Small Christian Communities: The church in Kitui has grown tremendously, with evangelization now being taken even closer to the family through the Small Christian Communities (Abbreviated: SCCs) since they were introduced in the diocese in 1994.
These Jumuiyas (Swahili (Kenya’s National Language)* term for Small Christian Communities) have taken church from the outstation to the neighbourhood, right into the family. (SCCs have been defined as the Church in the neighbourhood). On average an outstation has an average of five SCCs, which are composed of 10 to 15 families.
These Jumuiyas meet throughout the week for prayers, on a day which each SCC has planned to be meeting. Most of these meetings normally are held in the afternoon, between 4 pm and 5:30 pm, at one of the members’ home. (However there are some others that meet in the morning hours)
Celebrating faith in SCCs: The meetings start with praying rosary. Then a reading (mainly, the gospel of the Sunday that is following) is read. If the SCC is in a town where there is a possibility of some people not understanding the local dialect, the reading may be read in the three languages; English, Kiswahili and Kikamba (97 per cent of inhabitants of Kitui diocese are Kamba people), the local dialect.)
Then the whole Jumuiya shares the reading, each person contributing according to his or her own understanding, or even asking questions where he or she does not understand. If there is priest/ deacon/ seminarian/ nun or a brother, they will then share the reading deeply (Note that: The priest or Deacon does not preach or give sermon, but participates in the sharing just like any other present member. Thus, it is the entire Community preaching to itself.)
At the end of the reading, an activity of the week is gotten, based on the teaching. For instance, the Gospel on Jesus feeding the 5000 people will call the members of a Jumuiya to share whatever little they have with others, despite the economic hardships the people in Kitui are facing.
Therefore, for instance, the members of that SCC will organize to visit some sick person or an orphan that week, where each member will contribute something, whether in kind or monetary, to assist an identified person or group of people locally. The visit may also be in terms of offering some service to the person, such as weeding his/ her garden on a specified day, et cetera.
The meeting then goes ahead with prayer of the faithful, presenting offertory (which will be used for the needs of that SCC), and if there is a priest, the members of the meeting will receive Holy Communion. After singing and announcements, the meeting ends with concluding prayers, with the next meeting being scheduled to take place in somebody else’s home.
The Essence of Community: The place of the SCCs in African way of life befits, as it expounds the already existing socio-religious relationships of people in a community. In Traditional Africa, constructing house structures, weeding, caring for the underprivileged, et al, was/ is a community based work, and thus, when the AMECEA, an umbrella Episcopal body of the church in the English East and Central Africa came up with the idea to evangelize the community through this church in the family in early 1980s, Africa, Kenya, and above all our Diocese of Kitui was ripe for small Christian communities.
It is not only that community is being evangelized, but also it has helped to define the role of the lay people in the church, in that, the notion that the church belongs to the ‘Muvea’ (Kamba name for ‘Father’) is quickly ‘dying’. And more so, the faithful have come out to support the church in kind and service, through these jumuiyas.
Among other activities undertaken by the SCCs as community based family of God include sharing the needs of the community; identifying and utilizing the local talents such preaching, singing, manual work, conflict resolution et cetera; as well as pastoral care for the sick/ aged/ vulnerable including helping them in sacramental catechesis, etc.
To enable these Christian Communities grow even stronger, the leaders undergo constant and regular leadership empowerment trainings at the Parish level. In most parishes, these trainings take place once in one or two months.
Benefits: Through the Small Christian Communities; family life is now much stronger, as the structure of the Jumuiyas creates a serene environment for family members to come together and share on common issues affecting them.
SCCs have enabled the community members in the village to know and appreciate each other.With support from our partners, notably the Swiss Lenten Fund, Regular leadership empowerment trainings ensure that these communities remain vibrant and participatory. Through these communities, the faithful (laity) have come to understand, appreciate and undertake their responsibilities as required of them by the church.
These small Christian communities have now fronted a formidable evangelization force that has been successful in counteracting Pentecostal sects and personal ministries that seek converts, mainly targeting the Catholics.
Challenges: Nevertheless, there are still many challenges that hinder the growth of the Jumuiyas.
The first major challenge is poverty. Kitui Diocese covers four administrative districts; Kitui Mutomo Kyuso and Mwingi, in south Eastern plains of Kenya, a region that is generally classified as Arid and Semi Arid Region. Lack of rains means long drought (in some areas, it has not rained for over six years now!), which means lack of food and water for both human and animal consumption.
This has led to a vicious cycle of poverty in this region where people mainly depend on agro-livestock farming. Thus, many people worry more about where to get their next meal. Due to this, some people are forced into living in ways that are contrary to the fundamentals of Small Christian Communities, such as early girl child marriages.
Also there are social cultural beliefs that affect the work of the Christian Communities. Among the basic ones are that Kamba people are yet to achieve the required gender balance. As a result, most of jumuiyas have become women dominated, with men taking little interest in them. In some areas, some people are still embedded in cultural practices that are contrary to the teaching of the church.
HIV/AIDS also remains a challenge, where more resources are being channeled to support the sick, the orphans and on awareness campaigns and this usually strains the resources in most of these SCCs.
In addition, within the neighbourhoods, some families are far apart, and thus, some people fail to participate in the activities of the SCCs out of the vastness of the distances.
Nevertheless, SCCs have been instrumental in ensuring:
Ú That Sacraments are administered especially to the house bound;
Ú Strong family bonds within the community;
Ú That faithful understand their identity as church; Faith is alive at the grass root level
Ú Strength to counteract Pentecostal sects
Ú Support of the SCCs members (and general community) socio-economically to fulfill various needs facing them.
The church here in Kitui and Kenya is rediscovering itself through this church at the family through SCCs.
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