Preaching to Support our Missioners
by Mary Kremer, OP
Sr. Kathleen Long (back, left) and some of the staff members at the Cuernavaca Center for Intercultural Dialogue on Development in Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico.
We are all missioners, whether at home or in our local parishes, schools, or hospitals. We are missioners wherever we strive to carry on the work of Jesus, whose final words to his disciples continue to empower us today: “Go make disciples of all nations. . . . And remember that I am with you until the end of the age” (Mt 28:19–20).
Moving from Easter to Pentecost, we celebrate those who share life and faith among people far beyond our own borders: Jo Anne Leo, OP, and Peg Ryan, OP, in Bolivia; Kathy Long, OP, in Mexico; Toni Harris, OP, and Mary Ewens, OP, in Rome; Christina Araujo, OP, Mary Martin Joseph, OP, Fran Koller, OP, Lystra Long, OP, Sabrina Paty, OP, and Patty Rinn, OP, in Trinidad and Tobago.
As a Congregation, we have a vital support system for our global missioners in the Missionary Cooperation Plan. First established by the Catholic bishops of this country in the late 1930s to help mission-sending societies solicit funds for their mission efforts, the Missionary Cooperation Plan takes the burden off pastors of wealthy parishes who previously received multiple requests from missionary organizations. It ensures that each parish in the United States will host one and only one mission appeal each year. Since 1975, we have participated in the plan. It gives us the opportunity to remind Catholics in this country that we are part of a universal Church whose responsibility is to care for and service the needs of our voiceless and unseen sisters and brothers throughout the world. It enables us to share our mission story of the faith and the needs of the people among whom our Sisters minister and to invite parishioners to participate with us in our mission work through prayer and a financial contribution.
Currently, we have a standing group of about 75 Sisters and Associates whom I fondly call our Band of Willing Preachers. From their preaching efforts we derive an average of $50,000 annually. More important than the financial revenue is the opportunity to keep alive the inspired words of Pope John Paul II who said, “The Church is at her best when she is energetic in her missionary activity.”
The preaching efforts of these women take them to dioceses near and far. Annually, we are invited to about 10 dioceses. Thus far in 2009, we have been invited to participate in the Missionary Cooperation Plan of the following dioceses: Chicago, Dubuque, Green Bay, Milwaukee, Orlando, St. Paul and Minneapolis, and Tulsa.
Last year the Council established a Mission Fund to support our global mission efforts. The fund provides financial support for Sisters preparing for the missions outside the continental United States, for living expenses and ministry needs of these Sisters, for returning missioners, and for collaborative efforts with others serving outside the United States. Members of the Mission Fund committee are Elizabeth Dunn, OP, Laura Goedken, OP, Jeanne Tranel, OP, and LouAnne Willette, OP.
If you would like to be a part of the Band of Willing Preachers, please contact me.