Volunteering
at MMC
by volunteer John Burton.
Tuesday
is the day that we
gather at the Marist Mission Centre, a small group of volunteers ready
to carry out any small task that is required.
It may be placing a donation slip in an envelope as the Mission
Director, Fr Kevin Stewart is making an appeal in one of the Marist
Parishes, or it may be preparing for posting thank you letters to
Mission supporters. Then again, it may be just sticking stamps on
envelopes. No one cares what the work entails. It’s good to be together
and assisting in the work of the Mission centre.
When none of these or other tasks need to be carried out it’s back to”
cutting stamps”
Many Mission supporters send in small bags of used stamps that they
have collected, whilst some commercial enterprises allow us to collect
their used envelopes, from which we remove the stamps and prepare them
for sale to a phillatelic service maybe two or three times a year,
providing some income for the Centre projects.
For approximately 60 years, the Mission Centre has provided for,
initially, our missionaries in Japan, under Fr Lionel Marsden, the
Pacific, South America, whilst today the emphasis has shifted to the
Asia region, particularly Thailand, Cambodia, Bangladesh, China and
Vietnam. Projects may be modest in size but can be very important to
the local inhabitants, such as a small toilet block (the first) in a
tiny village in China.
The Mission Centre relies on the generosity of its supporters to
finance many projects that lead to the spreading of our Catholic faith.
So next time you’re in a Marist parish pick up a copy of the latest
Marist Newsletter which I’m sure will be readily available and read
about the work of the centre Marist Mission is our Mission.
Article
taken from Marist Laity Australia.
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MMC volunteers and staff
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The Marist Mission Centre has a long tradition of voluntary help.
Developed by the late Fr
Michael O'Halloran SM and his secretary, the late Mrs Dorothy Thomas, a
team of
volunteers over many years handled donations, records and responses.
Today our volunteer team of retirees come to MMC each Tuesday to assist
with the important task of the preparation of used stamps for sale at
auction. Annually they raise substantial sums of money that go into MMC
to help the poor.
MMC
also relies on the kind support of several
professional
volunteers
who give their time to help us out:
-
Mr
Danny Lui & Mr Oliver Wong:
Our computer saviours in  emergencies. |
| - Mr
Laurie Awira: Our website
consultant. |
| - Mr
Michael Wheelahan: Voluntary Project Consultant |
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