The group of Greece Mission, developed by the Fraternidade – International Humanitarian Federation, has begun to strengthen bonds in that European country with the Orthodox church Saints Theodhori, from Anavissos, with which they have been collaborating for some time. The four missionaries assigned to Greece were invited to collaborate in the fixing of a celebration lunch that the church offered to all those assisted by it and its sponsors. From this a greater integration was generated.
The meeting, called “Love Lunch”, took place on Saturday, January 14, and had the participation of about 200 people. This celebration lunch is offered twice a year, at the beginning of the cycle and at Easter, to integrate donators and assisted in a common space. This was explained by Rosineide Freitas, one of the missionaries of the Fraternidade present in the meeting.
After the blessing of the table by the host priest Pavlos Pateras, another missionary of the Fraternidade, Imer, climbed the stage to pronounce a brief discourse in Greek, introducing the group of Greece Mission. Then the four missionaries helped serve the tables. A musical group accompanied the meeting with Christian songs.
The organization of the event began on the previous day, with the cleaning and the harmonization of the hall, assembly of the tables with the plates, glasses and cutlery, and the preparation of a traditional Greek pie. All the tasks had the collaboration of the missionaries of Greece Mission.
At the end of the meeting, the bond between the missionary basis and the Orthodox church had become stronger. “We showed the work of humanitarian help that we conduct along with the Missionaries of Charity and with Caritas Hellas. From this, Sofia, the wife of the priest (the Orthodox Church admits the ordination of married men), in charge of the place, understood and put at our disposal many clothes, medicines and glasses for donation. She chose the most select objects so that we might take them to the refugees and to the Greek that live abandoned on the streets”, reported Rosineide.
On Sunday morning, the group participated in the Orthodox cult – a ceremony that lasts three hours – and in the afternoon took a two-hour walk in natural environments close to the permanent basis, in Palaia Focaia. During the trajectory, they conducted the Way of the Cross and the Chaplet of the Divine Mercy.
The donations obtained on Saturday – coats, caps, gloves, footwear and glasses – were delivered to the Missionaries of Charity yesterday, Tuesday, Jan 17.
