At a two-hour liturgy last Sunday morning in a South Los Angeles church with a predominately African American and Latino congregation, two couples --- one with an eight-month-old baby, the other recent grandparents --- were commissioned as Lay Mission-Helpers and Mission Doctors to proclaim the "Good News" by their words, work and witness in Africa.

And just as Joseph was told by an angel to take his wife and newborn child to Africa (Egypt), "we're sending our family with mother and child to Africa, and we're sending these grandparents also to Africa," Father Melvin James, a Divine Word Missionary himself and pastor of St. John the Evangelist Church, pointed out. "Do not be afraid. The angel said the child was to be called Emanuel, a name that means that 'God is with us'--- whether it's here in the parish of St. John's, or with missionaries and the people they have touched and the people who have touched them.

"These new missionaries go forth in God's name."

Janice England, executive director of the Lay Mission-Helpers Association, presented mission rings, inscribed with "For We Are God's Helper," to Josh and Rachel Knight of Denver, who will serve in Cameroon. Elise Frederick, executive director of the Mission Doctors Association, did likewise to Bill and Kate Walsh of Chicago who will work in Uganda.

The candidates, after having undergone an extensive four-month, live-in formation program at St. John's former convent, declared, "We are ready and willing" to fulfill their three-year missionary assignments. After loud applause, the new lay missionaries --- who will follow in the sacred footstep of some 700 veteran lay missionaries who have served not only in Africa, but also South America, Asia, the Pacific Islands and even the United States --- formed a line on the altar where they were congratulated with hearty hugs and handshakes by more than 100 members of the congregation.

Msgr. Brouwers' legacy

Despite opposition from local and national church leaders, Msgr. Anthony Brouwers, a priest from Lincoln Heights, founded the Lay Mission-Helpers in 1955 and the Mission Doctors four years later because he was convinced no religious missionary could offer the powerful day-to-day example of ordinary Catholics living out their faith.

"[Lay Missionaries] are not just Catholics working in mission lands," he stressed before he died in 1964. "They are first of all witnesses for Christ, with thousands of critical eyes watching their every action, appraising their every word, and seeing that lay men and women can and do live the same high ideals as their clerical and religious associates."

Bill Walsh, a 61-year-old retired surgeon, and Kate, 60, a nurse, believed the classes in spirituality, self-examination workshops and personality tests had prepared them to be Catholic Christian witnesses.

"It was very comprehensive," Kate told The Tidings. "I think they have prepared us as well as they can, because I don't think anybody can be truly prepared until you're over there. But I'm very happy with the training. And that's what I was worried about --- that I needed a lot of help."

Her husband nodded.

"No question about it," said Bill. "I didn't realize there was going to be so much emphasis on the spirituality. I didn't realize 'cause I never looked on what we were doing in the medical field as being evangelizing. So I thought, 'Why do we need all of this stuff anyway?' But it isn't for us to be evangelizing others. It's for own self, our needs."

Both found living in community "interesting," although Kate said it was not all that different from living with their seven kids when they were growing up. And, after they got used to it, both enjoyed having the time to concentrate full-time on their relationship with their Creator.

The Walshes are going to the Kabale Diocese in Uganda, which is close to the African nation's famed mountain gorilla preserve. They will work at a 165-bed hospital --- Kate in the pediatrics ward, Bill as the hospital's first surgeon. He expects to be doing a lot of major and minor emergency operations as well as hernia repairs and setting fractures at the hospital and its clinic.

"We're just excited about going now," Bill said. "We're glad the program is over. It was a good program, but now it's time to go."

'Awesome' formation

The Knight family is headed to Kumbo in Cameroon. Josh, 30, a chemical and environmental engineer, will work on a three-year project to provide water to 24 villages. Rachel, 29, will teach English at St. Augustine High School. She described the training as "awesome." She also was surprised by the intense spiritual aspect of the formation program.

"We did the spiritual exercises of St. Ignatius, and I hadn't excepted to do so much praying and getting to know God personally," she said. "That's been very important. It's taught me how to pray in a way, hopefully, I'll always be better about praying now. It gives you more tools on how to talk to God."

Josh agreed. He thought the moral theology class was practical and understandable, and could be applied to his life right now. He also liked the cultural workshops, which he believed will help them appreciate a different society instead of winding up "bashing" their mission country.

Both also feel they are ready to be witnesses to their faith and to Jesus Christ.

"We've gotten to know God better in a way that I can trust God better now --- especially with my baby," Rachel said. "At first I thought, 'What if she gets malaria or something?' And then, after a lot of prayer, it was like, 'Well, God really loves her even more than I'm capable of loving her. And clearly this is God's will that we go."