Our theme for Lent 2019 is Radical Conversion: From Me to Mission. We invite all of you to explore the missionary process, the six components of mission, and the various, and complementary, models of mission. We will see why Pope Francis has looked to mission as the key to the renovation of the Church in our world at this time in human history.

We will be posting daily Lenton reflections on our Lent webpage so join us as we prepare for the victory of Easter and the wonder of Pentecost. 

Encounter is the basis of mission. Without encounter, witness becomes phony, social justice partisan politics, and liturgical prayer lifeless rubrics. With encounter, witness becomes a heartfelt connection, justice the work of right relationships, and liturgy a joyous celebration of Emmanuel – God among us.
 
ENCOUNTER will bring you feature stories of lay women and men living mission. It aspires to inspire you to take your own “next step” in mission by engaging our tradition through mission. It will keep you in the know about USCMA happenings.

ENCOUNTER is an electronic newsletter of USCMA, made possible in part, by a grant from Catholic Communication Campaign.

As part of USCMA’s commitment to mission education and the formation of missioners, we provide various resources on missionary activity and practice. USCMA members receive the Mission Update (quarterly periodical which includes a special Periodic Paper), the USCMA Mission Monthly (monthly e-newsletter), and a discount on additional mission resources produced by USCMA (click on the Publications link). To learn more on how you can become a USCMA member today, click here.  

Pope Francis has set October 2019 as an Extraordinary Missionary Month to foster greater awareness of missio ad gentes and to animate the missionary transformation of Church life and pastoral activity. 

Find more information about the Extraordinary Missionary Month here. 

On December 7, 1965, Pope Paul VI promulgated Ad Gentes (the Decree on the Mission Activity of the Church). Ad Gentes was overwhelmingly approved by the bishops gathered at the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965). As the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs states, Ad Gentes "announces the Catholic Church's commitment to bringing the Gospel to all people. (The name Ad Gentes comes from the Latin translation of Jesus' exhortation of the apostles to "go forth.") It establishes evangelization as one of the fundamental missions of the Catholic Church and reaffirms the tie between evangelization and charity for the less-fortunate. Ad Gentes also calls for the formation of strong lay groups, as well as strong relations with other Christians. Finally, it lays out guidelines for the training and actions of the missionaries."

Click here to download or read Ad Gentes.

With deep sadness, United States Catholic Mission Association (USCMA) announces that Father Thomas Craig has passed. He died on January 5, 2019 – at age 66 – due to a sudden illness, surrounded by his brothers in Christ. 

Fr. Tom was born in Midwest City, OK and moved to Wichita Falls, TX with his family. Prior to joining the seminary, Fr. Tom served in the United States Coast Guard reserve for six years, during the height of the Vietnam war. He was ordained on June 26, 1982.

He served 36 years as a priest for the Diocese of Fort Worth. Previously, he served as a pastor of St. Vincent de Paul Parish in Arlington, VA for 15 years. He joined in 2001, at a challenging time for the parish, according to John Pearson, who served as business manager during Fr. Tom’s years. While at St. Vincent de Paul, Fr. Tom joined the parish’s mission work in Honduras after Hurricane Mitch in 1998. His passion for mission work grew, and he became the chairman of the Diocesan Mission Council in 2011. In 2016, Fr. Tom became the full-time Director of the Propagation of the Faith and Director of the Diocesan Mission Council.

Fr. Tom is remembered for being a gentle, compassionate pastor and a dedicated mission worker. He loved traveling around the world; he visited nearly 20 countries – including Italy, Israel, Egypt, Jordan, Scotland – to name a few.

He is survived by his mother, his siblings (5 brothers and 3 sisters) as well as his God-daughters, nieces and nephews. USCMA will send a letter with our condolences to Bishop Olson. USCMA will name its’ Resource page in honor of Father Tom Craig.

“Father Tom was a true missionary – giving himself over to Jesus, his people, and the Church he founded to continue his saving mission in the world,” said Dr. Donald R. McCrabb, Executive Director of USCMA. “Fr. Tom gently called us to include schools in our institutions we reach out too because he knew that children needed to learn about mission. We are dedicating our resource webpage to his honor because of his generous and scholarly work on all the Church documents that speak to mission.”