AN EXPERIENCE OF MINISTRY IN THE THIRD WORLD: THE FRANCISCAN COMMUNITY SERVICES AND THE INBREAKING OF GOD'S KINGDOM.
A PASTORAL REFLECTION PAPER SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF THE WASHINGTON
THEOLOGICAL UNION IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE
DEGREE OF MASTER OF DIVINITY, BY TIMOTHY PATRICK DORE, OFM CONV., APRIL
1992
CHAPTER THREE
Description of Pastoral Internship Program
The pastoral internship program offered by the FCS was multi-faceted. In addition to offering an experience of "missionary life," it provided a "hands on" experience of service to the poorest of the poor (i.e., victims of leprosy within a Third World setting). A specific value of the program was that it took place within a ministry responding to the notion of the Church's "preferential option for the poor." (32)
Specific Activities
Because it was impossible, given the limits of time, to get thoroughly involved with every aspect of the FCS, the internship program focused on several specific activities. These were: catechetical instruction to the children of St. Joseph's Home, visitation of the patients at St. Clare's Home, visitation of the sick at the Ankaful leprosy camp, planning and participation in a vacation bible school program (viz., "Holidays at Home") for the children of the Ankaful leprosy camp, planning and offering of retreats, scripture services and spiritual conferences, youth ministry work with the young people of the village of Ankaful, participation in various projects of the FCS social welfare outreach program and a general ministry of "presence" to the men and women missioners affiliated with the FCS.
Goals
The work-learning contract formulated at the beginning of the internship provided specific goals to be achieved during the ten week period. The four goals dealt primarily with the many challenges presented by the "Third World" to a minister accustomed to comforts of the "First World."
An Experience of the Church within a Third World Setting
The first goal was "to have an experience of the Church within a Third World setting." Although this goal appears to be relatively simple, "the Church" as it is found within the Archdiocese of Cape Coast is peculiar.
To an outside observer, the Archbishop and many of the diocesan priests appear to have adopted a rigid "institutional" model of Church. (33) In contrast to this, the Ghanaian people seem to have a dynamic understanding of the human community and its related spirituality. (34) Within the broader Church community, there seems to be an unspoken clash between religiosity as imposed by the Roman Church and natural and traditional African spirituality. Fortunately, those who minister within the FCS seem to be aware of and responsive to this conflict.
To "experience the Church" in that particular Archdiocese is a challenge to anyone coming from a more "progressive" experience. This goal, and the encounters that I had, forced me to reflect upon the meaning of "Church" and prompted numerous ecclesiological questions. It was a learning experience to be "caught in the middle."
To Learn the Skills of Ministry
The second goal was "to learn the skills of ministry within the context of an African Franciscan mission." Opportunities to respond to the object of this goal (i.e., to learn skills) were experienced daily. Because of the great differences between Ghanaian and Western cultures (e.g., language, religion, politics, education, etc.), the demands of each situation provided new learning experiences. The challenges presented by the many experiences offered during the intership, stimulated creative responses--this in turn enabled me to develop skills which, because of the dynamic nature of the environment, were constantly in revision. Because of the abstract nature of this goal, it is difficult to measure success based on isolated incidents.
To Test the Reality of My Vision of the Gospel
The third goal was "to test the reality of my vision of the Gospel in the Church as it relates to the poor and marginalized of a Third World country." It was this goal, more than any other, that prompted a great deal of thought and reflection during and after the ten weeks of the internship.
My vision of the Gospel is one which eagerly anticipates the inbreaking of the Kingdom of God. As such, I profess a faith in a God who "casts down the mighty from their thrones, fills the hungry with good things and sends the rich away empty" (Cf. Luke 1:52-53). Although I accept Harvey Cox's precept that "God alone brings in the Kingdom," (35) my vision is inspired by a strong desire to actively participate in its inbreaking. Because I believe, like Gustavo Gutierrez, that "the Kingdom and social injustice are incompatible," (36) I am inspired by those who commit their lives to serve the just demands of the poor. I agree with the author of James, who says that "faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead." (37) I am fundamentally motivated by my faith to serve those causes which, motivated by the principles of authentic human development, uphold the dignity and true worth of every human person.
Because the ministry in which I was involved during the internship was primarily leprosy related, I had very real and profound face-to-face experiences with "the poor and marginalized of a Third World country." Encountering these people, the poorest of the world's poor, provided tremendous opportunities to "test the reality of my vision of the Gospel." My faith has challenged me to reject what I believe are stagnant "visions" of the Gospel (i.e., visions that are completely "other-worldly" oriented) and to embrace a vision which promotes active participation in the inbreaking of God's Kingdom now. My experience in Ghana, as it related to my vision of the Gospel, has nourished my desire to give my life in service to the poor. This goal, more than any other, has formed the foundation of much of the material within this paper.
Self-reliance and Creativity within a Mission Environment
The fourth goal, "to develop personal skills of self-reliance and creativity within a mission environment lacking standard First World conveniences," is similar to the second, and related to the third, of the stated goals. It became apparent during the first weeks of the internship that this goal emphasizes a reality that faces every person ministering within a Third World setting. The FCS, like many mission organizations serving the poor, simply does not have at its disposal all of the ordinary resources and conveniences of the United States and Europe.
When I met with various groups for catechetical discussions, retreats and spiritual conferences there were no large amounts of paper and a photocopier to run-off handouts. When I visited the people in the Ankaful leprosy camp, at St. Clare's Home and elsewhere, I did not have their language and was often forced to speak through an interpreter. When I sat and talked with various people, I was aware of my complete inability to assure them that a higher standard of living was on the way. When the infirmarian at the leprosy camp (Mr. Amankwandoh) told me of his lack of bandages and hydrogen peroxide, I was not able to promise that these things would be there when needed. There were many moments when I profoundly realized that what is taken for granted at home is often considered to be a luxury by the people under the care of the FCS.
I found that "self-reliance and creativity," including the ability to peacefully accept limitations, is crucial to the success of any ministry where "standard First World conveniences" are either scarcely or nowhere found.
FOOTNOTES:
(32) "A Preferential Option for the Poor: From Medellin to Puebla," in Evangelization in Latin America's Present and Future: Final Document of the Third General Conference of the Latin American Episcopate, pt. 4, chap. 1, no. 1.1, (27 January, 1979), in The Puebla Conclusions (Washington: N.C.C.B., 1979) 178.
(33) According to Avery Dulles, in a rigid institutional system "the institutional element is treated as primary" (i.e., the institution, not its members, is the focus of attention). Avery Dulles, Models of the Church (New York: Doubleday, 1974) 32.
It is my observation that the Archbishop of Cape Coast promotes an institution which can be "seen as self serving and repressive and as needing to be kept under strong vigilance." Ibid, 41.
(34) Although it is impossible to summarize African spirituality in one sentence, Joseph Donders notes that a key aspect has to do with the African understanding of human dependance on God (who is the life giver). Donders highlights the African sense of God as the source of all life. It is from this "source" that life "continuously flows. . .through the channel of our human genealogical history to us and through us on into the future." In such a view, ancestry and the continuation of life through children are of paramount importance. In this system, Western Church structures are alien. See Joseph Donders, Non-Bourgeois Theology (Maryknoll, New York: Orbis, 1985) 11-12.
(35) Harvey Cox, The Secular City: Secularization and Urbanization in Theological Perspective (New York: Macmillan, 1965) 96.
(36) Gustavo Gutierrez, A Theology of Liberation: History, Politics and Salvation (Maryknoll, New York: Orbis, 1973): 168.
(37) James 2:17 (Revised Standard Version).
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