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Dodoma (Agenzia Fides) - The Church in Africa will grow if the "Small Christian Communities" have a priority role and will be strengthened: says Fr. Emmanuel Chimombo, pastoral coordinator for the Association of Member Episcopal Conferences in Eastern Africa (Amecea). As Agenzia Fides learns, during an international seminar on that form of community, carried out in recent days at the headquarters of the Bishops' Conference of Tanzania, Fr. Chimombo encouraged Amecea countries to promote Small Christian Communities. The objective of this meeting was to compare the different ecclesial community experiences, within the African Church, to make sure that "one could learn from each other", giving particular focus to the Small Christian Communities.
"Let us go ahead and make sure that no one is left behind, guaranteeing that we are all participants in this missionary activity", he underlined. "In what way can the Church guarantee lay people a realistic personal encounter with Jesus?" Fr Chimombo asked, highlighting the guidelines of the seminar. Testimony, missionary dimension of the laity and Christian charity through community activities: these are the other aspects which Chimombo focused on during his speech.
Mgr. Gervas Nyaisonga, president of the Bishops' Conference of Tanzania, intervened inviting all the countries of Amecea to guarantee that "the small Christian communities can become a model of evangelization and ensure that the life and activities of this form of Christian life are addressed in a constructive manner".
"The Church is the family of God, built by the community. Communities are formed by the family and small communities of baptized", said the representative of Missio Aachen, Johannes Duwe. "The model of the Small Christian Communities is a gift of the African Church to the universal Church. I am happy to have been able to share and learn from this seminar". (AP) (Agenzia Fides, 17/9/2019)
