austraLasia #2840 Salesian Lay Mission and Volunteer Movement receives
boost
ROME: 13 April 2011 -- As part of the programme which
culminates with the annual worldwide Salesian Mission Day
celebration, focused this year on the mission volunteer
movement, seven mission and volunteer directors, all but one
of them lay, gathered with Fr Vaclav Klement at the Salesian
HQ in Rome this week. They were a hand-picked group of
people (most of them with missionary experience themselves)
representing three regions with extensive lay mission
programmes: East Asia-Oceania, North Europe and
Interamerica. One is a Salesian SDB, two are Salesian
Cooperators, the remaining four are fully involved in lay
mission formation and management in their provinces. Two of
them are mission animation delegates for their provinces.
The group was joined, at various moments along the way, by
members of the Social Communications and Youth Ministry
teams.
English was used as the lingua franca
for discussions, which covered areas such as sharing of
experiences of lay mission and volunteer programmes already
in place in their provinces and regions, the situating of
their endeavours within the Youth Ministry Framework, a look
at initial research projects involving Salesian lay mission
and/or volunteer efforts, and an exploration of ways of
forming, accompanying and managing lay mission and volunteer
projects and personnel. One of the provinces represented,
Ireland, is just starting out with a lay mission programme,
though its representative, Ms Jane Mellet, has herself had
extensive experience in India and is the author of a study
of the Bangalore-based BREADS project.
The meeting arrived at three solid
conclusions: to further the mutual support amongst directors
of Salesian Lay Mission programmes around the world that the
meeting represented; to exchange formation programmes and
best practice via an online group set up within the
www.sdb.org AGORA framework - this is available in English
and Spanish for now; to foster the quality of volunteer
activity in the respective Salesian regions and provinces.
An important perspective that emerged was the potential
opportunity for coordination of mission and volunteer
activity within a Salesian Region.
Towards the end of the meeting, the
Rector Major met with the group to thank them for the
enthusiastic role they have played and will continue to do
so, in the the Salesian mission. He referred to his long
association with the Salesian lay mission movement already
with 60 years behind it in his home province. He also placed
the movement within the Youth Ministry framework by
suggesting that it is the best expression of Salesian youth
ministry, where committed young people are ready to share
life in full with the Salesian community and carry out the
Salesian mission with them. The very first to benefit from
this are the missioners themselves. The Salesians, of
course, need to believe in this expression of the common
mission and help to foster quality formation and experience
before, during and after, the latter being, in many ways,
the major challenge yet to be fully confronted. He invited
the directors present to consider the importance, in the
post-volunteer phase, of inviting participants to membership
of the Salesian Family, particularly through the Salesian
Cooperators Association. _________________
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