Jul 17, 2018
We were delighted to receive these wonderful pictures from Fr Alan Neville MSC, taken on his recent trip to the parish of St Paul the Apostle in Tsakane, Gauteng. Fr Alan paid a visit to Fr Martin Morrissey MSC, parish priest, and joined the lively and enthusiastic community of St Paul’s parish for Mass during his stay.
Tsakane is a township located outside Johannesburg, and, as is the case in many parts of South Africa, much of the population faces significant social and economic struggles. The community of St Paul’s parish, however, is a vibrant one, who find great joy and unity in their faith despite the daily challenges they face.
“Everyone is welcome at St Paul’s,” reads the church information. “Come just as you are – we’d love to get to know you better.” This warm, inclusive nature was demonstrated clearly as parishioners welcomed Fr Alan with open arms!
We’re sending our very best to the community of St Paul’s, and we wish Fr Martin continued success in his ministry there.
Jul 10, 2018
In early 2017, the Irish Province of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart assisted in the launch of a new Sewing Livelihood Programme in Pinugay, in the Philippines. Over the past number of years, the MSC Missions Office in the Philippines has been reaching out to respond to the urgent needs of families and communities around the country, in a mission to teach people new skills, to alleviate poverty, and to help communities to become self-sufficient and sustainable.
With the help of financial aid from mission friends in the Irish Province, the MSC Missions Office in the Philippines were able to launch the MSC Sewing Livelihood Programme in the KKSV9 district, Pinugay, in February 2017. The KKSV9 district is a resettlement area for families who have been displaced from their homes, and poverty is a very serious issue here. Many families struggle with unemployment, hunger, and illness, and the skills offered by the Sewing Livelihood Programme have been a lifeline for those who had nowhere else to turn.
Tools for a brighter future
Armed with fifteen sets of sewing machines, and the members of the KKSV9 community worked together to set up their local sewing station. The programme began with four mothers, who were trained in operating the sewing machinery, and there are now fourteen women working in sewing and tailoring, with regular clients placing orders with them.
The success of the Sewing Livelihood Programme led to the development of a new project, and in June 2017, a Life Sharing Programme was established, focusing on the spiritual growth of the community. The group meets every Saturday for spiritual formation, with the aim of growing in harmony as individuals and a community.
“On behalf of the KKSV9 community, we would like to thank all of our mission friends in the Irish Province,” says Jahms Morga of the MSC Missions Office in the Philippines. “You have all been instrumental in making this life-changing programme accessible to the people of the Pinugay Resettlement Area in Baras, Rizal.”
The Missionaries of the Sacred Heart in the Philippines continue to work with the locals of Pinugay to foster security, self-sufficiency, and community spirit. With the help of the Irish Province, the MSC in the Philippines have also been able to launch a local consumer store and a beekeeping project, giving local people the tools to build a positive future for their families and for generations to come.
For the latest updates from the MSC Missions in the Philippines, please visit their Facebook page.
PLEASE HELP US TO CHANGE LIVES IN THE PHILIPPINES
Jul 4, 2018
Celebrations abounded at the Sacred Heart Church in Cork on Thursday, June 28th 2018, as eight MSCs from the Irish Province marked the great occasion of Silver, Golden, and Diamond Jubilees. Friends, family, and fellow MSCs travelled from across Ireland, the UK, and beyond, gathering on the Western Road in Cork to celebrate in the glorious June sunshine on this very special day.
Irish Provincial Leader, Fr Carl Tranter MSC, opened the Jubilee Mass with a warm welcome to all present. Fr Carl was himself celebrating his 25-year Jubilee, and in his opening address, he spoke of God’s love, which “empowers, heals, and transforms”.
L-R: Fr Carl Tranter MSC, Br Donie Hallissey MSC, Fr Eugene Clarkson MSC, Bishop Emeritus Hugh Slattery MSC, Fr Patsy Kelly MSC, Fr Con O’Connell MSC, Fr Terry O’Brien MSC. Fr Eamonn Donohue unfortunately could not attend the Jubilee celebrations.
“As each of us look back over our lives today in gratitude, as we remember and recollect with members of our family, friends and fellow MSCs, we might allow ourselves to be amazed and astonished at what the Lord has been able to do in and through us, often in spite of us!” Fr Carl said. “We recall being given appointments or responsibilities we felt wholly ill-equipped to undertake; we remember times of great struggle and challenge, even seeming failure; and we delight in the memories of love, success, joy, wonder, gratitude, growth, communion, friendship and consolation. We recognise each as a gift and a grace. This is what gives us cause to celebrate today. Not anything we have ‘achieved’. A couple celebrating 50 years of marriage are not celebrating what they have achieved, but the gift of love which has endured through the years, which has sustained them despite the challenges, and which has borne fruit in so many different ways across the different seasons of their lives. As MSCs, we celebrate that same great gift of love today.”
The commemoration of this year’s Jubiliarians was a joyful celebration of community, fellowship, and thanksgiving, recalling the triumphs and the challenges of the years gone by and looking ahead with faith, hope, and love.
Congratulations to the Jubilarians!
Silver Jubilee (25 years)
Fr Con O’Connell MSC
Fr Carl Tranter MSC
Fr Terry O’Brien MSC
Golden Jubilee (50 years)
Fr Patsy Kelly MSC
Br Donie Hallissey MSC
Diamond Jubilee (60 years)
Fr Eugene Clarkson MSC
Fr Eamonn Donohue MSC
Bishop Emeritus Hugh Slattery MSC
Jun 26, 2018
Early in April, Loreto Rumbek were able to employ a drilling company to implement three new boreholes for the benefit of the local community. The Irish Province of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart have been working with the Loreto community in Rumbek since the summer of 2017, and it is with great joy that we receive this positive update from Maker Kuei.
Two of the new boreholes were placed in communities where local residents did not have easy access to an improved water point. The third borehole was placed next to the new Loreto Primary Health Care Unit facility, which is scheduled for completion in August of this year.
“South Sudan has a six-month dry season that can be extremely brutal to families that are already borderline or severely food insecure,” explains a spokesperson for Loreto Rumbek. “These new water points become a centralised point for community gardening, water collection, and sanitation – a lifeline for a community during the harsh realities of the dry season.”
Local resident Mary Akol describes just how much of a lifeline these water points are. “This new borehole is a blessing to me,” she says. “Even if I am late, I can get water. The children can pump water too. I plan to plant kudra, okra, and pumpkin.”
For the past year, the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart have been working in partnership with Loreto Rumbek to bring hope to the people of Maker Kuei. We are proud to be able to support the Loreto Rumbek community in their ongoing work in South Sudan, and we extend our sincere thanks to our mission friends in Ireland and around the world for continuing to care.
For more news and updates from Loreto Rumbek, please visit their website.
PLEASE HELP US TO TRANSFORM LIVES IN SOUTH SUDAN
Jun 13, 2018
With the help of the Irish Province of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart, an MSC Beekeeping Livelihood Programme was launched in Antipolo in the Philippines early in 2017. Since then, the programme has been progressing at a great rate, and Jahms Morga of the MSC Missions Office in the Philippines has recently been in touch to update us on developments in Antipolo.
The MSC Beekeeping Livelihood Programme aims to support the local bee industry, advocating positive environmental awareness and promoting healthy living through a sustainable livelihood scheme. In providing local people with new and useful skills, this programme is opening up avenues of employment for many, while promoting and developing independent local business.
So far, the programme has conducted basic beekeeping seminars and workshops across five communities – Antipolo, Cavite, Bulacan, Pangasinan, and Quezon Province. More than 50 local people have been introduced to life in the apiary through the programme, and it is already providing the tools for future employment and self-sufficiency in an area where this is much needed.
“We hope to extend the programme to other communities,” says Jamhs Morga of the Philippines MSC Missions Office, “in order to further promote sustainable employment while raising awareness of environmental care and protection.”
For the latest updates from the MSC Missions in the Philippines, please visit their Facebook page.
PLEASE HELP US TO CHANGE LIVES IN THE PHILIPPINES
Jun 12, 2018
Over the past six months, the Loreto Rumbek community has been working in tandem with Misean Cara and the local community of Maker Kuei on their new Seeds of Knowledge project.
This project focused on helping 100 participants who have come from families that have been affected by local and national conflict. These families were struggling with severe poverty, and those participating in the project would have had very few resources to survive the upcoming lean season.
The Seeds of Knowledge project combined agricultural training and health education, with a “food for work” aspect which meant that each participant’s household received very welcome food and income.
The project finished at the end of April, just in time for the beginning of the rainy season. Each participant left the programme with two watering cans, one jembe (hoe), a small stock of seeds (including sorghum, groundnuts, kudra, and other vegetables), and a number of fruit-tree seedlings.
Many food security initiatives in South Sudan focus on increasing access and intake; the Seeds of Knowledge project, however, was the first to introduce early recovery and resiliency techniques in this area. In the face of the ongoing food crisis, this has given the households involved the tools for increased self-sufficiency, and vital resources in the face of hunger and poverty.
For the past year, the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart have been working in partnership with Loreto Rumbek to bring hope to the people of Maker Kuei. We are proud to be able to support the Loreto Rumbek community in their ongoing work in South Sudan, and we extend our sincere thanks to our mission friends in Ireland and around the world for continuing to care.
For more news and updates from Loreto Rumbek, please visit their website.
PLEASE HELP US TO TRANSFORM LIVES IN SOUTH SUDAN
