ASIA/CHINA - Responding to Pope's appeal for evangelization, parish in Diocese of Tian Jin launches "Mission 1 +1" (everyone brings a non-Christian to Church)

Tian Jin (Agenzia Fides) - The Decree Ad Gentes of Vatican II, the message of Pope Benedict XVI on evangelization, and the method of evangelization are the main themes that the pastor of the parish of Zhong Xin Qiao, in the Diocese of Tian Jin, is explaining to his parishioners every Sunday, to raise awareness on the urgency of evangelization, responding to the Pope's appeal. According to information received by Fides, since the missionary month of October, this parish has started a campaign entitled "Mission 1 +1". All parishioners have been invited to participate actively in the mission with this concrete initiative: bring a non-Christian to Church. To support this effort, every Sunday the parish offers an exchange of experiences based on the cited documents. This meeting before Sunday Mass is also a time for an update on the situation, to improve their missionary work.
The parish of Zhong Xin Qiao has more than 1,000 faithful and is very active in evangelization and pastoral care through various initiatives, such as social work, promoting marriage (not only of Catholics), support for family life, and in the integral growth of youth and children. The parish has a Mass for Children and a Mass for Families. During the summer camps, pastoral workers and catechists took the children to the local Rest Home and Orphanage, to give them a sense of Christian charity from an early age. (NZ) (Agenzia Fides 14/11/2009)