The Maryknoll Community (Fathers, Brothers, and Sisters) extends heartfelt greetings and congratulations to the SEDOS community on the sixtieth anniversary of its foundation. These felicitations, expressed by Father Jim Kroeger, MM, are extended to all the SEDOS associates, whether in Rome or around the world. SEDOS has done a remarkable job of promoting mission renewal and engagement in the Vatican II era. Congratulations!
Maryknoll has tried to be involved and make a contribution over the six decades of the existence of SEDOS. Numerous examples could be cited. In this short message, I choose to focus on the Maryknoll-Orbis Books-SEDOS fruitful relationship. Specifically, I will cite three pivotal publications that continue to contribute to mission animation today.
Father Joseph R. Lang, MM, along with Sister Mary Mott, FMM, was the co-organizer of the 1981 SEDOS Research Seminar. Together they edited Mission in Dialogue, published by Orbis Books at Maryknoll, New York, in 1982.
Trends in Mission: Toward the Third Millennium was co-edited by Father William Jenkinson, CSSp (SEDOS Director) and Sister Helene O’Sullivan, MM (Associate SEDOS Director). This volume was published by Orbis Books in 1991; it was reviewed in Missiology in 1992 (20:4), pages 527-528.
A third pivotal book in the SEDOS-Orbis collaboration is New Trends in Mission: The Emerging Future; it was edited by SEDOS Director Peter Baekelmans, CICM and Sister Marie Hélène Robert, OLA. It appeared from Orbis Books in 2022; an extensive review was published in the SEDOS Bulletin in 2023 (55:3-4), pages 37-41.
Taken together, these three books form an “encyclopedia of mission,” reaching a total of over 1,500 pages. They stand as a testimony to the “mission impact” of SEDOS in the six decades of its existence. Although many more items could be mentioned, particularly the annual SEDOS seminars, these items testify to the precious work that SEDOS continues to accomplish. Heartfelt congratulations to all in SEDOS on its sixtieth anniversary! Keep up the very fine work! Together we are serving God’s mission.
