Visiting Dandora Parish in Nairobi, Kenya on Sunday, 16 September, 2018 12 members of the Missio-sponsored Network Small Christian Communities Africa Workshop came up with a new mantra: “We create new paths by walking based on the local context.” I interviewed three Kenyan members of the newly formed Young Adult Small Christian Community (YASCC): a 26-year-old male recent college graduate looking for a job; a 27-year-old female secondary school teacher; and a 29-year-old male baker. After some years in one of the six Youth Small Christian Communities (YSCCs) in the parish, they joined the Young Catholic Adult Community for the 25 to 35-year-old age group. Their needs and interests as young working people is different than for students and younger people. They are excited to grow their faith in a new way with their young adult peers. This reinforces the principle that forming specific peer group Small Christian Communities for each age group is a priority in Africa today.
In light of so many young people leaving the Catholic Church in Africa and worldwide, I asked the young baker why he was at the Catholic Church on Sunday afternoon when he could have been watching a football match on TV or at a bar and or just hanging out with his friends. He said: “For my Catholic Faith I need to be here today.” He felt nourished and inspired by the weekly meeting (that included Bible Reflection on the Gospel of the following Sunday) and other activities of his YASCC. He personally has this felt need, while at the same time commenting that his younger brother sadly does not go to church anymore.
By Fr. Joseph G. Healey