Br Paul Noonan Formation Centre, Tamale: A WONDERFUL WORKSHOP ON AFRICAN SPIRITUALITY

Thursday, August 8, 2013

A WONDERFUL WORKSHOP ON AFRICAN SPIRITUALITY

Who would deny the fact that we Africans have invested so much faith in western religions to the extent of disowning our own!

Well, perhaps it is as a result of the way it has been passed on to us. Most of us generally perceive African Traditional Religion (ATR) from a negative perspective only, so we tend to associate it with superstition and harmful practices such as witchcraft. This shallow perception has indeed led us to misunderstand the real meaning and significance of ATR, generation after generation.

However, from the workshop we had in July with Br. Amandi Mboya, from the East Africa District, I realised that ATR is more of good than ‘evil’. The workshop helped us first-year novices to understand some of the challenging areas and issues within African Tradition Spirituality.

During the discussions, we discovered that there are some similarities between ATR and the western religions, such as Christianity. The similarity came out quite vividly especially in relation to the belief in one transcendent creator/supreme being; the use of rituals and sacrifices during important occasions; the belief in a spiritual world; and the interconnectedness of humankind and the rest of creation. Because of this, there has been some adoption of customs and practices from ATR in Christian life.

We finally reflected on the possibilities of incorporating some of the helpful traditional practices during our community prayer and liturgies (e.g. Eucharistic celebrations). This was clearly taken as a challenge.

It was indeed a fruitful workshop which, I believe, brought a more holistic growth and vision.

We sincerely express our gratitude to ‘professor’ Amandi for this fabulous contribution to our ongoing formation programme.

Amandi’s visit coincided with short visits from two other “distinguished” guests – Br. Richard Walsh from Lusaka, our Africa Province Leader, and Br. Pious Conteh, the West Africa District Mission Development Officer. As the photos show, their visit was not all work, and they enjoyed the hospitality of our Brothers in the Choggu community here in Tamale.

Lawrence Agalo

Br. Amandi and the nine novices,

looking smart in their “CB Novices” shirts.

Three visitors to Tamale enjoying a social evening

with the Choggu community.

(From left): Br. Pious Conteh, West Africa’s Province Mission Development Officer; Br. Conrad from the novitiate team; Br. Amandi; Br. Andrew, Choggu Community Leader and Principal of Kanvili School; Br. Richard Walsh, Africa Province Leader; and Bros. Paul Yalla and Boniface Adagiyele of the Choggu community.

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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?”