Mission ‘Ad Gentes’ Conference of the Hospitaller Order of St. John of God, Accra, Ghana,

11-16 May 2003

Concluding Statement

Preamble
, Sisters and Co-workers present at the Mission ‘Ad Gentes’ Conference of the Hospitaller Order of St. John of God held at the Presbyterian Women’s Centre at Abokobi, Accra, Ghana, from 12 to 16 May 2003, unite in thanking and praising our Triune God – Creator, Spirit and Word – for the constant inspiration and help that God has given to the followers of St. John of God in their efforts to support and advance the evangelisation of peoples by bringing John-o
We, the 85 Brothers f-God hospitality into the life and cultures of many peoples.

We recognise also with gratitude the presence, example and support of St. John of God throughout history in our missionary endeavours. Our Father and Founder “was not a missionary in the commonly accepted sense of the word … (but) he did, in fact, carry out a true and fruitful missionary apostolate especially in the streets of Granada. We rejoice that “the missionary spirit of St. John of God passed to his first disciples and to all the Hospitaller Order, growing from his bountiful seed to spread rapidly also to mission lands.”

We acknowledge with admiration and gratitude the missionary Brothers who ‘went out to peoples’ in almost every generation for their generosity, sacrifices, and good example in living the true John-of-God style of life and serving others in their most urgent needs.

At the same time we pay a tribute of to the first indigenous Brothers and the Co-workers who joined the missionary Brothers. They, by means of many sacrifices and some sufferings caused by the first blending of the two different cultures, began the process of inculturating hospitality in their respective countries.

In that tradition, today many Brothers and Co-workers carry on the evangelising work of St. John of God in particularly challenging and difficult circumstances throughout the world. We acknowledge their faithfulness to their vocation of service and unite ourselves to them in prayer that their efforts will always proclaim the presence of the merciful God who is in our midst.

A constant factor in the life of the Order is the presence and action of benefactors – individuals, organisations and funding bodies – who support the work of St. John of God. We acknowledge with gratitude this assistance and we commit ourselves to careful and responsible use of the resources that our benefactors commit to our stewardship.

Conclusions

In the light of the interventions made at the meeting and the group discussions, we take from this meeting, and convey to our brothers and sisters in Hospitality throughout the world:

1. A greater awareness that God – Creator, Spirit and Word – has been active in our world and the lives of all its peoples from the beginning of time, and has not waited for our arrival amongst those peoples to be known and loved by them in a unique way.
2. A stronger understanding that the primary task of the Order is the evangelisation of the poor, sick and needy through the expression of holistic hospitality.
3. A greater sensitivity to being evangelised ourselves by our interaction with those whom we are privileged to serve in their various needs.
4. An increase in our understanding that the charism of Hospitality is one that calls for expression in gestures and words that make present in our times “the compassionate and merciful Christ of the gospel”.
5. A clearer realisation that every Brother and Co-worker who wishes his or her life and work to proclaim and advance the Reign of God, is a true missionary who ‘goes out’ to those who are the ‘people’ of a certain place or life-situation.
6. A recognition that the Consecrated Life embraced by the Brothers and Sisters requires that they live lives that are characterised by a quality of faithfulness and relationships and integrity that witness to gospel values.
7. A deeper commitment to the ministry of healing that brings and reveals the mercy of God to those who suffer as a result of any unmet basic human need.
8. A rediscovery that the humanising intentions and actions of the Order draw it more completely into the mission of Jesus who called himself the ‘Human One’.
9. A better understanding of inculturation as a two-way process in which both parties are enriched from the traditions and values of the other.
10. A greater awareness that the preferential option for the poor that is a fundamental characteristic of our Order requires us to both serve the poor in their needs and to stand in non-violent solidarity with them against any person or system that oppresses them; it also demands that we live lives of simplicity that support our declared orientation towards the poor, sick and needy.
11. A clearer recognition of the indispensable contribution that our Co-workers (benefactors, volunteers and employees) make to our mission of healing and Hospitality.
12. A greater commitment to continue and promote New Evangelisation by a New Hospitality that is characterised by “renewed zeal, with new methods and with new forms of expression”.
13. A firm resolve to take seriously, and implement, the existing programmes and policies of the Order with regard to such areas as vocations promotion, formation, formation of formators, professional formation, charismatic management and co-responsibility, preparation and integration of Co-workers in the mission, identifying and addressing the needs the new poor of the world of today.

Conclusion

We leave this gathering strengthened and made hopeful by its many signs of our Hospitable God’s parental providence towards us, the constant inspiration of the Spirit and the presence of the Word in our lives and work. We feel even greater confidence in the patronage of the Blessed Virgin Mary whom we rely upon to care for, and protect, us and her children whom we are privileged to serve.

We feel even more identified with our own Father, St. John of God, and even more strongly invited by our Hospitaller saints and blessed to faithfulness to Hospitality.

We thank all those who contributed in any way to the planning, organisation and undoubted success of this meeting.