A visit to Glen View

By Fr David Harold-Barry SJ

Faith and light Glen View meets on the second Saturday of each month and Florence Kabayadondo, Mai Belinda, invited me to come on the 14^th of September 2013. People came slowly but Florence, Belinda and I were soon joined by Fatima Fire, Juliana, Godfrey, two other young ladies and Mai Chido. Finally Privilege and his father arrived. After a prayer we read from the bible and two of us spoke on the reading. Then we had songs and games followed by a drink, a bun and a banana.

So much for the basics of the meeting, but for me it was once again a reminder of the role of parents and the extraordinary care in patience and love that they show their children. Belinda is now over thirty and heavily dependent on others and for all those years her mother has been at her side caring for her and always finding something to joke and smile about. Privilege is seriously physically handicapped and it affects his movements and his speech. His mother strained her back lifting him as he has now, at 25, become quite strong and heavy. But his father has stepped in and takes care of him in every way. Chido is epileptic although he was not there today.

I hope these devoted parents find a source of support in Faith and Light. The task they are called to is a difficult one but I have the feeling that when God calls people to this he also lightens the burden for those who joyfully accept it.

In another part of the Church yard there was a group singing, perhaps preparing for the Sunday liturgy. How nice it would have been if they had come over before they left to greet us! But they didn’t. It made me feel that Faith and Light is also a lonely road to travel. How many in our parishes even know about us? Those who do are perhaps shy to reach out to us.

Maybe when our delegates go to South Africa next month we will have time to reflect on some of these issues.