SOLIDARITY
NEWSLETTER #1 & 2/2004
FOR
RNDMs, Associates,
Friends and Sponsors
Babelfish Translation
"God, the triune God … the initiator, missionary and fulfiller
of mission"
Missio Dei Today: On the Identity of Christian Mission Theo
Sundermeier 2004 SEDOS Bulletin
March and June 2004
RNDM Mission Solidarity News is published four times each year –
March, June, September and December.
RNDM Mission Solidarity is the RNDM office that promotes mission
solidarity in communications and in funding
For the missionary works of the 900 Sisters of Our Lady of the Missions
in 20 countries world wide.
ALL are invited to contribute to our RNDM mission solidarity funds.
The
Merciful Trinity (Suzzanne Opplinger,
Sternenberg)
In this icon, the human
being is in the centre of the total divine attenion of love and mercy.
The Father bends
over His precious creation. He lifts and carries this person, surrounds her/him with His
self-giving and covers her/him with kisses.
Jesus, the Son of
God, lowers Himself and bends over him/her. He puts Himself at the level of the human
person. He holds the feet, kisses them, washes them. He does the greatest service of love,
which is at the same time the lowest.
God the Holy
Spirit, in the form of a dove and, at the same time, a flame of fire, comes from above
upon the person to fill, to take possession. The human person is always at the
centre of God’s love …
RNDM
Mission Projects for 2004
The schedule of RNDM
Mission Projects for 2004, approved by our Leadership Team in December 2003, lists the
following projects:
- a. one year’s
rent for an African refugee family sponsored by our Sisters in Canada - b. leadership
training for rural women sponsored by our Sisters in Kolkota [Calcutta] India - c. the
Manobo girls’ dormitory project in Kulaman, Philippines - d. support of 3 poor
families in Cotabato City, Philipppines - e. the early learning centre for the poor in San
Vicente, Philippines and - f. the missionary outreach amongst the Montagnard people by our
lay RNDM Associates, Vietnam.
These RNDM
projects offer the opportunity for everyone – individuals and groups – to put
their hands in love on the poor with whom our Sistes work. Donations to the RNDM Mission
Solidarity Fund can be given to any Sister of Our Lady of the Missions.
Report from Canada < by June Lenzen>
Early Learning Centre
The Early Learning Centre is a community-based organization whose mission is
to work cooperatively with low-income families to provide programs that foster the healthy
development of children from birth to five years of age. The Sisters of the Canadian
Province support this work through the provision of a rent-free facility for the programs.
All children participating in the programs were born in Canada and speak
English. Over three quarters of the children have at least one parent of Aboriginal
ancestry. All children come from low-income homes. As well, some of the children face additional
challenges including neglect, physical, emotional or sexual abuse, behavioural issues, a
diagnosed developmental concern and time spent in foster care. A single parent heads the
largest proportion of these children's families. The families are mobile and household
income is low.
The lack of stable, ongoing funding at an adequate level is a
critical issue for the early Learning Centre. The staff is extremely dedicated and caring. They continue to work at ELC, despite the low wages
and heavy workload that result from a low level of funding. They feel they are making a
positive contribution to children and their families and they experience a sense of
community at the Centre.
Report from East Timor <by Gael Henry>
[Gael Henry, from New Zealand, has been working with Comunidade Edmund Rice since April
2003].
Comunidade Edmund Rice is a Catholic Faith Community, established by the
Christian Brothers to live and work in an isolated mountain area in East Timor. The 2
Christian Brothers and 3 Sisters from different Orders are involved in community
development, with the aim of helping the people in 5 rural mountain villages to become
self-sustaining and to support them in their efforts to create a better quality of life.
CER provides the only
health care available to these remote villages. It
has also been responsible for having tanked water brought to three of the villages. CER
employs one man in each village to undertake
some agricultural training and to improve farming methods. They have a literacy programme
in the local language to do something about the 60% illiteracy problem, and they help the
catechists with the faith development programme. A few young people are getting the chance
to learn English so that their employment prospects will be improved.
In the CER
newsletter we read: ‘Gael’s sewing groups
have completed the huge task of making the conference bags for the Edmund Rice Social
Justice Conference in Brisbane. The women were very enthusiastic and willing, and gained
in may ways from being able to so successfully accomplish an important task.’
For more information about this project, and for donations to the
project contact cerdili@ccet.minihub.org
Photos from India South
Above:Child labourers of Almel welcome the Sisters
Above left:
Sister Juliana helping the women of Almel to acquire some literacy.
Right:
Sisters Jacinta and Molly with their nursery school assembly.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
For further
information, please contact:
COORDINATOR OF RNDM MISSION SOLIDARITY
Sister Mary Rose
Holderness
Via di Bravetta, 628, Rome, Italy
Email: fundraiser@rndmgen.org
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