KENYA: Catechists, Family Life Coordinators Undergo Training On Family Ministry
Rev. Fr. Anthony Makunde, AMECEA Secretary General
A two-week certificate program for catechists and family life coordinators has just been completed at Saint John Paul II College for Marriage and Family Studies in Nairobi, Kenya, where 33 participants from Uganda and Kenya gathered from February 18 to March 2, 2019 to be empowered on how to strengthen Catholic marriages and prevent their breakdown.
Speaking as PHILOTHEA Mission Society Director at the closing ceremony that culminated with Eucharistic celebration at St Joseph’s Centre at Karen in Nairobi, Sr. Florence Kabala PMS, PhD, explained to AMECEA Online News that the program comprises of four modules on family ministry, which is also beefed up by inputs from couples, testimonies, cultural activities and by a daily program that includes daily celebration of the Holy Eucharistic and common prayers.
Preventing breakdown of families organized by
St. John Paul II College for Marriage and Family Studies
The program includes the doctrinal and anthropological area whereby participants look at Scriptures, the Sacrament of Marriage and Church teachings. It also touches on the moral aspect whereby participants are informed about human sexuality, natural family planning and effects of contraceptive. The Pastoral aspect of the program includes preparation for marriage, family spirituality, parenting and family counseling. Last but not least the social-cultural dimension of the program looks at the contemporary effects of sexual evolution of family life and the subsequent pastoral challenges.
Philothea Mission Society Director
The program targets catechists and family life coordinators who are aged between 24-50 years so that they are empowered with skills on how to give pastoral accompaniment to families and how to address the contemporary social issues affecting the African family in their respective dioceses and parishes.
“This program is all about the pastoral agents accompanying marriages so as to contribute to healthy family life and pastoral care. This is what Pope Francis is talking about in his Apostolic Exhortation Amoris Laetitia, aware that there are many challenges that families are facing today,” said Sr Florence, “In fact, we feel that this age group is the right one because they have the energy to do do some apostolate with families,” she continued.
The John Paul II College in Nairobi is under supervision of Saint John Paul II Pontifical Theological Institute for Marriage and Family Sciences at the Lateran University in Rome. This program which costs approximately US Dollars 600 per participant is fully sponsored by the the Institute in Rome while training that was offered in 2017 was at a cost sharing arrangement.
In December 2018, John Paul Institute in Nairobi offered a training to couples on the same; this coming May, the Institute shall also offer a fully sponsored program to over 80 priests from all over the AMECEA region who later during the month will be joined by this group of catechists and family coordinators.
“We are grateful for the support coming from the Institute in Rome. However, this is not going to be the norm. Local contribution is always very important as they may soon reach a point where they will say that participants chip in something.”
Spiritual Director of Philothea
Missionary Society
Stressing the importance of the program, Fr George Kocholikal, SDB, who is Spiritual Director of PHILOTHEA Missionary Society said, “Today, there are so many children suffering all kinds of abuses even in families. Some are even dying before they are born due to abortion and other reasons. We must let children come to Jesus through strengthened families and by preparing the young people who are to get married,” he said.
In his remarks as Secretary General of AMECEA, Rev. Fr Anthony Makunde congratulated both the training team and participants and urged them to be ambassadors of the Institute, “We do not need to employ a marketing officer for this program. There are quite a number of people in Conferences who would like to come for this training. Please share with them your experience and what you have received,” he said.
“We are happy that this training attracted some 5 participants from Uganda. We are looking forward to receiving catechists and family life coordinators, as well as priests and couples from the entire region of AMECEA which includes Ethiopia, Eritrea, Sudan, Zambia, Malawi and Tanzania,” he begged.
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