SECOND VICE PROVINCIAL CHAPTER OF EAST AFRICA
DECEMBER 2022
DAY 1
Highlight Nr.01
Thursday, December 15th,
2022.
The stage is set.
The Vice-Provincial Chapter has just started this evening in Nairobi at the Rosa Mystica Spiritual Centre, Riara Road Nairobi. Capitulants come from Uganda and Tanzania to join those from Kenya in Nairobi. The Lay of the Alliance are also invited. The chapter will go from December 15th to 21st, 2022. The theme of the Vice Provincial chapter is:
Rekindling our Passion for the Kingdom of God: United to embrace the signs of hope in our time.
This evening, from
8 p.m. local time, the delegates to the chapter have just followed an orientation
lesson facilitated by Reverend Father Emmanuel Kihugho, former assistant
general invited by the Preparatory commission of the Vice Province as expert. The
introductory lesson consisted of a general explanation of the progress of the
provincial and/or vice-provincial chapter according to the rule of life of the
Augustinians of the Assumption.
Father Emmanuel placed
a particular emphasis on the attitudes to be observed during the unfolding of
the vice-provincial chapter, in particular:
• The spirit of
faith and listening to the spirit because the chapter is also a moment of
prayer and meditation, he added.
• Freedom and
open-mindedness and sense of belonging. The work of the chapter concerns in all
and for all the health of the vice-province of East Africa
• The secret to be
kept “secret”
• The good
disposition to work in order to deliver the fruits of reflection from different
groups in due time
• The spirit of
sacrifice
The work will be starting each morning at 8.45 am according to a timetable which will be voted on tomorrow by the capitulants. The opening mass will take place tomorrow Friday at 11:30 a.m. to entrust to God the progress and the happy outcome of the work of the vice-provincial chapter.
The session ended with the individual presentation of participants and a blessing made by the Vice-Provincial Superior followed by the “Salve Regina” before dispersing for the restful sleep of the night.
SECOND VICE-PROVINCIAL CHAPTER
DAY 2
Friday, December 15th, 2022
Highlights
Nr. 02
The climate is generous this Friday, the second day of
the Vice-Provincial Chapter of East Africa. The agenda is very abundant.
Father Dominic Kamau, an ex officio member of the
Vice-Provincial Chapter, introduced the day and invited Father Kizito, Vice-Provincial
of East Africa, to open the agenda of the day with a prayer session. After the
prayer, the Vice-Provincial Superior addresses the word of welcome to Father
Miguel DIAZ, Assistant General in charge of the Vice-Province of East Africa
who has just arrived from Rome for the chapter. He also took the opportunity to
welcome all the delegates and those invited to the Vice-Provincial Chapter.
After the official opening speech of the chapter, the
capitulants piously head into the chapel to participate in the Mass presided
over by Fr. Miguel DIAZ and animated by the student theologians of the Emmanuel
House community. During the Mass, Fr. Miguel invites all participants to be
"friends" of the Vice-Province as Christ becomes friends and close to
everyone.
Today, time is not generous for the capitulants.
Immediately, after Mass, it was time to elect the promoter, two moderators and
two secretaries of the chapter. It was after these elections that the
capitulants went to the refectory for dinner in order to rebuild their strength
for the rest of the day.
After a break of a few minutes, the assembly returned
to the room for a question-and-answer session to enlighten the lanterns on some
of the salient points raised in the Vice-Provincial Superior's evaluation
speech.
After this stage of the state of the vice-province the capitulants were entitled to an overview according to the various reports. The first was that of the Lay of the Alliance who deplore a very small number of lay men and a low participation in the community activities of the alliance. After the report of the Laity of the alliance was the report of Uganda, that of Kenya, Tanzania divided into two zones: Lake Zone containing the parish communities of Murutunguru and Mwanza and Arusha zone representing the other Assumptionist communities of Tanzania. The assembly was pleased to see how the Holy Spirit unfolds for the extension of the Kingdom of God through the diverse apostolates of the Assumptionists despite the challenges faced on the field. After this overview, the floor was given to Father Miguel to give his appreciation before the Assembly prepared for Vespers and Supper. As the saying states: Each day has enough trouble of its own. Tomorrow is another day.
Highligts done by Father François NZANZU, AA.
Saturday
December 17, 2022
Third
day of the Vice-Provincial Chapter
Highlights
No 03
This Saturday, December 17, in the church we start the privileged ferial of Advent. The work of the Vice-Provincial Chapter continues its merry way. The agenda becomes more and more intense and abundant. This weekend is not a relaxing one. There is a lot to do.
After the opening prayer done by Reverend Father Zacharie
Wasukundi and the summary of the yesterday report, the Vice-Provincial Superior
welcomes Reverend Father Yves Kaghoma, Provincial of Africa who has just joined
the capitulants from Butembo via Goma in the DRC.
Without wasting a single second, the promoter of the
chapter gives the floor to the various speakers for a series of presentations:
- Deacon Dominic Mutinda, recently appointed in the new
mission of Mombasa (Voi) presents his exposé on the Mombasa Mission which has a
double vocation: The sector of Kamtonga which is to be animated in order to
make it a parish in the days to come. The second vocation is that of a shrine where
the annual pilgrimages of Christians from the Diocese of Mombasa in Kenya take
place. The animation of the shrine is entrusted to the Assumptionists. This new
mission in Mombasa, like the other new foundations, calls us all to listen to
the Spirit and needs everyone's support...
- Father Maticha Cayus presents his brief exposé on the
question of "Justice and Peace" and Ecology in order to live in
harmony with mother nature.
- Father Benard Yala presents his exposé on Assumption
High School in Katua which began to operate in 2017. Note that the
Vice-Province of East Africa has made this secondary school its
"mobilizing work».
The Father invoked the joys and sorrows to carry out this
institution whose number of students is still very low (About 80 students). It
faces the difficulties of functioning and paying the salaries of the teaching
staff despite the goodwill and the sacrifice of the teachers and the
administrative staff.
He invited each one to talk about this school in the
church during announcement during mass, on the radio, on television and through
social networks in order to increase the number of students who will come to take
inscription in our school. Despite all these difficulties, the father concluded
his presentation by inviting us to never lose hope because little by little the
bird makes its nest.
- Father Ignatius Matongwa presented his exposé on the overview
of the “Safari zone” comprising the parishes of Loliondo, Digodigo and the new
parish in the Diocese of Eldoret. It is worth noted that at Loliondo one of the
Assumptionist religious is in charge of the Catechetical Center of the
Archdiocese of Arusha to train catechists. In Digodigo, apart from the parish
pastoral, there is also school pastoral and the work in the shamba. The new
parish of Eldoret began to operate from last November 20th 2022. It
is dedicated to Christ, King of the Universe. It does not yet have structures
and presents itself as "Jesus in the manger" who asks for help from
men and women goodwill...
The harvest is abundant. Let us pray the Lord of the
harvest to send workers in his vineyard.
After a short break, the capitulants come back to listen
to the presentation done by Father Waweru Wilson, in charge of formation within
the Vice-Province of East Africa. He underlines the insufficient number of
formators and calls for mutual collaboration especially with the other
Provinces which send young people in formation in the Vice-Province.
He also invoked the issue of continuing formation and
so-called “specialized” studies to face the challenges of modern society and
the study of the languages of the Congregation. In his presentation, Father Wilson
invoked the vocation of religious "brothers" which has to be promoted
and encouraged.
After a question-and-answer period to clarify certain
points raised in the presentation concerning the formation, the assembly was
invited for lunch to recharge the energies for the rest of the day.
At 3 p.m., the capitulants returned to the chapter room
for the rest of the presentations:
- Father Morris Macharia, Vice-Provincial Bursar presents
his exposé on the economic health of the Vice-Province. The economic life of
our communities depends on the economic health of the countries where the
vice-province has communities: Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. The economic imbalance
of one country or another has an impact on the daily life of our religious
communities.
Thus, to carry out economic activities successfully, each
religious has to pay his annual contribution, he underlined, recalling that the
formation houses depend on the interprovincial solidarity fund. This does not
exclude the pooling of goods in order to contribute even a little to the daily
life of the community.
Many challenges have been met, including a solidarity
fund for elderly and sick religious, lack of portfolio, ignorance of financial
realities among many religious, poor monitoring of income-generating projects,
lack of land that can serve as a cemetery for religious, etc.
The bursar ended his presentation by inviting everyone to
develop a “network” for benefactors of the Assumption and bring them into our
daily prayers.
After a debate on the economic life of the Vice-Province, the floor was given to Reverend Father Yves, Provincial Superior of Africa. In his presentation Father Yves gave an overview of the entire Province of Africa and the Vice-Province of East Africa. With a reassuring tone and proud of the religious working for the Kingdom, the Provincial Superior presented the statistics of religious working in the province of Africa and outside the Province.
He also invoked the place of the Lay of the Alliance
which constitutes an “opportunity” to be seized to accompany us in the
realization of certain works and/or to create others. There is a mutual
collaboration and esteem between Assumptionist religious and lay people who do
not hesitate to ask for collaboration in the extension of the Reign of God within
a framework of partnership in the school sector...
However, in any human work, there are always challenges.
Father Yves invoked a weak knowledge of our spiritual fathers, in particular
Emmanuel d'Alzon and Saint Augustin. Many Assumptionist religious do not speak spontaneously
about them. Also, there is a kind of contempt for lay people by certain
religious, a poor management of human resources, lack of motivation for missions,
lack of long-term planning and other shortcomings. The issue of war and
insecurity especially in the eastern part of DR Congo was also invoked.
Speaking of the Vice-Province of East Africa, the
Provincial Superior concluded his presentation in a “provocative” tone by
asking: Do you want to move from the status of Vice-Province to that of
Province?
Another question was to think of a work that would
involve collaboration between the Vice-Province of East Africa and the Province
of Africa. After having piously listened to the presentation of the Provincial
Superior of Africa, an exchange of questions and answers followed.
The floor was finally entrusted to Father Miguel, Assistant General in charge of the Vice-Province of East Africa. Father Miguel asked some questions in view of preparing the minds of the capitulants to work in groups discussion. He calls for listening to the Spirit in order to build a “new assumption.”
Some questions:
- What “proposals” should be implemented in order to
deepen the charism of the Assumption wherever we are?
- How to participate in the mission of the Congregation?
- How to think of a new assumption through our missionary
projects?
These questions and many others must be dealt with taking
into account the needs of the Church and of society as a whole in mutual
collaboration with the other provinces of the congregation.
It is in these words that the assembly divided into
various discussion groups in committees.
The work continues in commissions. Let us pray for our
commissioners that the Holy Spirit may guide their discussions.
Fourth Day 4 of the Vice-Provincial Chapter
Sunday, December 18th, 2022
Highlights Nr.04
Today we celebrate the fourth Sunday of Advent. It is the last Sunday of
this privileged time of the Church before celebrating Christmas. It is also
today that the final of the World Cup is played between Argentina and France.
In Nairobi, it is the 4th day of the Vice-Provincial Chapter. The
capitulants followed the different presentations from the five commissions. Discussions
around the report from the “Education and Development” commission took the
lion's share in the debates. After the presentations, it was time for the
various discussions to formulate certain recommendations where necessary.
Father Miguel, meanwhile, gave the profile of the delegate to the next
General Chapter. It was then that the capitulants proceeded to the elections of
Delegates to the General Chapter of next June 2023.
