SECAM: Archbishop Nkea Champions Digital Evangelization at CEPACS Golden Jubilee
Archbishop Andrew Fuanya Nkea of Bamenda Archdiocese, Cameroon
Sr. Henriette Anne, FSSA
At the end of the two-day meeting for the celebration of the golden jubilee of the Pan African Episcopal Committee for Social Communications (CEPACS), Archbishop Andrew Fuanya Nkea, of Bamenda Diocese, Cameroon reminded the participants that the digital world is a reality and the Church has to learn using it in the mission for evangelization.
Recounting what a media practitioner one time he said, “If you live by the seaside, you cannot build a wall around the sea. So, teach your children how to swim!” In short, the digital world is now a reality. The Church cannot swim in it. It is no more a tool. It is a culture from which we cannot escape. We have to learn how to use it in our mission of evangelization for the benefits it offers”.
In his presentation themed, “Celebrate what you have become, and become what you celebrate”, a saying attributed to St. Augustine of Hippo, Bishop Nkea said that their mission is to help foster communion, encourage participation, and incite the mission of their brothers and sisters.
“As media men and women in the Church and of the Church, as persons called to live in a Church that is synodal, namely Family of God in which everyone matters, your mission is to help foster communion, encourage participation and incite mission in your brothers and sisters”.
He reflected on the Gospel of Luke 4: 18-19, and stressed that the mission of media men and women is also “to form, in-form, and transform, not forgetting that they also have to transform and help conform recipients to the Good News, which is the Word of Jesus Christ”.
The Cameroonian Prelate who is also the President of the National Episcopal Conference of Cameroon (NECC) called upon the media practitioners to remember the theme for SECAM’s golden jubilee in 2019 in Kampala Uganda and consider using it for Evangelization.
“My dear media women and men, brothers, and sisters of the Church, Family of God in Africa: “Celebrate what you have become and become what you celebrate, “ And I would like you to remember that for the Golden Jubilee celebration of SECAM in Kampala, Uganda in July 2019, we chose a theme: Church Family of God: Celebrate your Jubilee; Proclaim Jesus Christ your Savior, which resulted in the Kampala Document. I hope that you have been working through it for some of what you as media practitioners can and should do for the work of Evangelization in Africa for the next fifty years.
Reflecting on the journey through the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, he added that parishioners seem to have been infected by another virus.
“Unfortunately, my dear brothers and sisters, now that we seem to have a handle on the virus and how to handle it, our parishioners seem to have been infected by another “deadly” virus, namely the media infection and so prefer to stay at home on Sundays, watching the TV instead of coming physically to Church and meeting with the fellow believers. The youth are the most infected by this media virus and you know better the challenges the media and the digital world are posing in the Church’s mission of evangelization and the work of human development”.
As a way forward, he called upon all the people of God to join hands in exploring creative ideas and innovative ways to make the digital space and culture more accessible to the parishes and mission stations. Focusing and remaining steadfast on Christ Jesus and His teachings, as articulated by St. Paul the Apostle: “I live, yet not I, but Christ lives in me!” (Gal. 2:20).
The Archbishop further told the media practitioners to recognize their crucial responsibility in the broader context of the synodal Church, saying “Every baptized person matters for the mission of the Church which is evangelization, you of the media also matter very much. This is to be your responsibility to celebrate what you have become and become what you celebrate”.
He also highlighted that the Church in Africa is currently at a crucial moment, something he described as Kairos adding that it is the fastest-growing community in the Church universal and the world with vibrant youth that need to be educated and invested in.
While addressing the participants during the meeting that took place from the 18th – 21st of this month in Lagos, Nigeria, Archbishop Nkea enlightened the members on past, present, and future as the three important parts of a celebration.
“A celebration has often three indispensable parts or stages, each very crucial to the other, namely the Past, the Present, and the Future. Thinking of the Past calls for reflection and Gratitude for the Present. What we learn from the reflection should lead us to lessons and planning with hope for the Future”.
