Mission Education
Find ways to bring Mission into your classroom, church, or community!
St. Cloud Mission Office can provide numerous ways for you to incorporate Mission Education into your ministry.
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Ranging from our Speakers Bureau of Returned Missioner, Classroom Resources on topics such as Catholic Social Teaching & Fair Trade, Solidarity & Global Relationships and so much more. Schools, parishes, families & auxiliary groups have all had wonderful and very powerful experiences with Mission Education. Why not be among them ?
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​If you have questions or are interested in learning more about how you can incorporate Mission Education into your program, please feel free to reach out by calling the Mission Office or emailing missionofficeeducator@cloudnet.com
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Mission Education Notes from the Office
For those who recognize the importance of our baptismal call to mission and the need for mission education in our schools and parishes, and who would like to begin investing in this area of our faith and formation, it is very easy to get started.
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Mission Education is an important aspect of all levels of our Catholic faith formation. This means EVERYONE needs this education, not just kids, but parents, community members, diocesan staff, and all parishioners.
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Mission Education can be incorporated in many ways, such as:
~special multi-cultural or mission focused liturgies & prayer services
~service projects such as ~ partnering with schools, parishes or groups from around the world or learning more about our current partnerships
~ experiencing cultural meals, dances, songs, games & community celebrations with new friends
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​​ Incorporating Mission Education into your programming
Mission Education programming often easily fits into your existing parish or school programming.
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Look at your parish, school or group’s purpose and goals. Find ways in which mission, global partnerships, peace & justice-awareness and Catholic Social Teaching activities would help you meet your goals.
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Look at your calendar, curriculum and plans. Find ways in which different mission-focused speakers or activities may fit in naturally, or times when additional events may enhance your existing programming.
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Contact the Mission Office to share your ideas and request help fulfilling your mission education programming needs.
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Missionary Childhood Association
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The Missionary Childhood Association (formerly known as Holy Childhood) is the organization especially geared for connecting kids in mission. Missionary Childhood Association (MCA) helps to animate children in kindergarten through eighth grade to a universal missionary spirit and to gather funds from these young people for the support of mission efforts that serve the poorest of the world’s children. Kids helping kids!
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It is one of the four Pontifical Mission Societies that the Holy Father asks every Catholic diocese throughout the world to participate in. These various societies do fundraising, prayer and other sacrificial support for the young churches and dioceses in the world, in need of financial assistance. They help us have a concrete way we can participate in the building up of the Catholic Church around the world and a way we can live-out our Christian call to mission and global solidarity!
While students are always encouraged to pray for other young people around the world, there is a special Prayer Week designated each year in March, when students in the U.S. pray specifically and intentionally for our world. Also, the first Friday of October each year is Missionary Childhood Day, in which our St. Cloud Diocese celebrates World Mission Rosary day by praying the World Mission Rosary in our homes, parishes and schools sometime throughout the day. Our friends in Kenya and Venezuela do the same on the same day – so people on three different continents across the globe are praying for one another and our world – that’s got to make a huge impact!! Sacrifice is encouraged through financial or gift sharing, as well as through simplifying our lifestyle in recognition of the needs of others. Contact the Mission Office for fun and creative ideas to encourage sacrifices your group can make in support of other young people all over the world
Mission Education Resources​
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The Mission Office offers a variety of ideas and help in finding the Mission Education components right to meet the needs of you, your school, parish or group. Just a few of the many resources we have include books, cultural items, mission posters, artifacts, mission related web links and activities pages for youth, and service project or fundraiser ideas.​​
Personal Attention & Planning
Of all the things the Mission Office can help you with in your mission education journey, the best and most important is that we offer personal consultation and on-going support to any school, parish or group investing in Mission Education or Mission involvement. We are happy to meet with you or your staff to either find the right resources or activity for you, or to help in planning and implementing once you’ve determined the direction you’d like to go.
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Mission Office Publications
Each month of the School year (September -May) the Mission Office puts out a Monthly Educators Bulletin which includes a reflection and resources for the Month. The Mission Office also puts out a quarterly Mission Connections newsletter with stories and updates on the mission activities in our diocese and our connections around the world. Our Newsletters can be found under our "Global Connections" tab - See Below for the 2024~2025 Monthly Educators Bulletin