AMECEA Pastoral Institute

AMECEA PASTORAL INSTITUTE (API)

The AMECEA Pastoral Institute (API/Gaba) was established in 1967 and sited at Ggaba - Kampala (Uganda) from where it was forced to moved to Eldoret (Kenya) in 1976 due to political insecurity.

The AMECEA Pastoral Institute is a Catholic Pastoral institute, which offers a unique opportunity for pastoral agents in AMECEA to renew themselves for the Church of tomorrow. API is the only Institute of its kind in the AMECEA region, which provides ongoing formation and renewal in a supportive setting enriched by dialogue among lay persons, religious men, women and clergy. This reflects the Church as the Family of God as described by the African Synod. API is committed to training of creative, effective, prophetic and open-minded pastoral leaders and agents of evangelisation. API has an enrolment capacity of approximately 50. It receives participants not only from the AMECEA region, but from other African countries as well.

Mission Statement

In keeping with Pope John Paul II's call in Tertio Millennio Ineunte for the local churches to renew their pastoral programmes and the resolution of the AMECEA 13th Plenary Assembly to continue formation of agents of evangelisation, the AMECEA Pastoral Institute (API) provides high quality pastoral training and spiritual renewal opportunities in the AMECEA region.

Vision

The vision is to have creative, effective, prophetic, humane, up-to-date, and open-minded pastoral leaders and agents who are committed to deeper evangelisation through the training of others and the building of the Church as the Family of God, within the reality of globalisation, technological advancement and the rapidly changing African context.

An Overview of API Training Programme

The API offers a nine-month residential on-going formation programme. The programme starts from mid-January to mid-October. The focus of the programme is on pastoral, spiritual, theological and development studies. The programme is offered in two distinct but related parts: comprising of the core courses and workshops in specific ministries. The workshops comprise of nine modules. Each module represents a specific ministry offered separately in form of a workshop, which lasts two weeks or less. Introduction to research methods in research work and study is also offered as a minor subject to equip participants with knowledge and skills in writing, study and scientific research.

The API Core Courses

The aim of these core courses is to provide participants with theological and pastoral knowledge, skills and necessary attitudes for effective and holistic evangelisation. In these core courses participants can expect:

Practical experience coupled with theory.
Ability to learn and solve problems.
Learning in and out of the classroom.

There are nine core courses, which are offered in the following areas:

Pastoral Theology
Pastoral Communication
Pastoral Counselling
Religious Education/Catechesis
Spirituality
Liturgy
Scripture
Pastoral Anthropology and
Development Studies.

The API Workshop Modules

The aim of the workshop modules is to equip participants with practical skills on various pastoral ministries and fields of specialization. The following modules are offered in the academic programme:

Small Christian Communities
Church Management
Human Growth and Development
Social Justice and Peace, Democracy and Human Rights
The African Synod
Youth Ministry
Inculturation.

Participants are expected to attend all the modules of the workshop. However a participant must specialise in only one elective. The modules are intensive and interactive, expecting maximum participation of participants while working with their own experiences. Each module lasts two weeks or less.

The contact is:

AMECEA Pastoral Institute (API/Gaba)
P.O. Box 908, 30100 Eldoret, Kenya.
Tele: (053) 20.62.15.3 Fax: (053) 20.33.65.8
E-mail
http://www.api-gaba.com