AMECEA: At Theological Symposium, AMECEA Acknowledged to Champion Pastoral, Cultural Interventions
Archbishop Maurice Muhatia Makumba
Sr. Jecinter Antoinette Okoth, FSSA
At a two-day theological symposium convened by the School of Theology of Tangaza University College (TUC) in Kenya, a Prelate has emphasized how the Association of Member Episcopal Conferences in Eastern Africa (AMECEA) region has been at the forefront in responding to missionary mandate of Christ by coming up with pastoral and cultural interventions.
In his presentation Thursday, February 22, Archbishop Maurice Muhatia Makumba pointed out that by AMECEA coming up with various institutions and pastoral strategies to enhance evangelization in the region, it has been responding to the call of Christ to make disciples of all nations.
“AMECEA, through its Plenary Assemblies, has over the years made many pastoral, cultural, and social interventions, some of which touch on specific areas in the region while the majority have been responses affecting the whole region,” the Vice Chairman of AMECEA disclosed while reflecting on the first special assembly for Africa of the Synod of Bishops which “recognized that the Church as a family cannot reach her full potential as Church unless she is divided into communities small enough to foster close human relationships.”
Based on this concern for the Church in the region to reach her full potential, AMECEA advocated, promoted, and adopted Small Christian Communities (SCCs) from the early seventies “as a pastoral priority in the region.” The model is recognized as AMECEA’s way of promoting a more authentic way of being Christian and of being Church and is currently celebrating 50 years since its existence.
The Prelate who is the Archbishop of Kisumu Archdiocese since 2022, and Vice Chairman of the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops (KCCB), highlighted that an AMECEA study conducted in the 1980s on Planning for the Church in Eastern Africa pointed out that, “We have to insist on building church life and work on Basic Christian Communities in both rural and urban areas,” and that “Church life must be based on the communities in which everyday life and work take place.”
Additionally, the Archbishop continued, “SCCs are an effective way of developing the mission dimension of the Church at the most local level, and of making people feel that they are part of the church’s evangelizing work.”
The February 22-23 symposium was held under the theme: Make Disciples of All Nations: The missionary mandate of Christ in the religious, cultural, and social context of Africa today.
Highlighting some other institutions AMECEA uses to enhance evangelization in the region the Prelate said, “AMECEA Pastoral Institute (API) was established to offer renewal spiritual courses to the clergy, religious, and lait in the AMECEA region and beyond.”
Even though API is currently under the Catholic University of Eastern Africa (CUEA) which is also an institution owned by AMECEA and aims to strengthen solidarity among the members and has itself become a catalyst for the growth of other Catholic universities and institutions of higher learning in the region. The Kenyan Prelate said, “It would be a pity if API lost its identity because of its association with the Catholic University of Eastern Africa since it deals with a specific pastoral need that goes beyond university education and focuses on the renewal of pastoral agents at different levels.”
Not forgetting the regional seminary of Blessed Bakanja AMECEA College (BBAC) as one of the AMECEA’s institutions responding to the call of Christ to make disciples of all nations, Archbishop Muhatia said that the regional seminary attached to CUEA, aims to offer agents of evangelization “an opportunity to access quality education at a premier institution while at the same time opens up opportunities for greater pastoral collaboration, integration and sharing of experiences among members of AMECEA.”
Through this seminary, AMECEA can widen its collaboration by “offering seminarians of Bakanja opportunities for pastoral experiences in the local parishes during their vacation.”
The Archbishop compared the interventions by the AMECEA region to the message from the late Pope Benedict XVI after the synodal assembly for Africa who said, “transforming theology into pastoral care, namely into a very concrete pastoral ministry in which the great perspectives found in Sacred Scripture and Tradition find application in the activity of bishops and priests in specific times and places.”
