By Livinus Tal Bam
A two day training seminar for all diocesan workers in Kumbo has gone underway at the Kumbo St. Jerome Biblical Pastoral Centre. Organized by the coordinator of the Diocesan Pastoral Formation Team, Rev. Fr. Cyprian Tatah Ferdzefer, the seminar drilled workers from all walks of life, on acceptable inter-relational skills.
The two day seminar was organised to bridge the differences that exist among Kumbo Diocesan workers. Discussions at the seminar revolved around the following questions, who is a diocesan worker and what is a Church?
After a general discussion it was concluded that diocesan workers are trainers and servants at the services of pilgrims on their way to heaven. When this definition was reached, the workers themselves began to discover that they were actually handling important functions within the Church. They also came to the realization that their work in their various diocesan services was not just to earn a living, but that they are doing a great job of transforming the world to become a better place.
Another subject that came up for discussion was the spirituality of diocesan workers. In this respect, workers were reminded of the need to live their Christian lives as the Church demands. The Vicar General of Kumbo, Rev. Fr. Roland Berngeh, while alluding to this topic called on all diocesan workers to keep the Ten Commandments. Diocesan workers, it was said, are children of the same family with different talents, working in different services but for the same master. It is therefore important that a cordial relationship should prevail among them. Rev. Fr. Daniel Ache, who facilitated the seminar, challenged the workers to work as a team, adding that without collective action, they cannot succeed. "It is in dealing with one another and complementing the efforts of one another that we are going to succeed," he said.
The facilitator called on the participants to be flexible enough in order to establish a platform for dialogue and discussion. He also called on them to accept their co-workers as they are, to live the Sacrament of Reconciliation, be appreciative and extend a helping hand to each other. Fr Daniel Ache advised diocesan workers to discard pride, drop gossip and abandon dishonesty because they are social ills with an infinite capacity to ruin situations. Though one has never seen God, Fr. Daniel concluded that as long as Christians love one another, God will be in mankind and his love will reign in them. Other topics which spiced the seminar were the relationship between employer and employee and the status of a diocesan worker.
The chancellor of the Diocese of Kumbo, Rev. Fr. Peter Foleng and the Diocesan Coordinator for the Family Life Apostolate, Ephriam Lukong, handled some of the topics that came up for discussion. At the end of the seminar, the participants expressed satisfaction with the training they had received.