OUT OF AFRICA AND BACK TO CEBU, PHILIPPINES

OUT OF AFRICA AND BACK TO CEBU, PHILIPPINES

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by Estrella C. del Mar, Cebu Lay Formation Center, Talamban, Cebu City

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Star del Mar

I was privileged to be present in the 7^th Plenary Assembly of the Catholic Biblical Federation (CBF), a world-wide association of Catholic organizations committed to the ministry of the Word of God. At present, the CBF membership includes 95 full members (from Bishops Conferences) and 233 associate members coming from a total of 133 countries. The Cebu Lay Formation Center is an associate member of the CBF since 1987.

The CBF-PA was held at the Tanzania Episcopal Conference at Kurasini, Dar es Salaam, where most of us stayed from June 23-July 7, 2008. It was attended by 230 delegates and observers from the member organizations of CBF. 25 Bishops, 112 and more priests, 20 Sisters, Religious Brothers and lay people comprise the delegates and observers of the PA. Notably, there are more participants from Africa this time.

The theme was “Word of God – Source of Reconciliation, Justice and Peace”. The opening speech of Hon. Pius Msekwa is worthwhile reading that puts the Plenary theme in its context. He speaks more of Africa but it is very well applicable to our country.

The process of “See-Judge-Act” was followed in the program of the Assembly. More time was given to workshop groups. In the “See” day, we were in a mixed group of different countries in our sub-region and later with other regions, to see our social situations. We realize that we have more or less the same situation at varying degrees. Violence, criminality, poverty, migration, drug addiction, corruption, food crisis, increased oil prices, unemployment and natural calamities were noted as common to most of us. I shared in our mixed group of different countries my experience with the Cebu C-CIMPEL team headed by Mrs. Marilu Chiongbian in our Barangay Development Projects. This was very well appreciated by the group and wished they could do a similar project in their own places.

One of the Plenary Sessions

We took inspiration from Isaiah 55 which we used in our daily morning Lectio Divina in mixed groups. I was facilitating one group. But on the last 3days, after the exposure to the African context, we used the text on Matthew 5:1-12. The beatitudes gave new light after the community exposures around Dar es Salaam.

We signed up our names on the paper with the name of the parish. Since we do not know the parishes, we just wrote our names on one of the papers. We were then fetched by the parish priest and went to the parish in small groups. The parish I signed in was Keko Parish. It’s a very poor parish. We were ushered to a small chapel where it was full of people sitting on benches.

There were people outside the chapel too – at the back and at the sides. The choir was lively. The Africans dance as they sing even if they are just sitting. They sway their heads, hands and bodies. The people also sing and dance along. When they sing and dance, it is as if they have no problems in this world. It’s just a joy to be alive, to worship and to be together.

Second Collection

There were two collections made because they have a project – for one, they need to build a bigger church which was already started. They have to get more funds to continue the construction. But the community is very poor. Nevertheless, everyone gave something during the offertory. They lined up in single file to give their offering or donation while the choir sang and danced their lively songs.

CONSTRUCTION OF NEW PARISH CHURCH OF KEKO

After the mass, the priest showed us the initial stage of the church construction. It’s still a long way to go and much money needed to spend for it waiting for generous donors. Our attention was caught by a group of young people who were sitting beside a fence to get some shade and praying together. I approached them and learned that they were members of the Legion of Mary and they were having their weekly prayer and meeting. And they were all young people!

10TH ANNIVERSARY - LUNCH TREAT - KEKO PARISH

Lunch was very special since it was the 10^th sacerdotal anniversary of the two priests there: Fr. Gaspard and his assistant priest.

After lunch, by two’s, we went to their Small Christian Communities. My partner was a Maryknoll Sister, Sr. Janet working in Tanzania and knew Swahili. We went to the Small Christian Community of Children. They were a good number of children meeting every Sunday afternoon in the alley between houses, reading the Bible and sharing their thoughts about the text. Their Bible is very well used because the cover and some pages were noticeably torn and missing. And I was impressed by the sharing of the kids. They were simply deep and profound for their age. I was lucky to have a partner who could translate to me what they were saying. How I wish to

THE LEGION OF MARY

see such groups of small children and youngsters in our own parishes back home, sharing God’s Word and praying together like them!

Our kids here are more seen in front of the TV screens or video games or internet games when they are not in school. When these kids grow up, how would they lead our families, communities and society?

We left the children community and walked farther to go to the Adult Small Christian Community. The ground we walked was sandy. I felt like walking along the beach; nothing will grow in such a soil. And yes, water is scarce. There was one artesian well where the people get their water in pails. They pay

THE CHILDREN’S BIBLE SHARING GROUP

for each bucket of water. I forgot to ask how much. The houses were lined up one after the other.

Then we reached an alley where the adult Christian Community was meeting for their Scripture sharing and community meeting. They started with asking each member how they are. Then a short review of last week’s meeting, a report of some sick people visited, visit to some households who needed help and some news shared. Then there was a reading of the gospel text; a short reflection then free sharing by whoever wanted to share. The sharing was deep and coming from the heart. It was amazing how they could relate the gospel text to their lives. I felt the Word of God alive in them. One was so bold to confess openly the

A CHILD READING THE BIBLE

wrong she did and asked forgiveness from God and the understanding of her neighbors. I was happy to be able to share with them too since Sr. translated what I said to them in Swahili.

THE ADULT BIBLE SHARING GROUP

After the sharing and prayer, they had a short business meeting announcing that their community is in charge of the following week. They will clean the chapel. The leader requested every member to make an offering and asked them what they will bring for the Sunday mass. The leader suggested that they bring things that are useful for the priests and the church like toothpaste, soap, fruits, vegetables and whatever they can share from their kitchen. If they can still save some amount for the donation of the church then it is best to add some cash amount too. Then there was a collection for the fund of their small Christian community.

At the end of the meeting, each one wanted to have a photo with us. They offered us some soda and gave me and Sr. Janet each a cloth typical of Africa. I did not expect that. I was surprised and grateful for their generosity.

GIFTS OF THOSE WHO HAVE LESS

We went back to the parish to meet our companions and share our experiences in the separate communities we visited. My companions who went to other small communities had the same experiences that we had. They were given gifts too. And we were more surprised when we saw several plastic bags on the table in the parish. There were several bags of oranges, rice, papaya, bananas and yes, live chicken! The people brought them there for us to take home. Mama Mia! In their poverty, they would like to give us even more. We could not take it. We left them in the parish and just took a bag of oranges that we shared among ourselves. I was so touched by their generosity!

In my country, it is the same in the rural areas; the poor people are so hospitable and they would like to give what little they have. We also see the basic ecclesial communities more alive in the rural areas than in the urban centers. How I wish to see our Christian communities to be like that of Keko parish.

We went back to TEC inspired by the living faith of the Christian communities we visited. We compared notes with the other groups who went to other parishes. They had nice experiences too but our parish, the poorest of them all, was the most generous and hospitable!

FRIENDLY NEIGHBORHOOD

“Blessed are the poor for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.” Is it heaven for them? I do not know. They are poor. They have little water and perhaps little food too. But they have a loving family, a friendly neighborhood, a Christian community, a God who loves them and gives them the gift of joy and peace.

I noticed that the price of gasoline in Tanzania is very high compared to the Philippine price. Their diesel cost P81.00/liter with our money. Their minimum transport fare (short distance) is P12.50. The wage of an ordinary worker is only P100/day. They are eating ‘ugali’ which is ‘binlod nga mais’ for us in Cebu. They usually eat beans with tomatoes with the ugali. They eat almost the same food every meal every day and perhaps chicken occasionally. But I did not see any group demonstrating on the streets protesting for the high prices of gasoline, transportation or food. I did see many people walking on the streets with the women carrying the sacks or bags on their heads. I did not also notice that their government is giving food and electric bill subsidy to the poor. People just continue living day by day as best they could with what they have.

TANZANIAN TAPIS

It is also interesting to note that the women have no specific dress code or fashion. They dress in different clothing – long, short, skirt, pants, shirts, “tapis” or even gowns!

I asked some of my co-delegates how the prices of gasoline and food are in their countries. It is the same. Prices are high for gasoline and food. Well, it’s good if we still have food even if we have to pay more than when there is none at all. But it just made me appreciate more and more the natural riches that we have in the Philippines. We can even grow vegetables in our pots and small plots at home. We are so blessed and we take them for granted. We cannot appreciate it enough because we think ours is the worst case. Given the bad reputation of corruption of our government leaders, the crisis is often blamed on them even if it has been broadcasted to be worldwide. In fairness, they are trying their best to find ways and means to buffer the ill effects of this world crisis. My question: how long will this help last? How long will this crisis last? How can each one help?

After the African exposure, we were back in our plenary hall and small group rooms to discuss and deliberate on what we can do about our respective situations. What are our priorities for 2008-2014?  What can we do about them?  (For the complete text on this, please click on the Final Statement of the Plenary Assembly posted on top.)

Elections were done and some new members were elected to the Executive Committee. They will have lots to consider and decide for the next six years. We hope and pray that it will be for the good of all the members and CBF workers.

SOUTHEAST ASIAN SUB-REGIONAL MEETING

The South East Asian Sub region has a concrete plan for January to March, 2010, i.e. to have a “Training for the Biblical Pastoral Ministers” at East Asian Pastoral Institute (EAPI), Ateneo de Manila University in Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines. We hope to get many members from our sub-region and from Asia and whoever is interested to join us. We still have to meet for the details of this short course. Fr. Jeya, the EAPI Director, promised to get funds for subsidy for those who cannot afford the full amount for tuition and board & lodging. With the help of our membership fees, we may be able to provide additional subsidy to our members who need help the most. We hope that our better-off members will give more of their membership fees.

We continue with our South East Asian Website: http://cbfsea.wordpress.com as our means of communication and exchange. Our networking is beyond communication in the written word as we had bonded together as one family, inspiring and supporting each other to propagate the ministry of the Word in our respective communities wherever we are.

We hope and pray that our Bishops and Priests will support us in the work of Evangelization thru the Word. And in these times of hardship: Reconciliation, Justice and Peace become ever more a challenge and a goal for each one of us. And we believe that the Word of God; shared, prayed and lived in communities will be a Source of Reconciliation, Justice and Peace. God’s Word is our inspiration, encouragement and hope. Truly, the harvest is plenty but the laborers are few. But the few that we have can get some more if and when we sacrifice and work hard to be fishers of men!

DELEGATES * 7TH PLENARY ASSEMBLY OF THE CATHOLIC BIBLICAL FEDERATION * TANZANIAN EPISCOPAL CENTER * KURASINI, DAR ES SALAAM , TANZANIA, AFRICA JUNE 22-JULY 3, 2008

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Star del Mar