Drafting A Provincial Missionary Project | SEDOS

DRAFTING A PROVINCIAL MISSIONARY PROJECT

(General Committee on Mission)1

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

1. A CURRENT PROFILE OF THE PROVINCE (‘SEE’)

1.1 Information about the Countries and Societies in relation to our

missionary challenges

1.2 A General Description of the Local Church

1.3 A General Description of the Province

2. A CRITICAL ANALYSIS AND DEFINITION OF THE LOCAL MISSIONARY

CHALLENGES (‘JUDGE’)

2.1 Analysis of the local missionary situation

2.2 Defining the local missionary challenges

3. PRIORITIZING OF THE CHALLENGES AND PLANNING (‘ACT’)

3.1 Prioritizing of these Challenges

3.2 Planning the Implementation of the Missionary Project

4. THE PROVINCIAL MISSION STATEMENT

4.1 The Group’s Identity

4.2 Its dreams, vision and goals

CONCLUSION

1 This is a document of the CICM General Government, made in 1996. Some parts of it were

reformulated and updated by the General Committee for Mission (GCM) in its meeting in

Rome, October 2015. The revised document was approved by the General Government in its

meeting on Dec 18, 2015.

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INTRODUCTION

This document presents the basic elements of a procedure to draft a Provincial

Missionary Project (PMP). The articulation of missionary projects responds to the

call made by the XIth CICM General Chapter (1993) for us to be more faithful to

our double mission: fidelity to the world and fidelity to our CICM identity.2 As

mandated by that General Chapter, we now have Guidelines for Mission, 1996

(GM), which provides some clear criteria for our missionary activities to be

articulated in a Missionary Project (GM, ch. 4-5). The CICM General Government

then published this document on Drafting A Provincial Missionary Project (1996)

and it has been used extensively ever since. Later, the XIVth CICM General

Chapter (2011) decreed the creation of a General Committee on Mission

(GCM) that should - among other things – help in “the formulating of questions

that would facilitate the evaluation of the missionary projects of the Provinces”.

The GCM therefore revised this document in its meeting in Rome, October 2015.

The drafting of a Provincial Missionary Project is, in the first place, a tool for the

discernment of our missionary works, and not simply a justification for them. It is a

way for the Province reflect upon the missionary challenges emerging from our

discernment on the needs of the People, the local Church, and the Province.

Only when a Province has drafted its PMP using group discernment can it be

useful as a way for confreres to own the missionary project as a group, and as

individuals.

A good way to draft a Provincial Missionary Project is to follow the See-Judge-

Act method of Cardinal Joseph Cardijn:

See: First, we look at the challenges in the countries, societies,

Local Churches, and the CICM Province we live in.

Judge: Then, we make a critical analysis of the challenges, and judge

whether these challenges correspond with our CICM charism.

Act: Finally, we prioritize these challenges and draw up a plan of action.

While the overall number of confreres will continue to diminish, we are beginning

to see an increase in the number of younger confreres. This requires us to be

more open to new ways of doing mission. Updating our PMP is an occasion for

the Province to review its existing projects in the light of the aspirations and

talents of these younger members. The PMP is meant to be implemented by the

whole province. Thus this document becomes a point of reference in our

missionary life, work, and communities. It will unite the confreres, their efforts and

their spirits into ‘One Heart and One Soul’.

2 Acts of the XIth CICM General Chapter, 1993. At the Service of the Kingdom, p.7

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The Missionary Projects of the Provinces are made available to the young

confreres in the initial formation communities to assist them in responsibly

expressing their mission preferences and to help the GG in determining their

missionary destinations. The PMP will also help the young confreres during their

Internship. These Missionary Projects should therefore provide an honest and

realistic picture of the mission in the Province.

It takes time to build up a good PMP. Community gatherings every 6 weeks for

prayer and discernment during one to two years seems to be a good practice.

Possibly an Ad Hoc Committee can be erected to cooperate with the different

communities and committees of the Province.

It is also important to agree on the date and the process of the next updating of

the Missionary Project. It is advisable that PMPs be updated soon after a

General Chapter.

1. A CURRENT PROFILE OF THE PROVINCE (‘SEE’)

The profile is primarily an introduction to the Missionary Project. It is descriptive

and informative (factual). It gives the reader a realistic picture of the actual

situation of the country, the Church and the Province, using concrete and

objective data, preferably with references. It should indicate prevailing trends in

the socio-economic, political, cultural and religious life of the people.

However, a certain selection already begins at this stage. In gathering the data,

we keep in mind the kind of missionary involvement we want to engage in on

the basis of our charism as CICM. We know, for example, that JPIC is an essential

element of our mission. Thus the 14th General Chapter has recommended that

our PMP clearly shows how JPIC is integrated in the whole of our involvements.3

Besides the points mentioned below, other points can be added according to

the Missionary Projects of the Province (eg. education, poverty, etc.). The

direction in which the project is headed should already be clear from the very

beginning.

The following questions are given as suggestions; other questions can be

added.

3 Acts of the 14

th CICM General Chapter, 2011, p. 21

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a.1 Information about the countries and societies in relation to its missionary

challenges:

- 1.1.1 A geo-political description: What is the nature of the country?

How is it structured politically? Does the political structure of the

country promote the participation of the people or is political power

concentrated in the hands of a few? How does the political structure

influence our missionary work? - 1.1.2 A socio-cultural description: What are the social and cultural

aspects that stand out and are important for our commitments or

challenge our view on mission? - 1.1.3 An economic description: How are the resources (GNP) of the

country distributed? Are the benefits of the macro-economic growth

reaching the less privileged and low-income earners of society? Is

there a plan for sustainable development in the country? - 1.1.4 A religious description: What is the place of the Catholic Church

in society? How does it relate to other religions? Is there a trend

toward secularization, a rise or decline of Islam, Buddhism,

Protestantism or other religions?

a.2 A general description of the local Church, especially in the dioceses

where CICM is present:

- 1.2.1 What are the main characteristics of the local Church?

(Concentrate on what is particular to it: eg. role of the lay-people). - 1.2.2 Are their serious problems or obstacles preventing the local

Church from becoming a self-reliant and mature Church? - 1.2.3 What are the important challenges that the local Church is

confronted with, or will be confronted with in the near future?

a.3 A general description of the Province:

- 1.3.1 Give some statistics about the confreres and their work (number

of retired, working ad extra, ad intra or in initial formation). What are

the projections for the next five years, the next ten years? - 1.3.2 List the confreres who have done special studies. List those who

are currently studying (what, where, what for). - 1.3.3 How is the deployment of personnel managed? How is

teamwork promoted? - 1.3.4 How many confreres live in community? Are there international

communities? - 1.3.5 How are the different missionary commitments interlinked? How

often are the present missionary commitments reviewed and

evaluated? Is there follow-up or a monitoring system to accomplish

this?

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To help define the characteristics of our missionary presence, one can find a

more exhaustive list of questions in the Guidelines for Mission (p.52-60).

2. A CRITICAL ANALYSIS AND DEFINITION OF THE LOCAL MISSIONARY

CHALLENGES (‘JUDGE’)

2.1 Analysis of the local missionary situation

According to our foundational assumptions from which we approach

our mission,4 there are two separate fields to be analyzed here:

Ad extra: Is the group doing its best to be present in ‘frontier situations’,

engage in ‘dialogue’, undertake ‘first evangelization’, and promote

‘world solidarity’? Do we really care for and defend the poor and

abandoned ones?

Ad intra: Are we living in multicultural evangelizing communities? How

are we taking care of confreres who are facing difficulties? How do we

take care of the elder and sick confreres? What is the quality of the

teamwork in parishes or other commitments? How do we accompany

our young confreres in initial formation to live out CICM identity and

spirituality?

The term critical analysis describes the major components of this

section. First, critical, in a double sense: we criticize and are criticized.

On the one hand, the members of the Province are asked to consider

the local situation from the perspective of their mission statement (i.e.,

the group’s identity and missionary intent). On the other hand, they are

asked to examine the practice of their calling in the light of the usually

harsh reality of the people’s lives.

The approach is also analytical, that is to say, systematic and sustained,

presupposing data gathering and multilevel consultation with the

representative sectors of the local community and with experts.5

2.2 Defining the local missionary challenges

A critical analysis of this sort is undertaken in view of helping the group

situate itself within the general mission of the Church in that country. The

4 Cf. Guidelines for Mission p.41-43. 5 Cf. Joe Holland and Peter Henriot sj, Social analysis: Linking Faith and Social

Justice, Orbis Books, first edition 1980.

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operative question here is: What could be CICM’s specific missionary

contribution to the local Church?

Thus critical analysis means here: asking the members of the Province to look at

the situation through the eyes of our CICM charism and to define the missionary

challenges they see ad extra and ad intra.

Explanatory notes:

a) It must be borne in mind that critical analysis is evaluative from the point of

view of our charism and is, therefore, selective. Consequently, it is not meant to

discover all of the needs of the local church. Its objective is to identify specific

missionary challenges from the CICM perspective, i.e., challenges specifically

addressed to CICM, not to the church in general.

b) The critical analysis should conclude by being able to identify the major

missionary challenges addressed to the group as CICM missionaries working

and living in that particular country. Ultimately, critical analysis should enable

the group to answer the decisive question: Should we continue working in this

place, or with this people? If the response is positive, three basic questions must

be addressed: 1) With and for whom should we be working? 2) Where should we

be? 3) What should be doing and how?

If, however, the response is negative, then the critical analysis undertaken for

the purpose of having a more focused missionary presence has served as an

evaluation of the presence itself, indicating that the Province should consider

termination.

c) At this stage in the process, it is useful to line up the possible missionary

challenges addressed to the Province. The group is given a global viewing of the

local missionary challenges corresponding to its charism. This part of the process

is important in making the members of the Province aware of the fact that no

matter what and however much they undertake, their missionary endeavors are

and always will be only a partial response to the needs of the local church. We

cannot and are not called to satisfy all the local missionary needs. The process

should foster both missionary realism and humility, as opposed to expansionism

and messianic complexes.

d) These definitions identify the challenges that fall within the charismatic

response and dream of the group; and conversely, eliminate those that should

be addressed by other groups or instances, like the local government, NGO’s,

social welfare and philanthropic organizations, or the local Church itself.

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3. PRIORITIZING OF THE CHALLENGES AND PLANNING (‘ACT’)

3.1 Prioritizing of the challenges

a) Discernment

After defining the local missionary challenges, the group will first have to

discern which challenges have to be prioritized. How can we

collaborate with the local Church as pioneers? This calls for a

discernment process based on prayer, group-sharing, and personal

reflection.

The leading questions here are:

How do the People see/feel these challenges?

How does the Church perceive them?

How do we as CICM with our specific charism see/feel them?

Discerning means that we try to follow the will of God, which is not

always the most logical or common way of looking at missionary

realities. It is advisable to use local Church documents as a source of

information.

b) Scrutinizing

The selected missionary challenges will then have to be scrutinized on

the basis of what CICM can actually do in the given situation. This is a

crucial point that can make or break even the most beautifully

formulate Missionary Project. The danger of accommodation usually

arises at this point. Superiors might tend to accommodate everything

and everybody in order to avoid conflict, unconsciously surrendering the

prophetic edge called for in prioritizing our commitments.

c) Decision

Prioritizing is decision making. Choices, a selection from among the

possible missionary challenges, will finally have to be made. Prioritizing

simply means choosing the challenges that the group is capable of

responding to from among those charismatically identified, namely

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those missionary challenges addressed to the group as a missionary

congregation. The prioritized challenges will constitute the basis of a

specific provincial missionary project.

Provinces that span several countries may decide upon both challenges

common to all of their countries as well as challenges that are specific

to a particular country.

3.2 Planning

a) How will the plan be made concrete? The last part in the drafting of a Provincial Missionary Project is

the planning. “How?” and “Who?” are here the pertinent

questions. Can the Province do what it wants to do? Is it

capable of doing what it should be doing? Here we are dealing

with reality, not just dreams. What can the missionary group

actually do given:

1. its real capacity: personnel and other resources; and

2. the local situation: the economic, cultural, socio-political, and

religious factors that limit our missionary space.

Ignoring the limitations imposed by the local situation will surely

undercut the effectivity and capacity of the group to implement its

project. Unwarranted idealism or naiveté can only lead the group

to disillusionment.

b) What relevant activities need to be adopted in order to implement

the corporate commitment laid out in the plan? What then follows would be similar to what is ordinarily presented to

funding agencies as a project proposal, namely an overall plan and

time schedule which normally includes:

1. a description of the missionary activity

2. human resources: local & non-local participation

3. material resources: budgetary & related financial considerations,

including local contributions

4. a schedule of the duration of the activity including the expected

length of CICM participation

5. periodic evaluation

Another way of developing with a project is expressed through the

acronym ‘SMART’. The project should be: Simple, Manageable,

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Attainable, Realistic, Time bound.

c) What monitoring system will be put in place in order to assure the continuity and the effectivity of the implementation of the strategic

plan?

Monitoring and follow-up of the project are also necessary for its

success. An example of how to do this is given in the appendix.

There should not be ‘partial’ thinking, but rather a ‘linking up’ of all the

different groups within the Province when it comes to the realization of a

certain project.

d) Other Considerations: Other very important considerations are the implications the

involvement will have on the confreres participating in it, for example

community, life style, sustenance, training or the preparation of future

confreres participating in the project, ongoing formation, evaluation,

and animation.

4. A PROVINCIAL ‘MISSION STATEMENT’6

When the three steps in the process to update or draft a PMP have been

thoroughly developed, the group is ready to express their mission goals for

the coming years in clear and inspirational language.

The mission statement presents:

2.1 The group’s identity: Who we are? What is CICM?

2.2 Its dreams, vision and goals: What would we like to be? What would we

like to do, ad intra and ad extra?

This provincial mission statement functions to focus the group and could

almost be used as a prayer. It is the ‘slogan’ of the mission in that specific

Province or country.

Explanatory notes:

6 cf. Vade Mecum B, Appendix 7a

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a) The mission statement is a declaration of identity and intent. It should

therefore mention the characteristics and traits of our specific missionary

charism: ad extra & internationality; ad gentes & universal brotherhood; our

preference for the poor & frontier situations; our religious life style: community,

prayer, teamwork. It is also a call to group action: a slogan in the good sense of

that word – rallying the group to be what it should be and to do what it should

be doing.

b) To serve its purpose, the mission statement needs to be a highly focused

declaration of identity and position vis-à-vis the local situation. It helps the group

to focus itself charismatically. It serves to identify who we are within the universal

mission of Christ. As a declaration of our calling as a congregation, it should

inspire the members of the Province to think, plan, and act together since they

share the same calling.

c) A mission statement is precise, inspirational and exhortatory. It is not an essay,

or a reflection paper. It should be able to deliver its message and make its point

at first reading.

CONCLUSION

The Provincial Missionary Project has to be owned by all the members of the

province, as well as by the laypeople who are involved in its implementation. It

will enhance ‘CICM awareness’ that can inspire others to join.

One of the possible difficulties in the implementation of the Provincial

Missionary Project is arriving at the consensus needed for the collective

ownership of the project by the confreres. A 100% owned Missionary Project

does not exist. We may not expect or demand its spontaneous acceptance by

all the members of the Province. The confreres will have to be assisted to

understand and appreciate its long-range value for the whole Province, for

them personally, and for their work. It is not necessary, however, for everyone to

agree with the project. What’s important is that they have the opportunity to

express their views and do not actively obstruct its implementation. The

Provincial Leadership must see to it that the Missionary Project conforms strictly

with the exigencies of the CICM charism in order to withstand the criticism and

resistance of confreres.

Though it might seem a tedious task, the process of articulating a Missionary

Project is the right place for confreres to meet each other and to build unity in

the Province. The Missionary Project we have been given a valuable instrument

of unity. It serves to unite us around what brought us together in the first place –

our common missionary calling, our CICM charism.

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Approved by the General Government (cf. Meeting N° 143), on December 18,

2015.

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