The Mission Congress is organized by a group of lay Catholics. Throughout our youth and still today, we have met many faces of the Church. We have always been amazed by the multitude of initiatives that are born in the Church, and it is in order to bring them together, to organize a “big family meal” that we have gathered around the project of a Mission Congress.
The Mission Congress aims to create a great impetus for the proclamation of the Gospel, by giving keys to enable all Christians to live it. It brings together believers around moments of prayer, around round tables that address many themes (how to share one’s faith within one’s family, one’s couple, one’s city, one’s parish, ecological initiatives, the associative world…), during workshops that present humble and concrete evangelization initiatives, and within a village of stands that gives visibility to all that the Church puts in place at the service of society.
The objective is to offer an exciting event, allowing Catholics of all backgrounds and sensitivities to meet for a weekend, to exchange good ideas, to support each other, and to share the joy of believing in God. Everyone will be able to discover the beautiful things that neighboring parishes or more distant ones organize, and the great things that Christian associations put in place. The Mission Congress has no other objective than to be at the service of parishes in order to share and promote all existing initiatives. It seems to us that such an event has all the more meaning after the period of confinement that we know.
The John Paul II Foundation – Circle of Belgium has decided, in the missionary spirit of its founder Saint John Paul II, to get involved in this congress by organizing two workshops:
- “How to proclaim the gospel in politics and law?” by Sophia Kuby
Sophia Kuby is director of strategic relations and training for ADF International. She is based in Vienna, Austria. She oversees and develops the organization’s training programs and international alliance relationships. From 2015 to 2018, Kuby served as the Director of Advocacy for the European Union in Brussels, Belgium, where she built the EU advocacy team and led ADF International’s advocacy work with various European institutions. She holds a master’s degree and a bachelor’s degree in philosophy.
Summary of the workshop at the Mission Congress:
What is Christian mission in today’s world ? We are witnessing great cultural and societal changes, including politics, law, and jurisprudence. How can we be missionaries faithful to the truth in this area when the mainstream seems to be moving in another direction ? Sophia Kuby has over ten years of professional experience in the political, legal, and Christian leadership training fields.
The challenge of this workshop is to be able to speak about God while being in the world without being of the world.
- “The 5 Essentials for my parish” or “a growing parish today: utopia?” by Arnaud and Priscilla David
Arnaud and Priscilla David are respectively coach-trainer in companies and housewife. They went to Zambia in 2001 as part of a cooperation program coordinated by Fidesco and are now members of the Diocese of Malines-Brussels. Through their family and professional activities, they are experiencing the joy and fruitfulness of becoming committed Christians, attentive to human beings, discovering the strength of the Gospel in the face of daily challenges.
It is intended for priests in charge of a parish, as well as for anyone who is wondering how to make his parish, his small Christian community or his pastoral team grow.
Summary of the workshop at the Mission Congress:
To grow (humanly and spiritually) a person, a group, a community, it is necessary to create an environment conducive to growth. These “five essentials” are very concrete human means to create this favorable environment.
The John Paul II Foundation – Circle of Belgium will also have a stand presenting the first 4 books of a new collection on the theme of the teaching of St John Paul II:
– « John Paul II, visionary and prophet of modern times » by Cardinal Robert Sarah
– « John Paul II, stone at the turn of the new millennium » by Cardinal Philippe Barbarin
– « John Paul II, defender of the truth » on the encyclical Veritatis Splendor by Archbishop André Léonard, emeritus archbishop of the Catholic Church in Belgium
– « John Paul II, the Pope of the Jews » by Samuel Goblet, professor of religious and liturgical questions,
