Two Hands, One Heart! The Mission Office promotes the sharing of gifts with one another in a responsible and respectful manner. We have two hands and one heart to offer - let us share them! Why does the Mission Office do "projects"? Because Mission is first-and-foremost about relationships and connecting with one another as GOD connects with us, the Mission Office encourages the people of our parishes to get involved in mission through special mission promotion and interaction projects. And while mission should focus first on relationships, it also means helping those with whom we've connected. For this reason, our Mission Office offers gifts to our mission partners and various connections throughout the local and global community. We give gifts to those in our family and who we have relationships with on a personal level, and similarly we ask the people of St. Cloud Diocese to share their gifts with our brothers and sisters in our global family. For many people who have been involved on mission trips, projects are a great way to continue their experience and maintain a relationship and place in their heart for those they encountered even after they've been returned for years. Projects are also a great way for those who never feel called to travel in mission to still be a part of the great mission spirit in our diocese and to share themselves with others around the world without ever having to leave their community.
What kind of projects can we do to support mission? The Mission Office promotes a variety of projects that our diocese can do to support mission, from making items, to gathering items, to fundraisers, to mission promotion in the community. Check out some of mission project ideas for you, your parish or group:
Homemade items (some items will be shared with our foreign mission partners or used for ministry locally, such as immigrants/refugees; and quilts and baby quilts are often sold at the Mission Office to raise funds to support mission efforts elsewhere):
Items Collected (all items must be NEW!):
Mission Promotion:
Mission Interactions:
Fundraisers:
Prayer:
And don't forget to visit the Mission Office! We make a great field trip for your class, for your mission group, or for yourself - give us a call and come stop by! Projects in conjunction with Mission Education are a GREAT and PRACTICAL ways for your Faith Formation Program, class, group, or Mission Circle to participate in Mission through both head and hands! Check out our mission Education page for more information on resources and ideas.
How do we know what all goes into some of the homemade or collected projects listed above? If you are interested in making or collecting items for mission, such as layettes, homemade childrens clothing, dental hygiene bags, personal care items, school supplies or World Mission Rosaries, but aren't sure what they all entail or what restrictions there may be on these gifts, you're in luck. We have complete lists and details for each of these projects. View a complete list of mission needs and what is all included in the above collected items.
Do you still take canceled stamps? Unfortunately, we are no longer able to get the large quantities of canceled stamps to the mission community that we used to. Do to logistical reasons we have had to discontinue this, which means that we no longer accept canceled stamps. We have heard that there may be other organizations in the community that collect these still, and we suggest that you seek out these other avenues to donate your stamps to instead.
Who should be participating in these mission projects? Everyone! Mission is easy to do, and there is such a variety of projects available that anyone and everyone can find a way to be involved that fits their gifts and time. So, if any of the following describe you, consider being involved in mission:
Do you take used items? No!! We request that items brought to the Mission Office to be shared with our mission connections be seen as gifts, rather than donations. We want to share with our brothers and sisters all over the world the work of our hands and fruit of our heart-felt time and energy. For this reason, we do not accept used items to be shared as gifts (No used clothing, house-hold goods, washcloths, toiletries, plastic pants, etc.). Although many people have plenty of gently used items in good condition, we ask that all items donated to the Mission Office be NEW items. This includes newly boughten items, or homemade articles. Please do not send used clothing, hygeine items, school supplies, blankets, or other used things to be donated to mission. These items are greatly needed by our local shelters, Catholic Charities and other organizations; please consider donating your used items to them, and share your new gifts with the Mission Office.
Where do our donated gifts go? Gifts brought to the Mission Office are shared with a variety of connections and organizations. Primarily, we share gifts with our Global Solidarity Partners in Homa Bay, Kenya and Maracay, Venezuela. Every year that a delegation travels to one of our partners, numerous large bags full of your gifts are brought and offered to the Bishop and people of the diocese. We also share gifts with other delegations traveling to places such as Nicaragua and Guatemala. Gifts are also offered with visiting foreign missioners or our St. Cloud Diocesan missioners who are visiting home temporarily, for their ministries in various parts of our world. Often these visitors can carry less due to travel and luggage restrictions, but they are still grateful to receive gifts from the generous people of St. Cloud. The Mission Office also shares your gift items with organizations, both on the local and global level, whose ministry is headquartered locally. Because they are headquartered in our area and have the capability to send larger amounts oversees, we are able to share large quantities with these places. Truck, trailer, car and vans full of items have been donated to our connections with Common Hope in Guatemala, the Message Program in Guatemala, the Good News project in the West Indies, White Earth and Red Lake Reservations in Minnesota, Sharing and Caring Hands, Catholic Charities, the We Care Program, and more!
Can we designate where our donated gifts go? If your parish or group has done a special collection or mission project for a particular mission connection, such as one of our partnerships, we will gladly honor your request that your gift items be shared with that community. However, we ask your patience and understanding in that it often takes a great deal of time for these gifts to arrive at your requested location, due to the fact that we must wait for a travel year to carry them over. Mailing them is usually simply not an option in many locations. If you can be patient, we will do our best to get them there! If you wish to donate items to an organization or location that we are not connected with, we likely will not be able to honor your request to designate the gifts to that location. Your best bet in this case is to contact the organization yourself to find out how to get these items to them.
When can we bring our donated gifts? Deliveries are welcome Monday through Thursday, 9:00am to 4:00pm. However, due to limited staff the front door cannot always remain unlocked during these hours. Please call ahead to let us know when you'll be delivering so we be sure to receive your delivery. Call the Mission Office with any questions: 320-251-1100. Check out our Map & Directions for how to find us.
Also check out our Mission Groups page for more information on how to gather a group of people around the purpose of mission.
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