNION A Case Study at St. Bhakita Catholic Church in Mukuru, Nairobi