Short Term Mission ~ Life Long Conversion

When Jesus rose from the dead, his first words to his stunned disciples were “Peace be with you”. He showed them his wounds and then repeated his greeting: “Peace be with you”. Luke tells us that after explaining the scriptures and salvation history, Jesus said to his friends, “You will be my witnesses”. With that, he ascended into heaven.
With these words, John Dear, SJ, began his new book on the lives and works of missionaries down through the history of the Church. It speaks of the lives of Saints, Prophets, and Martyrs- in other words, missioners. It is an inspired view of women and men, including those who relate to our modern world, that tell us the story of missioners in today’s world.
Jesus commissioned his disciples, including each of us, to be His witnesses--- that is, to be missionaries, people of faith, bringing the Gospel to all nations through their daily lives.
This wonderful new and modern look at the lives and example of the saints, emphasizes the true undertaking of our Texas Mission Council: that is, to demonstrate how each one of us is a missionary from the moment of our Baptism, and how we must live that mission in our daily lives as did the saints, prophets and martyrs throughout history.
At home or in foreign lands, we are all called to be witnesses of the Gospel and our lives should reflect that mission as did the life of St Francis Xavier who traveled around the world, or as did St Therese of Lisieux, who almost never left home.

Beautifully illustrated by William Hart McNichols, this book is a pleasure to both appreciate for its art, and enjoy as a great read. [“You will be my witnesses” Saints, Prophets and Martyrs. John Dear, SJ, Orbis Books, Mary knoll, New York 10545]

MISSION PROGRAMS AROUND THE STATE

HOUSTON
Prince of Peace Parish, in a sister parish relationship with the parish of Santa Cruz (Holy Cross) de Quiche in Guatemala, sends groups of up to 20 parishners to its sister parish several times each year in a program of mutual giving and receiving on the part of each parish.
-Fr. Gerry Kelly, MM, Maryknoll Superior of the Western Region, and chairperson of the Texas Mission Council, accompanied this last program and expressed great admiration for the work that Prince of Peace is doing in this mission effort. He was especially impressed that this program included a week-long mission for adults, and a school program for children, which benefited both parties.
-Awanda Whitworth, member of the Houston Mission Council, and Secretary of the Texas Mission Council, organized a one-day retreat for all mission-sending groups of the Galveston-Houston Archdiocese on April 29th. This was a project of the Houston Mission Council’s Education Committee to deepen the understanding of mission today, and an example of Houston’s on-going dedication to promote missions at the parish level.

SAN ANTONIO
Mary Wisniewski, Director of this Archdiocesan Mission Awareness Office, and Vice President of the Texas Mission Council, is organizing an updated Mission Council for this Archdiocese. To do so, Mary is implementing a new program that other diocese might well wish to adopt.
With the collaboration of the Archbishop, Mary has set a date and invited all of the mission-sending and support programs in the Archdiocese to come to the chancery to set up exhibit tables and to explain their program to the entire group of mission supporters and congregations.
The Archbishop will also speak to each group and a light lunch will be served to help create an atmosphere of community among the different groups.
All will be invited to join the Archdiocesan Mission Council in an effort to strengthen their mission works through dialogue and mutual sharing.
-It is also one of the principle goals of the Texas Mission Council [of the Texas Catholic Conference] to form Mission Councils in all Texas dioceses and in any parish that will sponsor a parochial council.

West African Peace-Building Consultation

On January 23-25, 2006, a historic international consultation with the theme “Blessed are the peace-makers for they shall be called children of God”, happened at the Corina Hotel in Monrovia, Liberia. It was attended by more than 70 religious leaders from the Christian, Muslim and Baha’i faiths from all over West Africa. The participants could not have agreed more on the timeliness and importance of the consultation. Liberia had just elected their president, the first woman elected president in the whole African continent.
While Sierra Leone and Liberia are experiencing a relative peace, much work is needed to consolidate the peace gained. There was a clear sense, too, that peace in the Mano River Basin can only be achieved if all the surrounding nations commit themselves towards working collaboratively.
(This report was prepared by the United States Catholic Mission Association for the Spring, 2006 issue of their newsletter. www.uscatholicmission.org]

MISSION MEANS BEING CULTURALLY AWARE

“My first encounter with the African wedding custom of negotiating a payment from the groom’s family to the bride’s was in Mtito-Andre, Kenya, halfway between Nairobi and Mombasa. It was also a lesson as a Mary knoll lay missioner in how important it is to step into someone else’s culture.
As is tradition in the Kamba tribe, the ceremony began with a singing competition between the families, ending with all the singers joining in harmony. Then, while the two families negotiated the amount and form of the “bridewealth”, the guests of the groom went to the kitchen to cook. When it came time to eat, the groom’s people served the guests of the bride. I was on the groom’s side, so I busied myself with those tasks.
When the time came to serve the after-dinner chai (tea), people on the groom’s side told me, “You’ve done enough. Stop, rest, and have something to eat”. But as soon as I sat down with two of my friends, a man asked me to get him some chai. I got the man a mug and told him that a man with the tea would come shortly. This guest however, loudly demanded chai immediately. A bit annoyed, I pushed my way through the crowd, got the tea and brought it to him. Then he demanded sugar and a spoon. As I went to get them, he yelled other requests in my direction. “What’s his problem, I wondered”.
Later, my friends explained that he was doing exactly what was expected. By being demanding, the bride’s friends and relatives show her value and importance. While they are consenting to let her go in marriage, it is a big loss to their community. A guest who does not “cause trouble” for the family and friends of the groom, fails to honor the bride and her community”.
(This interesting tale was provided by Courtney E. Crean, a Maryknoll Lay Missioner)

The Texas Mission Council wishes to
welcome Catholic Relief Service (CRS) to our area

CRS OPENS SOUTHWEST REGIONAL OFFICE

Catholic Relief Services (CRS), the U.S. bishops’ international humanitarian relief and development agency, recently opened a Southwest Regional Office located on the campus of the Oblate School of Theology in San Antonio, Texas. CRS Southwest is one of six regional offices under the U.S. Operations Division joining offices in Atlanta, Baltimore, Chicago, Philadelphia, and San Diego. These regional offices serve as centers for implementation of the organization’s strategy to reach out to Catholics in the United States. This new strategy places a priority on relationships—between CRS and US Catholics, and between the people of the United States and peoples around the world.
Under the leadership of the Regional Director, Daniel Lizárraga, CRS Southwest is responsible for coordinating interactive programs (English and Spanish) in 28 dioceses including Arkansas, Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah, and Wyoming.
CRS Southwest has a six-member staff to work in four main areas to advance Catholic Social Teaching with an emphasis on global solidarity.
The other staff members are:
• Anna Huth, Education and Formation Program Coordinator.
• Juan Molina, O.Ss.T., Advocacy Program
• Marcos Martínez, Youth and Young Adult Program
• Anna Kathryn Webb, Partnership Program Coordinator
• Angie Pla, Office Coordinator

“We really see ourselves as working in partnership with dioceses and other Catholic organizations such as the Texas Mission Council in order to promote global solidarity,” Lizárraga says. “We hope that we can offer support and provide unique opportunities that would compliment the great work being done already in this regard. By collaborating together, we will be able to advance and make real the notion that ‘solidarity will transform the world.”

Contact information: CRS Southwest, 7711 Madonna, San Antonio, TX 78216, Tel. (210) 366-3884; Fax (210) 366-4671; e-mail: CRSsouthwest@crs.org; website: www.crs.org.

TMC INVITES ALL WHO LOVE MISSIONS TO JOIN US
TO CELEBRATE OUR ANNUAL MISSION CONFERENCE

TEXAS MISSION CONFERENCE 2007

Short Term Mission ~ Life Long Conversion

WHERE: CEDARBRAKE (The Austin Diocese Retreat Center)
WHEN: FEBRUARY 16-18, 2007
SPEAKER: Julie Lupien - Director of From Mission to Mission,
an organization that offers support to cross-cultural missioners
when they return to their home culture

From Mission to Mission, established by re-entering missioners in 1980, is a Roman Catholic non-profit organization which provides a network for laity, religious, priests and ministers who have been involved in cross-cultural ministry, either overseas or domestically. From Mission to Mission members, in professionally facilitated environments, explore ways of rediscovering the gifts of their mission experience within their current reality.

For more information, contact:
Fr Jack Whitley, 281-242-3248
Awanda Whitworth 713-688-1060
Or texasmissioncouncil.org