The Brotherhood of Christian Businessmen and Professionals (BCBP) recently held its first Breakfast in Agana, Guam.
Here is an account of this very important milestone in BCBP as written in the Umatuna Si Yu’os, the Roman Catholic newspaper of the Archdiocese of Agana.
By Anne Marie Rodriguez
Umatuna Si Yu’os
The Inaugural Breakfast of the Brotherhood of Christian Businessmen and Professionals (BCBP) was held on Oct. 28, 2017 at the Pacific Bay Hotel in Tamuning. Joined with the local BCBP core members, husband and wife architect Oscar Coloma and Dr. Cyd Coloma, attendees included 35 businessmen and professionals and 15 BCBP officers and members with their families from the BCBP Philippines and USA.
The meeting began with an opening prayer and song, followed by a video about the history of the BCBP. As part of the main program, Chairmen of the Board for BCBP USA since 2003, Edito and Tata dela Cema provided a sharing about how their Christian faith and love for Christ helped them throughout their life journeys. Both have been with the brotherhood since 1991.
The BCBP, founded in 1980, is a Christian organization geared toward evangelizing men and women in business leadership roles with the mission of “bringing Christ to the marketplace and into professions,” thus creating about a transformation of people in the business world while keeping with the values of the Gospel.
In July of that year, 24 men gathered for a “Men’s Breakfast” at the Makati Sports Club in the Philippines which would later be known as the first Brotherhood of Christian Businessmen and Professionals meeting. According to the “BCBP Kapatiran” website, the brotherhood traces its beginnings to the “Ang Ligaya ng Panginoon” Community as well as the community movement and Charismatic Renewal.
From then on, the movement flourished, expanding across various locations throughout the region of Luzon and eventually, the Mindanao region as well.
By 2014, the BCBP had 79 full chapters, 45 outreaches. The brotherhood had also found its way to other countries such as the US, Canada, and Singapore.
According to Dr. Coloma, to join the brotherhood, businessmen and professionals practicing in the field of business are invited to the Breakfast held by the organization. College graduates who are unemployed or are currently seeking for employment opportunities can also be invited. This encourages interaction with businessmen and professionals who can share their expertise in the business world.
A Breakfast involves fellowship between businessmen and professionals where members can share the goodness of the Lord in their lives and how He transformed their lives to have a personal relationship with Him, their families, their church and community.
A Breakfast was scheduled this past March 3, 2018 at the Angus Steak and Grille in Harmon, Dededo.
To become an official member of the BCBP, one is required to attend a Christan Life Program (CLP) as well as formation retreats held by the community. The brotherhood plans to hold a CLP on April 7 and 8, 2018.
Dr. Cyd Coloma, registrar and curriculum director at the Academy of Our Lady of Guam, and her husband, Oscar Coloma, who is an architect on island, are the core of the mission team of the BCBP on Guam.
Cyd became a member of the BCBP Las Piñas Chapter in the Philippines in 2003. Cyd was successfully able to encourage her husband to join the BCBP in 2005 before she and her three children came to live with her husband on Guam in 2008.
“This organization taught us how to put Christ at the center of our relationship, in our family and in our professions,” said Cyd. “We developed our prayer time, attend Mass as a family and give thanks to the Lord for all the blessings we [receive] every day.
“We always have an open communication with each other. We learn to be humble, honest and understand each other’s shortcomings.”
The BCBP advocacy of “BE HONEST—Even if others are not, even if others will not, even if others cannot” is what Cyd calls her “family’s mantra.”
“To be honest is hard, but we have to!” Cyd encourages. “We learn to trust all our worries and anxieties to God Almighty.
The Coloma family also extends their gratitude to the BCBP brothers and sisters who provided them with “an enormous amount of warmth [and] support.”
“In BCBP, you will become a warrior—a warrior not equipped with big guns but equipped with trust, faith and confidence,” said Cyd. “Glory and praise to God!”
For more information about the BCBP and their upcoming events, please contact Dr. Cyd Coloma at 486-7881 or Oscar Coloma at 727-1764.
