Where is God calling you?

An overview of Scarboro’s Lay Mission Preparation Program

By Mary Olenick
September/October 2012

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Have you ever dared to ask yourself, “Where is God calling me?” or “What is my mission in life?” By our very baptism we are all called to be missioners, signs and witnesses of God’s healing love for the world, in our daily lives through loving service to others. Sometimes our life experiences dictate where we are called to be. There is always a need to be a missioner among our families, communities and our churches. But God continually calls some of us to leave behind the familiar and go out into the unknown to further the reign of God among all peoples. When we hear the call, we may feel very inadequate, but we trust that God can work through whatever means, using our ordinary talents to do extraordinary things.

Scarboro lay missioners have been leaving their spiritual footprints in mission overseas since the 1970s. We have worked alongside Scarboro priests, each of us complimenting the other, in many of the mission countries. Today, as the number of ordained priests at Scarboro is declining, the laity continue. Our numbers tend to fluctuate as lay members come and go. Some join us for the minimum three year commitment; others stay for many years.

Who are we?

Lay candidates attend a formation class led by Fr. David Warren (left) during Scarboro’s four month lay mission preparation program.

Lay missioners may be single women and men, or married couples. We have been blessed from time to time with members of other religious orders joining our lay mission work overseas. They participate in the same four-month formation program along with our lay candidates prior to going to mission.

The following will give you an overview of what is involved in applying to our lay program: the requirements, the application process, and the four month live-in formation program.

Requirements

To become a Scarboro lay missioner, you must be:

• Catholic and active in the Canadian church, expressing your faith in service to the marginalized
• a Canadian citizen or permanent resident
• adaptable and in good physical and psychological health
• willing to make a three-year commitment without home visits, except for a family emergency (life threatening illness or death)
• age 23–55 years (exceptions are considered)
• committed to trying to learn a foreign language when your mission work calls for it
• college or university educated or have specific professional training and/or work experience
• single, or a married couple with independent adult children. Ordinarily both married partners must be Catholic.
• debt free and free from student loan obligations.

Volunteering and placement

Every effort is made to place missioners according to their skills and the needs of the mission country.

However, at times missioners may be called to be open to working in areas where they may not feel proficient.

Importantly, lay missioners are placed where there is adequate support, preferably with a Scarboro team already present in the mission.

Finances

Lay missioners are expected to live a simple lifestyle in mission. Scarboro provides financial support for travel to and from the overseas placement, housing, food, transportation related to work within the mission place, health insurance, a yearly personal retreat, and a small stipend.

Length of service

Scarboro Missions requires a minimum three year commitment which includes the four months of formation.

Scarboro missioner Kate O’Donnell and her neighbours in Guyana are covered in coloured powder as part of the celebrations for Phagwah (or Holi), the Festival of Colours, a Hindu religious holiday. Encountering other religions is part of Scarboro’s missionary work in Guyana with its intermingling of peoples of Christian, Muslim, and Hindu faith traditions.

Five-step application process

When a person enters the application process, there is a two-way discernment that takes place and con-tinues throughout the process. This discernment on the part of both the applicant and Scarboro Missions helps to determine if this is a good fit for both parties.

The Admissions Team meets after each step to discuss and evaluate whether to invite the applicant onward at each of the following steps:

1. Completion of the application form, providing personal information, skills, education, work experience, references, and a personal reflection.
2. A written autobiography with character references, and completion of medical and dental forms.
3. Interviews at Scarboro conducted by a team of priests and laity.
4. Vocational assessment at an outside institute.
5. The applicant is informed as to whether or not they are accepted into the formation program.

Formation program

In order to run a formation program, we require four or five candidates who will live in community at Scarboro during the four-month program. Classes are usually Monday to Friday, but occasionally spill over into the weekends or evenings. While candidates are living at Scarboro during formation, Scarboro pays all expenses related to the program. Candidates need only be responsible for their personal expenses. Living in the Scarboro community among veteran missionaries adds to the foundation of faith and commitment candidates already have.

Facilitators lead workshops in the following areas: Trauma in Mission, Emotional Wellness, Cultural Adaptation, Missiology, Justice and Peace, Team Building, Social Analysis, Scripture, History of Scarboro, Myers Briggs/Enneagram, Spirituality, World Religions, Interreligious Dialogue, Concepts of God.

Missioning Ceremony

At the end of the program, there is a missioning ceremony at Scarboro and candidates may invite family and friends to this celebration. During the Mass, the new lay missioners are officially presented. They each read an individually prepared commitment statement and sign the three-year contract.

A second missioning ceremony is held in the missioner’s home parish with a representative from Scarboro’s General Council and Lay Mission Office attending. This gathering raises awareness within the parish community that they too have a part in the witness of this new missioner. The parish family will have the opportunity to support and learn more about the missionary vocation they share with one of their own who is serving abroad in mission.

Finally, the new missioners spend time at home for a couple of weeks to say farewell to family and friends before returning to Scarboro for their departure to their mission placement.

All in all, the process of preparing to become a lay missioner with Scarboro is a wonderful experience of personal and spiritual growth.

Mary Olenick coordinates the Lay Mission Office and has been a Scarboro missioner for 12 years.

Is God calling you?

Can you imagine yourself serving Christ as a lay missioner overseas? It will be a life changing experience. Just as Jesus says to two of his disciples in John 1:39, “Come and See,” we too invite you to come and see if our lay mission program is right for you.

When we go to mission overseas, we do not need a lot of fancy words, nor do we need to have all the answers. After all, Jesus chose some very ordinary people as his disciples. What we need is openness, a loving and caring spirit, a listening heart, and the willingness to lend a hand to another and to be Christ for our brothers and sisters in faraway lands. We need to be people of faith and prayer. Humility and a sense of humor is a must. We will be strangers in another land and culture, learning to adapt, maybe learning a new language and making mistakes and we need to be able to laugh at ourselves.

Each of us is unique and gifted by God. We work together as brothers and sisters in the Body of Christ sharing our gifts for the glory of God. It is not always easy being in mission but the long-term, lasting benefits are out of this world.

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