THE BACKGROUND OF OUR LADY OF CHINA PASTORAL MISSION

Our Lady of China Pastoral Mission was established by the Archdiocese of Washington and Father Louis Tou was appointed as the mission director since 1982. The Mission is serving primarily all natives of Chinese and members of their families who are not affiliated with a territorial parish in the Washington metropolitan area. The Mission started up with a small group of prayer meeting and occasional family mass with a few enthusiastic families in the suburban area of Washington. Until 1983 the regular Chinese Sunday mass began at the Old St. Mary's chapel of Rockville since the increase of Chinese immigrants and students. In response to the growing needs of newly arrived Chinese immigrants and various Chinese ethnic groups, the Cantonese group of our pastoral mission moved to Chinatown in 1987 and added another Sunday mass in Chinese at St Mary's Church, 5th street and H street NW of Washington DC. Based on the most recent census estimates, there are about 80,000 Chinese in the Washington Area, and the number of new Chinese immigrants have been increasing substantially in the recent years. One reason for this increase is the imminent political and social changes in Hong Kong and consequent increase in immigration quotas. In addition, the immigrants from mainland China are also increasing rapidly that they include another 20,000 quotas each year and 40,000 Chinese students who are currently studying in local universities across the country.

THE RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN THE CHINATOWN GROUP

There are more than 140 family members and near 85 regular attenders at our Sunday mass. The growth is steady but it still places a great demand of service to be done. Our group currently has an eleven-member parish council which meets once a month. Several ongoing programs for parishioners are organized by laities: a prayer group of 6-10 families that meets at least once a month in Virginia; two Bible study groups of 8-12 families that meets once a month in Maryland; a youth prayer group with 7-10 members that meets once month; a RCIA program; three classes of CCD for preschoolers, young children and youths that are offered twice a month; a choir; a team of ten Eucharistic Ministers to visit the sick; homeless shelter service once a month; at least one annual retreat; a liturgy committee; a bi-weekly luncheon program; a weekly newsletter and a bi-monthly newsletter; an annual picnic. In addition, more than 10 apostolates have completed EPS program in the local diocese.

Despite these many activities, our mission still has many needs that remain unfulfilled and many suggestions that cannot be implemented, such as providing family counseling, offering leadership training, developing a Chinese resource center, caring for the needs of the aged and the sick and participating in issues of social concerns. Our mission needs a permanent base and a full-time priest who can devote himself entirely to our mission and help us to build up a strong community of Chinese Catholics and to integrate this community in a constructive way with all other group to form a true ecclesiastical communion. Our most important task will be to bring faith and hope back to the church and to seek ways to strengthen, deepen, and propagate spiritual life among our people through our reliance on the teachings of the Gospel.