We love hearing from our supporters and volunteers, truly living out their call to mission! Today we share a message from Ann, a Missio Local Secretary for one of the two churches in St. John Vianney Parish in Liverpool. She sent us this story. 

I became a Missio Local Secretary in 2017, taking over from a remarkable man called Mike. Mike did so much for our parish and the role of local secretary was just one of many that he fulfilled. His wife Joan carries on the good work for Missio for him by being one of our collectors.

A tradition of mission

We have an amazing team of collectors and supporters for Missio (some of whom are pictured above). One of our supporters remembers collecting for the missions as a child. Some of our collectors have been donating and collecting for over 50 or 60 years! This very old wooden Red Box belongs to my mother-in-law, and she insists on keeping this one going and not having a new one.

I think, for all of us, volunteering for our roles and supporting where we can means we have some impact in supporting the work of Missio throughout the world. For me personally it is about supporting areas of great poverty – giving hope to struggling and oppressed communities. As a teacher, I feel the work in supporting schools and children’s homes is particularly close to my heart.

Vital volunteering during COVID-19

During the pandemic, here at home we have all struggled in many ways, but I am sure the need has been greater elsewhere. This was why we felt we needed to try and continue to collect and empty the Red Boxes despite the challenges of social distancing. We were lucky enough to open our church for limited services, but we also asked people to drop off their boxes – and they did! We left them for a week, emptied them and then got them back to our supporters. We promoted other ways of donating, too, such as giving online or by text.

Part of our risk assessment at church was to have greeters, or stewards, to welcome people and explain the regulations. We feel we will certainly want to keep the greeters as this has proven very popular. One of the positives from the pandemic for our one parish, has been the coming together of our two churches – St Marks and Holy Family. We have got to put faces to names and made new friendships.

Get involved

Missio volunteers make our work possible. Without their dedication, commitment and hard work, we simply could not do what we do. You can support Missio and Mill Hill Missionaries by donating to the Red Box here>>

Could you help Missio ignite God’s love around the world? Find ways to join our network of volunteers here>>