-
June 8, 2020
Our next Accompaniment and Solidarity gathering is Thursday, June 11, 2020 at noon Eastern Time, 11 am Central Time, 10 am Mountain Time, and 9 am Pacific Coast Time. Please REGISTER for the meeting.
The agenda follows:- Opening Prayer
- Agenda Building – What do you want to talk about?
- Global Solidarity – Update
- Mission Alive! Update
- Mission and Black Lives Matter
Conversation – 25 mission folks came together for last week’s meeting. We opened with a prayer.
Global Solidarity – The conversation on global solidarity continued. Mike Gable recommended the book by Fr. Daniel Groody, Globalization, Spirituality and Justice – Navigating a Path to Peace. Don will reach out to Fr. Dave LaBuda, MM to learn about his progress in pulling together a statement about global solidarity.
Communication – There are a lot of means for communication these days. We are using Zoom as a video conference call application. There are others. Also, there is a concern that many missions may not have the technology – either the equipment or the internet connection – to communicate as quickly and as easily as we do. Whatsapp is a popular application for smartphones that allows for text messaging as well as video chats. Appreciating how people are able to communicate, and learning the technology that is most available to them, would be a good webinar for USCMA to sponsor in the future.
Mission Alive! – Mission Alive! is moving forward. Four “sprints” are scheduled. USCMA is still recruiting mission groups to participate in the program so it can extend the program by 6 – 10 weeks. There has been some confusion among some dioceses about the program. It was designed to promote mission, complement what the dioceses and mission communities are doing, and raise fund for the missions. Mission Alive! will not approach any parish directly but will only work through those dioceses that welcome it.
Brother Jose – shared what the Franciscans are doing for mission as the many provinces are in a process of merging into one province. They have a general secretary for mission, based in Wisconsin. They are supporting the missions by providing necessities – food, clean water, medicine, and communication. They are accepting requests and only ask for a simple email since so many places cannot submit a formal proposal. They are aware that there is a growing need for food, and they are focusing their program to respond to those needs.
Accompaniment and Solidarity – What is the future of Accompaniment and Solidarity? The group voiced strong support for the program. It did feel that we could cut back. It was decided that we would meet twice a month beginning on June 11th. We would then reconsider the frequency of the meeting in late August or September. The meetings for Accompaniment and Solidarity, then are:
June 11 and 25, July 9 and 23, and August 6 and 20.
Agenda – The agenda for Accompaniment and Solidarity is always open. To have a more fruitful discussion, members are encouraged to provide agenda items ahead of time – by Friday, end of the day – to Don. That way, the agenda item will be included in the Monday newsletter and posted on the USCMA website.
Solidarity – Fides reports that there are two groups who have made music videos. The first was done by priests and lay people to thank all the health care workers in their efforts to cure those infected by Covid-19. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ajWOgug0xZ4
The second video was done by three sisters. It is a song for Muslims ending their Ramadan: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=2&v=knHciVnc9FY&feature=emb_logo