From our Sister Iwona Cholewinska, in Lublin, Poland
The monthly missionary meetings at our house in Lublin’s Sławinek have a long history of over twenty years.
Initially, they were intended only for girls interested in the missions in Africa or who were discerning their vocation. Each meeting began with singing in African languages and a brief introduction of each participant. This was followed by an introduction to Ignatian prayer, a meditation and a sharing of the fruits of our prayer.
After a short break, there was a testimony by a missionary, mostly Sisters and Fathers of the Missionaries of Africa, but also lay missionaries with missionary experience in Africa, followed by Holy Mass in an African setting and a shared meal of sandwiches and tea (which had a unique taste!). I attended these meetings as a student and as a candidate and I remember them as a time of exploring the theme of mission in all its aspects: evangelization, culture and community. It was a time of getting to know the congregation and its charism as well as building relationships with individual Sisters.
At that time, when Africa was still quite distant for us Poles both geographically and mentally, every Mission Saturday was like a fascinating journey to a place where everything was different and unusual: customs, language, clothes with a whole mosaic of colours… The Sisters, opening the doors of their house to us, at the same time opened a wide window onto the African continent, then still little known and associated with dramatic situations eagerly exposed by the mass-media.
During my current stay in Poland, I again have the opportunity to participate in the Missionary Saturdays and I see with joy that, faithful to tradition, we are opening our doors even further, following the recommendations of the last Chapters and in accordance with the context of our city, which has become multicultural.
The meeting is open to everyone, women and men, with no age or state restrictions, and is held in Polish and English because of the English-speaking participants, mainly students of the Catholic University of Lublin (KUL) who come from various countries, including Africa.
The formula of the meetings has undergone some modifications, but the atmosphere is invariably one of openness, willingness to get to know each other and lively discussions on current topics. Participants present their countries of origin and not only the African countries or countries where they have lived or worked, which broadens the perspective to include the whole world.
Missionary Saturdays have become, like our city of Lublin, international and multicultural and the statement that each of us is a mission takes on an even deeper meaning here.
