AFRICAN PROVINCE INTERPROVINCIAL MEETING

A call for conversion of hearts as the African Province Interprovincial gathering opens

It was a historical event as the interprovincial gathering of the Society of the Holy Child Jesus (SHCJ) African Province was declared open by the Province Leader, Sr. Cecilia Nya.  This took place at the Holy Child College, Obalende, where Sr. Sophia Chizo Onuora is the Administrator. The activities marking the occasion have been scheduled to take place from the 11th to the 16th of August 2008. A total of 116 SHCJ sisters from the three provinces were present at the gathering: Eighty-six (86) sisters and five (5) novices of the African Province were present; Nine (9) sisters had come from the European Province; eleven (11) from the American Province including the Society web director, Sr. Marcia Sichol; also present at the gathering from Rome were the four (4) members of the Society Leadership Team including the Society Leader, Sr. Geraldine MacCarthy, together with the Society secretary, Sr. Louisa Huni-Dadzie. By supper time of Monday, 11th August, almost every participant had arrived.

On Tuesday, 12th August, the ceremony began with an Opening Mass presided by the Metropolitan See of the Lagos Archdiocese, Anthony Cardinal Okogie, and held at the Holy Child College chapel. He was assisted by the chaplain of the college, Rev. Fr. Edmund Akpala. Commenting on the Gospel (John 17: 18-23) in his homily, the Cardinal noted that Jesus had prayed for unity among his disciples. Unity, he said, is very important and very dear to Christ’s heart, but unfortunately, Christians have been everything but united. Many Christian groups are verbally fighting one another; certain community members are at loggerheads with one another. He said that though differences exist in the Church as well as in Religious Institutes, we should never allow our differences to divide us, since our unity is far more important than our differences. He urged the SHCJ to strive for unity in diversity since it is in unity that we best resemble the Blessed Trinity. However, he said, we should beware of ‘monolytic’ unity which fails to promote diversity but rather opposes the Blessed Trinity.

Sister Cecilia Nya, in her Vote of Thanks, thanked the Cardinal for the challenge he had given us to strive to discover how to be united in our diversity.

At the beginning of the Mass, Sr. Geraldine MacCarthy had taken time to explain the purpose of these interprovincial gatherings which occurred in the three provinces. She said that it was necessary to meet the sisters in their current context in order to discuss issues of importance identified to help the SHCJ move forward towards becoming more truly what we profess to be, that is, “ ‘an international community of women religious passionate about Christ and Christ’s Mission’ enabled and enriched by our Associates and all those with whom we collaborate in the variety of ministries to which we live out our common mission”.

Sister Geraldine said that  this gathering is the third and last of the gatherings in the Society this year and that it is in preparation of the 2009 province Chapters and also the 2010 General Chapter. She noted that most of us experience change when our hearts have been touched. Her hope is that these gatherings (in Africa, in Europe, in the U.S.A.) will bring about conversion of hearts so that “our heart sets as well as our mind sets will encompass the Society as a whole in all our conversations and in all our meetings”.  She invited us to look beyond the needs of our individual provinces and think of the Society.

After the Mass, everyone present was treated to a buffet meal amidst cultural dances. There was an exhibition of various items produced by the different communities of the SHCJ African Province.

At the evening session which began at about 4pm, Sr. Cecilia Nya formerly declared the gathering open. A short drama was used to highlight the need for everyone to be attentive to every event.

An input on the first topic for the gathering, “Education for Critical Awareness” was given by a panel of six SHCJ sisters, Teresa Okure, Helen Ochieze, Josephine Anto, Sheila McNiff, Jenny Bullen and Cecilia Snape. Sister Teresa used an image of a mixture of water, cocoa, milk and sugar in a glass to illustrate our unity in diversity. Sister Cecilia Snape noted that classroom education equips us for critical awareness, saying that education brings confidence in oneself, and hence, the ability to analyze issues more concretely. Small group discussions followed.

Finally everyone picked a name of an SHCJ present, supposed to be her ‘angel’. Each person is expected to do some good deed for her ‘angel’ during our gathering days and beyond.

The day’s activities ended with an evening prayer after which we had a supper. The recreation was open.

By Ebele Onochie, SHCJ

Day 2 (13th August): African Province Interprovincial gathering

On Wednesday, 13th August 2008, the group reports of the previous day’s task on the topic, “Education for Critical Awareness” were given in the larger group. One of the groups had this to share “A converging point from the speakers is the need for individual and communal critical awareness that moves us to unity, energizes us and stirs us forward to achieving our mission statement”.

The theme for the session was introduced as “Celebrating our SHCJ Spirit and Heritage”. A new set of groups was formed and each was given the task to creatively answer the following questions:

• What heritage do we share as one Society/ what did we inherit from our Mother Foundress?
• What are we pregnant with that is kicking to come to birth?

After the group meetings, a team of four persons were introduced to give us an input on the “SHCJ Life in the African Context”. These were Professor Frank Okoisor, who has been closely associating with our sisters in their ministries in Lagos; Professor (Mrs.) Antoinette Okaka and Madam Margaret Mary Issaka, who are our Past Students in Nigeria and Ghana, respectively; and Rev. Fr. Anthony Akinwale, OP, a Dominican priest and a brother to one of our sisters, Mary Akinwale. It was an “external auditing” and we heard how people see us.

At the evening session which started at about 4.00pm, the various groups creatively presented their understanding of our SHCJ spirit and heritage, which includes “Belief in the Trinity”, “Emblem: Our Symbol of Identity”, “Unlimited Elasticity of Spirit”, etc. With regards to the second question (What are we pregnant with that is kicking to come to birth?), the following emerged: We are yearning for love and oneness; unity in diversity; internationality in the area of missioning; Change in attitude: we need to think of each sister as a member of one Society and not members of one of the provinces. The fears that emerged include the fear of losing our identity as members of one continent, the fear of being alone, etc.

The theme for the evening session “Sharing our Resources” was introduced and a panel of five SHCJ sisters gave the input. These were Veronica Openibo, Sophia Chizo Onuora, Gertrude Denkabe, Monica Matthews and Ann Durst. The team gave us a brief rundown of the resources of the Society as found in the three provinces. Some members of the audience contributed to the discussion after which the evening session of the day was brought to a close with a Mass presided by Most Rev. Msgr. Anthony Obanla, Chancellor of the Lagos Archdiocese.

By Ebele Onochie, SHCJ

Day 3 (14th August): African Province Interprovincial gathering

The last day of the gathering began with a Mass at 6.30am presided by Msgr. Anthony Obanla. Later on at 8.30am, there was a continuation of the presentation by the panel on “Sharing our Resources”. Some issues were clarified such as the income/expenditure of the African Province, the financing of the interprovincial meeting, etc.  A few questions were given for reflection and brief discussion in small groups of threes or twos. One of the questions was “What is your vision on the sharing of our resources as one Society?” and a report was expected for this particular question. However, a few reports were given because of lack of time.

A task was given to the previous day’s groups as “Summarize your hopes and dreams for the SHCJ in a sentence and report it in form of a story/image/scenario”. After the tea break, the groups presented their dreams and handed in their symbols which were placed around a centerpiece. Some of the images were, a three-headed crocodile, a forest, a tree, a broom, the Blessed Trinity, the SHCJ emblem, the SHCJ Constitutions, the Bible, a mopping stick and can, a book, etc. Most of the symbols depicted our strength in unity. Everyone sang a song (fruits that make up the fruit salad) led by Sister Martha Attakruh, which symbolized our unity in diversity.

Our sisters from America presented a song to show their gratitude to their sisters in Africa for their hospitality and diligence. Other remarks were given by the SLT, PLT and the members of the African Province PCG.

The Closing Ritual which consisted of a brief prayer session brought the 2008 African Province Interprovincial gathering to a close at about 1.10pm.

By Ebele Onochie, SHCJ