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Lay Mission-Helpers Association and Mission Doctors Association Receive Prestigious, National Award for International Mission Work

Organizations Help Hundreds of Catholic Lay Missionaries, Doctors Serve Poorest Worldwide

Los Angeles, CA (October 29, 2012) - Lay Mission-Helpers Association (LMH) and Mission Doctors Association (MDA) received the prestigious Mission Award from the United States Catholic Mission Association (USCMA) this past Friday. The Los Angeles-based organizations were selected for the honor in recognition of their more than half-century of placing lay missionaries and medical professionals in volunteer opportunities in struggling countries around the world.

“It is a true honor to receive this award from the United States Catholic Mission Association,” said Bill Metzdorf, President of the Board of Directors of LMH. “I am proud to accept this award on behalf of the many lay missionaries who have chosen to witness their faith by serving the poorest among us. This wonderful award acknowledges their deep commitment to our founder Monsignor Anthony Brouwers’ philosophy that, ’we are all God’s helpers.’”

“For more than fifty years, Mission Doctors Association has trained, sent and supported Catholic doctors who use the skills with which they have been blessed to serve people of all faiths at mission hospitals and clinics around the world,” said Tom Liautaud, President of the Board of Directors of MDA. “We thank USCMA for this tremendous honor and take this occasion to recommit ourselves to bringing health and hope to a world in need.”

LMH and its sister organization MDA were founded by Monsignor Anthony Brouwers in 1955 and 1959, respectively. Working with church leaders in Africa, Asia and Latin America who have requested assistance, LMH and MDA have sent hundreds of lay missionaries and doctors to provide urgently needed medical, educational, technical and administrative support. They are the oldest organizations of their kind in the United States, founded years before the Peace Corps and Doctors Without Borders, to which they have been compared.

Since 1983, the Mission Award has been given annually by USCMA to organizations and individuals that have demonstrated extraordinary commitment to the ideals of international mission work. This is the first time either organization has received the honor. The award was presented during USCMA’s annual conference, held this year in Los Angeles.

“We are excited to honor Lay Mission-Helpers Association and Mission Doctors Association for their exemplary work in promoting the values of mission service and global solidarity,” said Teresita Gonzalez, USCMA President. “Within the United States and across the world, these two organizations have a rich history of embodying the mission spirit and helping hundreds of Catholics to follow their baptismal calling. Their commitment to the global mission of Jesus Christ makes them deeply deserving of this year’s Mission Award.”

Photos of the event and of LMH’s and MDA’s international work, as well as individual lay missionaries’ stories, are available upon request.

To learn more about LMH, please visit: http://www.laymissionhelpers.org/. To learn more about MDA, please visit: http://missiondoctors.org/.

To view a video on both organizations that was played during the award ceremony, please visit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a3J3CFRRYKM&feature=youtu.be.

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About Lay-Mission Helpers Association
Lay Mission-Helpers Association (LMH) places Catholic individuals, couples and families in volunteer opportunities in countries around the world. As the oldest organization of its kind in the United States, LMH provides urgently needed educational, healthcare, technical and administrative support to struggling communities. For more than half a century, they have been guided by the philosophy that each of us is capable of service because “we are all God’s helpers.” Since its founding in 1955 by Monsignor Anthony Brouwers, LMH has placed more than 700 lay missionaries in 36 countries.

About Mission Doctors Association
Since 1959, Mission Doctors Association has trained, sent and supported Catholic doctors and their families who come from across the United States to serve people of all faiths in some of the most underserved areas of the world. This mission of healing provides direct patient care and training for local professionals striving toward the goal of sustainable health care.

About the United States Catholic Mission Association
The United States Catholic Mission Association unites and supports people committed to the cross-cultural and global mission of Jesus Christ in service to the Church and the world. It is an association open to mission sending congregations and societies, diocesan mission offices, individual missioners, and others interested in cross-cultural and global solidarity.

Contact

Cerrell Associates
http://www.missiondoctors.org/  CA, 90004 US
Jamarah Harris - Senior Account Executive,  323-466-3445

Keywords

lay, laity, mission, missionary, africa, asia, los angeles, poor, aid, doctor, medical

Category

Lay Orders & Ministries