Fr. Peter Woodruff Shares Stories of Men and Women in Mission Work

The Missionary Society of St. Columban commonly known as the "Columban Fathers" is a missionary Catholic society of apostolic life founded in Ireland in 1916 and approved by the Vatican in 1918. Initially, it was known as the Maynooth Mission to China. Members may be priests, seminarians or lay workers. Since 1918, it has been sharing the Gospel in solidarity with the poor throughout the world. Today, Columban missionaries including priests, Sisters and lay missionaries work in fifteen countries around the globe in conjunction with lay men and women within the local communities.

"Columbans on Mission" by Columban Fr. Peter Woodruff presents stories he collected about men and women engaged in mission work. As he spent several years travelling around the Columban world, he provides a rare look at a moment in time in the continuing mission work and the ongoing Columban story. This book considers Christian mission as a participation in the life and mission of God. Each story by Columban priests Sisters, lay missionaries, lay men and women is unique and different, but all of them share in furthering the work of mission today. It contains material from all countries where Columban missionaries live and work including the US/Mexico border, Fiji, Taiwan, Hong Kong, China, Peru, Australia, Ireland, the Philippines, Pakistan, Myanmar and South Korea. To help readers reflect upon and talk about Christian mission under six headings that have been proposed by Divine Word missionaries and missiologists Stephen Bevan and Roger Schroeder. They are deeds and words, liturgy and prayer, commitment to justice, peace and integrity of creation, the practice of interreligious dialogue, efforts of inculturation and the ministry of reconciliation.

Explore a first-hand account of what it means to be a missionary in today's ever changing world. The stories gathered in "Columbans on Mission" will help readers recall and marvel at God's love for mankind. As they ponder the experiences of a few men and women of God, readers will be able to reflect on and give thanks for their own experiences of mission.

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About the Author
Peter Woodruff, Australian by birth, is a member of the Missionary Society of St. Columban and was ordained in 1967. He worked as a missionary priest in parishes located on the northern periphery of Lima, Peru, where much of his prior vision of life was challenged and reshaped by a radically different social reality where the quest for social change and an emerging liberation theology provoked a lengthy and rather chaotic review of many aspects of life and Christian faith. Since leaving Peru in 2009, Peter has travelled to countries where Columban missionaries work, interviewing priests, Sisters, lay missionaries and those with whom they work. He has written and ghost written many stories that serve as raw material for the three English language mission magazines of the Columbans in Australia and New, U.S., Ireland and Britain. Peter currently lives in Australia.

Columbans on Mission * by Peter Woodruff
Publication Date: December 13, 2013
Trade Paperback; $19.99; 368 pages; 978-1-4931-4750-2
Trade Hardback; $29.99; 368 pages; 978-1-4931-4751-9
e-book; $3.99; 978-1-4931-4752-6

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