| RMG – “Telling the story of Jesus”, the theme for the SMD 2012 |
| RMG – Volunteers proclaiming the Gospel, the theme for SMD 2011 |
The path to Salesian Missions Day began on Easter Sunday with the announcement by the Rector Major, Don Pascual Chávez, of the theme for the next year `Go throughout the world – Volunteers to proclaim the Gospel`. Then a kit was sent to each province containing material produced for the event. This consists of a 32 page booklet, a prayer card on the theme, a poster to display in the centres and a DVD with contributions from Salesian production houses in various parts of the world.
There are four video clips on the DVD: `Volunteers to proclaim the Gospel`, which gives several examples of missionary volunteering; `The phenomenon of missionary volunteering`, produced in Ecuador, `Volunteers and Salesians at the service of migrants`, from Mexico; and `Missionary volunteers for the young`, by the Salesians of Brasil, Sãn Paolo (BSP). The DVD also contains learning materials on volunteering from 32 different provinces in every continent. Translated into several languages, these are also available, as usual, on the sdb.org website, in the section on Missionary Animation. If provinces require further material they can request it directly from the Missions Department.
This year, for the first time, the Salesian Missions Day has been organised jointly by the two Departments of the Missions and Youth Ministry. This is intended to build the working relationship between these two areas so as to develop an integrated vocations-missions ministry, one of the principal factors in the promotion and growth of missionary volunteering.
In recent years various elements have been identified (listed on page 12 of the booklet) which can sustain the growth of missionary volunteering and make it an even more significant form of ministry. Among these, for example, are better preparation of the young volunteers, greater openness from the receiving communities, involvement of ex-volunteers in province activities after their period of volunteering and explicit and targeted vocational accompaniment, which in the past 20 years has brought about a growth, in every continent, of the number of vocations coming from volunteers.
Salesian Missions Day has led to more dynamic and effective missionary animation. Many editions of the Salesian Bulleting have helped to make young people more aware of the `missionary power` of our Congregation. Missions Delegates and Provincials have stressed the importance of special training for rectors of Salesian houses, so that they can inspire new groups of missionaries and favour the growth of solidarity with the missions. Some Provinces, such as Czech Republic and Madrid have been updating the materials supplied, adapting them to their local situation and making use of multimedia.
The date to celebrate Salesian Missions Day is left to each Province to decide. On the sdb.org web site it is possible to find out about volunteering initiatives developed by many different Salesian organisations.
Published 30/7/2010
