UISG: Religious women gather for formation in interculturality

By Sr. Titilayo Aduloju, SSMA

The in-person workshop on interculturality in “Consecrated Life: Insights from the UISG” is organised by the UISG in Nairobi, Kenya.

Nairobi was chosen for the workshop to bring together Sisters from East and South Africa with diverse backgrounds, experiences, congregations, ages, and ethnicities.

The intention is to raise awareness of the importance of acquiring intercultural competence in consecrated life.

According to Sr. Paula Jordao, FMBD, the UISG Formation Coordinator, “Interculturality formation is significant for consecrated life.”

“It enables witnesses to demonstrate that living together as brothers and sisters is possible despite everyday challenges, differences, and conflicts.”

In-person workshop

Sr. Jordao expressed that, although online contacts have helped the union in the past few years, the in-person workshop is necessary now.

The meeting will afford the participants to meet with each other physically to celebrate, walk, work together, and engage with the five senses in relationships where many things can happen beyond what is expected, beyond the screen, she said.

Sr. Paula Jordao

Why hold it in Nairobi?

Since other places have been chosen at different times for various events, “this time we chose Nairobi,” Sr Jordao said.

“This interculturality formation has been given already to sisters throughout the whole globe, from Oceania to North America, from Africa to South America, also here in Europe, two or three years ago,” the coordinator highlighted.

Thus, this time, the union decided to engage the sisters from East and South Africa who come from diverse backgrounds, experiences, congregations, ages, and ethnic groups with the workshop centered on interculturality.

This would enable them “to promote and raise awareness of the need of learning interculturality in a consecrated setting,” Sr. Jordao added.

Importance of formation in interculturality in consecrated life

The topic is crucial to the consecrated life since they are called to show the world that it is possible to live as brothers and sisters in spite of the difficulties, disagreements, and difficulties they encounter on a daily basis.

“So, we are called to embrace the Kingdom,” continued Sr. Jordao “We are called to forgive and to be forgiven, we are called to grow out in awareness of who we are.”

She also said, “We are called to grow out of our own cultures, to be enriched and enrich other cultures of our fellow sisters and brothers.”

Based on this goal, she stressed that “interculturality today is something that really needs to be in the formation of consecrated life.”

Positive impact on the world

According to the coordinator, “this formation is for consecrated life, but will reach out also to the whole world because we are women, consecrated women that live in the world.”

“Not being of the world says Jesus,” Sr. Jordao said, “but we are together with so many people that also need to learn the challenge of the richness of the difference.”

This means that, in a world where conflicts, violence, disparate religious beliefs, and ethnic groupings have polarised the society, it is the responsibility of the consecrated women to uphold the gospel values and be guided by the Holy Spirit, who reveals to them that they are all children of God.

The coordinator expressed her belief that “within our differences, within our different ways of perceiving living, we can open our arms, our minds, our lives to welcome the difference.”

 “We need to grow with the difference, to be challenged with the difference, and also to challenge those things in our own cultures that are not according to the gospel.”

Sr. Jordao hoped that by acquiring and putting this intercultural formation and abilities into practice, religious women would be able to build a new environment where individuals of different backgrounds are respected and we can travel and walk together.

The UISG hopes that by adopting intercultural formation and skills, it can contribute to creating a more inclusive world where differences are embraced and people can journey together in unity.