SEOUL:
21 October
2013
-- Salesian
Missions Day 2014 has gone province-wide for the first time in
KOR
Province. The Province chose to celebrate this in the wider
context of
World Mission Sunday, which has been celebrated on the 3rd
Sunday of
October since it was established by Pope Pius XI in 1926. The
event
took place at the Provincial House in Seoul, but involved the
Salesian
Family Groups, Korean missionary confreres from abroad, lay
collaborators, other religious and faithful. It is estimated
that 1200
people took part.
The program offered a chance to the missionaries to speak of
their
mission experience and with some of their co-workers also
present
something of the culture and customs in their place of mission
through
song and dance. There was also a large display of photographs
from
Mongolia.
Special focus was given to various groups of benefactors who
are
helping the Salesians in their mission work. Last year the
Province set
up a Mission Office in the Province under Fr Michael Chang,
Provincial
Economer. But there are lay groups helping the missions, some
of them
legally established as foundations, others not. And to
encourage those
who attended to support these various efforts an open market
was set up
in the playground beside the Provincial House for donated
clothes,
household goods as well as warm food. The Sudan Children'
Scholarship
Foundation, initially formed to help the late Fr John Lee,
continues to
collaborate with the Salesians in Korea - so they too had a
corner to
sell or share material to do with him. There were two other
groups
worthy of mention: Uasa
(which means 'love for Africa', espcially Malawi where Korean
Salesian Fr Alex Kim has been working for some years) and Camsarang ('love for
Cambodia').
A number of young people who have graduated from their
Salesian
schooling in mission territories involving Korean Salesians,
were also
in attendance - some of them have migrated to Korea. Their
presence was
a bonus because it made it immediately apparent to people what
the
fruits of missionary activity can be. And finally, a group of
young
Korean volunteers who have had experience in mission
territories on
short-term immersion (2-3 weeks at a time) contributed
something of
their experiences too.
The Provincial, Fr Stephen Nam and the Provincial Economer,
both
addressed the assembled 'multitudes'. The Provincial, drawing
on the
Pope's letter for WMD 2013 which puts things in the context of
the Year
of Faith, hoped that "this SMD will be a graced moment, one
which urges
us to approach more people who are thirsty for the Good News."
He saw
this new initiative in the Province as "a good present to God
at the
conclusion of our journey of the Year of Faith." Fr Chang, on
the other
hand reminded those present that the SMD initiative aimed to
"animate
mission spirit," and "make known our activity in the mission
field as a contribution to the Universal
Church." He saw the day as a huge success.
