My wife is Pentecostal, and this past Sunday evening was her church's annual Christmas program, put on by the children. Out 17-year-old daughter made all the costumes (so says the button-popping-proud father).
The program was, as might be expected, evangelistic and oriented towards Christmas, but with an interesting twist. The focus was on Missionary Kids - MKs - with several actual MKs involved.
One of the features was a video of the denomination's missionaries in Okinawa, whose primary focus of ministry is not the Okinawan natives, but the American Military members and their families.
And it got me thinking about missions.
Read the New Testament. St. Paul had helpers who traveled with him, helpers who were not necessarily clergy.
Protestants do it. And, yes, Catholics do it to. But to what extent? Do Catechists accompany missionary priests? Do cantors?
Perhaps we as Catholics could consider such a possibility.
I'm a Lay Dominican. Perhaps my order could send out Lay Dominicans as helpers to the Friars, who could help establish missions, learn the culture. It could be a small community similar to the old Celtic monasteries, composed of clergy, celibate, and married members.
Just a thought.
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