A scene from last year’s Franciscan Mission Service World Care Annual Benefit and Celebration. (Photo courtesy of FMS)
WASHINGTON — Franciscan Mission Service is planning its 2016 World Care Benefit and Celebration for May 13. All are welcome to this event, which, as in the past, will be held at St. Francis Hall on the campus of the Franciscan Monastery of the Holy Land on Quincy Street.
The World Care event, which includes refreshments and a silent auction, has become an anticipated spring gathering for mission and social justice-minded Catholics, according to an announcement on the FMS website. The event “draws both those who are solidly committed as well as those who seek to deepen their understanding of these values.”
The 11th Anselm Moons Award will be presented to Fr. Larry Snyder, who recently concluded 10 years as president of Catholic Charities USA. The celebration’s keynote speaker will be John Carr, director of the Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life at Georgetown University and Washington correspondent for America Magazine, whose talk is titled “Is Poverty Inevitable? A Practical and Prophetic Response.” Details about the World Care celebration can be found in FMS’s February 2016 e-newsletter called Franciscan World Care.
Last year, at its celebration of 25 years of lay mission service, FMS honored John O’Connor, OFM, with the Anselm Moons Award. Photos and videos of the 2015 event as well as past celebrations can be found on the FMS’s website.
During this Lenten season, FMS is offering a series of reflection on its blog on the theme of “letting go.” Each day, stories are posted by writers with various connections to the organization: missioners, alumni, volunteers, staff members and board members. “We hope this series allows you to draw inspiration from people who, through experiences with service and the Franciscan charism, learned to let go of insecurities, the need for control, misconceptions, and preconceived notions.” said Kim Smolik, executive director of FMS.
Franciscan Mission Service, an independent non-profit supported by a variety of Franciscan people and groups, welcomes participants to its varied programs. Information about both its full-time mission service programs and its Short-Term Mission and Global Awareness trip in May to Bolivia offered in the organization’s February e-newsletter. Application deadlines for several of these positions are in March.
FMS’s February newsletter offers information about several programs, including how to become a missioner and a short-term mission and global awareness trip to Bolivia in May.
— Jocelyn Thomas is director of communications for Holy Name Province.
Related Links
- “FMS’s New Missioners Prepare for Commissioning, January Travel” — Oct. 22, 2014, HNP Today
- “Urban Hermitage Offers Sanctuary of Silence in Nation’s Capital” — Aug. 15, 2014, HNP Today