Mission Cooperative Plan Appeals 2020

LAY MISSION-HELPERS ASSOCIATION- GROUP 1222

Each year, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles invites missionary groups to share their stories and seek financial support from the faithful through the nationwide Mission Cooperative Plan. This year, due to the coronavirus pandemic these personal visits of missionaries to the assigned parishes are not possible. However, the Mission Office decided to conduct the mission appeal through video and written presentations.

The Lay Mission-Helpers Association is a Los Angeles-based Roman Catholic charity but with a global reach. We send lay Catholic professionals to do missionary work.

The last several months have not been easy on any one around the world. The pandemic which struck every single country and community impacted the whole world. In the United States, on top of the pandemic, the issues of the systemic racism and continuous injustices towards people of color have boiled over.  We have been through a lot, and it is not over yet.

One might think that this is not the time to do mission appeals.  We have enough problems ourselves. It is a natural reaction. There is nothing wrong with taking care of ourselves, our own communities and parishes. In fact, we ought to do that. We should love ourselves. However, as disciples of Jesus we also ought to love our neighbor in the same measure as we love ourselves. Consequently, we cannot ignore or dismiss the neighbor in need.

This is what the mission appeal is about: sharing with others, helping others alleviate their suffering, loving others to the point of sacrifice.

The Lay Mission-Helpers Association needs your help today; the people we serve need your help. We want to be ready for the time after the pandemic to serve at full capacity, but we need your help to do that. 

We were founded in Los Angeles by Msgr. Anthony Brouwers in 1955.  Msgr. Brouwers went to the Marian Congress in Lagos, Nigeria, in 1954. It was a transformative event in his life. The bishops, priests and nuns in Africa shared with him the frustration and challenges of serving the needs of the people in the areas for which they had no training, like pulling teeth, delivering babies or teaching science in high schools.  When Msgr. Brouwers returned to Los Angeles, he was inspired to establish the Lay Mission-Helpers Association for the purpose of recruiting, training, sending and supporting Catholic professionals called to serve as missionaries.

In the last 65 years, the Lay Mission-Helpers Association has sent over 750 singles, married couples and families who served in 36 countries, offering together over 2,500 years of service..

We go where we are needed and when invited. We serve for at least three years, sharing our skills and faith with our brothers and sisters. Currently, we serve in Uganda, Ghana, and Papua New Guinea in the areas of project management, computer science, education, finance, healthcare, and administration.

Our residential four-month-long Formation Program is in Los Angeles. You can be a part of this missionary project. You can help children and youth receive the type of education that will help them escape the cycle of poverty.  You can help children receive the life-saving healthcare. You can help families have access to services that will meet their immediate needs and uphold their dignity. You can help by joining us. If you are a lay person and feel a call to mission, look us up online at www.laymissonhelpers.org and let’s start a conversation. You can help by praying. We need your prayers! Pray for those whom we serve and pray for us.

Finally, you can help by donating today.  No matter the size of the gift, every little bit helps.  And when given with faith, miracles can happen. You and us, together, we can accomplish great things in the lives of people in Uganda, Ghana, and Papua New Guinea, knowing that God is never outdone in generosity!

Thank you for your support today. May God bless you abundantly and keep you and your loved ones safe as you share what you have with those who have even less.

Thank you.

-Lay Mission-Helpers Association

To support the Lay Mission-Helpers Association, please click on the button below to donate and either select your parish in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles and/or type Group 1222 in the memo box. God bless!