Uniformity is learnt ideology to control. Belonging not to the Divine intention. Pause for a moment! Wisely observe the space around you! Creation is absent of uniformity. Human living is devoid of uniformity. Uniformity is a false construct Design to dominate, dictate, and judiciously direct. Religious institutions. Partisan Politics. Racial ideology. Ethnic groups. Encircling usContinue reading “Belonging and Diversity”
Author Archives: donalddeanchambers
Silent Giving
There are several rivers in Jamaica, but some are more inviting and popular than others. There are the slow-moving rivers such as the Black River, St. Elizabeth and the Rio Cobre, St. Catherine… ignored and forgotten rivers. Then there is the vibrancy of the Y’s River, St. Elizabeth and Dunn’s River, St. Ann…both attract largeContinue reading “Silent Giving”
Synodality – Individual’s Contribution to the Whole
The heart is used metaphorically as the centre. For example, a son or daughter is referred to as the heartbeat of parents. The rhythm of the heart indicates the quality of our overall health. By using a stethoscope, medical doctors listen to the heartbeat. Positioning it in their ears, the stethoscope drowns out external noiseContinue reading “Synodality – Individual’s Contribution to the Whole”
Synodality and Reception of Ideas
One of the frustrating experiences in the synodal journey, a journey of dialogue, discernment and decision-making by the People of God, is the immediate shooting down of a proposed idea, concept, or recommendation. Someone offers a proposal and it’s instantaneously thrown in the garbage. There may be good reasons for rejection, but the manner inContinue reading “Synodality and Reception of Ideas”
Birthday Dream
On this day of the celebration of my birth, September 29 I have a DREAM. I DREAM, Amid personal unfathomable emotional pain I DREAM for friends, families, and fraternities Marred by division, deafness, disagreement, discord, disharmony, and disunion. I DREAM of healing and reconciliation . . . among friends . . . among family membersContinue reading “Birthday Dream”
Unbridled Independence
“When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to Him, “They have no wine” (John 2:3). My family gathered to celebrate the September-born members which include me. There was the customary Jamaican food, alcohol, laughter, teasing, and jiving. Three friends of my eldest niece, who were visiting from St. Maarten, joined briefly onContinue reading “Unbridled Independence”
Synodality and Fustrations
The feeling of frustration is one of the many emotions that were either expressed by the People of God or intuited in their stories during the consultation phase of the synodal journey. I invite you to sense the frustration in the following testimony extracted from a synod synthesis. “Some of the priests are very thin-skinnedContinue reading “Synodality and Fustrations”
Ancestral Tears
Queen Elizabeth – A grandmother A great grandmother A mother A person A woman – Has died. There are overflowing tears Pouring from social, print, and electronic media eyes, Usurping news of global war, famine, drought, violence. Tears filling the cups of the United Kingdom Violently stirring the Atlantic Ocean and the English Channel. But,Continue reading “Ancestral Tears”
Synodality and Conflict Transformation
The synodal journey of the People of God fundamentally involves the initiation and development of quality relationships. Relationship building is like the proverbial saying “getting under someone’s skin”. One of the consequences of such attachment is conflict. There’s no synodal journeying without conflicts. Due of our differences – different personalities, experiences, perspectives, opinions, ways ofContinue reading “Synodality and Conflict Transformation”
Synodality and the Human Family
Why does the journey towards building a synodal Church appear like the ascent up a steep and rugged hill? Some years ago, four friends and I agreed to hike up a steep mountain. On the way to the starting point, I observed a bottle of whiskey and few glasses in the car. At the footContinue reading “Synodality and the Human Family”
Beloved Reflections 