The renewal course for young missionaries that took place from 13 April to 13 May at ‘Bethany House’ in Sagana, Kenya, organised by the Consolata Missionaries in Africa, it covered a range of topics relating to the human, spiritual, missionary, and consecrated life.
By Charles Orero *
During the evaluation session, before delving into a spiritual retreat in the fourth week, the 13 missionaries present, emphasised that the renewal course was not just a temporary escape from our mission work, but a catalyst for sustained daily renewal and holistic transformation with regard to our lives and the mission.
Speaking with one voice, we affirmed that this period of renewal has been a moment of introspection and spiritual recalibration.
Yes, this moment gave us a much-needed “sacred space” to detach ourselves from the busy schedules of mission work, enabling us to reconnect with the much-needed core values of our personal life and the mission.
We affirmed that the presentations were well-paced, moving logically from internal purging to a future-focused intentness.
In addition, we affirmed that the Sagana renewal course was not just an educational experience but a vital “reset” for our souls in that it made us feel more grounded, less reactive, and more aligned with the higher purpose of our spiritual life and the mission.
Therefore, we highly recommend this program to other missionaries who will be invited to attend it. For us, it was a total game-changer, a powerful moment to gain fresh professional perspectives, sharpening our focus, and returning to the mission with a renewed sense of purpose and energy. We are sure that, each missionary needs this moment.
We expressed our sincere gratitude to Father Erasto Mgalama, the General Council for Africa for his presence, support, patience and leadership during the renewal course.
Father Mgalama, your presence has made a meaningful difference to the progress of each one of us. Seeing you attending and taking notes from each presentation was a great spectacle commitment and humility
Our sincere gratitude goes to the General Council in Rome, for as we were told by Father Mgalama, you are determined to give us the best and in fact we are witnesses to this.
On the other hand, father Erasto Mgalama expressed his sincere appreciation to the confreres for their attendance and active participation. He expressed his confidence that the new insights acquired by us will serve as a valuable asset of excellence in our missionary apostolate.
“The overall impression is positive despite the reduced number of attendants that we don’t intend to address in this short sharing. The period of renewal was very positive basing on the spirit of the family and contents delivered. The communitarian feeling among members was self-evident and it got better day after day. It was becoming more intense and more deep as days passed by”, explained the General Councilor who coordinated the course in Sagana.
“This was also confirmed by the dialogues I had with individual missionaries who opened up on their personal stories and biological families. On the other side, it is a fact, that the course was taken as a moment of personal growth. Seeing them evaluate very positively and recommending the course to others shows that the environment and contents are adequate”, noted Father Erasto.
“The contents delivered were very appropriate in that during this moment of renewal we want the confreres to journey facing themselves as they examine their personal lives and stories through psycho-spiritual input in the first week, and then they transit the second week into examining their priestly and missionary consecration. The third week covered practical aspects of our services such as preaching the word and ministering of sacraments. The fourth week was reserved for a retreat to able to draw conclusions in the light of God who makes such a meeting possible”, concluded father Erasto.
* Father Orero Charles, IMC, missionary in Tanzania.
