Mission Pals for Parishioners

Mission Pals for Parishioners

Just as faith begets faith and love begets love, so too vocations beget vocations.

What is Mission Pals?

• Mission Pals is a pen pal type program pairing active Catholic missionaries with everyday lay Catholics, Catholic families, youth groups or even entire parishes.

What are the Benefits?

• Provide emotional and spiritual support – One of the greatest threats to every missionary is missionary burn out, simply losing the zeal. As valuable and necessary as financial support is, it only fulfills the missionary's physical needs. Their emotional and spiritual needs are just as important and the regular exchange of physical letters with a Mission Pal can help to fill that gap.

• Get inspired to do more – Just as faith begets faith and love begets love, so to vocations beget vocations. It only takes a few minutes to sit down and read a letter, but you may find yourself inspired to seek out your own missionay vocation.

• It only costs about $1 a month – We expect you to provide your own postage. Beyond that, there is no financial oblegation. By becoming a mission pal you can help further the missionary aim of the Church for the cost of a stamp.

How does it work?

• Once a missionary submits their information we locate a suitable Mission Pal for them from our list of non-missionary applicants. Once a missionary and non-missionary are paired, both parties are contacted for final confirmation and then the missionary's information is mailed to the non-missionary. The non-missionary is responsible for sending the first letter of introduction to which the missionary can then respond at their earliest convenience.

• To get the most out of the program we recommend physical paper letters, not e-mails. We believe the physicality of an actual letter adds to the emotional connection and empresses upon both parties that actuality of the exchange. In addition, we recommend about two letters a month, of whatever length is practical for the participants.

How do I join?

Simply send an e-mail to missionpals@gmail.com

You will be asked for four things:

• Names: If you are participating as an individual then your name, if you are participating as a group then the names of the group members.
• An Address: The address you to which you wish letters to be sent. In order to participate, this is of paramount importance.
• A Picture: If you are participating as an individual then a picture of you, if you are participating as a group then a picture of the group.
• A Statement of Introduction: This should be fairly brief, roughly 250 words. Who are you? Why do you want to participate in mission palls?

As soon as we receive these you will be enroll in the program and contacted once we find you a Mission Pal!