March 2015 Dear Sr. Carol Ann, Promoting Mission and Global Solidarity March has certainly flown by. The weather here in Washington, DC has been rather unpredictable, but we hope that soon spring will arrive in all its beauty. We have been busy preparing for this year s Mission Congress, Witnessing Mission: Called to be Missionary Disciples, which will take place October 1 4, 2015 in Houston Texas. As we prepare to celebrate the feast of Easter, we invite you to read Fr. Aniedi s reflection for the Mission Congress and reflect on our own call to be missionary disciples in solidarity with our brothers and sisters in Africa. May this Easter season be full of blessings for you and all your loved ones. In this Month's Issue... #FlatFrancis & USCMA Mission Congress 2015 Praying for Peace Denouncing Immigrant Detention Dialogue from Mutual Devotion Protecting the Dignity of Indigenous People Happy Easter! Sincerely, The USCMA Staff 2015 Mission Congress Register Today! October 1-4, 2015 Houston, Texas
#FlatFrancis & USCMA by Chris Fontain, USCMA Intern Pope Francis is coming! With the Holy Father s visit to America less than six months away, our friends at Catholic Extension launched their #FlatFrancis social media campaign to help us prepare. Armed with a small cut out of Pope Francis provided by Catholic Extension s web site and the #FlatFrancis hashtag, Catholics from around the nation have been posting photos of their parishes, communities, and their bible study groups with the goal of showing our unity with Pope Francis as he visits the United States. We do not yet know what his message will be, but experience has taught us it will challenge us to a greater understanding of what being missionary disciples entails. Here at the USCMA, we jumped on board with the campaign and submitted our own photos. As an intern here at USCMA and as a senior at the Catholic University of America, I am holding up #FlatFrancis as I assist with compiling the results from our mission survey. Just as #FlatFrancis can help us realize what being missionary disciples can mean today in Catholic America, the mission survey shows us what mission looks like in the world today. Click here to read more from the Catholic Extension Society. Center for Mission Mission Opportunities The Center for Mission has several opportunities to visit several mission locations. These trips will be a combination of walking with the people in solidarity with their situation by engaging with them in clinics and schools. Perhaps you can even help build a home for the near-homesless. To learn more about each trip, simply click on the link. Dates: April 27 - May 7, 5015 Peru www.gate-travel.org Mission Congress 2015 Missionary Disciples and Mission to Africa By Fr. Aniedi Okure, OP AFJN Executive Director Decades ago, hundreds of American men and women went to various parts of Africa on mission, alongside their European counterparts to bear witness to the Gospel. Their witness, especially through educational enterprise, laid the foundation for the liberation of Africans from colonial rule, the prevailing oppressive structures of the time. In 2015, about two thousand priests and sisters from Africa live and bear witness to the Gospel in the United States in a trend some refer to as reversed mission. Alongside are about three million African Diaspora groups, many of them Catholics. What does this mean to us in the context of mission? Does that mean the end of mission from the US to Africa? More specifically, is it the end of our being missionary disciples to Africans? Read more here. May 27 - June 6, 2015 Mexico City and Chipas June 13-23, 2015 Sao Paulo & Iguacu Falls, Brazil www.friendsacrossborders.org August 1-11, 2015 El Salvador www.gate-travel.org From Mission to Mission 2015 Re-Entry Workshops From Mission to Mission Re-entry Workshops provide a safe and comfortable place where
Praying for Peace Cardinal Tagle: "Way of the Cross on Good Friday in prayer for peace" missioners and volunteers are understood. We offer two Re-entry Workshop formats, a 10-day Workshop and a Weekend Workshop. 2015 Schedule Manila (Agenzia Fides) - Celebrate a Way of the Cross through the streets of Manila, to reflect on the passion of Christ, be reconciled with the Lord and renew one s life, praying intensely "for natural disasters and for peace": is what the Archbishop of Manila, Cardinal Luis Antonio G. Tagle has asked the faithful, encouraging to participate in the Way of the Cross organized by the local Church, which will see the faithful march in procession through the city. As reported in a note sent to Fides, Cardinal Tagle explained: "We must ask the Lord for forgiveness and help disadvantaged people, not just those paralyzed by events such as typhoons, but also those oppressed by corruption, injustice, lack of truth, selfishness and insensitivity". "Let us open our eyes and hearts. Let us do something to reduce the impact of disasters. Let us change our lifestyles in order to reduce man-made disasters", remarked the Archbishop of Manila. Priests, religious and faithful of all the vicariate of the diocese will live a Way of the Cross through the streets of the capital with a seven-kilometer-long march. It will be a "penitential" journey which will end in the Cathedral, the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception, informs the note. Citing the hardships of families and children living on the street, the Archbishop hopes that through the penitential journey, "every Catholic faithful is enlightened and inspired to help people who often suffer because of natural disasters" or due to the effects of the conflicts that still agitate the nation. (PA) (Agenzia Fides 31/03/2015) Denouncing Immigrant Detention The Denunciation of Bishops After the Visit in Texas: "Why Imprison the Most Vulnerable?" Olinda and Recife (Agenzia Fides) - "After this visit, my main question is: why? Why imprison these vulnerable people, young and traumatized mothers who, with their children fled from persecution in their own countries?". This is what Mgr. Garcia- Siller, Bishop of San Antonio (Texas) said after March 27 when a April 16-19 in New York, NY July 9-12 in Chicago, IL Sept. 15-24, 2015 in Denver, CO Oct. 29 Nov. 1 in Chicago. IL For more information see our website: www.missiontomission.org Contact us at: missiontomission@hotmail.com Maryknoll Mission Institute 2015 Programs The Maryknoll Mission Institute (MMI) invites you to take part in their 2015 Programs. The MMI is an educational ministry sponsored by the Maryknoll Sisters which provides continuing education and renewal programs for missioners and others engaged in crosscultural ministries in their local churches. To learn more about each of the programs below, click here. May 2015 Continuing The Mission of Jesus: Discipleship Today (& Tomorrow) Upstart Spring...Imagine Justice...Exploration into God June 2015 The Spirit Leads Us Forth: Mission Reconsidered
group of Catholic Bishops and other religious leaders (Evangelical and Lutheran) visited the Dilley detention center, in Texas (see Fides 27/03/2015). Read more here. Dialogue from Mutual Devotion Christians and Muslims celebrate together the feast of the Annunciation Beirut (Agenzia Fides) - The Marian solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord, which Lebanon proclaimed a national holiday in 2010, has also seen this year celebrations in various parts of the country promoted by organizations of Christian-Muslim dialogue, starting from Ensemble Autour de Marie group. This year, in particular, Christians and Muslims gathered around Mary in the Shrine of Notre Dame de Nourieh and Notre Dame de Jamhour, for a liturgy of reflections and songs - some in Latin and Aramaic and also saw the participation of Cardinal Philippe Barbarin, Archbishop of Lione, together with the Imam of the Mosque of Lione, Kamel Kabtane. The French Cardinal gave a speech dedicated to Mary, defined as "She who sings mercy", while Imam Kabtane expounded a reflection focused on coexistence and interreligious dialogue. No Longer Servants: Toward a Biblical Theology of Friendship The New Universe Story: God, Jesus and Prayer July 2015 Everyday Holiness: Sacred Scripture's Teaching on Economic Life Denial or Discipleship? Bioregional Theology and Practice in a World of Ecological Ultimatums Compassion: Witness to Love September 2015 Our Call to Personal and Global Transformation Soul Sisters: Women Called to Connect, Bond and Heal in a Broken World In Lebanon, the Solemnity of the Annunciation was declared a national holiday in 2010 with the declared intention of finding in the devotion to Mary - also shared among Muslims - a point of convergence among the different religious communities. (GV) (Agenzia Fides 26/03/2015) Check Out USCMA's Popular Blog Series Protecting the Dignity of Indigenous People Violations of Human Rights of Indigenous Peoples: First Investigation Jakarta (Agenzia Fides) - Indigenous people of Indonesia have been the victims of violations of human rights, of the right to property, of the right to a decent and safe life for many years. This is what we read in the first national report on the Violation of Human Rights of Indigenous Peoples in the forest areas of the Country, which will be published in May by the National Commission on Human Rights. The issue was addressed recently in Jakarta by a group of researchers during a press conference Our blog series Faces of Mission highlights our membership and all their work in and for mission. If you would like to share your story, contact Barbara Wheeler, USCMA's Development Coordinator.
organized by the Indigenous Peoples' Alliance of The Archipelago (AMAN), news of which was sent to Agenzia Fides. The report is based on research carried out for months in Sumatra, Java, Bali- Nusa, Sulawesi, Kalimantan, Maluku and Papua. Among the conclusions we report: currently on maps and official documents there are no traces of borders regarding indigenous territories; this part of the population is facing serious legal obstacles to lay claim to their legitimacy; women are discriminated against in many ways; government agencies, including police and military forces, have engaged mainly in the private sector, neglecting indigenous communities; there is no institution at a ministerial level that has the mandate to resolve land conflicts. AMAN represents 15 million people in 2,244 indigenous communities throughout Indonesia. (AP) (Agenzia Fides 26/03/2015) Make a Donation Today Help support USCMA in its activites by making a charitable donation today. Share Your News and Upcoming Events with USCMA Members Do you have a story or an upcoming event that you want people to know about? Click here to send us an email and we will include it in our next Mission Monthly and on USCMA's online Calendar. You can also support the United States Catholic Mission Association through the Combined Federal Campaign. USCMA Staff and Contact Information Rev. John R. Nuelle, M.S., Executive Director Stephen F. Scott, MTS, Associate Director Barbara Wheeler, Development Coordinator Mary Nguyen, Accountant and Administrative Assistant United States Catholic Mission Association 3025 Fourth St. NE, Ste. 100 Washington, DC 20017-1103 T: (202) 832-3112 F: (202) 832-3688 E: uscma@uscatholicmission.org USCMA's website Find us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter