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P JAN. NEWSLETTER 2020 BULLETIN 0F SMA NIGERIA PROVINCE N° 1 BRIEFINGS FROM THE 2019 SMA NIGERIA PROVINCIAL ASSEMBLY REACTION TO THE FIRST NIGERIAN PROVINCIAL ASSEMBLY (NPA) AN EXPERIENCE OF MISSION IN THE REPUBLIC OF BENIN SMA YOUTH MISSION STORY WELCOME RURAL RUGGED: TO THE REACHING OUT YEAR 163rd SMA ANNIVERSARY 2020 CELEBRATIONS PAST ACHIEVEMENTS AND FUTURE HOPES COLLABORATION SMA/OLA No 8 Aboderin street , orita Challenge, ibadan Oyo State. E-mail: [email protected]. Tel: +2348063647840 NP NEWSLETTER TABLE OF CONTENTS Mission and Vision statement of the Province. 1. Provincial Superior's Christmas & New Year message. 2. Summary of Provincial Assembly message. 3. Reaction to the creation of the new Province. Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Zinsu, SMA 4. Short profiles of the Provincial Team members. Provincial Superior 5. News on Vocations. Rev. Fr. Joseph Nomhwange, SMA Rev. Fr. Claude Nikpi, SMA 6. Statistics / Appointments Councillor Councillor 7. Mission Experiences. 8. Collaboration 9. Notable celebrations. Rev. Fr. Matthew Bassah, SMA 10. Necrology. Vice-Superior MISSION AND VISION PROVINCIAL SUPERIOR'S STATEMENT CHRISTMAS / NEW YEAR MESSAGE OF THE PROVINCE “Give thanks to the Lord for he is good, his faithful love endures forever.” Psalm 107:1. MISSION As this year 2019 comes to an end, “The Nigeria Province members coming we all have reasons to give thanks to from different nations and cultures are the Lord who is the Giver and united in fraternal love with the aim of being Sustainer of our lives. While we at the service of the Gospel, and witnessing have reasons for individual to the Father's love for all peoples, especially thanksgiving, we also have reasons the most abandoned, by promoting the to be grateful to God as the SMA virtues of Faith, Hope and Charity, in the family. This year has gone down in spirit of our Founder, Bishop Melchior de the annals of history, when the long- Marion Brésillac.” awaited realisation of the dream of a SMA Nigerian Province became a VISION reality. This is indeed a big reason for us to be thankful to God. “We envision a Unit where our primary We acknowledge and are grateful to all who have contributed in concern is the promotion of the values of any way to the achievement of this milestone. Our gratitude simplicity, hospitality, charity, honesty, also to all our supporters who have always been there for us mutual support and respect among with their various forms of support. members, and among the people with As we look forward to the New Year 2020, we are conscious of whom we work. A Unit where leaders and the challenges that lie ahead. A change in status brings with it members collaborate and are united in more responsibilities and demands more commitment. But genuine dialogue for the advancement of together and with God by our side, we can be unstoppable. the mission of God entrusted to the Church. Therefore, let us unite, hand in hand, as we continue to spread A Unit dedicated to primary evangelisation the Good News of God's love which we celebrate in the birth of as well as enhancing the experience of Christ at Christmas. newness of the Gospel in areas where the May the peace, joy and love that the Child Jesus brings to us at Church is already established; working to Christmas, abide with each one of us, with our families, in our promote the culture of Mercy and Love. A communities and places of mission and in our country Nigeria. Unit which invests in its members through MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR 2020 specialised training in areas of interest, one where every member is valued and Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Zinsu, SMA empowered to give of their best for the Provincial Superior mission." 1 BULLETIN 0F SMA NIGERIA PROVINCE - JANUARY, 2020 NP NEWSLETTER BRIEFINGS FROM THE 2019 SMA NIGERIA PROVINCIAL ASSEMBLY he first Nigeria Provincial Assembly took place at the SMA house in Abuja from the 11th to the 21st of November 2019 with the theme “A Family faithful to its missionary charism in the changing and complex context of today.” The Assembly Thad 17 participants which comprised 2 Ex-Officio, 10 delegates and 5 invitees. We were also honoured by the presence of the SMA General Council from Rome, in the person of Fr. Francis Rosario SMA, the OLA Provincial Sr. Celestina Nevoh, OLA, the SMA Mission Support Group and the Bishop of Kontagora Vicariate, Bishop Bulus Dauwa Yohanna. It was indeed an historical event set aside to look back at our past in an appreciative way, which helped us to understand the present realities and build on our strengths rather than let our weaknesses paralyse us as we look and plan ahead for the future. The method used to achieve all these objectives was referred to as 'appreciative discernment'. It is summarised under the heading of the 5 Ds – Definition, Discovery, Dream, Design, and Deliver (Do it). Fr. Basil Soyoye, SMA was the facilitator. The high points of the Assembly's reflections were on Spirituality and lifestyle, Mission and Formation, Finance and leadership which are areas of our Mission and life as SMAs. The backdrop of the resolutions from these reflections was summarised as follows: In our search for holiness we must focus on Christ as our model and this holiness is manifested in humility and our willingness to be close to the poor and most abandoned. In our work with the laity we are called to appreciate their giftedness and help them play a very active and inclusive role in the fulfillment of the missionary mandate amidst the changing realities of today. Hopefully, we shall grow as true missionaries, fully committed to spreading the message of Christ to the most abandoned. This led to the transition process of the leadership team which took place on Tuesday the 19th of November 2019 and at the end of the voting process there emerged the new Provincial Superior, Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Zinsu, SMA. The following day, 20th of November, ushered in the election of the Vice-Superior and two Councillors for the Province: Fr. Matthew Bassah, SMA (Vice-Superior), Fr. Claude Nikpi, SMA (Councillor), and Fr. Joseph Nomhwange, SMA (Councillor). On the 21st of November, at the Holy Family Parish, Life Camp, Abuja, the newly-elected Provincial team members made their profession of faith in the presence of the General Councillor, SMA Fathers, MSG members, SMA Youth and the entire faithful of the parish. The Assembly enjoyed a joyful, humorous, fraternal, amiable and spirit-filled atmosphere. We commend our newly-born Province into the hands of Our Lady of Lourdes, to present our Province at the feet of Jesus Christ, who is our model and source of strength. Front: L-R: Frs. Emokhare, Rosario, Nikpi, Zinsu, Bassah, Nomhwange, Temuyi, Mayumba, Atolagbe. Back: L-R: Frs. Imoniunu, Soyoye, Acheneje, Romanus, Ebute, Nwachukwu, Donthika, Malong. Fr. Emmanuel Imoniunu, SMA REACTION TO THE FIRST NIGERIAN PROVINCIAL ASSEMBLY (NPA) My experience of the NPA: A truly SMA Assembly with Naija flavours s I left Abuja (on the 25th November 2019) going back to Accra after our first historical Nigerian Provincial Assembly, a few Athings lingered joyfully in my mind. First of all, as many participants and invitees also expressed, there is so much hope and optimism In the Nigerian Province. And this is for very good and right reasons, considering our potential. While other countries had the elevation as Provinces “thrust upon them.” the SMA Nigerian story is somewhat different. We can all recall that even before and especially around the General Assembly of 2007 there were both formal and informal requests from some Nigerian confrères for the then Nigeria SMA Region (s) to be given some level of autonomy (creation of a District) within the former structures of the Society. The desire and quest for that self-governance had nothing to do with pride or arrogance but was the result of a sense of self- confidence and a pace setting spirit which characterise the average Nigerian around the globe. Perhaps, this is also one of Nigeria's gifts to the SMA as missionaries. When we gathered in Abuja for the Assembly, this optimism was visibly seen in the seriousness given to the discussions, in the drafting of the documents, in the election process and in the general level of maturity. Secondly, there was a lot of generosity during the Assembly: confrères came fully prepared and were ready to spend extra hours working on documents. Many others were working often late into the night, not to mention the sacrifices of our dear hosts (confrères, parishioners and Mission Support Group (MSG) members) who ensured we had everything provided and even more. Una well don jare! It was really a touching experience. Indeed, it is not surprising that generosity is almost synonymous with our name and nature. This was also very much in evidence during the Assembly. continued on page 5 2 BULLETIN 0F SMA NIGERIA PROVINCE - JANUARY, 2020 NP NEWSLETTER SHORT PROFILES OF THE MEMBERS OF THE PROVINCIAL TEAM “It is ironic to note that for every work well done, for every selfless service more and higher service is required.” Fr. Emmanuel Imoniunu SMA REV. FR. EMMANUEL ZINSU, SMA (PROVINCIAL SUPERIOR) Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Zinsu was born on 31st December, 1977 in Badagry, Lagos State. He began his early education in Ajara, Badagry. In 1999, his initial formation with the SMA was set rolling in the Preparatory House in Kagoro, Kaduna State. This was followed by four years study of Philosophy in Ss. Peter and Paul Major Seminary, Bodija, Ibadan from 1999 to 2003.