Teresa is one of the amazing volunteers we want to thank and celebrate during Volunteers’ Week. She is a Local Secretary for Missio and the Mill Hill Missionaries’ Red Box in Lancaster Diocese. She shares her thoughts on volunteering:
I volunteered to help in any way I could in my parish during the COVID pandemic when my Parish Priest, Fr Manny Gribben, phoned and asked me to take over from our Church’s Red Box Secretary. I said ‘yes’ straight away!
I’m afraid I didn’t know what the role was at first – but it has given me far more than I put in. A few of the parishioners I visit I hadn’t known before becoming involved. It seems like mission works at home too!
The Red Box was always there at home when I was a child. It stood pride of place in front of the statue of the Sacred Heart in my late parents’ living room and we were asked to say a prayer and pop in any odd coins that were left on pocket money day.
Supporting the missions at junior school was always forefront. I still have prayer cards in my missal from collecting 2/6 a time for the missions.
I’m always thankful that the circle seems to be getting smaller in the global Church; we have an Assistant Priest from India and he had predecessors also from India and Nigeria. With our drop in vocations here, we’d be lost without their mission to us.
In a world where we see so much suffering on our televisions, and feel helpless on a daily basis, it is good to know that our prayers and donations to Missio and the Mill Hill Missionaries go to help others, and bring God’s love and the Sacraments to those who might otherwise never feel the Lord’s love and care in their lives.
Our amazing volunteers
Volunteers Week is a perfect time to say a big ‘thank you’ to wonderful people like Teresa, who help Missio and the Mill Hill Missionaries ignite God’s love here in England and Wales and around the world!
Our volunteers bring our global family together, sharing the work of missionaries overseas, encouraging people to pray and fundraise, collecting Red Boxes and delivering our Mission Today magazine, and helping to build our online community. Your support helps missionaries overseas continue to ignite God’s love in every corner of the world.
Find out how you can volunteer for Missio here>>>