MESSAGE OF THE AMECEA BISHOPS
FROM THE 7TH PLENARY ASSEMBLY IN ZOMBA, MALAWI

We, the Bishops of AMECEA, have spent several days together reflecting on the progress made since 1976 in the task of building Small Christian Communities as a means of renewing the Church in Eastern Africa, a task which we then accepted as the pastoral priority for our times in our countries. Living together as a fraternal community, united in the one Holy Spirit, listening together to God's word, and celebrating together the sacrament of unity, the Eucharist, we have been able to clarify, deepen and confirm our conviction that the pastoral option we have taken is indeed one that holds great promise for the Church in Eastern Africa. This policy represents the most appropriate way of expressing the mystery of the Church as a communion of faith, hope and love, as well as being an excellent means of involving all the members of the People of God in the common task of continuing the reconciling mission of Christ in the world (cf. The Church, Vatican II, Chapter IV, No. 30).

We have discovered that much has been achieved in our countries and dioceses since 1976. We have been greatly encouraged, not only by our brotherly sharing, but also by the inspiring vision of the Church that we have discovered through this sharing - a vision that Pope John Paul II has communicated to us in his encyclical letter "The Redeemer of Man" (Redemptor Hominis), when he writes of the Church as "a community of disciples and confessors", which "must increasingly become, even from the human point of view, a community aware of its own life and activity" (No.21).

It is above all this loving awareness that we wish to share with all the people of good will in the AMECEA countries, as we encourage them to discover for themselves the richness of the mystery of Christ present in his Church, so that his life may be in us, and we in him. Having together celebrated the feast of the Assumption o four Lady, we invoke her as our Mother to assist us in our efforts to strengthen in vigour and force the life of the People of God who are united in the Mystical Body of her Son. Through her intercession, may we all grow in truth and love, "until we all attain to the … fullness of Christ" (Eph.4:13).

1. The Mystery of the Church.

(a) "The Christian communities we are trying to build are simply the most local incarnations of the one, holy, Catholic and apostolic Church". This statement of the AMECEA Plenary study conference of 1976 is one that we now affirm more strongly. This one, holy, Catholic and apostolic Church is the visible sacrament of God's universal love and grace; it is a world-wide community of believers in the risen Christ, with the Pope as its visible head, the one who holds the primacy in love (St. Ignatius of Antioch, Epistle to the Romans, opening) over the entire Church in his ministry of unity - a primacy that is exercised as a visible expression of the unifying action of the Holy Spirit of God.

(b) But this universal Church must be really present to Christians in their own locality; it must be truly local as well as universal. The local Church is the Catholic Church in its place, and Vatican II makes clear that this local Church is the diocese. "The individual bishops are the visible source and foundation of unity in their own particular churches, which are constituted after the model of the universal Church; it is in these and formed out of them that the one and only universal Catholic Church comes into being" (The Church, 23).

(c) In this local Church, therefore, must be found all that belongs to the Catholic Church, except for those aspects which belong to it precisely as universal. There must be the koinonia, the communion of faith, hope and love that is the heart of the Church, expressed most fully in the Eucharist; the kerygma, the witness to and teaching about the risen Christ, "the apostolic teaching", guaranteed by the apostolic tradition; and the diakonia, self-giving service for the sake of others, going beyond the limits of one's own community, the very mark of Jesus Christ, who gave himself totally to the Father, for others, for the whole world.

2.
(a) Small Christian Communities are means by which the Church is brought down to the daily life and concerns of people to where they actually live. In them, the Church takes on flesh and blood in the life situations of people. In them, people are enabled to recognize the mystery of Christ among them, "Emmanuel", God with us. In them, Christians experience the joy and freedom of the forgiveness of their sins, in Baptism and Penance, and they are "made alive" in Jesus Christ, in an environment of fraternal love and of personal faith. In them, they can truly experience the Church as a new way of being together, and it is in them that they are saved in hope.

(b) Pope Paul VI describes the Church as "a community of believers, a community of hope lived and communicated…, always needing to be called together afresh by him and reunited" (Evangelization Today, No.15). In practice, this means that it must be made up of small communities that enable the living hope of Christ to be shared among the members. If the transmission of faith takes place par excellence in community (cf. Rite for the Christian Initiation of Adults and AMECEA Interventions, Synod 1977), and if "a small group is a practical necessity for the catechesis of adults" (General Catechetical Directory, No.73), the same conclusion follows. Even more basically, if the life experience of people is to be caught up into the mystery of Christ in his Church, they must be enabled to reflect together on their experiences and helped to place "under the light of the Gospel the questions which arise from these experiences, so that there may be stimulated within people a right desire to transform their way of life" (General Catechetical Directory, No. 74 a).

3.
(a) The size of a Small Christian Community is variable, depending on local conditions and on the natural community on which it must be built. In some cases, an "out-station" might be of a suitable size to form a small community, but often the "out-station" itself is too big. What really matters is that the community should have enough members and a sufficient degree of diversity to allow relative self-reliance and a fair variety of charisms, but that it should not have so many members that they cannot know each other on a person to person basis. It is the experience of sharing the love of Christ together in a familiar circle that is the defining element of a Small Christian Community, compared with the larger ecclesial groupings of out-station (usually), parish and diocese (cf. Acts 2:42-47). As we are told in Evangelization Today, No. 58, authentic Small Christian Communities "spring from the need to live the Church's life more intensely or from the desire and quest for a more human dimension such as larger ecclesial communities can only offer with difficulty…".

(b) Other communities, such as those in schools, movements, professional and interest groups, etc., are also valuable and necessary, but they should be seen as supplementary to the Small Christian Communities described above (cf. 1976 Conclusions, 4 D). The Small Christian Community should not be understood as a fringe group, nor a group for a few elite people, nor a group formed for a particular purpose, such as a prayer group, a solidity, a Catholic Action group, a development group, a study group, though these are legitimate and valuable: it is precisely the means by which the one Church is present in each locality, touching the whole life of its members.

(c) In some situations, a Christian community may be formed by the gathering together of a few widely scattered Christians. Geographical proximity, though usually important, is not the defining element of a small Christian community.

4.
(a) Structurally, the small Christian community is the most local unit of the Church. The family is the "domestic church", but of its very nature it has to reach out to other families, and the small Christian community is made up of several family groups. Family catechesis is therefore at the heart of the formation of small Christian communities.

(b) Since "the ideal way of renewing the parish is to make it a community of communities" (Synod 1977, Proposition on the Parish), small communities together make up the parish; united with the local pastor, they form part of the parish, of the diocese, of the universal Church. It is the ordained ministry (of Bishops and priests) which is the link among the communities in time and space, and between them and the universal Church. This role is essential is preserving the ecclesial bond among the communities, but it has to be supported by all the ministries and services of the community, which exist for the upbuilding of the Church at all levels, particularly in relationships with others, and for the transforming of the world.

5.
(a) The Spirit of Christ gives a variety of gifts to Christ's people for the upbuilding of the community. Pope John Paul II stresses that "each member has his own special gift", and that, "although this gift is a personal vocation and form of participation in the Church's saving work, it also serves others and builds the Church and the fraternal communities in the various spheres of human life on earth" (The Redeemer of Man, No. 21: cf. Eph. 4, 1 Cor. 12). There are many gifts but only one Spirit, who unifies all and gives life to all.

(b) If all are really to be enabled to 'cooperate in this common task" (The Church, No. 30), smaller groupings are necessary in the Church. It is usually in smaller groups that everyone is able to play a part, and thus to discover his or her hidden gifts, and to grow to maturity as humans and as Christians (cf. Eph. 4).

(c) The role of the ordained minister is especially important in this situation, to recognize, encourage, and coordinate the various gifts of the Spirit, and, where necessary, to discern their authenticity, being cautious, however, never to quench the Spirit. The ordained priesthood and the general priesthood of the faithful are in collaboration, not competition. Vatican II tells us that priests "should unite their efforts with those of the lay faithful and conduct themselves among them after the example of the Master who came among men 'not to be served but to serve and to give his life for many' (Mt. 20:28)" (Life of Priests, No. 9). In this light, we describe the specific role of the ordained minister, which "is to preside over the worshipping community so as to represent the person of Christ as the head of the Mystical Body present in each community and to teach, sanctify, guide and animate the worshipping community in his name" (Conclusions, 1976, 6 C, b).

(d) Lay people have their special role in the task of transforming the world in Christ, but also in the Church's apostolic mission. "From the fact of their union with Christ the head flows the lay persons' right and duty to the apostles" (Lay People, No. 3). "The pastors should give them the courage to undertake works on their own initiative. They should with paternal love consider attentively in Christ initial moves, suggestions and desires proposed by the laity" (The Church, No. 37).

(e) Young people are full members of the Christian community, and their rights and insights are to be respected. They are not just objects of the word of God, or mere passive receivers: they should be given responsibility in Church matters, especially in what concerns them more directly. It is sometimes good for them to form their own Church youth councils, with representation on the parish council and other bodies; and involvement in development projects can be a specially valuable way of involving their generous commitment in the life of the small community. The small community should represent the various generations, from old to young, and so reflect in microcosm the mystery of the Church in which "there is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male or female, but all are one in Christ Jesus" (Gal. 3:26-29).

6. Religious men and women have many important roles in the task of forming small Christian communities. They should form part of pastoral teams, where possible, and should be given adequate formation and training for pastoral work. A spirit of true teamwork should develop among all pastoral workers, not just for practical reasons, but also in order to express the community dimension of the Church in their life and work: a lived witness of community life speaks louder than words about community.

7. Leaders of the Church must be able to speak from their own experience about living as members of a Christian community. Building small Christian communities is a challenging spiritual task, and it calls leaders as well as everyone else to examine their life style and relationships in the Christian community. Skill in human relationships and communication, methods of group prayer, and an openness to dialogue are some of the requirements for genuine renewal of community, as well as a living faith in the triune God whose life we share and whose image we have been made.

8. The Church's mission of working to "construct a more human world" (John Paul II's speech in San Domingo, 1979) means that all Christian communities must be trained to develop a social and political awareness, so that the "signs of the times" may be rightly read and responded to. It is hoped that by setting up national commissions for integral human development (justice and peace), the Church in each AMECEA country may be able to make better known the social teaching of the Church, exemplified in Pope Paul VI's phrase "the civilization of love", and also to enable the Christian communities to speak out and act in this area which is of such importance in the Church's mission of serving the poor, the underprivileged, the oppressed and the voiceless.

9. Small communities also seem to be the most effective means of making the Gospel message truly relevant to African cultures and traditions. By participating in the life of the Church at this most local level, Christian will foster the gradual and steady maturing of the young Church. As their sense of responsibility for the Church grows, ordained and non-ordained Christians will discover the meaning of a truly African expression of the Christian faith, and thus be able to respond to Pope Paul's challenge in Kampala, 1969" "Young may, and you must, have an African Christianity".

10.
(a) The key issue is clearly seen by us to be that of formation and training. This applies to all levels of the Church, including Bishops, clergy, religious and the laity, particularly the people who exercise the various non-ordained ministries and services. If the pastoral option of building small Christian communities is to be really effective, a serious effort has to be made to re-educate clergy, religious and laity according to the authentic principles of Vatican II, especially in ecclesiology. Regular courses, shared by Bishops, priests, religious and laity are essential for this, as well as a regular dissemination of appropriate documents and publications. The principle of on-going formation for all, stressed by the Synod of 1977, needs to be accepted and put into practice. Bishops and priests are apostles and teachers, but also disciples and learners. Diocesan programmes for on-going formation are an immediate priority after this conference. The resources and staff of the AMECEA Pastoral Institute, as well as of other institutes and seminaries, should be used for this task.

(b) What ahs emerged with clarity from our meeting is that Christian communities can only be built with the collaboration of Bishops, priests, religious and laity - all must be convinced, all must be involved. Special training is needed for lay people who exercise their Spirit-given gifts in the Church and the world in specific non-ordained ministries, and such attention will have to be given to the discernment of the necessary ministries and to appropriate training for them. This has assumed a vital place in the effort to build small Christian communities. Pope Paul VI wrote: "It is certain that, side-by-side with the ordained ministries… the Church recognizes the place of non-ordained ministries, which are able to offer a particular service to the extent that they are established with absolute respect for unity, and adhering to the directives of the pastors, who are the ones responsible for the Church's unity, and the builders thereof… These ministries are valuable for the establishment, life and growth of the Church…" (Evangelization Today, No. 73). The Pope goes on to note that a serious preparation is needed for all workers for evangelization, and that vigilance is needed concerning the adequate formation of all the ministers of the Word. For the ordained ministry, too, the concept and the experience of small Christian communities needs to be more fully integrated into the training programmes in seminaries.

11. The close relationship between community and ministry means that all formation programmes for leaders must train people to community-oriented leadership. A possible example of this would be to insist that candidates for priestly and religious life should be recommended by their local Christian communities. Similarly, the local community should normally choose its own local leaders, in consultation with the priest.

12. The Word of God is vital for building Christian community. "The People of God finds its unity first of all in the Word of the living God…" (Priestly Life, No. 4). The risen Christ is the center of all Christian community, and he communicates himself in various ways; among these, the Word of God is basic, for, by awakening the response of faith in us, it leads us to a deeper realization of the mystery of Christ among us, our hope of glory. God's Word is creative and effective, and it cuts into our hearts like a two-edged sword, calling us to conversion and renewal. A community of faith is necessarily a community springing from, and nourished by, the Word of God (cf. Priestly Life, No. 4). To avoid the danger of erroneous interpretations of the scriptures, careful guidelines should be drawn up to help in the formation of leaders. The World Catholic Federation for the Biblical Apostolate (WCFBA) can offer much help in this respect.

13. The need to stress the role of the Word of God in the formation and the fostering of small Christian communities must not be allowed to diminish the centrality of the Eucharist in the worship of the community. "No Christian community … can be built up, unless it has its basis and center in the celebrations of the most holy Eucharist. Here, therefore, all education in the spirit of community must originate. If this celebration is to be sincere and thorough, it must lead to various works of charity and mutual help, as well as missionary activity and different forms of Christian witness" (Priestly Life, No. 6). Even if the Eucharist can be celebrated only rarely by a small community (usually gathered together with other small communities), the life of every Christian community finds its fullest expression in the sacrament, in which the risen Lord communicates himself as the bread of life and as the principle of unity. Pastoral programmes have to keep a careful balance between word and sacrament, so that a proper understanding of God's word grows among people, and so that they are properly prepared for the fruitful celebration of the sacraments. The extremes of neglecting the Eucharist, and of attaching exclusive importance to it, must both be rejected. It is the risen Christ who is the center of the Church and of every community, and he communicates himself in both word and sacrament.

Our Prayer
If we Christian are to be the salt that gives flavour, the leaven that transforms, then we must all discover anew the source of our vitality, and draw waters with joy from the fount of our Saviour. Nothing is more urgently needed in our countries of AMECEA today than a living witness to the values of the Gospel, the values that are able to transform society by their spiritual power. It is with this concern that we have reflected, shared and prayed together about our policy of building small Christian communities. These, by enabling every Christian to come to a deeper and more mature faith, and to take an active part in the mission of the Church, can truly become the leaven that has the power to renew the world. It is only communities that live the Gospel with joy and gladness of heart that will be able to "overcome the world". In confident prayer, we call on the Spirit of life and newness: Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful… You shall renew the face of the earth.

Zomba, Malawi
16th August 1979

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