The Australia Province’s coordinators of the SVD’s Four Characteristic Dimensions met recently in the Thailand-Myanmar District, sharing with the missionaries there an insight into the priorities and activities of each area – Mission, Bible Apostolate, Communications, and Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation.
The Thailand District Leader Br Ron Fratzke SVD said it was a happy coincidence that the District was having its retreat at the time, and the confreres were able to enjoy hearing more about the Characteristic Dimensions and sharing their own mission experience.
Two of the Characteristic Dimension Coordinators (CDC) – Fr Viet Nguyen SVD and Fr Jun Perez SVD - were able to travel to Thailand and Myanmar in person, while Fr Joseph Reddy SVD and Fr Elmer Ibarra SVD took part via Zoom.
“The leaders of the Four Dimensions were able to share practical ways of incorporating the Dimensions in our lives and ministries,” said Br Ron. “Such as, sharing the Word of God, with those that we work with and with our own confreres, as well as making issues of JPIC a part of our daily lives. It was interesting to hear from Fr Viet how the demographics of our funds-raising has changed, and how the Province is responding to it.”
Fr Jun, who is the JPIC Coordinator for the Province, said that during the roundtable sharing and presentation, he informed the community about the focus of JPIC, namely, refugees, migrants, human trafficking, indigenous ministry, and ecology.
“These social and ecological issues are in congruence with the focus in our JPIC Generalate in general and in the Australia Province in particular. As SVDs, we need to incorporate JPIC in our missionary undertakings because it is part and parcel of who we are,” he said.
Fr Jun said visits to SVD ministries in both Thailand and Myanmar revealed how the Characteristic Dimensions are being lived out on a daily basis in the District.
In Thailand, Fr Jun and Fr Viet visited the SVD ministries in Nong Bua Lamphu and in Bangkok.
“When we arrived in our community in Bangkok, I saw bundles of repacked groceries,” said Fr Jun. “I knew already to whom they would be given. Fr John Hung Le, SVD, who supports the refugees and less privileged migrants, is always there ready to assist them.”
In Myanmar, Fr Jun and Fr Viet visited the SVD’s new parish of the Annunciation of the Lord, where they took part in a Mass at the home of a parishioner and then shared a meal prepared by the host family. They also visited the housing project sponsored by the Australia Province, which provides shelter for the homeless, and in another community saw a piece of land where the people are planning to plant trees as parts of efforts to promote ecological sustainability.
“Though the visit was short, I had a glimpse of what is going on in a sensitive and vulnerable place where our brothers are doing their mission,” he said.
Fr Jun said questions remain about how to meet the needs of the people and respond to their reality.
“Doing JPIC is not a one man show. It is always part of our everyday existence, especially, we, the missionaries, are called for to journey with our brothers and sisters and to be a beacon of hope for them.”
Fr Viet said the visit was a wonderful opportunity for the Characteristic Dimension Coordinators to meet for the first time with all the members of the Thailand District.
“I think that this meeting will assist the District to better understand the roles of the four Characteristic Dimension Coordinators, allowing them to connect with what they are doing in their particular mission areas,” he said.
“We also addressed how the CD Coordinators and the District members can cooperate and work closely together to promote the CDs in the District.”
Fr Viet said that his visit to Thailand and Myanmar helped him to see firsthand the various ministries that the confreres are carrying out, providing a better understanding of the benefits and the challenges they are facing.
“As Mission Secretary, this understanding will enable me to identify approaches to help them improve their ministry,” he said.
Meanwhile, Fr Elmer, who joined the CDC Meeting via Zoom, said it was a great opportunity to share the priorities and activities of the Bible Apostolate and to hear from the confreres in the Thailand/Myanmar District about their activities in the area.
“There were two key aspects to my report, the Ad Intra aspect, that is, the Bible Apostolate within the SVD and Ad Extra, which looks at Bible activities outside of the Society, such as our weekly Bible study groups and similar gatherings,” he said.
“We were pleased our confreres in Thailand and Myanmar were interested in what we are doing, so we can work together with the confreres there.
“Bible ministry has always been a focus of the Myanmar mission and Fr Deva told us about his Bible sharing among the seminarians in Yangon. We also heard about Bible sharing happening within the community in Thailand at Nong Bua Lamphu.
“It was a great opportunity for an exchange of ideas and a chance for the CD Coordinators to animate the confreres on these key areas of our life as Divine Word Missionaries.
“Meetings like this are great because we often work in silos in terms of what we are doing in our own fields of assignment and in the diocese where we are working. But the Characteristic Dimensions are uniquely SVD and are part of all that we do.”
Fr Joseph Reddy SVD said he was delighted that the opportunity to present a report on the Province’s Communications activities and aspirations via Zoom was “well accepted by our brothers in mission”.
The report highlighted the Province’s key communications activities, including the In the Word e-news publication, Society Matters magazine, and social media channels.
Fr Joseph’s report also raised the communications endeavours supporting the SVD’s 150th Jubilee Year.
He spoke about some of the challenges being faced, including the production of video across such a vast Province where some confreres work in very remote locations
He said the Communications works of the Province seek to support missionaries on the ground by sharing their stories and promoting their mission.
“I urged the confreres to make use of the Province’s media outlets to bring out their mission stories for a broader audience,” he said.
“I also learnt that our confreres there work tirelessly, at times without internet or electricity, and are happy to collaborate with the four Characteristic Dimension Coordinators and seek our assistance.
“The meeting also brought home to me the need to work in collaboration with the three other CDCs to bring forth the message of the mission in our Province.”
PHOTOS
TOP RIGHT: The members of the SVD Thailand District, with JPIC coordinator Fr Jun Perez SVD, during their retreat and meeting of the Province's 4 Characteristic Dimension Coordinators.
MIDDLE LEFT: Fr John Hung Le SVD with packages of food relief for refugees and migrants in Bangkok.
BOTTOM RIGHT: SVDs in Myanmar with Fr Viet Nguyen SVD and Fr Jun Perez SVD who were visiting in their capacity as Mission Secretary and JPIC Coordinator.