Our church is missionary by nature. Each of us as baptized Catholics are called to share in the work of evangelization. The diocese of Portland collaborates with mission groups every year to raise fund for their missions through a program called the Missionary Cooperative Plan. The group assigned to our parish this year is the Missionary Society of St. Paul. Fr. Joseph Ibiwoye, MSP and Fr. Nduka Uzor, MSP will be speaking to us this weekend, July 13-14. There will be a second collection to support them in their work.

The Missionary Society of St. Paul (MSP) is a congregation of priests founded in Nigeria in 1977. The Society now has 268 priests. They are working in eleven countries of Africa, (South Africa, Malawi, Botswana, Cameroon, Liberia, Chad, Central African Republic, The Gambia, Nigeria, Kenya and Southern Sudan), Grenada in the West Indies, the United States, England, Sweden and Ireland. They also have about 134 seminarians in their seminary in Nigeria. 

Their mission in Malawi provides rehabilitation and support for over 360 orphans who lost their parents due to AIDS. They need our financial assistance to continue this mission. They also need funds to: 1) provide fresh water wells, and education in rural communities of Chad, Malawi, South Sudan, Kenya and Nigeria; 2) Sponsoring seminarians, our future priests; 3) Supporting priests in the founding/building of new churches. Your support to this worthy cause will be an immense encouragement to the Missionary Society of St. Paul to as they continue to take the good news to those desperately in need of it.  May God bless you!

Find out more about them at mspfathers.org.