By Bro. Jun Gacias, National Service Coordinator for Family Life Directorate
The first ever BCBP Family Congress, a gathering of BCBP family of families was held virtually on October 30, 2021.
With its theme “Find Christ, Bring Christ, Be Christ at home”, the Family Congress was designed to encourage our BCBP members and their families to grow in Christ-like virtues towards a more harmonious and joyful family life.
The event was attended by some 1,340 families and was viewed by 2,500 members on Youtube.
Danny and Lala Dy served as Lead Couple for the 2021 BCBP Family Congress.
The Congress kicked off with a plenary talk by renowned psychologist Lissy Ann Puno who talked about “Connected Families Stay Strong”.
Mr. Noel Cabangon, our guest performer capped the plenary talk rendering a song with his very own composition “Kaibigan”. Rene and Marides Almendras and family emceed the event.
This was followed by simultaneous breakout sessions where parents listened to our own Annie Salvador from BCBP Baguio who talked about Doing the ECG (Examining Engagements, Curating Change and Growing in Gratitude).
Young adults had their own breakout session attended by some 300 college and working children of BCBP members. They listened to 3 mini life sharings from Daphne Alina, Jana Pages and JR dela Rita and closed their breakout with their own worship. This breakout was mentored by Ariel and Arlene Uy.
More than 200 teens joined their own activity-focused breakout session which was guided by Ian and Chris Fuentes.
The 9-week Family Consecration was launched during the event were weekly guides are provided for families in preparation for Christmas. This will culminate during the 2021 BCBP Christmas Eve mass on Dec 24. The guides can be accessed through this link: https://sites.google.com/bcbp.global/familylife/family-consecration?authuser=0
The BCBP Family Life Portal was also launched where short 20-30 minute talks by various BCBP and external speakers can be viewed. These relevant topics include Caring for the family’s mental health during the Pandemic, Nurturing Faith in the Family, Enhancing Communication in Marriage, Caring for the Environment, Use of Social Media for families and Building One’s Character (designed for teens / young adults).
These talks can be accessed through this link: https://sites.google.com/bcbp.global/familylife/home?authuser=0
The event was capped with an anticipated mass celebrated by Archbishop Gilbert Garcera, the former Chairman of the Episcopal Commission on Family and Life. The liturgy was managed by Hansel and Nilda Magno.
Feedback of some of the attendees have been highly encouraging with others wishing for the congress to continue on a regular basis. The Congress recording is still available for viewing on BCBPTV on Youtube.
