AMECEA: SCCs Pastoral Agents Equipped with Skills after the 50 Years Launch
Sr. Henriette Anne, FSSA
After the launch of 50 years of Small Christian Communities (SCCs) organized by the Association of Members of Episcopal Conference in Eastern Africa (AMECEA) on Saturday, August 19th, in Malawi, the SCCs animators drawn from AMECEA region were equipped with skills to help them guide members towards achieving spiritual and social objectives during SCCs gatherings.
In an online presentation, Mr. Alphonse Omolo highlighted two basic qualities of SCCs which he terms as “Gathered and Sent,” and noted that the integration of spiritual and public dimensions is important.
Expounding on the essence of “Gathered”, he said, that SCCs should provide a sense of belonging through mutual and reciprocal relationships giving space for generating meaning about God and the world while “Sent” engages with the larger social world, understanding their role beyond their own existence.
Addressing the over 25 pastoral agents, Mr. Omolo reminded them that SCCs members are diverse in age, socio-cultural background, education levels, motivations for joining, and experiences, and self-guided in their thought processes.
He added that the setting for SCCs meetings should be taken into consideration, stressing that members need to seat in a circular seating arrangement, with minimal barriers, which helps create an atmosphere of equality and open communication and a “small table with white cloth in the middle to place a candle, Crucifix and Bible”.
Facilitators were also reminded that their main goals are to guide the group process, ensure timely meetings, foster inclusivity, encourage participation, clarify discussions, and manage conflicts if they arise and they should be guided by the value of preparation listening, and participation.
To improve the outcome quality of SCCs gatherings, Mr. Omolo advised that the church should invest in capacity building of SSCs facilitators, encourage each member to participate and conduct research to expound
