West African ERN Gathers

Biblical vision for responding to Mother Earth

Group work

As a tradition in the Christian Brothers West African District (Sierra Leone, Liberia, & Ghana), every December the Brothers and their associates - project workers and others in the Edmund Rice Network - meet to review their work and to seek new ways of responding to present realities and signs of the time. This past December, about 90% of the Brothers within the District, joined by some 40% of their associates, met at Sierra Leone’s National Pastoral centre in Kenema to sharpen their awareness of Mother Earth.

The theme for this year’s Assembly was ‘Reflecting on the Universe Story’. The facilitator was Kevin

Paramount Chief Kevin McDonnell (c)

McDonnell. With his vast knowledge of scripture and ecology, he was able to create an atmosphere of awe to move participants from their comfort zones to a response to the call to care for Mother Earth. It was a wonderful experience of listening and sharing thoughts on the new cosmology. We thank Kevin for sharing his wisdom and insights with us, and we hope his input will lead us to action plans in our various communities.

Albert Einstein said that “Science without religion is lame; religion without science is blind”, and St Thomas Aquinas warned that “a mistake in our understanding of creation will necessarily cause a mistake in our understanding of the divine”. God’s invisible attributes can be perceived in creation. The universe is a testimony of God’s creative power. All creation reminds us of the mystery and love of God. We need to understand that the Creator has placed us at the centre of creation making us responsible stewards, not exploiting despots, of the world around us. It is time we sit to ponder over this, look beyond ourselves, and listen to Mother Earth’s calling to care for, respect, and be responsible for it. Something that fascinated us was the Ten Laws of the Universe, calling for an ‘expansion and embracing’. How are we expanding, and what are we embracing?

Relaxing at the Assembly

While we were reflecting on the Universe Story, the Climate Change Summit was going on in Copenhagen. We prayed in solidarity with all who were raising concerns about climate change and planning actions to minimise the damage done to our planet. One difference between our assembly and the Summit in Denmark was that we were reflecting from a Scriptural background on our connectedness with Mother Earth. A common point was the raising of awareness that we are destroying the very source of our livelihood. But where the Copenhagen conversation was geared towards measurable figures and funds, we consciously recalled that we need not only such practicalities but also a motivating vision if our planet is to survive.

Among other items on the agenda, personal development was to the fore. We looked at our personal growth programme, reconstituted our accompaniment team, set up an evaluation of our current support-group programme, and considered renewal programmes and on-going support for brothers in perpetual vows.

We also followed up on the ‘2into3’ workshop held with Noel O’Regan, and constituted a 6-person working-committee (four brothers and two others) to look at issues related to our mission and to come up with a working document of strategic plans for our district. There was a general buying-in to the “Church of the Poor” by all the brothers and members as the basis of our future mode of operation.

Paul Luseni cfc and Bonaventure Adagiyele cfc

January 2010

Photographs supplied by Chris Teh cfc