You are a minister of arts and culture

Does the Church have an equivalent of he government’s department for arts and culture?

This was this government department that organised the Womens’ Day march on August 9, commemorating the march to Pretoria 50 years ago when women protested against the imposition of pass laws and how this would impact on their lives.

In essence, these women marched in support of their families rights half a century ago. This year one wonders whether the focus was on women’s struggles or on the good of their families. It was a very colourful event, well-attended with big names. Similar events were held elsewhere.

How is culture and tradition usually passed on? Who is responsible? Is it a government department, church or society and its members, and in particular the families?

The main theme of the World Meeting of Families which I attended recently was Transmission of faith in the family. Interestingly grandparents were given some credit for their role in doing this. Clearly South Africa is not the only country where grandparents play such a major role.

Transmitting faith as well as culture in our families is a very important and very immediate hands-on task, with special days or traditions celebrated or just remembered in day-to-day family living. It is sad if a generation is missed out, and even more sad that in child-headed households there is little opportunity for passing on faith or culture in the battle for survival.

But there are things happening there too, even things regular families can learn from. Just a few days ago I came across a book on memory work in times of Aids edited by Philippe Denis OP- incidentally an idea already written up in the Marriage and Family Living magazine.

The objective is to spend time with these children who are affected by the loss of parents. The aim is to help them to reflect on family life experiences, share and depict these in some way as a reminder for the future. Important papers and information are also stored but the main purpose is psychological and emotional. We are all people with a past, a present and a future and we focus on that at the moment because September is Heritage month. Our heritage is in our particular culture and it is valuable and to be cherished, whether Zulu or Portuguese, Afrikaans or Ethiopian.

Our Heritage is also the title of another booklet produced by MARFAM precisely to help families work and act together to reflect on their heritage, geographical, national, ethnic and spiritual too as in a way religion belongs in the domain of culture.

There are different ways to do this. We, the Church, as educators, catechists and particularly as family people are our own ministers of arts and culture. Our children and grandchildren love to hear our stories. It is not difficult to tell the stories, to roleplay or dramatise, to draw and sing and dance, if some time we turn our backs on that other intrusive family member, the TV.

I have seen sodalities and other groups doing these kind of activities, but we need to do them as families.

One enterprising brother in Limpopo province told me he has started a Family Talk Walk project. While tripping or trudging along roads and tracks together we not only walk the walk but also talk the talk, family talk, faith talk, culture talk, God talk.

That I believe is true family spirituality and we are the true ministers of arts and culture.