What is Mission?

Growing up in a Christian community, my idea of Mission was about missionaries going to other countries, far away, to take the Christian message of God’s Love for all.

Although this still continues, the world is rapidly changing, including the nature of our community, and Christians must embrace this change.

Today many in the United Kingdom still identify with Christian values, but may not espouse a particular faith or belong to a particular faith community.

Pope Francis has reminded Christians that we are all called to be missionaries; going out, taking our faith into the community, and inviting people into our churches.

Before we can do that we need to first grow in our own faith, and be prepared to re-evaluate what it means to be a Christian. If we are to welcome new members into our community, we first must find  ‘A New Heart’.

Ss Alban & Stephen Catholic Church in Beaconsfield Road St Albans is starting a two week Mission,'A New Heart' supported by a lay group called the Sion Community. This week, parishioners accompanied by a member of the Sion Community will be going out visiting homes to invite members of our community to pray with us, and to join us in the second week of celebration. In this second week, amongst other events, there will be early morning and mid-morning Masses and evening Mission services. (see albanstephen.com.) Everyone is welcome.

Thus empowered we can grow as a community and welcome the changes.