PAN AFRICAN CARMELITE LEADERS AND FORMATORS ASSEMBLY
BOKO, DAR-ES-SALAAM, TANZANIA, 21-26 JANUARY 2015
CHRIST OUR HOPE
- We, the Leaders and Formators of the various Carmelite presences in Africa met at Boko, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania from the 21st-26th January 2015. We gathered together to exchange ideas and experiences and set up institutional structures that will facilitate greater intra-African communication, collaboration and cooperation.
- Agenda and Aims
Our agenda was as follows:
- to get to know each other in order to work together;
- to grapple with the various challenges in establishing Carmel in Africa;
- to exchange views pertaining to leadership, formation (initial and ongoing), self-reliance (resource mobilization) and approaches to ministry;
- to elect coordination committees
- to dialogue, propose and agree upon an operational framework and a series of guidelines on these committees.
- to encourage a culture of reflection and writing among African Carmelites in order to preserve African memory;
3. Inculturation
In the spirit of the African understanding that a person is a person through others, we understand that we cannot be Carmelite in isolation. As members of the one Carmelite Family – and from the one region represented by the one General Councilor, it does not make sense that we develop separately and in isolation. The strong sense of family in Africa, where members of the extended family are not seen as cousins but brothers and sisters, urges us to look beyond our delegations and Commissariats for ways of cooperation with each other in Africa. It is a sign of the times that countries have signed cooperation agreements to foster common goals and maximize trade and cooperation. Religious cannot be seen to lag behind this positive trend.
4. Commitments
We therefore resolve to undertake:
- To strengthen the cooperation already established in Africa in terms of the regional novitiates in Cameroon and Zimbabwe
- To establish the African Carmelite Leaders Forum
- To establish the African Carmelite Formators Forum in the two regions.
We believe in interaction/ cooperation. We hope to see in the future some level of interaction and cooperation between the two sister novitiates.
5. In the light of the many crises that plague Africa: hunger and disease, socio-economic difficulties, politico-religious conflicts, lack of transparency in leadership and accountable structures, we commit ourselves to servant leadership that identifies us with our people following the spirit of the Carmelite Rule in imitation of Jesus Christ who did not come to be served but to serve (Mk 10:45; Phil 2:5-11).
6. Co-ordinating Committees
As Leaders and Formators, we know that we remain brothers entrusted with responsibilities for which everyone is a collaborator. Therefore, we have established frameworks and guidelines for dialogue and consultation by electing coordinating committees, that will facilitate our working together as African Carmelites. This, we hope, will make us more open to the realities of each other and keep us attuned to the Gospel and the needs of our communities both in terms of the communities themselves and of the people we serve.
7. Drawing on Resources
While it is important to draw on the long traditions of Carmel in the other parts of the world, we note that new establishments can also benefit from older foundations within Africa in terms of accumulated experience and resource mobilization, be it human or material. Cooperation will strengthen our unity as a family and our common sense of belonging.
8. Gratitude
We are very grateful to our respective jurisdictions for the support they have given to this initiative; to the General Council for its interest in the development of Carmel in Africa; to the Sisters and local community of Carmelite friars for their welcome, support and hospitality; and to our translator who enabled us to communicate in English, French and Portuguese.
9. We entrust the future of Carmel in Africa to the intercession of Our Lady of Mount Carmel and the fiery Prophet Elijah, our inspirations, to awaken in all Carmelites the desire to build the Kingdom of God through cultivating our specific Charism of being contemplative and prophetic fraternities at the service of the Church and society. May we put our hope in Christ because Christ is our hope. Our encounter with Jesus Christ has led us on the path of brotherhood. May we demonstrate this brotherhood through tender concern for each other and fulsome collaboration.
