Wednesday, March 4, 2009

APA VI on its 7th Phase

APA VI on its 7th Phase

    After the Archdiocesan Vision-Mission Statement was officially declared in May 2008, APA VI Process has now reached its Implementation Phase.  This phase, according to the APA VI Coordinator, Rev. Fr. Mario Combong, DCC, is a challenging phase because "we are now appropriating in every parish what has transpired during the Archdiocesan Pastoral Assembly VI."
    It must be recalled that the Archdiocesan Pastoral Assembly VI, held at the OND Convention Center, Tamontaka, Shariff Kabunsuan, last May 27 – 28, 2008, also selected Diocesan Priorities for the year 2008 – 2009 which included Faith Formation for all the faithful and Lay Leaders' Formation.  Accordingly, these diocesan priorities should be set as the primary priorities in all parishes including the different Lay Organizations, Movements and Associations (LOMAs) as these two priorities are hoped to lead all the faithful to active Basic Ecclesial Community (BEC) participation. 
    The next targets of APA VI are the parishes of the Archdiocese. This phase will be the ratification of each Parish Identity Statement and the formulation of their respective Parish Priorities that must be in consonance with the Diocesan Priorities.  Action Plans will then be created to properly implement the Vision-Mission of the Archdiocese in the parish level. 
    At present Pilot Parishes were already selected and their BECs serve as vehicles for APA VI implementation.  According to the APA VI Team, "choosing 'Pilot Parishes' is a necessary step to reach the BECs."  Organizing the BECs should be a real priority as they will be the primordial agents in concretizing the Diocesan Priorities.  To make the BEC Organizing effective, two initial seminars were already conducted by the Bukal ng Tipan Team in October 2008.  The purpose of these seminars was to equip the Organizing Teams and the Formation Teams in all BECs of the Pilot Parishes of Pigcawayan, Broce, Isulan and Esperanza with skills to effectively organize and sustain the BECs.

APA VI Team



After Flood, There's War

After Flood, There's War

The floodwaters in most parts of the Archdiocese of Cotabato have barely subsided since July this year and most families are still in the evacuation centers, yet there's another major problem looming the archdiocese – armed conflict.  Reports from the Social Action Ministries of the different parishes show that until today thousands of families are still struggling to recover from the damages brought about by the natural disaster yet another disaster threatens not only properties but also and most importantly lives of people.

Santo Niño Parish in Midsayap, North Cotabato, reported that since July farmers in the low-lying areas suffered so much in the flood.  Most of them lost their livestock and their newly planted rice fields as everything went underwater.  Rev. Fr. Hilario Asilo, OMI, parish priest of Midsayap said, it was already disheartening to see people suffer their losses in the flood and armed conflict is now added to their suffering.  "Our people already suffered so much trauma and confusion.  Now they are desperately mustering hope safeguarding their salvaged properties and their lives."  The Archdiocesan Social Action Ministry also noted "it is [indeed] demoralizing to see how the same people who struggled from the flood now fall victims to the raging war in most parts of the archdiocese." 

 "When one visits the evacuation centers, he/she will immediately see so much anguish in the faces of the victims," a diocesan Social Action volunteer said.  Misery, pain and hopelessness envelope the victims as they wrestle to survive.  Once one sees the plight of the people he/she can readily say, without a doubt there's so much to be done to respond to the needs of the people.  This is especially true up to today for skirmishes and bombardments between the military and the rebel groups still make people seek refuge in the evacuation centers.  Most of them obviously have doubts whether there's still hope that awaits them.

The archdiocese in an effort to keep the people's hope alive took action by calling on all the faithful of the archdiocese to help by donating money or goods for the immediate needs of the victims.  The Archdiocesan Social Action Ministry and the parish based Social Action Apostolates spearheaded the said endeavor.  The response of the faithful undeniably radiated God's providence as donations overwhelmed both the archdiocesan as well as the parish based Social Action centers.

The Midsayap Parish for example appealed to the different Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO's) who generously helped.  Among these NGO's were the Aboitiz Foundation, NASSA-CARITAS, Assisi Development Foundation as well as the local government of Midsayap and the provincial government of Cotabato.  Volunteers also swarmed Santo Niño parish, showing their desire to help especially in the preparation and distribution of goods to the different evacuation centers not only in Midsayap but also in the neighboring towns of Aleosan and Pikit.  They also organized feeding programs for children in the evacuation centers.  Medical Missions, in partnership with the Notre Dame of Midsayap College Nursing Students and the Barangay Health Workers, were also conducted especially in the barangays of Patindeguen, Namangkilan, Upper Labas and Sitio Tawi-tawi.

There may be a lot of dispiriting disasters that come our way in the archdiocese but the overwhelming goodness of people continues to radiate God's abiding presence and compassion.


Sr. Luchie, OND



TYPHOON HITS ARCHDIOCESE OF COTABATO

TYPHOON HITS ARCHDIOCESE OF COTABATO

Thousands of families rushed to find shelter in different evacuation
centers around the Archdiocese of Cotabato when Typhoon "Frank" hit and
devastated this part of the country last June 21, 2008. Frank's strong
winds destroyed thousands of houses and the continuous rain left a vast
area of the archdiocese submerged in floodwaters.

In Shariff Kabunsuan province alone there were more than ten thousand
families that sought refuge in crowded evacuation centers because their
houses were either toppled by strong winds or carried away by the
floodwaters that overflowed from the surrounding rivers. The strong
current and the rapid rising of water levels particularly of Simuay River
and Rio Grande de Mindanao made the residents leave their houses and
properties for fear of endangering their lives. The devastation of the
typhoon was so vast that even the low-lying barangays in Cotabato City
were not spared from the flooding.

Tacurong Vicariate also reported damages by Typhoon Frank especially rice
fields in the area. Fr. Bong Bacero, DCC, Parish Priest of Lambayong
Parish, said that more than 4,000 families from 13 barangays of his parish
were affected by the typhoon. He said Typhoon Frank hit his parish very
badly that many of his parishioners lost their crops and other properties
including their houses. "Typhoon Frank really devastated my parishioners.
It left six thousand hectares of rice fields underwater," he said.

While it is true that the damage made by Typhoon Frank to thousands of
families in the archdiocese was so great it also became an opportunity for
parishes to awaken everyone to help others who are in dire need. Calls
for donations either in cash or in kinds were done in all the parishes in
order to help the victims. Piso Serbisyo played an important role in
providing and distributing medicines, bottled drinking water, clothes and
other relief goods to those who flock the evacuation centers. Different
task forces were also organized in different parishes to help the victims
in their needs and to help hasten the rehabilitation of the flooded areas.

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