Demetria Banda
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| Fr Henry Chinkanda |
According to the National Pastoral Coordinator, Fr Henry Chinkanda, some of the issues lined up for discussionduring a three-day meeting at Venraay was on how to close the Year of St. Joseph and initiate the Year of Amoris Laetitia which goes up to June 2022, how to assist the Legionary of Mary as they celebrate their centenary, how to collaborate with PMS as they have multiple events to celebrate which includesfour Centenaries and the feast of the Epiphany and above all, planning how to celebrate the Bishops’ Synod that was recently called for by Pope Francis.
The Synod "is intended to inspire people to dream about the Church we are called to be, to make people's hopes flourish, to stimulate trust, to bind up wounds, to weave new and deeper relationships, to learn from one another, to build bridges, to enlighten minds, warm hearts, and restore strength to our hands for our common mission,” said Fr. Chinkanda.
Laying special emphasis on the Synod, Fr. Chinkanda added that, “Pope Francis is calling on each one of us to live in communion, create space for everyone; to participate and work together so as to be able to fulfil our mission together as a Synodal Church.Synodality is being at the service of the mission of the Church, in which all members are called to participate and that’s why we are here so that together we may discuss on how best the Catholic Church in Malawi is going to celebrate the Synod during which the Pope wants to everybody to be involved”, he added.
Fr Chinkanda further remarked that the other aim of the joint meeting was to strengthen the spirit of collaboration between Pastoral, PMS, Family apostolate, chaplains and all agents of evangelization in the Church.
The participants worked out a questionnaire that would be used in the Synodal consultation process, which once approved, will be distributed from 5th December, 2021 which is the first week of Advent.
Expressing satisfaction at the manner and the outcome of the meeting, Chikwawa Diocesan PMS Director, Fr Ignacio Yohane applauded the meeting saying they have understood the required collaborative relationship which should always be there with the Pastoral and other agents of evangelization in planning for activities. He thenthanked the National office for organizing the joint meeting saying it has helped them a lot and asked them to continue.
Taking his turn, the Deputy Secretary General of Episcopal Conference of Malawi who is also the National Family Apostolate Coordinator, Fr Valeriano Mtseka described the meeting as “beneficial” due to the issues discussed for the betterment of the Church in Malawi. “This was a balanced meeting because issues that came out from the Pontifical Mission Societies and Pastoral Coordinators hitched upon families, so we saw that we can map a way forward and help families to look at issues from different angles. Whatever was discussed here will be useful to the Church in Malawi,” said Father Mtseka.
Also expressing his sentiments, Family Apostolate Chaplain from the Diocese of Zomba, Fr Augustine Danga said the joint meeting has helped him appreciate the need for collaborative mission in Church.