IV. PASTORAL FRAMEWORK OF TRANSFORMING PARISH INTO BEC

BEC becomes a liberating way of life and mission in a parish when there is pastoral framework with a clear vision and pastoral thrust as direction and orientation, empowering pastoral program as way of implementation, emerging lay leadership from the grassroots, equal treatment in all the sacramental celebration, self-reliant financial system, sustaining participatory system and structure, alternative and liberating livelihood, and animating role of the parish priest with the supportive role of the assistant priest.;

1. CLEAR VISION AN MISSION: Vision of the Kingdom of God as fullness of life and mission to stand for justice that liberates oppressive system

2. PASTORAL THRUST: BEC, community of families in the PUROK, following Jesus in the liberating mission of the Kingdom,

3. EMPOWERING PASTORAL PROGRAM: Facilitating community worship and celebrations centered on the Word, experience of God’s presence, leading to commitment to mission of the Kingdom. Facilitating raising of awareness on issues, structural analysis, promotion of gospel alternative way of life. Facilitating community needs analysis, planning for action in a participatory way.

4. EMERGING PASTORAL LEADERSHIP: Emerging couple leaders from the communities with healthy dissatisfaction of the oppressive status quo, to serve as animating and facilitating participation of BEC in the liberating Kingdom-mission.

5. PARISH ANIMATORS TEAM (PAT): facilitating role in the implementation of the pastoral program

6. FINANCIAL SYSTEM: setting up self-reliant and liberating financial system family based participation supporting the pastoral program in the BEC and parish.

7. EQUAL SACRAMENTAL CELEBRATIONS: consistent equal treatment and simplicity in all the sacramental celebrations in the parish.

8. SUSTAINING PARTICIPATORY SYSTEM AND STURCTURE: participatory way of decision making processes in the BEC, clustering of Barangays for mobility, and regular assembly of leaders in the parish for continuing raising of awareness and solidarity in mission.

9. LIBERATING ALTERNATIVE LIVELIHOOD: creating alternative livelihood liberating families from oppressive system.

10. ANIMATING ROLE OF THE PARISH PRIEST: focused leadership of the parish priest, animating participation and co-responsibility in transformative mission, and firm in justice and liberation stance of the radical Gospel.

III. BEC AS WAY OF LIFE AND LIBERATING MISSION

1. Identifying the PUROK as natural habitat of BEC

The natural habitat of BEC is in the PUROK, cluster of families, not simply a group of women coming together for an activity. The PUROK is the smallest natural cluster of families, relating with one another in a personal communication, with a sense of belongingness, sharing common environment and experience of community. Respecting the natural cluster, without making any artificial grouping, is not only sociologically sound but also a deep respect to the presence and the activity of the God in the community since in the beginning. God indeed created life as community.

2. Transforming the PUROK into BEC

The PUROKs as natural clusters of families are called to become communities following Jesus in the mission of the Kingdom of God. When the PUROK, as community of families respond to the call of God, then it begins its process of becoming Basic Ecclesial Community. This process of transforming the natural cluster of families into BEC involves four movements:

• Building faith relationships among the cluster families, relating with one another in equal of dignity, brothers and sisters in the Kingdom of God

• Encountering the Word as bond of relationships and basis for action, sharing the Word of God as good news of the Kingdom

• Creating ministries of worship, formation and social services as way of Kingdom-life, and

• Setting up link with all the communities, with Eucharist as greatest bond, collaborative leadership, and collective mission action.

3. Directing BEC towards liberating Kingdom mission

The PUROK as transformed BEC has to be directed towards the liberating mission of the Kingdom. BEC as community following Jesus in Kingdom mission, has to make a radical stand for justice and liberation. BEC as way of promoting greater participation and co-responsibility in the Kingdom-mission, is empowering local communities into critical mass for social transformation. Liberating mission defines genuine BEC and differentiated from tools of oppression.

II. OUR PASTORAL MINISTRY

The Mission of proclamation of the kingdom with the option for the poor as stand for justice and liberation must then be the orientation and direction of our pastoral ministry. Its must be the focus of our pastoral thrust, pastoral program, pastoral structures, lifestyle and way of life.

Building Basic Ecclesial Communities as pastoral thrust must then be proclamation of liberating kingdom-mission. BEC is concretization of the Kingdom-mission. BEC is enhancing natural clusters of families who relate with one another in a personal way of communicating, with a sense of belongingness, sharing common environment, experience of community, into kingdom lifestyle. It is a structure to promoting greater participation and co-responsibility in kingdom mission. It is empowering local communities into critical mass for transformation.

Pastoral Program is the implementing process of the pastoral ministry. It is organized, coordinated, processual sustaining community activities of formation, organization, and mobilization facilitating transformation of total life into the way of the Kingdom. Therefore, the pastoral program with Kingdom-orientation must be liberating with option for the poor. Pastoral program to be kingdom-oriented must be:
• contextualized reality based not imposed,
• stand for justice and liberation not dole out,
• centered in the local communities (BEC) not in the religious organizations and parish commissions,
• processual not instant organizing,
• transforming consciousness not instant solutions,
• emerging facilitating and animating leadership not enslaving and grandstanding leadership,
• promoting self-reliant activities and projects not dependency
• active non violence not armed struggle
• accepting conflict as essential in mission, not compromising

Pastoral Leadership: Leadership serves to facilitate participation of the community for the Kingdom-mission. Three areas of leadership are needed in a parish, namely, BEC leadership, Parish Leadership and Ministry Leadership. As way of leadership in the family, couple leadership is best in the building of communities.
• BEC leadership serves as facilitating and animating the community in the participatory research, decision making, planning, monitoring and evaluating processes.
• The Pastoral Council of the parish or KON-PAS as assembly of BEC Leaders linking the parish into communion of communities for kingdom-mission.
• Program Coordinators Team facilitates program planning, implementation and evaluation.

With BEC as pastoral thrust in the renewal of the Church, the religious organizations and movements are enjoined to make a paradigm shift. BEC as pastoral thrust takes priority and center stage in church life and mission.

Re-directing BEC for Liberating Mission

Introduction: Re-directing BEC for Liberating Mission

Continuing our journey of renewal in the Archdiocese, the pastoral thrust of building Basic Ecclesial Communities needs re-direction in terms of liberating orientation, participatory processes, paradigm shift in consciousness, emerging empowering leadership, inculturation and transformative structures, organization and systems. The following framework developed and emerged from years of pastoral experience is offered as guide in re-directing our way of building BECs to be faithful to the demands of the radical Gospel of proclaiming the good news of the Kingdom.

I. OUR PASTORAL ORIENTATION:

We envision the transformation of the parishes into communities of disciples of Jesus following the liberating Kingdom-mission. We leave behind the image of church as highly institutionalized, clericalized, exclusively liturgical and sacramental, and associated with the rich and powerful. We are embarking a church as community, co-responsible, prophetic and with preferential option for the poor.

Proclamation of the good news of the Kingdom is the mission of the Church. The Kingdom of God as fullness of life is concretized in the total well being of people translated into jobs and work to sustain families, basic needs, basic social services, protection of human rights, participation in community decision making, access to wealth and resources, integrity of environment, justice for all, and community of nations.

The dehumanizing situation of exploitation is the context and challenge of the proclamation of the Kingdom. The present dehumanizing situation as massive poverty, political patronage and cultural corruption is product of historical process of political colonialization, economic neo-colonialization and cultural globalization.

In Ilocos Sur, five economic poverty groups as the poorest among the poor are identified as farmer-tenants, small fisher folks, upland indigenous peoples, laborers and the jobless. They should be the priority of the pastoral ministry.

As Nueva Segovia Church, we also contribute to the perpetuation of the exploitative situation of the people. Double standards of sacramental celebrations and church services. Lack of credible lifestyle and witnessing. Soliciting and accepting benefits from oppressors. Our church life has always been very cultic, neglecting our prophetic and kingly tasks.

In this dehumanizing and exploitative situation of the people, we rediscover the stand of Jesus in his proclamation of the Kingdom. The victims of exploitation are the defenseless poor. Dehumanizing poverty endangers humanity. Option for the poor is option for humanity. It is the option of Jesus. It is the Kingdom-option. It must then be the option of the followers of Jesus. It is the option of the Church. Option for the poor is justice and liberation. Is it our option? Our personal conviction?

KORAPSYON!

The accusations and counter accusations of corruption and even assassinations are not new. The Romans did it. The Roman governors had to make three fortunes by corruption in their provincial assignments. One was for lawyer to defend them in court, the other to pay for expenses they incurred, and the last fortune is to enjoy for themselves. Old story it is true, but we need to better and get something out of this quarrel. The primary duty of government is to protect citizens against oppression and provide him justice in the courts. Then provide the infrastructure to be able to live a decent life. With corruption, these will be hard to provide. Without corruption, we can fulfill these expectations and more.

MABUHAY KA PILIPINAS!

Today, Singapore is the
benchmark of education
in Asia.

While singapore is busy
making records in academic execellence..

Japan is making
breakthroughs in
information technology..

And the Philippines?

Busy setting records as the
most corrupt country in Asia
if not the second!

Mabuhay ang PILIPINAS!

TATSULOK

TATSULOK (Buklod)

Totoy bilisan mo,
bilisan mo ang takbo
Ilagan ang mga bombang
nakatutok sa ulo mo
Totoy tumalon ka, dumapa kung kailangan
At baka tamaan pa ng mga balang ligaw.

Totoy makinig ka, wag kang magpa-gabi
Baka mapagkamalan ka’t
humandusay dyan sa tabi
Totoy alam mo ba kung ano
ang puno’t dulo
Ng di matapos-tapos na kaguluhang ito.

Refrain: Hindi pula’t dilaw tunay na magkalaban
Ang kulay at tatak ay di syang dahilan
Hangga’t marami ang lugmok sa kahirapan
At ang hustisya ay para lang sa mayaman

Chorus: Habang may tatsulok at sila ang nasa tuktok
Di matatapos itong gulo.

Iligtas ang hininga ng kay
raming mga tao
At ang dating munting bukid, ngayo’y sementeryo
Totoy kumilos ka, baliktarin ang tatsulok
Tulad ng mag dukha, na ilagay mo sa tuktok.

Refrain: Hindi pula’t dilaw tunay na magkalaban
Ang kulay at tatak ay di syang dahilan
Hangga’t marami ang lugmok sa kahirapan
At ang hustisya ay para lang sa mayaman
Chorus:Habang may tatsulok at sila ang nasa tuktok
Di matatapos itong gulo.