Missions Weekend
You are my witnesses in Jerusalem, in Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. – Acts 1:8
The final instruction from the Lord to the Church clearly teaches there are to be no limits to our missionary service. The three-fold nature of the instruction indicates that the Christian community has a responsibility to its immediate community, the larger community in which it exists, and even further afield. As a parish, we take this instruction literally.
Nativity serves here in our city of Baltimore in dozens of ways every single week. You can check out ongoing and stand-alone service opportunities that you, you and your family, you and your small group might want to give a try at our website. From time to time, usually in the summertime, we offer regional service trips, and, at least once a year, some years more, we host international trips.
This weekend we’re announcing four exciting missions trips which we’ll be offering to parishioners over the course of the next year. Sadly, our mission efforts in Haiti and Nigeria have been suspended, violence in those countries making travel impossible. But that situation does open us up to new opportunities and a new mission partner.
Here’s a quick overview:
Cumberland, MD
We are partnering with Catholic Heart Workcamp to offer students a faith-based service experience that is close to home. Missionaries will be traveling to the Appalachia region of Western Maryland to serve the town of Cumberland. In addition to daily service projects, students and adult leaders will have the opportunity to participate in daily Mass and Adoration.
Kui, Kenya
We are continuing our relationship with 410 Bridge for two more trips to our partner village Kui, Kenya. Missionaries partner with and empower local leaders to impact and radically change their communities’ economies and quality of life.
The Bahamas
Our newest partnership is with Experience Missions, a global Christian missions organization that focuses on engagement, empowerment, and development. This unique trip experience is to help rebuild the East End of Grand Bahama, which was ravaged by Hurricane Dorian in late 2019. Because of the pandemic and geographic isolation of The Bahamas, they have been slow to rebuild the homes and buildings lost in the devastation of the storm. Construction skills will be especially welcome.
We believe serving on mission can be a tremendous opportunity for growth in discipleship. It’s so important that we name it one of our discipleship STEPS. Could God be calling you to mission in 2022?
