Mission Appeals News & Information
Updated 20.11.07
The Church Mission Appeals in England and Wales dates back to the early 1950's. A number of formats were tried out in the eary years. Since 1970 the scheme has worked on a rota set up for a number of years.
From four participating societies at itsorigin, 36 religious congregations now take part in the Appeals. Between the participating societies, over £1,000,000 annually has been raised to support missionary work over seas.
Each society has its appeals' organiser and the CMU Secretariat coordinates the entire scheme.
BISHOPS' LETTER... NOVEMBER 2003
The following was approved by the Bishop's Conference in Novemberf 2003 and circulated through the Ad Clerums:
"Some years ago the Bishop's Conference reduced the number of obligatory appeals to two each year. One is the Mission Sunday collection sponsored by the PMS and one is the Mission Appeal given by a member of one of our mission societies. This latter appeal is not simply an occasion for taking a collection but gives parishioners the opportunity to hear a well prepared homily based on the liturgy of the day, on the work of the Church in the mission field, I urge you to give this appeal its rightful prominence."
BACKGROUND HISTORY
Origin and basis of the Appeals Scheme
Up to 1950 missionary appeals in England and Wales were made on an unorganised, spasmodic pattern, for which
individual bishops' permissions had to be sought. The APF/Mill Hill system was already in operation. In addition to their red
boxes, however, there were a host of other mission boxes around the country. The bishops saw the need for some rationalisation and the
Appeals Scheme was born. All boxes were withdrawn except the APF ones and the Men's Mission Committee was asked to
make proposals. The hierarchy said they would authorise missionary societies to make appeals in the parishes without
having to ask permission of each individual bishop. For many years the choice of having an appeal was with the parish priest.
The alternative was to take up a collection for what was originally called the Foreign Missions Collection and was later
renamed the Overseas Missions Collection. This ended in 1997 in the interests of simplifying the number of collections for
missionary activity.
Beginnings
The Scheme started in 1952 with four societies: Holy Ghost Fathers, Comboni Missionaries (Verona Fathers), Missionaries
of Africa (White Fathers), and Divine Word Missionaries. They divided the country into four areas. The Mission Secretariat
became the office responsible for monitoring the scheme.
Growth
Over the years it gradually grew and more societies joined the scheme, and one or two left. The Sisters' Mission Committee
was set up in the mid 1960s. The Combined Missionary Societies joined in 1974. They, the CMS Committee, were
religious congregations who had an interest in overseas mission but not exclusively so. In 1986 the Volunteer Missionary
Movement joined. Currently there are 36 societies taking part in the scheme [full list below].
Mission Committees
It has always been the practice that, apart from the Volunteer Missionary Movement, which is not a religious institute,
participating societies become members of one of the three mission committees. These originated as mission
subcommittees of the Conference of Religious, and they remain so today. Not all members of the mission committees, are part of
the Appeal Zoning Scheme (e.g. Jesuits, Mill Hill). Participation in appeals is an activity of the mission committees.
Membership is primarily for purposes of sharing issues and concerns among the societies, and a point of insertion into the
wider field of the Catholic Missionary Union and the Churches' Commission on Mission [Churches Together in Britain & Ireland]
Missionary Appeals 2008 (by Religious Congregation)
Combined Missionary Societies:
Cardiff
Lancaster
Nottingham
Southwark (Balham to Lewisham)
Comboni Fathers
Menevia
Northampton
Shrewsbury
Columban Fathers
Hexham/Newcastle
Leeds
Holy Ghost Fathers
Salford
Missionary Sisters of England and Wales
Arundel/Brighton
Brentwood
Hallam
Middlesbrough
Southwark (Madistone to Tunbridge)
Society of African Missions
Westminster (Harrow to Westminster)
St Patrick's Missionary Society
Clifton
Plymouth
White Fathers
East Anglia (Bury St Edmonds to Coastal)
Liverpool (Southport to Warrington & Leigh, Leyland
Westminster (Barnet to Haringey)
Xaverian Fathers
Birmingham
East Anglia (Ipswich to Peterborough)
Volunteer Missionary Movement
Liverpool (Ashton to Prescot and Stonecroft and Woolton/Halewood)
Missionary Appeals 2008 (by Diocese)
Arundel & Brighton:
Missionary Sisters of England and Wales
Birmingham:
Xaverian Fathers
Brentwood:
Missionary Sisters of England and Wales
Cardiff:
Combined Missionary Societies
Clifton:
St Patrick's Missionary Society
East Anglia:
White Fathers
Xaverian Missionaries
Hallam:
Missionary Sisters of England and Wales
Hexham & Newcastle:
Columban Missionary Fathers
Lancaster:
Combined Missionary Societies
Leeds:
Columban Missionary Fathers
Liverpool:
Volunteer Missionary Movement
White Fathers
Menevia:
Comboni Missionary Fathers
Middlesbrough:
Missionary Sisters of England and Wales
Northampton:
Comboni Missionary Fathers
Nottingham:
Combined Missionary Societies
Plymouth:
St Patrick Missionary Society
Portsmouth:
Missionary Sisters of England and Wales
Salford:
Congregation of the Holy Ghost
Shrewsbury:
Comboni Fathers
Southwark:
Combined Missionary Societies
Missionary Sisters of England and Wales
Westminster:
Society of African Missions
White Fathers
Wrexham:
Missionary Sisters of England and Wales
Combined Missionary Societies: Augustinians, Brothers of the Sacred Heart, Christian Brothers, Crusade of the Holy Spirit, De La Salle Brothers, Dominicans, Josephites, Marists, Montfort Fathers, Redemptorists, Sacred Hearts Community, Sacred Heart Fathers, Sacred Heart Fathers and Brothers (Betharram), Salesians, Salvatorians.
Sisters Missions Committee: Comboni Sisters, Congregation of O.L. of the Missions, Consolata Sisters, Daughters of Mary Help of Christians (Salesians), Franciscan Missionaries of Mary, Franciscan Missionaries of St Joseph, Franciscan Missionary Sisters for Africa, Medical Mission Sisters, Medical Missionaries of Mary, Missionary Sisters of St Columban, Missionary Sisters of O.L. of Africa (White Sisters), Missionary Sisters of St Peter Claver, Missionary Sisters of the Holy Rosary, Missionary Sisters Servants of the Holy Spirit.
Salford Columban FathersShrewsbury Holy Ghost Fathers
