Br Paul Noonan Formation Centre, Tamale: Weavers and Potters

Sunday, July 26, 2009

Weavers and Potters

One of the common dressings of the people of Tamale is the smock. A smock is a cloth worn as a top similar to a T shirt. However, it is made from a heavy cloth which has stripes running from the top to the bottom. The cloth is made in such a way that it projects outward at the waist level. It has been my desire to know how it is made. One of the most spectacular sites we visited was Gumani. I thought it was a big factory where there were big machines for weaving. On arrival there, I was surprised to see wooden stands on the ground and a long roll of threads extending from what seemed to me like sting sieving structure. It was explained to me that it was with this locally made structure that the weaving of the materials takes place. It seemed so difficult to weave. But when I was given an opportunity to operate the weaving machine I was amazed how simple it was. The problem would be fixing the strings in it and then the major concentration is focused on the speed.
It was a moving experience to learn that people have been using these traditional means to earn their living and sustain their livelihood. With the money they make they gather their provisions and ensure continuity of their business through buying threads from other traders. The machine gave me the impression of how talented we are. God made a great computer for man. One that if well utilized can bring about great transition to the lives of people.

In another encounter where people have used their natural computer so creatively is that of the Potters. Many times I hear of modeling as a great art. God indeed is described as a potter. The experience of witnessing this art attracted me to imagine Gods creative action. All the specific events of picking the clay, rolling small round shapes and joining them together, giving them a smooth surface and then a good finishing was lovely. It takes no effort to think like this. In fact it took about twenty minutes to complete a beautiful flower vase.
One of my resolutions towards the end of the visit was to try as much as possible and utilize my mind in all sorts of positive ways. To be creative even to the simple activities that the majority considers outdated.
(Peter Muthini Ndivo)

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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?”