Pastoral Solutions to the Obstacles in the Growth of Small Christian Communities in St. Massimo Parish – Meru Diocese, Kenya
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Date
2016
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Tangaza University College/Duquesne University
Abstract
The concept of a community is very well understood by an African because that is the daily
practical way of life. As many scholars have observed, Africans find value in life when that life is
well shared. When the concept of Small Christian Communities was introduced especially within
the AMECEA countries in 1973, the idea was received with a lot of enthusiasm and excitement. It
is a fact that in the Catholic Church today in Africa, there are many good things happening. These
include an increase in active Catholic Christian population, Christian marriages and growth of
Small Christian Communities. According to Joseph Healey who lives in Nairobi, Kenya, there are
over 180,000 Small Christian Communities in the nine AMECEA countries in East Africa. Kenya
alone has over 45,000 Small Christian Communities almost as many as the whole of the United
States.
When Missionaries came to Africa to spread the good news, they brought with them many projects
and programs. Schools and hospitals were started and built in different parts of the country.
Devotional groups were also started especially the rosary of our Lady. This had a big positive
impact to an African Christian, but with the introduction of the Small Christian Communities, life
changed, a new way of life was introduced. Praying together, reading and sharing the word of God
and eventually living the Gospel, was the best idea for the growth of Catholic Christianity for the
Church in Africa. It is a fact however to note that Small Christian Communities are neither projects
nor programs. Small Christian Communities are a new way of life that is to be understood and
lived. Introduction and growth of Small Christian Communities within the Church brought with it many
challenges in Africa. Among them is absenteeism especially within men and the youth, lateness to
SCC activities, low participation to SCC activities including shared prayers and bible sharing, lack
of knowledge on how to establish and run the SCC and lack of interest from some clergy and
parish pastoral council members. However the major challenge I experienced at St. Massimo was
the size of the SCCs. The members of each individual Small Christian Community were so large,
numbers ranging between fifty and hundred families.
Therefore, the objective of my paper is to identify these challenges and try to pinpoint the pastoral
solutions to some of them especially at St. Massimo Parish, Meru Diocese in Kenya. This will help
to strengthen the existing Small Christian Communities, uplift the awareness of the objectives and
advantages of belonging and being active in the SCC and creating right attitude towards the
establishment of SCC in our neighbourhood.
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Keywords
Pastoral, Obstacles, Small Christian Communities, Growth