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Bring Back Our Girls! May 13th, 2014
Nigerian Oblate Father Ali Nnaemeka Cornelius, OMI writes about the plight of the abducted schoolgirls in Nigeria, prays for the return of the abducted girls and urges for more actions to free them. In the article Fr. Cornelius says, “There are therefore certain reasons that brought us to where we are today. What the world maybe has not known before is that Boko Haram has been causing much other serious havoc in Nigeria over the years. The only problem is that for many reasons we have been dying in silence.”
Read the article at the weekly blog publication of the US Missionary Oblates JPIC office
Oblate JPIC Office Intern arrives in Washington from San Antonio June 29th, 2013
The Oblate JPIC office is proud to welcome our newest intern, Erin Chase. He will be focusing on human rights and social media use for justice. Here is a brief bio:
Erin Chase: Born and raised in San Antonio, Texas, Erin graduated from Saint Anthony Catholic High School where he first encountered the Oblates. He was very active in St. Anthony during his time there. In the Young Oblate’s club, he worked with Oblate brothers and fellow peers to organize monthly community gatherings with the homeless. He also served on the music and organizational teams for the students’ home-designed SALVE Retreat, which stands for Service and Action, Love, Vocation, and Evangelization. It’s a 3-4 day, student-designed retreat. Additionally he served on the team for the local ACTS retreats. While in high school, Erin became an Eagle Scout, and received the Junior Oblate Cross and the Archbishop’s Medallion for his commitment to service and Catholic devotion. He is currently a rising junior at Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut, where he is majoring in Religious Studies.
Erin is involved in a number of faith-based activities at Wesleyan. During his freshman year, he revived the Catholic Student Organization, which provides educational and spiritual opportunities for faith development on campus. The group, which works in an interfaith context, tries to engage students of any or no faith. Erin continues to lead this community, and, in addition, directs the Catholic liturgical choir. Other initiatives in which he is involved include Shining Hope for Communities, a grassroots organization combating generational poverty and gender bias in Nairobi, serving as an executive member in the Wesleyan chapter. Other involvements are with the outreach team at Amazing Grace Food Pantry in Middletown, and with the Middlesex United Way, where he serves as the Special Projects Coordinator. In his spare time, Erin enjoys songwriting, coffee, and learning about social entrepreneurship. He hopes to utilize his skills and develop his understanding of social justice issues through working with the Missionary Oblates JPIC Office.
OMI JPIC office welcomes intern Br Terence Chota OMI May 23rd, 2013
The Oblate JPIC office is proud to welcome our intern Brother Terence Chota OMI. We are excited to have Br Terence join our staff for the summer. He will be focusing on Human Rights and Integrity of Creation issues. The following is an introduction to Br Terence:
I am Terence Kasonde Chota. I come from Zambia, which is in the southern part of Africa. Upon completion of my High School Education, I trained as a Primary School Teacher. I joined the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate in 2003. I did two years of my initial formation in Zambia, followed by a spiritual year and Oblate Charism in Namibia. I then went to study French and Philosophy in Cameroon where I completed with a Bachelor’s Degree. I went back to Zambia for youth ministry in both Education and ecclesiastical circles. In 2010, I went to South Africa to do my Bachelor in Theology. I am currently at the Oblate School of Theology pursuing a Master of Divinity and a Master of Art in theology.
I have had a unique experience of formation. I have been in at least 3 different houses of formation. I believe God provided this opportunity for me, not because I am strong, but because am actually weak and feeble enough to lean on him. Adapting to different cultures is not easy but it is very enriching. With the challenges and joys that I have faced in everyday life experiences I have realized that I have holistically developed in my spiritual life and the Oblate way of Life. I have learnt that to strive for holiness and maturity in my own personal life is extremely important, but it is only half the picture; the other half is our God-given responsibility to the world around us. My areas of interest in issues of justice are in integrity of creation, human trafficking and human dignity. This is very vital for me because the OMI Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation (JPIC) initiative works to promote human dignity and respect for God’s creation through faith-consistent investments principles, advocacy with corporations and governments, educational outreach, and grassroot organizing in Oblates parishes.
I would sum up my experience as an Oblate with constitution 32 of the Oblates Constitution and Rules: “it is as missionaries that we worship, in the various ways the Spirit suggests to us. We come before him bearing with us the daily pressures of our anxiety for those to whom he sends us. Our life in all its dimensions is a prayer that, in us and through us, God’s Kingdom come.”
