Mission Cooperation Plan
Each summer the Mission Office of the Archdiocese of Chicago facilitates the Mission Cooperation Plan, an opportunity for more than 100 international missionary dioceses, congregations, and organizations to share their stories and invite support from our faith communities. This year, although travel is very difficult or impossible for appeal speakers, the needs are greater than ever for communities of faith in under-resourced areas throughout our world. Please consider how your parish or church can participate in the 2021 Mission Cooperation Plan.
The 2021 Mission Cooperation Plan collection will take place virtually:
- If your parish or church can participate, the official weekend to observe the Mission Cooperation Plan is August 7-8, 2021.
- The Mission Office will not assign each parish a mission cause, instead the parish staff selects and shares the most appropriate materials to promote the mission appeal weekend.
- Parish staff are encouraged to look through the electronic mission appeal materials provided below. They are available in a variety of formats:
- Video Appeal: Share a video with the community during or at the end of the weekend liturgy. It may be shared on the website or through social media as well.
- Appeal Text: Read this message that highlights various mission causes during the liturgy at homily or announcement time.
- Bulletin Piece: Share a brief article that highlights various mission causes. This may be posted in a bulletin, on a website or other newsletter format.
- Announcement: Remind the community about the appeal the week before, on the weekend of August 7-8 and the week afterward as well.
- Social Media Posts: Share beautiful and inspiring images of mission at work around the world along with brief captions about the mission cause. #MissionCoop2021
- Homily Help: Preachers can prepare their homily using this Scripture reflection for Sunday, August 8, 2021, the Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B).
- Mission Prayers: Include missionary prayers of intercession on August 7-8 and share other prayer ideas with your parish community.
- Poster: Use the poster image for the 2021 Mission Cooperation Plan collection in your bulletin or website.
Procedure for the Appeal
Before the weekend of August 7-8, parish leaders are encouraged to announce the upcoming appeal at Mass, in the bulletin, on the website or social media using the materials offered here.
On the weekend of the collection a video may be played or the written appeal may be read during the liturgy. The people present during Mass may donate the usual way through the parish. Collection envelopes will be mailed to the parishes in July (contact the Mission Office if you do not receive the envelopes by July 19). If anyone wishes to donate online using a credit card, they may donate through the parish’s online donation system or go to WeAreMissionary.org/give. The parish will be given credit if the donor identifies their affiliation.
Parishes are asked to remit the collected funds following the usual process: send a parish check for the collected funds to the Mission Office. Checks should be made out to “Mission Office” or “Society for the Propagation of the Faith” with “MCP 2021” in the memo line. If possible, please use the yellow remittance card sent to churches in early July. Mail checks to Mission Office Attn: Mission Cooperation Plan 3525 S. Lake Park Ave. Chicago, IL 60653. Please note that all 2021 participating mission causes will receive an equal percentage of the total amount collected from all parishes.
Virtual Mission Appeal Materials
Review and select from the appeal materials listed below offered in the most common languages of our archdiocesan communities.
- Video Appeal (English | Spanish | Polish)
- Appeal Text (English | Spanish | Polish)
- Bulletin Piece (English | Spanish | Polish)
- Announcement (English | Spanish | Polish)
- Social Media Posts (English | Spanish | Polish)
- Homily Help (English | Spanish | Polish)
- Mission Prayers
- Poster (English/Spanish | English/Polish)
