Father Tomas Herreros tells us how Christian communities organise themselves and carry out many initiatives without the need for priests.
I have been in our rural community in the Pokot region, bordering Uganda, for three months now. The area is home to the pastoral Pokot people. I returned after an absence of 11 years and rediscovered the pleasure of assembly meetings, something I hadn’t previously enjoyed, and this makes me happy.
Just today, I celebrated the Eucharist with a group of teenagers gathered in a chapel. The night before, they had asked me to show a religious film. We have a small projector, but I told them they would need to get a small generator, as we don’t have one.
At nine o’clock in the evening, two hours after sunset, they notified me that they had found it. My Togolese companion, Brother Kossi, and I drove there in our car due to limited visibility. We had some difficulty getting there because Brother Kossi got lost. Since the terrain is arid, the tracks left by motorcycles, which serve as orientation, are soon washed away by the wind.
The night before was dark and moonless, perfect for stargazing, but not for seeing the path clearly. When we arrived, the teenagers were eating their corn and chard polenta for dinner. They offered us milk and polenta to entertain us, since the generator hadn’t arrived yet. It arrived half an hour later, transported on a motorbike.
To our surprise, they had to improvise with a spark plug and a cable. With great skill, despite not being technicians, they managed to start the engine, but not produce electricity. It was a great disappointment for the kids, but a great relief for us, because that generator could have damaged the projector lamp, and spare parts are not available here. We stayed there overnight, and the next day we celebrated the Eucharist with the teenagers.
This meeting is an example of the assemblies our Catholics organise spontaneously in Kenya. I’m thinking, for example, of the Catholic Women’s Association, which meets in one of the mission’s chapels. Since the distances are great, they travel by motorcycle, two or three to a vehicle, or they rent some form of transportation.
The same goes for the Catholic Men’s Association and the Catholic Youth Association. The most praiseworthy thing about these gatherings is that they are organised without the coordination of priests. They invite us for the Eucharist, for a lecture, or for the screening of a religious film, as today’s group did. Getting together is always nice. Here we do it every Sunday for Sunday Mass. Even though it lasts two hours, no one complains. Everyone joyfully participates in the celebration, singing and dancing.
