NEWSLETTER - FALL 2008
MISSIOLOGICAL NEWS
FROM THE EXECUTIVE BOARD
MEETING IN ROME
The IACM Executive Board met in Rome in July 2008. On the Agenda: website, newsletter, publications, next conference, promotion of membership, promotion of regional conferences.
In order to work with the whole Church and be with the official Church, using the opportunity of this meeting in Rome, the Executive Board decided to introduce the IACM to various Congregations. It is very good for the Association to meet some of them. The Executive Board had two meetings: with the Secretary of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, Archbishop Robert SARAH, and the Secretary of the Council of Justice and Peace, Archbishop Gianpaolo CREPALDI.
After having successfully put on the IACM Website, Bertrand Roy, pmé, has no more the staff support to continue; so he kindly suggested to ask someone else to maintain the web active. Wojciech Kluj, omi, accepted. Thank you both.
The IACM Next Conference will take place in summer 2010, at the end of July, in the Philippines. Our theme will be New life in Jesus in the aeropagus of a globalized world.
FROM SOUTH AMERICA
From August the 12 to the 17, took place in Quito, Ecuador, the third American Congress of Mission (CAM-3 / Comla-8). As an invitation to become disciple and missionary, the theme was: America with Christ, listen, learn and proclaim. Around 3000 people were registered and attended the Congress.
After this particular event, there will be an International Symposium of Missiology in order to study the Conclusions and the Final Message. This will be held in December 2008, from the 8 to the 12, in the Centro de Formacion Social de Betania, located at the Valle de los Chillos, close to Quito. The main purpose is to receive and to open the doors of creativity to the missiological vision, spirit and tuitions developed in the CAM-3. For more informations: info@cam3ecuador.org
from Europe
Already happened this year
Missiological Symposium in Pieniężno (Poland). 19-20 April 2008 in Pieniężno (SVD Major Seminary) the theme “Missions in XIX century”: 16 presentations made by missiologists and some others. The book by Verbinum will appear soon.
The missiology section at the Faculty of Theology in University of Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński in Warsaw, organized this year on day session on the Pontifical Missionary Work of Children (150th anniversary in Poland) – 20 February. Since six years the missiology section organizes the national contest about missions in Africa for high school students. In the 2007-8 (sixth edition) participated about 4000 students from 300 schools. The final was held April 16. New edition is starting in October.
During the 12th General Assembly of the International Association of Mission Studies (IAMS) from 16 till 23 August 2008 at Ballatonfuered, Hungary, the Nijmegen Institute of Mission Studies finished its four year term of hosting the general secretariat of IAMS. Apart from organizing the assembly at Ballatonfuered, the general secretary was busy with restructuring the journal, Mission Studies, and the website, and representing IAMS at international conferences, among others at the IACM conference in Pieniężno, Poland (August). The next four years the IAMS general secretariat will be hosted by the Oxford Centre for Mission Studies.
27-30 August 2008 in Lyon (France) – Colloquium CREDIC (Centre de Recherche et d’Echange sur la Diffusion et l’Inculturation du Christianisme). This year theme was Images et diffusion du christianisme. Images et expressions graphiques en contexte missionnaire [Images and diffusion of Christianity. Images and graphic expressions in missionary context]. At the colloquium participated professors of universities of Louvain and Louvain-la-Neuve (Belgium), of Paris, Lyon, Montpellier. Colloquium gathered sixty missiologists and africanists. Acts of the colloquium will be published by Karthala. Next meeting will be held in Brussels (Belgium) 26-29 August 2009, on the theme Missionnaires et politique de 1945 à nos jours. [Missionaries and politics since 1945 up to today]. For more information: http://credic.blogspot.com.
Coming soon
The Divine Word Missionaries, in cooperation with the University of Vienna, Catholic Faculty of Theology, will held a workshop on Liberation-Theology in Latin America and Europe in St. Gabriel’s Seminary in Mödling (near Vienna). It will happen 3-5 October 2008. About 20 theologians will present papers that will be discussed by the participants. Information: Franz Helm SVD, helm@steyler.at
Missiology Section at the Faculty of Theology of Cardinal Wyszynski University in Warsaw organizes missiological week (15-22 October) with two international symposiums (on Missions in China and about situation in Lebanon), Congress on 40th anniversary of missiology at our university, and meeting of all former students and professors of missiology at university. For more see: www.misjologia.uksw.edu.pl
October 22, in Warsaw, there will be held annual meeting of Polish Society of Missiology. We will launch a new periodical “Studia Misiologiczne” dedicated to one of the founders of missiology in Poland: Fr. Wladyslaw Kowalak SVD. For more see: www.misjologia.pl
Missionary Institute of SVD will have a meetings for missiologists of the SVD to plan in a new way the Mission Institute of the SVD in Sankt Augustin Germany. The meeting will be in Munich 3-6 November 08. More than 40 SVD are belonging to this institute from all over the world.
The University of Vienna, Catholic Faculty of Theology, together with the Academy for Evangelization (Community Emmanuel), is preparing for October 2009 a 2-years-postgraduate course (MA) of “Dialogue and Mission in Europe. For admission, it will be necessary to present an academic degree (at least BA). For more information Dr. Christian Schmitt, Akademie für Evangelisation, Schenkenstraße 2, A – 1010 Wien, christian.schmitt@emmanuel.at
FROM ASIA
Philippine Association of Catholic Missiologists (PACM)
Last August 12, 2008, the President and some members of the Philippine Association of Catholic Missiologists (PACM), spent some time together for updating on the IACM with particular interest on the IACM Plenary Assembly in 2010. The members of PACM are ready to support and provide services for the IACM Missiological Conference and Plenary Assembly slated in Tagaytay City from July 27 to August 2, 2010.
The Philippine Association of Catholic Missiologists (PACM ) will hold its Annual Plenary Assembly on February 19-21, 2009 in Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya at St. Mary's University (CICM School). The annual plenary assembly always has a missiological conference for the public. The theme of the missiological conference is: "Mission and Catholic Education".
Asian Regional Conference in Macau
A plan to hold a regional missiological conference or forum for members of IACM in Asia has been in the process of planning for 2009. The conference has been planned to be held in Macau, China. The theme will focus on Evangelizing Asia with China as an optic for missiological discussion.