KENYA: A Need For Authentic Witnesses Of The Gospel For a Church Says Bishop Kamau.
By Janet Hinga
The committee from the Kenya Conference of Catholic bishops- KCCB, Commission for Clergy and Religious, on the 24th-26th September 2020 held an online workshop for all the catholic Liaison Committee members and the Pontifical Mission Societies-PMS under the theme Communication for collaboration.
The auxiliary bishop of Nairobi Rt. Rev David Kamau who is also the commissions’ chair, during the opening of the session on the 24th of September 2020 was awed by the power of technology in the present pandemic times that has helped bridge the gap in the traditional way of communication in the world and especially in the church.
“Who could have thought that one day we would all be seated in homes, communities and still connect with one another using technology for such a workshop. Now we know that distance, time and space doesn’t matter once we are determined to accomplish any task. Technology has indeed changed the way we function and we the Church have not been left behind” He said in his speech.
With the current global pandemic taking a toll on the economy and more so on evangelization, His Grace expressed a mutual concern from the clergy on the pandemic effects on the norm way of interactions with God’s people.
“At some point, we all felt hopeless of the flock in the face of a calamity. We have been pushed to embrace technology and discover new ways that can still be connected with the people of God. Technology has indeed changed the way we function and we the Church have not been left behind. We are still encouraged to imbue the spirit of sharing, cooperation, and mutual respect.
He further acknowledged of the blessing in disguise in the pandemic and called on the clergy to highlight during the workshop on the challenges they face in their various dioceses and come up with solutions for better communication directives which will facilitate easy evangelization.
“I urged your brothers and sisters to discuss openly the challenges we face and comments on how we can work together as agents of evangelization. Evangelization is the common goal that should unite us. Most importantly, I appeal for your support in our efforts of collaboration in the various areas. This will benefit all of us.” He said
With October being the Mission month all over the world whose aim is to awaken the awareness of the meaning of mission and renew the sense of responsibility for proclaiming the Gospel with new enthusiasm, Bishops Kamau’s reiteration on the need for authentic witnesses of the gospel during this times calls for the commitment of all stakeholders.
“Today more than before, we are called to find innovative and creative ways to evangelize. As agents of evangelization, we will be challenged to look at the way we carry out the mission of Jesus Christ. I hope that we use these days together to share ideas that will benefit the Church in Kenya and the entire world. It will only work if we collaborate, if we work together.”
The virtual session which was overseen through the office of the National Executive Secretary of the Commission for Clergy and Religious- KCCB. Under the leadership of Sr. Joan, in an interview she explained that, “Our goal is to strengthen the Liaison Committees in the dioceses. It is an opportunity to have conversations on how we can work together for the sake of the mission of Christ. We do hope to have some concrete actions we can take. Especially on how to network better.”
She further concluded that, there will be more future workshops for more pronounced plans in the continuity of the mission of Christ and more so in the Mission Month of October.
