Br Paul Noonan Formation Centre, Tamale: March 2014

Saturday, March 15, 2014

CAPITAL DEVELOPMENT AT THE NOVITIATE

The construction of a concrete court able to accommodate basketball and volleyball has meant a significant improvement in our recreational facilities. It was complete by the end of November, and will shortly have a roof put over it to provide shade from the hot sun and shelter from rain. This will make it a very useful facility in the climatic conditions of Tamale.

For those who have been here, the court occupies the open space on the left after you enter the compound, in the open space bordered by the watchman’s house, the piggery and the chapel classroom wing.

Roofing is still in progress and once roof is completed, it will also provide a sheltered and paved space that can be used for social gatherings. The novices, who up till now have played mainly football on our small field at sport time, are now busy polishing up their volleyball skills and acquiring the basics of basketball.

Big Martin - Basketball Star tests the court!

Martin tries our the court with the new basketball!

Martin approves with a satisfactory pose for the blog!

The Basketball court - view from the Piggery towards the Team Room.

Monday, March 3, 2014

INTRODUCING TAMMY

The blog in 2012 chronicled the death of Rex, the novitiate dog. At the start of 2013 we got a new female puppy which, after some uncertainty, was named Tamale (or Tammy for short).

Under the devoted care of Martin, Tammy has grown and flourished. She is out and about after 6 pm each evening, helping the watchman keep the compound secure. Sometimes chasing a local cat which ventures onto our property distracts her, but otherwise she co-exists happily with the human and animal residents of our property and is a reassuring and friendly presence. She has never caught up with that cat, so maybe there is no real animosity there, either!

The Dog's Master and Handler - Big Martin feeds Tammy...

Martin prepares Tammy for a walk!

Like all professional dog handlers, Martin takes Tammy for a walk around the compound.

Martin and Tammy resting!

Tammy takes a loving hug before going back to the kennel.

What do we want this novitiate to be?

There is a saying that goes something like this: “If we don’t do what we believe in, then we’ll end up believing in what we do”. Without a vision that is authentic and alive to guide our actions, then we can settle for rationalizing the status quo or what is convenient and comfortable.
One of the first things the new team in Tamale did was to spend time beginning to articulate its vision of a novitiate beyond the basics laid down in our Constitutions. Here are some elements of what we came up with:
Novitiate is a journey, a process that involves KNOWING, EXPERIENCING and CHOOSING.
It is an INITIATION into Christian Brother religious life, so a “rite of passage” into a new identity, a time of learning and testing.
Novitiate confronts the novices with the Brother’s vocation as a call to brotherly solidarity and community, not to privilege, status and security.
It involves exploration of the basic values of faith and vocation, and the challenge to embrace these out of personal conviction and free choice.
Novitiate means understanding that a religious vocation makes a claim on the whole of the person and his life, including his inner life, his relationships and his professional activity (ministry). Furthermore, it challenges the novice to see the dynamic inter-relationship of these areas and to learn what their integration means.
Novitiate is a time of DISCERNMENT. The novice learns more deeply who he is, and what this Christian Brother life is. There is a constant back-and-forth movement between these two poles as an answer is sought to the question, “Is this where I am meant to be? Is this the life that will enable me to find my true self in God?”