THE YOUTH FESTIVAL

21 February 2011

THE YOUTH FESTIVAL

from a JET (young overseas volunteer) living in Divinopolis

O Festival de verão

We have just taken part in this summer's Youth Festival that was held in Belo Horizonte from 20 to 23 January. Nearly 100 young people got together in a magnificent setting to praise, to sing and to be together. The mornings were devoted to teaching and prayer times, the afternoons were for relaxation (football, swimming pool, choral singing, dancing), and the evenings for praise and reconciliation.

I was touched by the joyful prevailing party atmosphere. Brazilians have the ability to get close very quickly. This frightened me at first, so much kissing and hugging even with people you didn't know. But here, greeting people  by taking them in your arms is a great sign of respect and affection.

In addition I was happy to notice that with God there are no barriers, no frontiers. No matter if you come from a rich or a poor family, no matter if you went to a good or a poor school, we all have the same goal: to share and to meet one another, as we follow Christ. Being in a fraternity (sharing group) allows us to express what we are experiencing at home, with our family or our friends...times of joy s well as moments of difficulty. This is place to be listened to, where each person can express himself freely without being judged. So the relationships that we build allow us to understand others in many ways, personal, social, spiritual; The festival is a favoured time when we meet others but where we can also confront ourselves in the light of the word of God.

Gaël

(You can real the whole of Gaël's testimony in French on the Chemin Neuf web-site The Chemin Neuf Community, under "jeunes' then "JET" (Gaël in Divinopolis, January 2011)

Letter from Brazil No. 3, November 2009

THE CHEMIN NEUF COMMUNITY

International Ecumenical Fraternity

LETTER FROM BRAZIL

No 3 November 2009

     “Young and old will rejoice together...” (Jer 31,13)

     Nine days of “Padroeira,” the patronal festival of our parish! Each year, it represents a new page in the story of our parish family. We shall not forget this one. We shall pass around the film made from all the photos we received... All the more so because Dom Waldor, our archbishop, was with us for the celebration this year.

     We shall not remember the minor problems we had with the communications, but just the “magic” moments, the acted-out parables. For example, the children's party was run by several pastoral care groups, and this allowed the children from poor families to be together with the children who go to the posh schools. So there was no distinction between the 200 children who were there. Joy unbounded! Drinks, hot-dogs, a small playground (with slides, a trampoline... ), all provided free of charge. An experience of the generosity of the Kingdom of God. A corner of heaven on earth. Hallelujah! "Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.” Isaiah 55,1.

     There was that same fragrance of the Kingdom of God during the Community meal. Everybody shared and received in abundance. Young and old were truly rejoicing, dancing and singing together (… by the way, the health care team managed to visit 84 sick people in the parish this month. Congratulations!). The Word of God was put into practice. “And they all ate and were satisfied.,” Mark 6,42. Could one dream that the whole country could be like this?

Another parable: the processions with a fire engine carrying the statue of Sainta Margarida Maria Alacoque, a brass band, candles and singing, the expression (not sufficiently ecumenical!) of the public dimension of religion. We are asked to experience in the streets what we celebrate in our chapels, that is to say, to announce Jesus Christ and to defend the sacred value of each human being, just as the canonised saints did. We marched and prayed for peace.

     Speaking of the fire brigade... At the end of the “carreata”, the procession in their district, they came forward, knelt down, and asked for the blessing of the priest. One of them even stayed with us for the whole route, hanging from the fire engine with one arm and holding his other hand to collect donations for us... This is how we should live, I thought, greatly moved, accepting our responsibilities on earth while receiving everything from above, open to God's Grace.

These festive moments are the positive story of the parish run by the Community. The Kingdom is in our midst. Thank you, Lord. █

Philippe Barrucand (Padre Tiago)

From Father Philippe Berger

July 2009

The parish church

 

   Some news about how we are living in Belo Horizonte...

  … it's astonishing to see how rapidly things are developing here. Lots of new things, some good, others not so good.

  … the food crisis, and the price rises that go with it, is radically complicating the daily life of people with small budgets. Still, Brazil is doing its best to combat the surge in unemployment. Thank goodness the national labour market in immense, yet finding a job is getting more and more difficult... Corruption among the elite in continuing unabated in spite of the growing awareness of this among the masses, and especially among the middle class, which is gradually waking up...

In our district, the government has finally decided to go ahead with the elimination of the Sao José favela which is very close to our parish and with which we are working a great deal. This is going to take some years... An arterial road is to be built linking Pedro II Avenue with Tancredo Neves Avenue. The city needs this, there is no doubt about that. In fact, it has been talked about for 20 years. Still, this time the compulsory purchase of makeshift houses has begun, and several blocks of low-cost housing have already been built. Several families have already moved in. These units are concrete skeletons, squeezed so close together that you could play cards from one building to the next. It's not very humane. Sure enough, it's better than the street... But when you see the three enormous palaces that the government is building for its administration on the northern outskirts of our city, taking up the entire plain, I could think that they could have been a bit more generous towards the people of Sao José.

     That decision by the government and its implementation has caused tensions to rise in the favela. The antagonism between the upper and lower parts of the shanty town has intensified. The number of murders has soared. There is one funeral after another, mainly young people... It is dreadful. It is clear to me that the construction of these rabbit hutches is not going to solve the problems of these alienated brothers and sisters. The implementation of our Hill of Hope project will be more welcome than ever.

     We have a real need for the space and the facilities that will make it possible for these brothers and sisters to receive material help, education, training for jobs, and also help for their spiritual and personal lives. The activities that are already under way in this project keep on diversifying and growing. Food aid is now being provided to close on 40 families. The series of “little lessons” - the most recent one on first aid, given by the fire brigade – are forging ahead and getting better and better. The integration of marginalised people into the parish is growing year by year. The various workshops that we have planned are ready to go ahead, but we are hamstrung for lack of space. They are going ahead but in a very small way: computing, sewing, etc...

A view of the Sao José favela

     The work of the Menor mission is always attracting more teenagers and it is a pleasure to give guidance in their professional lives to these young people who, after they having spent many years with us, keep coming back to see us and rely on us. Claudia has left the favela with her three children and has found a small house in which her three little tearaways are becoming so much calmer... Claudia asked to be baptised three weeks ago. A superb festival...

So for as the three new buildings that are planned are concerned, the progress is equally impressive.

Let's begin with the objective Number 1 of our plans: the first phase consists of completing our place worship plus the Community House, starting from the bar (with the pyramid-shaped roof) that we bought in 2005. To do that, we need to purchase the piece of land situated on its right side. We finally managed this two weeks ago. Hallelujah! It's been a long haul. And as the crisis made all the prices go up, , in the end we had to find 250,000 reals for this purchase ( about 96,000 euros because the euro is now worth only 2.6 reals and not 3 as previously!!!) The times are hard!

Children in the favela

Still it's a victory of which we are proud. Using the various donations that we had received from you and using the small savings that the community in that district could make, we managed to get the purchase through in the following way:

50,000 reals(17,300 euros) provided by the local community with your help,

200,000 reals (77,000 euros) borrowed from the solidarity fund of the archdiocese (an interest free loan with monthly repayments of 2000 reals).

For the building work as such, taking into account the price increase, 500,000 reals (roughly 200,000 euros) will be needed. We envisage the budget as follows:

50,000 reals (17,300 euros) to be provided by the local community which will in addition be making the monthly repayments for the land.

150,000 reals (58,000 euros) have been requested from the German organisation Kirche im Not (Church in Need) to be used for building the church itself.

300,000 reals (115,000 euros) from Europe-Brazil Solidarity.

The building plans are now well advanced. The basement will be mainly car park as is required by law. There will be a large multi-purpose hall on the ground floor; the church and the meeting room with then be on the first floor together with the rooms required by the project, interview rooms for people with legal, psychological and social problems, a catechism classroom, meeting rooms, etc. So that is the first phase of our project.

The second building planned is mainly for the Chemin Neuf Community, as it will be a community house and a hostel for young students, as has been requested by our Archbishop Dom Walmor; this is to be located on a sunken plot of land in the parish. The football field will be replaced by several buildings including a covered multi-sports ground.

A “loan for use” contract has been concluded between the Archdiocese of Belo Horizonte and the Chemin Neuf Community, permitting the latter to occupy this site for the next 50 years. During this period it has been stipulated that the Community will continue to be responsible for running the parish and social programmes of Santa Margarida Maria. So we have a long term guarantee for our project.

The Bar

The third part of the project is a building for social work, which is to be built on the site of the present crèche; the news of this were and still are a shock for us.

We found out, through a surveyor who was working on the land to the right of the crèche, that this land had been appropriated by a decree from the prefecture at the beginning of September 2008. When we met some of the City politicians, we were told that the city council had decided on this public project, and that they were in fact planning a UMEI, a municipal unit for children's education, which would cater for 440 children aged from 6 months to 6 years. The compulsory purchase order did not include the crèche itself.

Aerial view of the site

So the idea of our “Hill of Hope” project has now become one with 440 children, while our crèche only took a hundred so we should be pleased. So this misfortune should turn out well. However, the latest news is that the Archdiocese which owns the land has still had no official notification of this compulsory purchase. But rumour has it that now we shall also lose the land that the crèche is on. Another shock! And not much that we can do about it... So we are now obliged to accept that this land will be reserved for that third building. We are now hesitating between the crèche and the parish centre, to be done by stages on the right part of the parish hall where there are the kitchen and the toilets...

Good bye for now!

Father Philippe Berger

Testimonies

From Delphine

The favela "Vila Sao José"

...A FIRST CONTACT WITH ANOTHER WORLD … A FAVELA - There are around 400 favelas in Belo Horizonte; some larger, some smaller; some more, some less dangerous... So many people living in squalor, around 250,000. “Our favela is called “Vila Sao José”. It is about ten minutes' walk from our house. During the Cycle A, I was very afraid that I would not be able to cope with all that misery. Four days after my arrival, we set off for the favela...(1) The alleyways are minuscule, the two or three room houses are crammed together, the TVs and radios are blasting away at full volume, (I soon find out that people are prepared to go hungry in order to scrape together the 15 reals per month needed for a TV connection), piles of rubbish everywhere, the people, mostly young, hang around, a baby on one arm, a beer in the other hand... it's filthy, it smells awful because of all the rubbish that gets hot in the sun...There is no air, it is very hot, There is barbed wire running intertwined in all directions, serving as washing lines.

For me, it's the filth that is the hardest to bear. Everyone we meet stares at us and wonders what we're doing here, but they do greet us. “In Brazil if you don't live in a favela, you never set foot in a favela.” Two worlds live side by side but never meet...

Claudia's house is surrounded on three sides by open streams of sewage in which the pigs come to eat.

Open sewer with pigs feeding

You wouldn't want to fall into that! When it rains, (and here, when it rains, it really rains), the streams overflow and flood the house. You can see the sky through the holes in the corrugated iron roof, through which the rain obviously comes; so when it rains, everything gets wet. On nights like that, it is impossible tp sleep, the people empty their buckets as they fill up and wait for the rain to stop. Towards the end of January, it rained almost without stopping. For many, that was a terrible ordeal. My first reaction, coming from my great curiosity, was to want to look everywhere, into all the narrow alleys, through the windows... we had been talking about this for such a long time...Now at last I was there, I had the answers to my question, “What is a favela like?” “How do people manage to live there?” But after a few yards I said to myself, “Delf, when you are walking through a district of Brussels, do you look at the people through their windows?” “No, but here it's not the same...” “So because the people are poor, it's all right to stare at them?” “No, but I'm just visiting.” “Just visiting?” “... ...” A healthy curiosity, or the opposite? Not easy to have the right attitude.

Not easy to have the right attitude with the people either. What to do about the (huge) problem of alcohol? For example, on her birthday, Claudia and her neighbour, along with the teenagers who were there, were drinking beer... I drank one glass of beer while they drank four. After three hours I got back home and wouldn't drink again for a week. But they don't stop so easily. .. Would the solution be for me not to drink with them? Not so easy for a “Belgian”... And if I refused to have a drink with them, it could be taken badly, it could mean that I didn't trust them,...

Delphine

(1) We were there on behalf of the parish, visiting the inhabitants of the Sao José favela which adjoins the parish.

Children in the crèche

Excerpt from a letter

written by Anne-Claire, shortly to be a JET (young volunteer) in Brazil,
during a three months' training course.

Discovering community life

… as you see, I am on a training course, and have already done several weeks in Hautecombe; I shall be here until the end of December.

...My first weeks here were not easy. I already could not stand all those sweet smiles of the brothers and sisters of the community. The chanting of the psalms during the offices got on my nerves. I only had one wish, and that was to run, to run without stopping, far away, .not to think any more, just to get back to noise, the world, reality. But still, I have to stay here for three months, to make this training period a good time in my life. So I put myself “in openness” with all my heart, so that God would give me the grace of coming to like this place and of finding myself feeling well here...

...I've discovered that the way we see things depends very much on our openness of heart and on the fact that we choose freely. Finally, I have come to like it here and I'm learning a tremendous amount.

...I've learnt that you do not have to go very far to be struck by differences. Here I'm already experiencing culture shock. My way of life was so different from what is being proposed to me today. I've moved from having six brothers and sisters to having 80, the rhythm if life is different, people's habits, the rules, the people, all my bearings have been shaken up, apart from, perhaps, the time and the French language (fortunately).

...There are around 20 foreigners on the training course, out of 40 participants. So we are an amazing mixture of cultures. I've understood that living with others should make me accept our differences, and especially to accept them as a plus, as something constructive, even more, as something to love. For example, in my group I've got a priest from Madagascar, just arrived from his country; it's the first time he's left Madagascar. He is … what shall I say? … quiet, cool, and rather slow (it's his culture that makes him like that). I have to learn to love these characteristics of being a laggard and not taking the initiative. Because if I take these away, it's no longer him: it's such a shame to want others to be like me. Since I've come to like what he is, I appreciate him enormously: he is even one of the people whose presence strengthens me and whose calmness soothes me.

In order to love people as they are, even if I find them exasperating, I have only found one solution:

TO MARVEL at their difference...

...Another thing that I've learnt here is providing a service. My first job has been to prepare breakfast (which means getting up earlier ... I was delighted!) Here everyone finds it normal that everything should be ready in the morning: the water hot, the bowls where they should be, butter and jam on the table... At first, I was appalled at this indifference; I would at least have wished that people should thank me, that they should know that it was me... and I understood that it could be so much more attractive to provide the service in secret, and I would put flowers, friendly little notes, croissants... And in the mornings I would see the big smiles, everybody's delight when they found these little treats. I was a thousand times more satisfied. Now when I take my shower, I am aware that someone cleaned it for me. Someone took the trouble to clean MY shower, which she would never use. It's crazy, isn't it? As a result, I pray for her and thank her for having make it sparkle. For me this is what life is: loving the other and taking care of her in secret.

After my first week, feeling depressed, I said to my friends, “It just stinks of love here!” Hautecombe is exactly that: Love. For me, there was too much love, I didn't want all that. Selfishly I told myself, “But I'm fine on my own, I don't need your love, leave me in peace.” Now I understand why there is so much hatred and violence directed against Christianity, and why so many died as martyrs. It's because people are AFRAID of LOVE, Real, Genuine Love. It seems so out of proportion in comparison to our small selves that we want it to go very far away from us, that it does not touch us. If it touches me, I'm done for, I've had a taste of such love and I'm going to become dependent on it. Why take so much trouble to escape from the most beautiful thing in life?

Laurent in Divinopolis

...So I finally found what the heart of the Church is all about, the profound faith of Christians who love a God of love. I would so much have liked to have been brought up in this, I had never understood anything. I was insipid,colourless in my encounters with others because I could not accept love and as a result, to give out love. Oh what joy to come to understand a part of the Christian mystery. And for no other reason than this, I am happy to be here...

I am carrying you all in my prayers (and I have all the time I need for that). If you have any special prayer requests, do not hesitate for a moment from letting me know; It will be an immense joy for me to be praying for you.

With much love and best wishes, and thanking you for your support. ?

Anne-Claire (October 2009)

Group photograph during Laurent's visit to Divinopolis

LETTER FROM BRAZIL No. 4, November 2010

Editorial, by Laurent Fabre

The toucan

     Brazil is truly a "rainbow" country. And it is true that this mixture of races, of cultures and of colours gives an impression of life and of joy. I've discovered a wonderful bird that could be an emblem for Brazil: the toucan. We were with Joachim Amaral, the leader of the community, heading for Divinopolis (the second foundation of the community in Brazil), when on two occasions a magnificent bird that I did not recognise flew in front of us. The driver, Joachim, was very surprised to see this, and other Brazilians have confirmed that it is rare to find this "rainbow" bird (as you can see for yourselves in the photo below) in the wild. Joachim himself was equally surprised that Sunday 26 September to see this same bird in front of his house, that is part of a property which is becoming more and more a centre for retreats and training. We are hoping that we shall be able to build a student hostel on adjacent land, as it would be very well located for the new faculty of medicine in Divinopolis. These two sightings of the toucan and then also its surprising presence on the community's land were like a sign from heaven, a wink from the Lord, the rainbow after the storm, for Joachim and Marcia his wife, and for all of us.

     Yes, there has been a storm, and the departure of several brothers and sisters who have done valuable work has weakened our foundation in Belo Horizonte and in Divinopolis, but I must straight away add that the arrival of two sisters, consecrated celibates, one Polish, Sister Mariola, the other Franco-Japanese, Sister Koumi, was like a double ray of sunshine for this community which is becoming more and more international, more and more a rainbow. You doubtless know that Father Philippe Berger (a very white Swiss) has been joined by Father Pierre Ettien (a very black Ivorian). Pierre Ettien is the priest in the Parish of Belo Horizonte where he is replacing Tiago (Father Philippe Barrucand) who is now at the Dombes Abbey in France, where Beatrice Bourrat is now happy to be learning theology in a group of some forty students. If the whole of this large country, Brazil, is going through an important stage in its political and economic history, we can also say that the little Chemin Neuf Community is also going through a new stage in its history, a stage full of promise; two Brazilian families and six single Brazilians are undergoing training in France this year. This is a great commitment for us all, not only financially, but also because it means that those who stayed behind in Brazil are having to manage without ten of their brothers and sisters who would be very valuable for the mission. However, we feel that this training time, a guarantee for the future, is really a blessing for them and for us.

     Brother Luciano Couto, a Brazilian and a seminarian with our community in Paris, has been nominated to head a committee that is aiming to raise the necessary funds for us to build two student hostels, one in Belo Horizonte, the other in Divinopolis... If you can help, God will reward you one hundred fold!■

(Brother Luciano, e-mail: lu.couto.leite@gmail.com)

Father Laurent Fabre +

From Father Philippe Barrucand (Tiago)

October 2010

     Father Philippe Barrucand, who returned to France from Brazil a few weeks ago, had been the parish priest of the church of Santa Maria Margarida Alacoque since 2005, when he succeeded Father Philippe Berger in this function.

     Here he is telling us something about his life in the parish, where he led numerous pastoral missions that had important implications for his parishioners.

     The "Pastoral Mission for Menor" (PAMEN) for deprived children works with young people from the parish and also from Vila Sao José, the favela that adjoins the parish although it is not part of it.

     Among other recent activities of note, there has been the fifth Youth Festival that was held in January, which was attended by over one hundred participants, and a spiritual week-end in September based on the Jericho retreats for young people that are held in France and called Galilee there.

     The activities for young people that the Community runs is seen  in Brazil as one of the special talents of the Chemin Neuf Community.

     Once again, a Brazilian family is in France for training; this time it is Claudia and Zenilton Diniz, who are currently at Hautecombe Abbey, along with their children, Caroline and Thiago.

     Regarding work in progress and projects, the work to renovate the dos Sagrados Coraçoes Evangelisation Centre will soon be finished, the plot of land next to the "bar" has been purchased, and the price of another plot which was compulsorily purchased from the parish should shortly be paid to us, allowing us to cover a part of some expenses that are foreseen.

     Regarding the plot of land on which we are planning to build a student hostel and a community house, as part of the Hill of Hope project, it has just, to a large extent, been enclosed by a stone wall, to prevent it from becoming a place for illegal trading (in particular drug dealing), and also to stop illegal buildings appearing on our land; once they are there, it is extremely difficult, taking account of the slowness of the Administration, to have "illegal invasions" removed.

     We are continuing in hope; things are advancing slowly, but they are advancing... ■

Father Philippe Berger writes... 

Belo Horizonte, 3 October 2010

   

     A huge and joyful HELLO to all of you, the parishes that are supporting us, family and friends, members of the Association that is supporting the Hill of Hope Project!!

     It is now over a year since I last wrote to you... What a lot has happened in a year! What a lot of good news! Firstly our size: the presence of the Chemin Neuf Community in Brazil, and the support that we are receiving from Europe - and this includes you - has created great confidence here, Hallelujah! As a result, we have been given a vast plot of land with a small house and some outbuildings on it in Divinopolis, a modern town about two hours by road from Belo Horizonte. And that is not all; we have been asked to take on the management of a welfare centre called "A Casa da Samaritana" which is already fully functional, with four paid staff. Divinopolis is a fine modern city with about 300,000 inhabitants, with a number universities, some of which are public (federal universities), and also a first class garment industry. So my community has found itself with a new foundation!

     The land was given to us so that we could build a place for community life and a student hostel. In this way we have to add the construction of a second student hostel in Divinopolis to the Hill of Hope Project in Belo Horizonte (the construction of the Sagrados  Corações Community Centre with a church, a social welfare building and a hostel for young people which will also include accommodation for the Community).

     But why then is there this new urgency for building student hostels? In fact, where social work is concerned, one comes to realise that direct action to satisfy basic needs is very necessary, but there can never be enough...

     ... If Brazil is going to change, it is really urgent that a new class of young people should arise that is scientifically competent and at the same time capable of behaving according to a different mentality, in which there is respect for the law and for justice. This is why the bishops as well as thoughtful people involved in social reform in general are pressing for this type of training in humanities and religion.

     ...As anticipated, this December will see the laying of the first stone of the Community Centre. The phase of preparing this work on paper has come to an end. There is still one fee to be paid and then the building permit should be issued within a month...

     Concerning the student hostel to be built on the football field at the lower end of the parish, we have built the required enclosing wall to protect the site. Otherwise, there would be so many invasions, the project would become impossible.

     In Divinopolis, things are also advancing and two projects are already in the construction phase. We are still waiting to start on the welfare building. We shall have to see what the prefecture really intends...

 

Fr Pierre Ettien and Fr Philippe Berger

     Things are going well in the Parish. The two aspects, spiritual and social, are going forward hand in hand. Currently there is an Alpha Course for young people under way and this will be followed by a series of meetings on personal relationships. The numbers of adolescents and young adults keep growing here, and they bring with them the problems specific to this age group!!! We are starting a MARRIAGE COURSE on 20 October, a very interesting approach to the realities of marriage essentially from a point of view that is down-to-earth and humane. In a week from now, the celebrations for the Patronal Festival will be starting; They will be special this year as it is the golden jubilee of the parish which was founded 50 years ago. The programme is ready and on Saturday 9 October, the two priests, the new parish priest Father Pierre Ettien from Ivory Coast and Father Philippe will be driven through all the streets of the parish on a fire engine on which the large statue of Saint Margarida Maria Alacoque will be fixed. All of this to announce the beginning of the festivities and to bless all the passers-by that we meet with great jets from the holy water sprayer!!

     At the beginning of December, Dom Walmor, our archbishop will be with us for the laying of the foundation stone for the Community Centre and he will then also conduct the induction of our new parish priest.

     On the social level, the situation at Vila Sao José is being transformed. Little by little it is being dismantled to make way for a new arterial road. The corrugated iron houses are being pulled down and the people moved to low rent municipal accommodation. It is true that the new apartments are not bad, but there are many challenges. To have as neighbours, people who belonged to a different gang in the favela, is too dangerous, so one dare not stay. One's environment and daily life have been completely overturned. You have to learn to take care of your apartment, and to live with the communal demands of an apartment block. For us, this means that we have to revise our approach to assistance, starting by visiting people in their new apartments, helping them to form and maintain neighbourhood groups, etc.

     The social activities in the parish continue and increase: controlled distribution of baskets of basic foods (35 families are being helped), mentoring of parents and adults, training in citizenship, preventative action against drugs and disease, physiotherapy for the elderly, assistance with legal; and administrative matters, etc. And of course our work with the Menor Pastoral Mission (for disadvantaged children) continues...

     Profound thanks to you all for your friendly presence which gives stability to my life as a priest. May you and your families be filled with love through His Presence, which sings in the depths of your hearts, in silence...

Your friend in the Lord,

Father Philippe.■

Testimonies

Our Sister Beatrice BOURRAT, a consecrated celibate, has spent seven years with the Chemin Neuf Community in Brazil.

     It's eleven years that the Chemin Neuf has been on your territory...

     You can say that we are advancing by large and by small steps.But never mind, this foundation is surprising us and we're glad to let ourselves be surprised.

     Our present stage of development is marked by the creation of a whole new generation of brothers and sisters, of families and of young people.

     Lucas, Kezia, Paula, Flavio, Luciano are in France helping in the mission there and undergoing training. Three families will soon be on their way. Many young people would like to experience a time in France around the WYD 2011 (World Youth Days) in Madrid.

     This foundation has also become established thanks to the JETs (young volunteers), who, with courage and determination, have helped us to meet this challenge, and to our Brazilian sisters and brothers who are working with us and encouraging us here. The Chemin Neuf is a beacon and a reference point for the many members of new communities in Belo Horizonte.

     1/ In the city of Divinopolis, there is a large house where Marcia and Joachim Amaral live with their children along with Marie (a young JET) and myself, who is now returning to Europe for a new mission.

     There is no shortage of projects for this large piece of land that is at the same time in the city and in the countryside, with a thousand trees inhabited by macaque monkeys nearby.

     Joaquim, an engineer by training, is preparing the plans for building a chapel, a centre for the Community and a student hostel... To get these built just needs helpers and some funds.

     The social centre, A Casa da Samaritana, helps 35 deprived families. Marcia is in charge of this, and the town hall, where Joaquin worked for several years pays for projects and the staff salaries. The 35 mothers from these families come every two weeks for a handicrafts workshop, to collect medicines and a "Cesta Basica" (basic dry food for two weeks). Before all else, this is a place for building friendships and for weeping about their pain and at the injustice of their situation.

     The workshops for painting on cloth, working with salt paste, decorating beach sandals and other things are an apprenticeship of a therapeutic sort, because this is the place for speaking and being listened to, to help the participants to recover their dignity, to learn to live differently not just to subsist but to discover one's hidden talents.

     There are also 80 young people and adults undergoing training here, who are studying information technology in our EIC (School for Information Technology and Citizenship)...

A little "nod from God": the city of Divinopolis has just presented the Candides medal to our brother Joaquim in recognition of the value of his work. This is a great honour, and the publicity will certainly help to promote our mission here.

A toucan in a tree by the family house

2/ Belo Horizonte is absorbed in building projects: the famous "Global Project" on the "Hill of Hope". The decisive steps for the construction of the Community Centre and the Sagrados Corações chapel have been taken.

We are just waiting for the building permit. The laying of the foundation stone is planned for the end of the year to coincide with the jubilee celebrations: 50 years since the creation of the parish of Santa Margarida Maria Alacoque.

Things are moving more slowly for the student hostel and the Community house. We still need to negotiate the removal of the "illegal invasions" and this takes time. However, three quarters of the perimeter wall that will guarantee our ownership of the land has been built. This has already settled the situation for the future. The big challenge now is financing the hostel and Community house!

There is a new mission here, the "Point da Unidade": this is to evangelise young people by means of a monthly meeting  centred on music. Christian musicians from the city will be coming to lead social evenings where people can meet and make friends; these will be under the supervision of the Chemin Neuf Community and in particular of Markim and Josy, members of our life fraternity.

Other news: Father Pierre Ettien has joined us and is replacing Father Philippe Barrucand. ■

October 2010, with the kind permission of the magazine FOI


From Anne-Claire, a young volunteer abroad (JET), July 2010

     A day at the "Menor Pastoral Mission"

     The race against the clock started on Tuesday afternoon with the crucial question, "Marie, what are we going to do with the children tomorrow, now that we've finished the dancing project?

     Yes, you're right, we've got to think of something..."

     After chewing over a few ideas, we decide on a giant Brazilian flag... We're right in the middle of the World Cup, so let's not forget that. We check out that we have all the necessary materials, glue, paper in the right colours, something to rest on, paint brushes, an original to copy from... Then I'm told to make sure the room is available, and to get it ready for the little monkeys who can't keep still and need to be persuaded to behave... No, you can't leave all that until the last minute, everything needs to be ready, anticipated, thought out, so the time is well filled with no gaps. After everything has been organised to the last detail, I'm confident that everything will go smoothly tomorrow afternoon.

Our Sister Koumi in Vila Sao José

     Wednesday, 2 pm, the first children arrive. They seem to be happy to be here, keen to start, a bit excited, curious to know what "Professora Aninha" has thought up for them... they seem like normal children! The afternoon starts with an opening time of mimed songs, the introduction of the new French assistant, a prayer, roll call and finally the children are divided into two groups, each of about ten. And then we get to the serious business. What can I say??? It takes us quarter of an hour to get them round the table. When it comes to telling them what we are going to do, I can forget about wanting them to be quiet. They'll never keep quiet. I have to explain what we're going to do while there is a interminable din, unbearably loud. They all shout at the same time, everyone wants to show that they already know everything, nobody listens. On top of this there are endless quarrels about the brushes and the glue, about who is going to do what, and how, and with whom... And if you go to deal with a boy who is getting a ball out of a cupboard because he is not interested in what we are doing, you see two others who are plastering each other's hair with glue, and another who has wandered off to the other group.

These are children who are constantly left to themselves, who have to manage on their own and whom do not have anyone to tell them what they ought or may do. So they  do not accept any sort of framework, nor any authority, nor any obligation. They do what they want, when they want, with whom they want. They have no respect for adults because they have little contact with adults. Punishments or raised voices make absolutely no impact on them. This is how they communicate among themselves. How can we expect them so stop shouting by shouting at them ourselves?

Aninha: "After ten minutes my head was bursting from the noise and I couldn't see how I could keep going for another three hours... ! Anne-Claire, on the other hand, seemed untroubled! "Ah well, you find them noisy? I hadn't noticed. Yes, it's true, they are a bit more boisterous than usual, yes."

And in the middle of this pandemonium where everyone was trying to make more noise than his neighbour, a little girl, as pretty as can be, very quiet and timid, came up to me and asked, "May I go to for a wee?" What's this? It must be a trap, mustn't it? Since when did anyone ever ask my permission to do anything? Oh well, there are always exceptions to every rule; and this is a big and much appreciated exception.

Three quarters of an hour later, the flag is finally taking shape. Our proposals have been accepted and carried out... And then, the next crisis. It's time for the groups to change over.

So we're starting from scratch with ten different children, who have just been "subjected" to forty five minutes of another organised activity, and who, naturally, want to do the exact opposite of everything that we suggest. What joy, what intense happiness for us!!!

At last it's tea time. The children are a whisker less noise when their mouths are full. We take advantage of this to the full to recover our strength. At the end of the afternoon there is some free time when the children go our to play in a huge yard. Ball games, catch, ring-a-roses... I think this is their favourite time, at last, a decent playground. A time and a place INTENDED FOR playing.

Where is play in the favela, where, at seven years of age, you have to organise your life for yourself, your meals, your laundry, your cleaning, your sick grandmother, your little seven month old brother... ? When you already have to be an adult with responsibilities, whilst your only preoccupations ought to be to go to your neighbour's to play football or to finish your maths homework for the following day...

Just for a time I can see the children as children, light-hearted and free. No need to act tough, to be hard and invulnerable, for the girls, no need to be provocative and rebellious and attention seeking in every way possible, no need to crush the others to survive, just now they are your playmates. I can assure you, you can see that these children are growing up without any restraints in their behaviour, even at play... So we finish up with two broken windows as the window was being used as the football goal, a twisted foot from playing hopscotch on a staircase, not the best idea... and an improvised dance show by two little girls who have moved far from the turmoil and have preferred a quiet activity.

At 5.30 pm all the children have gone, there is no longer an unbearable noise, phew, we can get our breath back. But the day is far from being finished; until 11.00 pm there will always be someone calling to ask for information about the next day's mass, to see the Padre, to leave things for Saturday's "bazard," to ask for something to eat or somewhere to sleep. So what Anne-Claire? I don't understand why you're always tired. It's perfectly possible to have a rest when you're living in a parish house, isn't it?

So you've understood, it's a picture that's brightly coloured, eventful, dynamic and packed with detail. I confirm what Marie just wrote to tell you, the atmosphere here is really like that... Sometimes I think that I'm talking into the void or wearing myself out filling a colander, but when I look at what has been achieved, I can see that our group is progressing. We are managing to build a dynamic group, to instil a notion of service of respect, of keeping to rules and above all, of concluding projects together. We have already put on two dance performances, painted a large sheet of fabric to decorate our room, made bracelets and necklaces for Mother's Day, launched a new newspaper for the PAMEN, (Pastoral mission for Menor), and ... In short, let's keep going forward slowly but surely. ■

A WORD FROM OUR GENERAL ADMINISTRATION

November 2010

     Once again we are extending our warmest thanks to all our donors. Our needs are becoming greater and greater as our projects multiply and we are delighted with:
          - The renovation of the Church dos Sagrados Coraões in place of the bar
          - The project for a Community Centre on the land belonging to the Santa Margarida Maria Alacoque            parish in Belo Horizonte
          - The project for building on the land belonging to the "Famille Sanctuaire de Vie" in Divinopolis.

     We are in the final stages of completing the plans and cost estimates for the new church and parish centre. The application for the building permit should be submitted before the end of this year and we looking for help from donors because the diocese and the Community cannot finance these major but very necessary works for the district on their own. (It would be the third place of worship in this huge parish of Belo Horizonte.)

                                                                            Daniel RENGADE et Jacques LETTU

P.S. For regular information about our mission: http://ccnbresil.blogspot.com/ (in French) or

http://thecheminneufcommunityinbrazil.blogspot.com/

(in English)
To contact us:  drengade69@gmail.com (en français)
                       tom.greenwood69@gmail.com (in English)

If you wish to support us financially or to continue to do so, please send your donations:

- by cheque to the Chemin Neuf Community, specifying on the back, "For the mission in Brazil". Please send your cheque to CCN/Intendance general, 59 montée du Chemin Neuf, 69005 Lyon, France.

- by bank transfer to our account no. 2102 78 15 103 at Crédit Coopératif
                          IBAN: FR76 4255 9000 1121 0278 1510 331
                          BIC: CCOPFRPPXXX


- by direct debit by means of the form below, to be filled in and returned to us:

------✂-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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                                                           Each month / Each quarter

                      	15 €                 30 €         		50 €         	Other amount  €..........

Recipient: Communauté du Chemin Neuf, 59 Montée du Chemin Neuf, 69005 Lyon, France

National number of the issuer: 388799

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                                                                                                                              Date and signature