VOL 4 No 3                     May - July 2007

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Focus on Education Ministry

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IN THIS ISSUE:

TOP NEWS:

• Good News About People
• New President SJTI
• Staff Builds Capacity
• Building Unity in the Province
• Pray For Our Ministries At Cedara
• Collection of Financial Resources Improves

  PROVINCIAL'S DIARY

  DATES TO GIVE THANKS

    CONTACT

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TOP NEWS

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1.Good News About People

Bros. Nkululeko Meyiwa OMI BTh; Sibonelo Mbanjwa OMI, Dip Phil and Phumlani Ndlovu OMI BA Phil. at the second graduation ceremony at SJTI on 26 March

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2.Good News About Ministry

New President SJTI

Father Sylvester David OMI has been appointed new President of St Josephs Theological Institute. He will be installed on 3 September 2007. He is currently completing a doctorate in Scripture Studies at the School of Theology in Pietermaritzburg

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3.Good News About Ministry SJTI  Staff Builds Capacity

The faculty of St Josephs Theological Institute at the SJTI graduation ceremony  together with Board Chairperson Father Stuart Bate and Archbishop Buti Tlhagale of Johannesburg who was the keynote speaker.

Fr Luke MLILO, CMM, (front row second left in the picture), Dean of Studies at St Josephs Theological; Institute Cedara, graduated with a PhD in Scripture at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in Pietermaritzburg. His supervisor was Professor Jonathan Draper of the School of Theology at the university. Father Paul Decock who is also Professor at the same university was the co-supervisor. The School of Theology at the University is part of the Pietermaritzburg Cluster of Theological Institutions. St Josephs Theological Institute is also a member of this cluster which makes the Pietermaritzburg-Cedara region one of the major theological centres in South Africa, and indeed the continent as a whole.  Father Mlilo’s thesis was on John the Baptist. The title is None Greater than John the Baptist: Towards a socia--description and
narrative-theological study on John the Baptist in Luke-Acts

A number of other staff members have graduated in recent years with Masters and doctoral degrees. Four others are currently completing doctorates. All this continues to increase the capacity of SJTI to provide high quality tertiary education in Philosophy, Theology and the Humanities.

St Josephs also runes its own postgraduate programme through the School of theology and three students graduated from this programme Two received Masters degrees. Sylvester KANSIMBI, Sylvester CSsP and Linus NGAM, FMS (Marist Brother) both received Master of Theology degrees and Sister Bernadette MASEKAMELA, SC (Sisters of Calvary, Botswana).received a B.Th (Honours) degree

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4.Good News about Ministry

Building Unity in the Province

South Africa is a multicultural nation emerging from years of discrimination and division in which racial stereo types and attitudes almost destroyed the country. We Oblates have also been affected by the negative and sinful dimensions of the society. This mainly happened to us long before we entered the congregation in our primary socialisation as children. The province identified the need to heal ourselves from these wounds as one of the main priorities and at the 2006 the following resolution was made.

11. Congress 2006 calls local Superiors to provide opportunities for community and team- building, and workshops that cultivate effective communication and integration of cultural diversity in community

The first step taken to begin this process was a workshop on cultural diversity held in the various local communities of the province. During the first half of 2007 Father Noel Peters OMI conducted this seven hour workshop in five different communities of the province: the three districts; the scholastics in theology at Cedara and finally the Oblate formators together with the Oblate lecturers at SJTI.

The workshops have been an overwhelming success. Here are some of the comments received

• It was a healthy forum to voice our inner feelings, without feeling guilty.

• It was a tremendous way of healing past hurts

• It challenged my own stereotypes.

• This was a wake up call. This is a way of healing

• I was reluctant to spend a whole day on this, but by the end of the day, I was reluctant to leave.

• I particularly appreciated the focus on the ability to listen. It is important to listen to people and to hear what they are saying and not saying.

• We are all different and that needs to be respected. It brings about the question of freedom in the person.

• It draws attention to an important area of potential growth towards unity.

• We need a three day workshop on this or even further an annual retreat on psycho-spirituality with some of the same content.
  
   

The motto of South Africa is: !ke e: /xarra //ke. It is written in the Khoisan language of the /Xam people. It literally means "diverse people unite". It addresses each individual effort to harness the unity between thought and action. On a collective scale it calls for the nation to unite in a common sense of belonging and national pride - unity in diversity. To hear the motto go to http://www.info.gov.za/aboutgovt/symbols/coa/index.htm where you will find an audio file.

It is clear that with the first cultural diversity workshop we have begun exploring a matter that is vital to our future as a province in this country. The consensus was that more time is required to go more deeply into this matter and we will look for ways do that during the second half of the year.

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5.Challenges for Ministry

Pray For Our Ministries At Cedara

We have received some signs that we may hear some good news regarding the land claim at Cedara which we have contested.

This is the time for all those who believe in the value of these ministries for the Church and the society in which we live, to pray for them and their continued existence at Cedara. We are asking that this prayer be made through the intercession of St Joseph.

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6.Good News about Ministry

Collection of Financial Resources Improves

The provincial treasurer has reported an increase in the contributions of most parishes and communities to the financial resources of the province. Our gratitude goes to those who really tried. We encourage others to try harder.  Those who have nor yet submitted their contributions are asked to do so urgently COLLECTIONS (as at 16 May 2007)
			CHRISTMAS  COLLECTION			PIOUS LISTS			EASTER COLLECTION
			2004	2005	2006	2004	2005	2006	2005	2006		2007
Assumption			10206	7743	8949	2595	3002	3421	7541	6639		7842
Bergville			518	800		700	1200	940	600	1100		1003
Bluff			6854	8150	10427	4623	3285	4755		6789		11383
Cedara			1120	940	4746	5470	1385	4169		1490
Elandskop/KwaMadlala			64	200	277					200
Estcourt			850	2000	1500	2200	4000	4600	550	2100		1500
Mpumalanga			1600			1200			1335
Imbubu			1020	1300	3020	7093	7467	11500	1049	3550		2981
Inchanga/Camperdown			478	757	254	2115	1350	1602		1415
Machibisa				3260		5470	4250	8200	1139	5332
Matikwe			415			1500	1400
Montclair/Merewent/Clairwood			6135	6993	6955	3760	9306	8390	11507	9300		5709
Mooi River				800	810	2460	2600	2100	534	800
Ntshongweni			3024		650	555	1000	650
Ntuzuma			5290	1052	1617	4290	4720	5508	1332	1928		2630
Pietermaritzburg - St Mary's			11748	15800	14569	5734	5920	6850	11922	7000		13053
Port Shepstone			2671
Redhill			10283
Sabon House							325	710				2233
Sydenham/Reservoir Hills			14924	15560	12451	8898	8814	8836	19203	13373		15241
Virginia			33386	35628	36719	7532	6620		18146	22958		32129
Wentworth			11773	12386	23615	6005	6766	9024	8114	11411		14788
Westville			8700	9000	13000	4000	3800	10000		6000		7000
..Total			131059	122369	139559	76200	77210	91255	82973	101386		117492

 

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OMI NATAL Update

Newsletter of the Natal Province of the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate.

Provincial: Fr Stuart C BATE, OMI; : Box 17035, Congella, 4013 South Africa

Street Address: 39 Pioneer Road, Congella, Durban, 4001; E-mail address: scbate@omi.org.za

: 031 205 9321 Fax: 031 206 0270 Cell 082 7121047

Please send all submissions enquiries and comments to the editor

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