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Jesus says:

Effata... be opened,
don’t get locked up in your faults,
your loneliness, your shortcomings
live to the full.

Effata... be opened,
don’t come to grief
by what hurts or where you are wounded,
be cured and grow.

Effata... be opened,
don’t get lost in habit,
everyday routine and helplessness.
Be renewed by the appeal
of the gospel.

Effata... be opened,
don’t stay blind and deaf to suffering,
build a world in which there is room for all people.

Celebrating together

Every Saturday evening at 18.3O hrs
in the chapel of the Stropkaai.
Every Wednesday evening at 20 hrs
there is a Tabor moment in the Effatahall

Eating together

Every second Saturday of the month
there is coffee and chocolate with bread
after the celebration..
There is also opportunity to buy products
from third world countries.

Singing together

Every second and fourth Friday of the month
the choir rehearses.
Five times a year we sing in prison.

On our way together

Catechesis offers young ones the chance
to grow in belief and solidarity.
Young people come together and
organize their own activities.
Three times a year books are read and
discussed at the book club.
The book case gives the opportunity
to borrow books.
There is cooperation with the Damian foundation.

OUR MISSION

How it started
The seeds of the Effata community were sown in 1990 in the monastery of the Redemptorists in the Voskenslaan, Ghent. Via a temporary stay in the Afrikalaan, the community finally settled in 1996 in the Stropstraat with the ‘Broeders van Liefde’.

Our motto
To celebrate, sing and care for each other was (and still is) the driving inspiration for the community, which consists of members coming from the broad area around Ghent.

Our name: Effata – Open yourself
The name ‘Effata’ was chosen very consciously by the group. Effata means: “Open yourself”, which holds an assignment. The Effata community is open for everyone who is looking for a meaningful and rich life. Especially the poor and vulnerable people are welcomed with warm hospitality. But also those who are seeking or in doubt, those who have lost their way in life or in the Church, are more than welcome.
In this context, the community has decided to embrace mentally disabled people as their first brothers and sisters. Another clear choice has been the commitment to actively support the Damien Foundation.
‘Openness’ also means that we are susceptible for everything that happens in society and that needs care or attention.

The beating heart of the Effata community is the service on Saturday night
Our compass is the Jewish-Christian narration and the life of Jesus. Week after week, the bible is brought to life in the liturgy. As such, the liturgy brings empowerment for our daily life.

Our spirituality
We are especially inspired by the story of St. Alfonsus and the Redemptorists. Time after time, God’s abundant redemption and love is brought to us. The effect is noticeable. We help each other carrying the burdens of life so that, together, hopeful but vulnerable, we work on a relieved world.
We learn to love ourselves, even our vulnerable and broken sides. As such, we learn to love each other, while working together and sharing life. In all our contacts we try to be genuine. It is possible to be different, taking different views on things is allowed. We accept the challenge to deal with these differences in an open and respectful way. Paulus’s saying “For freedom he liberated us” (Galaten 5, 1) is important to us. It can be noticed in the way we speak and behave.

A dynamic community
Effata wants to be a dynamic community. The structured organization exists for the benefit of the dynamism of the community, and not vice versa. The community can count on a steering committee that tries to streamline all suggestions, movements and initiatives. But still, everyone is stimulated to take up his/her personal responsibility. Young people are invited to find their own place within the community. We efficiently use our time and resources, so life can continue its flow.

Effata is more than a weekly service
After each service on Saturday, there is free coffee and once a month we have a sober meal. Other activities: a weekly  prayer group called “Tabor”, a book club, religious instruction, a working group for liturgy, a choir, a fair trade shop, education and recreation ….

The community: our joker
The Effata community is one of the many ways of being church, which illustrates that the Jewish-Christian story deserves a place within our rapidly changing world. Maybe this is simply because the community has made a clear choice: to be open, to get inspired by the Redemptorists and to focus on the community. This allows Effata to develop into a safe haven.

The weekly service

Every Saturday at 18u30 we come together in the chapel of the Broeders van Liefde for the service (see link map). This service is the key moment of the community. We follow the lectures of the gospel of the liturgical year and try to link the Scripture to our daily life. The strong periods such as Advent and Lent get special attention.
The songs are important messengers, not merely creating sphere. Though Effata has an enthusiastic choir at its disposal, the choir rarely “performs” during services. The members just take part in the service, as such everybody is encouraged to join in the singing. The services are warm, hearty and inviting.
Everybody is heartily welcomed to every service, after which you are invited to a free cup of coffee.

There are no services during the month of July.