SECAM & ACWECA: Consecrated Women to Share their Dreams, Participation in the Church towards Ongoing Synodal Process
Sr. Jecinter Antoinette Okoth, FSSA
As various actors in the Church partake in the ongoing synodal process which commenced last year October 2021, Consecrated women under their umbrella body the Association of Consecrated Women in Eastern and Central Africa (ACWECA) are set to share about their dreams and participation in the Church at an upcoming zoom webinar slated for Thursday, April 28.
The session convened by African Synodality Initiative, a project of the Jesuit Conference of Africa and Madagascar (JCAM) in collaboration with the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM), will see consecrated women shade light on their position in the Church today and how they participate in the decisions affecting them in a synodal Church.
“Women Religious all over the world contribute to the Church’s mission through their diverse vocations of service. They journey closely with the People of God and have a deep knowledge of their dreams, joys and sorrows,” reads part of the webinar invitation message shared with AMECEA online as the message continues, “Women religious enrich the Church through their witness and work as theologians, teachers, spiritual guides and professionals in many careers. Yet their service and contribution to the mission of the Church are neither always acknowledged nor appreciated.”
The ongoing synod themed “For a synodal Church: communion, participation and mission,” aimed “to reorder the Church’s internal mechanisms for discussion and reflection, and to help shape a new way for the Church to understand and articulate both her internal self-understanding and mission of evangelization,” Pope Francis has invited consecrated women to discern best how they can respond to their challenges and those facing humanity.
The forthcoming webinar to be moderated by the ACWECA communications officer Sr. Helen Kasaka from the Little Servants of Mary Immaculate will comprise of three Consecrated women panelists Sr. Prof. Agnes Lucy Lando, a member of the Sisters of Mary of Kakamega and currently serving as lecturer at Daystar University in Kenya, Sr. Teresa Mulenga a member of the Sisters of St. Theresa of the Child Jesus and the Programs Coordinator of the African Sisters Education Collaborative (ASEC), and finally the assistant Superior General of the Religious Sisters of the Holy Spirit in Zambia Sr. Mishael Manianga
The webinar scheduled for 03:00 PM, EAT will be available in both English and French and registration is ongoing through the link:
https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN__08PYZsaTb-yV19SZ0ufFA
