AMERICA/ECUADOR - Missionary Training School inaugurated as a fruit of CAM 3

Quito (Agenzia Fides) – The Missionary Training School of the Archdiocese of Quito was inaugurated on March 7, a visible fruit of all the Archdiocese lived in preparing and celebrating the Third Missionary Congress (CAM 3).
The Missionary Training School's main objective is “to train missionaries to be better disciples and missionaries of Jesus and make a commitment in the evangelization effort of the Universal Church, offering a formation that “combines theological, Biblical, intellectual, spiritual, human, communitarian, and pastoral missionary dimensions” (cf. Aparecida Document, 280). The process of formation will last a total of 2 years and 250 people have signed up from the Archdiocese of Quito. Those involved are members of movements, parishes, and missionary groups who wish to deepen in their formation as missionary animators.
The inauguration ceremony took place at the “Inmaculada” School in Quito, where a Mass was held in thanksgiving, presided by Auxiliary Bishop Rene Coba Galarza of Quito.
Later, a panel discussion was held on the importance of formation, CAM 3, and the Continental Mission. In the afternoon, a training project was explained, the methodology to be followed in each meeting of the training school.
The specific objectives of the school are: offer services of missionary animation and training for parishes; offer means of deepening in the theology of the mission in a language that is accessible to animators in communities, so that they can contribute in a significant way to the Continental Mission; promote missionary cooperation among parishes and communities, to promote the city mission; reawaken the Christian identity in communities, provide resources for missionary training.
The school will hold a missionary training course in the Archdiocese of Quito, organized in four stages. Two stages made up of 6 meetings and two with 4 meetings, which will be given on the first Saturdays of each month. The participants should organize some evangelization activity each month. At the end of the course, there will be a special missionary retreat. Some of the topics to be addressed are: Theology of the Mission, Biblical Foundations for the Mission, Mission for Humanity, Techniques for Missionary Visits, Popular Missions, History of the Mission in America, History of the Mission in Ecuador, Missionary Documents of the Church, Missionary Congresses and Their Contents, Anthropology and Mission, Mission and Cultures, Mission and Ecumenism, Interreligious Dialogue, Missionary Spirituality, Missionary Parish, Missionary Animation and Cooperation in the City, Mary: the Disciple and Missionary. (RG) (Agenzia Fides 11/3/2009)