Each of us is born with a song to sing. It flows from the deepest part of us. When we sing our song in harmony with the song of Jesus we discover our true identity as children of God. Jesus teaches us to harmonize with the Divine Melody that invites the world to unity and fullness of life as a family in God.

One such singer in our history was Canadian pioneer, Fr. John Mary Fraser, the first North American priest to go as a missionary to China. Leaving by ship from Vancouver in 1902, he confessed that he wasn’t sure how long he would last. But sing God’s song he did for many years among the people of Zhejiang province. He founded China Mission College (Ontario) in 1918 to train priests to serve in China. It later became the Scarboro Foreign Mission Society. By 1949, Scarboro priests were also going out to Japan, the Caribbean and soon to Latin America.

An extraordinary development happened in 1975. Lay men and women, single and married, were invited to join Scarboro Missions as partners in mission. Since then we have grown into relationship that compliments and supports each other in mission.

In this new Millennium, we sing God’s song today in the world through, Presence: teaching university students in China; Catechesis: developing the faith and gifts of local Christian communities; Pastoral Ministry and Human Development: serving Indigenous peoples in Brazil and Ecuador; counseling and health education in Malawi, Africa, working with poor women, children with AIDS and the physically challenged in Thailand; Justice and Peace work, and the growing reality of Interfaith Dialogue.

What is the future direction for mission in a pluralistic world? Our Church teaches us that God’s Spirit, ever alive today, is calling all baptized persons to grow in humility, simplicity and openness to our neigbour. This links us to the mission of Jesus. As Scarboro missioners, we live our baptismal call cross-culturally in the world. Today we feel the great need for bridging between the various religions, a readiness to listen and learn from each other’s experience of God. This calls us to give an authentic witness to our Catholic Christian faith and dialogue, open to the Spirit of God at work among all peoples.

The goal of mission is the unity of all peoples in God, as expressed in Jesus own words, “ that all may have life,… life to the full. (Jn. 10:10) The challenge before us is to be joyful witnesses, people of hope and trust in God, who live in solidarity with the poor and the marginalized of the world.

One Scarboro missioner summed it up well:“ The mission of Christ is worthy of a lifetime.” If you feel drawn to sing with us, contact Scarboro Missions. Whether for the long term or shorter commitment, as priests and lay missioners we invite you to consider with us your ‘Yes’ to a world yearning to hear God’s song.

Fr. Mike Traher, Vocation director for Scarboro Missions can be reached by eMail at:  mtraher@scarboromissions.ca

Lay Missioner Program: Email: lmo@scarboromissions.ca Tel: 1-800-260-4815