Mission in a changing world: MSC Community Netherlands
Tuesday October 22, 2024
We report on some projects in which we, MSC Community Netherlands (since the Feast of the Sacred Heart), are involved.
We must painfully observe that the Church in the Netherlands as an institution is slowly disappearing. More and more parishes are merging but hardly growing from within. Monastic communities are dying out. But in other places we see signs of hope regarding a totally different faith community.
Yet we too, in the Netherlands, have not lost our faith. Many are searching for the deeper dimension in this changing world. Many translate this into projects such as those listed below. Dutch brothers are closely involved in these projects below. Read about these signs of hope!
Gypsy work, Roma and Sinti. Our confrere Jan van der Zandt (81) has been the national pastor for caravan dwellers, Roma and Sinti for more than 30 years. In recent years, he has had help from confrere Antoon Egging (79). From our MSC Province we have supported his work financially for many years and now, with the transition to Community, the foundation has received an additional amount so that the work can continue in the coming years. It involves over 40,000 caravan dwellers, Roma and Sinti in often great poverty.
MSC was closely involved with VAI all these years. Gerrit te Wierik worked in administration more than 25 years and his brother, Theo, was national chairman for over 12 years. (On this moment André Claessens, Belgium, and Theo te Wierik are ambassadors of VAI)
The refurbished goods came, initially, to young people in Africa so that they could take jobs and thus earn an income.
For over 10 years now, there have been mediators in Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Congo DC and Cameroon. They send requests for projects to the Netherlands and in the Netherlands, Vraag en Aanbod (over 40 volunteers) ensures that these projects (after all the goods have been reconditioned) are placed in large 20 and 40 ft containers and shipped. The costs are still, and mainly, funded by orders and congregations. Several young people are still involved in Africa and in the Netherlands. Six years ago, MSC Netherlands entered into a contract with VAI for 2 X 3 years.
Confreres in Congo DC sent projects to VAI and MSC Netherlands funded these projects. These included a wonderful project in Kinshasa where there is a carpentry workshop where young people receive training and even a government diploma! Our confreres there have done and continue to do a fantastic job.
Our director (volunteer), who has just returned from Africa to visit the projects there, said he has now seen great progress.
Young people have even set up their own businesses with staff employed. Think of a sewing workshop, car garage, construction company.
Many of the refurbished products also benefit schools. There is even a large warehouse in one of the countries where goods are stocked and can now be delivered faster to the spot.
Foundation Bread Father Gerrit Poels. After 25 years, the government wanted to subsidise. Gerrit didn’t want this! He wanted to remain in charge himself! He gave all the work to the government and started spending the next 25 years delivering bread at night for people who were ashamed to come and get bread, or mothers whose husbands didn’t allow them to leave the house much, if at all. It continued every night. Even on Christmas or Easter night! No holidays and no days off!
In 2016, he asked a confrere to continue his and his wife’s work in a foundation. That happened and the MSC is still very directly involved in the work. The foundation was given a wooden building by the parish. There, the group of volunteers led by two mission sisters SSpS from India and Indonesia, receive a hot meal on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons. More than 75 homeless people are involved each afternoon.
On Thursday mornings, food parcels are distributed in Tilburg Noord to, mainly, Somali young mothers with their families. The mothers have time to cook but do not have the products. This involves 120 people. The Trappists offered to provide 50 loaves of bread every week.
The wooden building is in need of replacement. All nine orders and congregations in and around the city of Tilburg, are paying for the new prefab building with even solar panels.
All this is seen by a lot of Tilburg residents and they are now also moving more and more. Residents donate money and goods. Others give free help to realise the new building. The construction company clears the old wooden building for free and provides new sewerage etc.
- MST Keeping people in the picture. The mission Keeping People in Focus provides the MST with the right to exist. For this purpose, the MST was founded in 1989 by two religious congregations: the MSC (Missionaries of the Sacred Heart) and FDNSC (Daughters of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart). The MST is indebted to the social tradition of these two congregations. Keeping people in the picture means that the MST wants to support people in vulnerable circumstances in a stimulating way with:· Learning the Dutch language
- Being a support point for migrants
- Being a support point for Roma and Sinti
- Being a living room
The city of Tilburg has over 120 nationalities and many hundreds from these nationalities knock on the MST’s door.
There is much more faith than we think…!!!
You just have to want to see it!
Theo te Wierik, MSC
