The West Texas Catholic: We welcome Father Alvin Tshuma, a native of Zimbabwe, to the Diocese of Amarillo. Tell us your vocation story… Father Alvin Tshuma: “My vocation story began many moons ago when I was nine or ten years old. I remember that I was serving at the cathedral, standing outside at the Chrism Mass, waiting for the Mass to begin. There wasn’t a lightning bolt, but standing outside, the light had shone quite wonderfully on a metal fence, creating a warm glow. I then had a warm feeling within me and the thought of being a priest was conjured within me.
“I went to a Christian Brothers School in Zimbabwe started and run by the Christian Brothers who still have a number of these schools spread between Zimbabwe, South Africa and Zambia.
“Brother Larry O’Connor CFC was very good to me, as was Father John O’Reilly my assistant Parish Priest; both are deceased now. Father O’Reilly was a late vocation to the Priesthood. Before joining he was a high school teacher as well as historical author. He was from the UK initially. During his time as Assistant Parish Priest at St. Mary’s Cathedral in Bulawayo, he was in charge of the altar servers. Father Vincent Sullivan, a Zimbabwean priest who later moved to the Diocese of Atlanta, was also quite influential in my life. Many other people have been influential as well. During that time I nurtured a feeling of wanting to be a priest. When I moved to high school I struggled a bit with deciding whether to continue with the idea of becoming a priest or take up a career in acting, mainly in Hollywood. I might have been 10,000 miles away, but as I loved theatre and acting I also wanted to go to Hollywood. Eventually the priesthood won. God wins all the time.”
WTC: You were ordained on Bastille Day, July 14, 2012 at Our Lady of Lourdes, in Bulawayo. What was going through your mind when you were preparing for ordination? Father Tshuma: “I want this day to end.” (loud laugh) “I thought there was so much preparation and anxiety was high; preparation was something else. One priest said to me, ‘Alvin, don’t wish this day away. Rather, change all the things which are making you feel anxious towards the day and enjoy the build-up to the day and the day itself.’ That struck me, changed my mindset and I loved the build-up and the day. Now, I use that same advice when helping couples prepare for marriage, especially when the preparations are getting the better of them. I advise them not to allow the preparations to cloud the splendor of their day. They should enjoy the moment. And it was wonderful!
“I was ordained with another priest, Father Ndodana Tshuma OMI. It was indeed an amazing day. There were teachers, ex-teachers, Catholics and non-Catholics at the Eucharistic Celebration. My aunt had since relocated from Zimbabwe to Dallas but flew back to take the place of my mum who had already passed away in 2009. My aunt, who is also my godmother, walked with me and my father up the aisle as I was handed over to the Church.
WTC: Let’s talk about your family… Father Tsuma: “My father and mother have been amazing parents; I wouldn’t swap them for anyone else. I was blessed with my whole family; there were struggles here and there. They did their best and sent us to good schools and had good jobs. My mom worked at the Reserve bank in Zimbabwe. My dad worked with the railways for 48 years and retired recently.
“I have three brothers and one sister, Maxine, who is the youngest. The first-born, Reginald, is 49 years old. He works for the city council, making sure that things are well maintained in one department. My younger brother, Craig, who is 38, is a bodybuilder. He trains people in Harare and, on the side, sells Quickbooks Accounting packages. My youngest brother, Malcolm, is 30 years old. He lives at the family home and has a degree in taxation and fiscal studies. He now works for a law firm. My sister Maxine, the youngest, is 25, took studies in beautician therapy and when she was preparing to find work, the first lockdown due to COVID-19 happened. So after the lockdowns subside, she will be able to practice.
WTC:What are some of your hobbies? Father Tshuma: “There are a number of things that I like doing. I think my main hobby is tinkering with technology. I love to work with tech, either fixing computers, playing with virtual networks and even flashing my cellphone with a different ROM when I grow too used to the current one. I also love theatre and acting, along with singing. I enjoy playing the guitar as well. I enjoying entertaining people, making them laugh. I think I can also safely call myself a petrolhead as I love cars, watching journals/reviews on vehicles on the market, playing in the sand with four-wheel drives where possible and so forth. I remember how my Formator at the seminary marveled at the fact that I was able to tell, by the sound of a vehicle, what type of car that was—granted I was able to do that easily with older vehicles 1990’s and back as they had distinct sounds.”
WTC: What is your favorite Bible verse and why? Father Tshuma: “My favorite verse is two connected verses, verse 17 and 18 of the 14th Chapter of Matthew’s Gospel. It reads ‘“All we have are five loaves and two fish.” “Then bring them here to me,” Jesus said. This text also appears on my ordination souvenir card. “A bit of background: Holy Week of 2012, as a deacon I was asked to prepare to sing the General Intercessions at the Good Friday Service. I practiced and practiced, yet I felt somewhat ill prepared for that moment. I remember during the actual service I was starting to be anxious as the time drew near. Then what came to mind was the offering of the child of the five loaves and two fish. I then became aware of this in my mind, that I have prepared my five loaves and two fish. Now, all I have to do is entrust it to God, who will multiply it and feed the multitude. From there it became my ordination theme which is on my souvenir card and indeed a theme for my vocation as a priest, do your best, entrust your offerings to God, who will do with it as God pleases. At every appointment/assignment I have had a reminder of the five loaves either hanging on my wall or placed on my table. I am still to find a reminder in the United States.”
WTC: Who is your favorite Saint and why? Father Tshuma: “It would be a tie between St. Joseph and St. Teresa of Calcutta. They both heard God’s voice calling them from the Conventional, St. Joseph to not follow what is expected of him by his culture and St. Teresa of Calcutta moving from her Congregation of the Loreto Sisters to attend to the sick, dying and abandoned of Calcutta, becoming the lady we know today as St. Teresa. Both, in their small way, they made a difference which shaped history in a big way. For Joseph it was being the family man where, as the Gospels read, Jesus grew in that setup in wisdom and stature. For St. Teresa, it was doing something small yet beautiful for God, recorded in her Interview in the 1970’s by British reporter Malcolm Muggeridge where she said, that you can do something that I cannot do and I can do something that you cannot do and together let us do something beautiful for God.”
WTC: What were your first impressions of the United States? Father Tshuma: “My first impressions of the United States when I arrived was a feeling of coming home. This was in 2019 whilst staying with my cousins in Dallas. They had gone to work and I had just taken the dog outside. At that moment I became aware of a strong sense of coming home. I will never forget that feeling. My overall impression was one of just being comfortable here.”