CFC West C Magnificat Echo Weekend

This article came out today on the Ugnayan issue of the CBCP Monitor.


A month after the first Magnificat Weekend for the leaders of Couples for Christ Metro Manila was held, it was time to bring the message to the Unit Leaders, Household Leaders and senior members of CFC West C.  Led by Bro. Steve and Sis. Minnie Maningat, the sector held their Magnificat Echo Weekend at the Teacher's Camp in Baguio City from March 2-4, 2012.

Steve Maningat, sector head of West C, Metro Manila

As early as the morning of Friday, more than six hundred participants from the six clusters of West C converged in Baguio City to participate in this monumental event.  By Friday night, the echo conference proper started with a fellowship night-cum-chorale competition entitled "West C Goes Glee."

Saturday's and Sunday's activities started with the praying of the Rosary followed by a Mass celebrated by Msgr. Allen Aganon, Couples for Christ Spiritual Director.  To kick off the Saturday sessions, Msgr. Aganon gave the prologue, expounding on the significance of the Magnificat from which CFC's theme this year is based on.

Over the course of the conference, four talks were delivered and all of them delved on the faithfulness of Mary to her Son, Jesus.  From these words, we learned that Mary was always there for Him at all phases of His life and therefore, she could be considered the first disciple of Jesus.  It was Mary's "yes" to Angel Gabriel that paved the way for mankind's salvation.  The Blessed Sacrament was exposed at the end of the Saturday sessions.

The CFC West C Magnificat weekend ended with a praisefest and healing session.  As the echo conference came to its inspiring end, everyone was spiritually high and ready to emulate Mary and ready to take on the mission that God has entrusted to them.

Be Smart, Use the CFC MMD

If you are a chapter leader, chances are you have been busy for the last few weeks making the database of your chapter.  Chapter Leaders have to submit their rosters of members to their respective Sector Heads for offering at the 30th anniversary celebration of Couples for Christ last Sunday, June 26.  Another reason is the Center's campaign for full compliance and implementation of the Couples for Christ Members Management Database or CFC MMD. The CFC International Council (IC) envisions the CFC MMD as a tool for the mission.  It aims to lessen the time spent for administrative work so there will be more time for pastoral formation and evangelization. 

The CFC MMD is the latest buzz going around in our sector.   By going through the manual for the first time, I was overwhelmed by the scope of information that has to be encoded for each member of our chapter. If a chapter has at least 50 couples, that's 100 databases to be encoded.  From my experience, I did not find any difficulty as there is batch encoding.  The CFC MMD is so easy to navigate specially because of our familiarity of how social networks like Facebook, blogs, LinkedIn, Multiply and the like work.  Now tell me, who doesn't have a Facebook account up to this time?  Even my nephew's dog has an FB account!  

To put it simply, it is like a Facebook fan page of a chapter, a cluster, sector.  It gives you a bird's eyeview of what goes on in a chapter, cluster or sector et al.  The scope of the network depends on the member's level of service.  If you are a chapter leader, you can only view the activities, reports and members' database of your chapter. A cluster leader on the other hand has access on the chapters under his cluster and so on and so forth.

Why is it a powerful tool for the mission?  The portal can generate reports at real time of the evangelization and pastoral formation initiatives of the smallest chapter.  It can keep track of all members, both active and inactive.  It is like having your CFC DNA.  Just by reading the reports, a leader can chart the course that his group will take.  Since the reports are important in decision making, encoding of data should be done responsibly by a qualified chapter servant if the chapter leader is not available to do it.

We are now ready to start.  Go to Google and type http://cfcglobaldata.com.  After clicking go, your screen will look like this:

Log-in by typing your username and password.  This will bring you to your chapter's dashboard.  At this page, you can choose the task that you want to do by clicking on the appropriate tab.

Not only data of a chapter or cluster et al can be found in the CFC MMD.  A member can also access his own page by doing the following:

Go to Google and type http://cfcglobaldata.com. Instead of logging in, click on Member's Portal.

 

To be able to go to your page, you have to type your member ID number and password. Don't know your member ID number?  Ask your chapter head or chapter servant for your number.  If you are a first time user, you have to provide your ID number and email address.  

Check your email for your password.  Once you have your password, click to login.

You are now in your own page.  You can choose to edit your profile, upload your profile picture, or change the system generated password to one of your own creation.

I hope this little exercise has helped you with the creation of your chapter's database.

Keeping Your Household Members Beside You

Making members remain in a group or organization without monetary consideration is a big challenge.  This is true with Couples for Christ though am not singling it out.  A lot of organizations go through this phase.  

There are a lot of reasons why members lie low but foremost of all is that they have lost interest in the organization because it has failed to address the reason why they joined in the first place.  I will be listing down tips on how to hold on to your members.  Let me warn you though that these tips are purely my own culled from more than ten years of being a CFC and don't represent anyone's or CFC's stand.

1.  Have a trusting and sincere relationship with your member.  Trust is the core of any lasting relationship.  This is true for all kinds of relationship whether with one's spouse, friend, child or client.  If a person trusts you enough, you will know what makes him tick.  Selling something to a prospect will be a breeze as you know what to offer him.

More so in the case of the household member, he expects nothing less.  You, as household leader, will have his loyalty, love, support and this started with trust.  Isn't it that he started to divulge something of himself during the one on one session after Talk 4 of the Christian Life Program?  Though different members react differently during the one on one session, it nevertheless is a good start.  Some have a difficult time opening up.  Once the member has opened up, it is the duty of the household leader to keep everything confidential.

2.  Have a caring and nurturing attitude towards your member.  A household member attends the weekly household prayer meetings because he feels cared for by his colleagues in the household.  He feels like he is at home in the household.  Everyone accepts him for what he is and nobody judges him.  It is a place where he can be himself.  When he needs support, the household members led by the household head are there to give support and understanding.

3.  Have  fun once in a while.  I won't deny that I look forward to these gatherings.  The activity will depend on how much budget there is.  Going out of town for a day or two is the preferred activity of the majority.  Though going out of town costs more money and consumes more time, that picnic-style element of this sortie never ceases to appeal to everyone.  Still wondering why there is a higher percentage of attendees to the weekend conferences when done in Baguio than the one held at Manila?

If time and budget do not warrant an out of town getaway, there are numerous fastfoods, eateries and karaoke bars in Metro Manila you can choose from.  My personal preference is going to karaoke bars.  You just have to scour the different promos being offered by these karaoke bars to minimize on expenses.

4.  Be yourself.  Members can see through you if you are wearing a mask.

I Love Fellowship

The best parts of life here in CFC are the friends that you gain and the good times that you spend with them or in short FELLOWSHIP.  I would be a hypocrite if I say I don't enjoy it.  Do you know that planning sessions, be they be sector-wide, cluster-wide or chapter-wide, are fellowships in disguise.  More time is spent for bonding but bonding only comes after the planning session.  Lol.

Every CFC member belongs to a household group.  This group will be together for at least two years.  The household meets every week.  With the frequency of meetings, it is not surprising that the members of the household become very close.  Sometimes closer than siblings.

Belting it out at Redbox-Trinoma.

Fellowship is not altogether flimsy.  In Talk 10 of the CLP, it is one of the components for spiritual growth.  We need a support group in order to grow spiritually.

Here in Couples for Christ, not only did Jun and I able to multiply our friends (you have to think twice before throwing a party much less you offend one who was inadvertently omitted from the guest list) but we were able to visit houses of our brothers and sisters and partake of their specialties.  CFC brought us also to a lot of places because of conferences, fellowship and mission work.  Who says life is boring in Couples for Christ?

Bro. Mannie and Sis. Evelyn Paguntalan, then YFC Cluster Coordinators
brought us Chacocos to Tagaytay Highlands and Calaruega (below).

Serving The Youth

For four years, Jun & I served as household leaders for Couples for Christ members.  There were other couples who were put under our care because of the phenomenon called "reorg", the moniker for reorganization.    After those three fruitful years, we were given a new service.  Maybe our leaders discerned that we have to move on to other "territories".  

At the planning session of the newly-created chapter under Bro. Joe and Sis. Letty Francia, we were appointed as the Chapter Youth Coordinator.  We didn't know what we were getting into except that we won't be having couple-members under us.  Instead of couples, we were given the responsibility of nurturing the youth, ages 13 to 21 years old.  

The BOYS

and the GIRLS at the Chapter Planning.

The Youth for Christ (YFC) is an attached family ministry of the Couples for Christ which aims to render a Christian support environment for the teenagers.  YFC answers the need of the youth to belong, to be motivated, to be useful, and to become good examples to others.  It is not totally surprising for the youth to support a worthwhile cause like taking the plight of the poor and the less privileged in their own small way.

When we were Chapter Coordinators, the thing that I would love to do for the youth was to cook their food, be it merienda or meal.  I didn't agree with the idea that the reason why they cannot attend assemblies is they don't have enough money for reg fee.  The reg fee covered food and rental of the venue if any.  I volunteered to cook so the youth will be eating nutritious food without spending so much on food.

In our first year as Chapter Coordinators, we had the privilege of being the Supervising Leaders for a Youth Camp held at OMI in Quezon City.  We slept at OMI on the first night and was shocked that the youth were still up and about at the wee hours of the morning.  Jun and I couldn't also forget the time we had a YFC Cluster Planning and some got out from the swimming pool at 7 in the morning.  Where did they get that extra energy?  Though we didn't stay long as Coordinators, two years only, we realized the importance of putting the youth on the track of evangelization.  Who knows how many youths were saved from living wasteful lives?

Practicing for the presentation for the Youth Camp.

http://www.couplesforchristglobal.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=18&Itemid=15

Ancop Elocution Contest

A week ago, I was at Ancop Central Avenue for the judging of the winners of the elimination round of the Elocution Contest of the Ancop Learning Center (ALC).  There were three categories, namely, Nursery, Kinder and Prep.  There were no less than 6 contestants for each level.  Teacher Beng Reyes made all pupils memorize a poem and she chose contestants from those who recited better than the rest.

The contestants were dressed in their Sunday's best by their overzealous mothers.  They came with make-up for retouching the faces of their children and the ubiquitous digital camera.  For those who didn't have a digicam, they settled with the cameras of their cellphones.

Listening to the children deliver their piece, I was amazed at the transformation of these children.  From tots who couldn't tear away from their mother's hemline, all I saw was self-confidence.  A big leap indeed.  

The top winners in all levels at the elimination round were all girls.  Only one boy was able to make it at second place.  The top winners will represent the site in the sector-wide Elocution Contest on October 29, 2010.

D-day came.  The children which Sis. Meng Figueras, Sis. Joy Nolasco and myself adjudged as the best of Central Avenue trooped to Ancop-Visayas with Teacher Beng and their respective mothers.  They bested all the other contestants from the other Ancop sites in ALL levels.  Grand slam.  I was so happy when I heard of the news.  I felt as if I too won as I was instrumental in choosing these children as the best.  Congratulations to the winners and to Teacher Beng, too.

The WINNING TEAM with Teacher Beng Reyes

Power Weekend

Yearly since 1999, Couples for Christ West C has mounted leaders' conferences mostly in Baguio City.  The first conference called "Power Weekend" was in August, 1999 and Jun and I were fortunate to be part of this.  This annual conference is open to all leaders of Couples for Christ, from household leaders and up.

Since Jun and I were already appointed as Household Leaders a month ago, we automatically belong to a Unit.  A Unit is made up of four to five households and is headed by the Unit Leaders.  Our Unit Leaders were Bro. Jun and Sis. Lina Eguico and the other Household Leaders that comprised the Unit were Bro. John and Sis. Weng Valesco, Bro. Artz and Sis. Tess Bermejo and Bro. Danny and Sis. Weng Abella.  Weeks before the Power Weekend, we, together with the other leaders of the Unit started planning for our stay in Baguio. Preparation included buying jackets that would be suitable for Baguio weather.  Weng Valesco and I ended up buying the same jacket from Shoemart.  We all had a good laugh since Jun and John also had identical jackets.  

With Weng Valesco and Lina Eguico at the Teacher's Camp, Baguio City.

We drove to Baguio at dawn aboard two vehicles.  The weather was fine when we left Manila.  On the way to Baguio, we sidetripped to Dagupan for a very sumptuous lunch by the sea and to Manaoag, Pangasinan to visit the Virgin of Manaoag.  Never did we think that the weather will turn for the worse in a couple of hours.

While we were about to start our trek to Kennon Road, we were advised that it was not passable as giant boulders blocked the street.  The river  had swelled with water rampaging from the mountains.  The two alternative roads to Baguio were also closed.  We  had no other recourse but to spend the night in nearby San Fernando, La Union.  We cruised along the main highway of San Fernando City and adjoining towns looking for a place to stay in while roads to Baguio remained closed.  We ended up in an old, dilapidated four-storey hotel in San Fernando proper which was so dusty and left us all coughing.  Our search for a place was reminiscent of Mary's and Joseph's quest for an inn.  

The sun was shining early the following morning.  At last, all roads to Baguio were opened.  We arrived just in time for the start of the Opening Worship.  Everybody was clapping and dancing while singing praises to the Lord to the lively accompaniment of the Music Ministry.  Thankful for the protection from the strong winds and the rain.  

Jun & I at Teacher's Camp, Baguio City.

Called To Serve

A year after graduating from the CLP, the leaders of the chapter where Jun & I belong to then, tapped us to be one of the facilitators of the CLP that they were about to open.  We both feel elated for the privilege and likewise concerned about a lot of things.  First and foremost is we didn't know anything about facilitating. Though Jun had exposure in speaking to big crowds and presiding meetings, I had no such experience.  My only claim to participation in a discussion was barking orders to the maids and to the sewers of our garments factory.  My lack of interaction with people of the same background as mine left me insecure in carrying out a sensible exchange of ideas with strangers.  I couldn't stop from asking myself if I did the right thing in giving up a very promising corporate career in favor of motherhood. 

Twenty couples came for the Orientation Night.  After the first talk, the participants were grouped into 5.  We got the first group.  This group was unique as it was composed of professionals except for 1 couple.  The big challenge was how to make this couple jell with the others who are all professionals.  Group discussion came and I led the opening prayer rather mechanically.  The important thing for me then was to be able to lead the prayer without making mistakes.  I prayed with my brain not with my heart.

As we moved from one module to the other, our group became closer and the group discussions became more animated.  Alas, we just had found ourselves a "barkada".  Meeting for the group presentation for the Dedication Night did not pose any problems in scheduling as everyone was eager to be with one another.  Everybody contributed to be able to come out with a very good presentation.

Come Dedication Night, we were appointed to be the household leaders of Group 1.  It was a very memorable night for all of us.  Years later, we took different paths.  Only one couple remained active in the community while the others opted to lie low for one reason or the other.  Jun and I surely miss them.

Our First Marriage Enrichment Retreat

All members of Couples for Christ follow a pastoral formation track.  Six months after graduating from the Christian Life Program, the couple is expected to attend the first Marriage Enrichment Retreat or MER1.  The MER1 aims to present the important aspects of Christian marriage and family life which is the foundation of marriage and CFC.  It also fosters a better understanding and appreciation of God's plan for marriage and family life.

Jun and I had our MER1 in November 1998 at Sta. Rafaella Retreat House along Tandang Sora, Quezon City.  We were at the venue early Saturday morning up to noon of the following day.  There were talks given out by different speakers.  Some were boring while the others gave animated versions.  The talks that struck me most are Talks 4 and 5, namely "The Role of the Christian Wife" and "Effective Communication in Marriage", respectively. 

It is very difficult to live out the ideal Christian wife, i.e., being submissive to her husband in this age of equal rights, equal opportunities and feminism.  How can this be possible in this day and age when it is enshrined in the Constitution that everybody is equal?  When Grade 5 students are taught human rights and rights of the child?  Indeed the modern couple needs a deeper maturity and understanding of marriage and relationship to make marriage work.  Effective communication in marriage not only becomes necessary but should be the norm. 

Singing for the Lord

One of the activities that my husband and I indulged in as a member of Couples for Christ was to become a member of the Music Ministry.  Membership in the Music Min is one of the services that is available for a non-leader in CFC.  One must not belittle membership in the ministry as singing is an integral part of community worship.   With music, one is able to express joy and sorrow more fervently that St. Augustine said "He who sings, prays twice."

I believe that our membership to the Music Min helped a lot in our spiritual growth.  Because we served while still mere members in the community, we became active in community life.  We seldom missed CFC gatherings and teachings.  Just like any endeavor, active participation in CFC is necessary to attain true spiritual nourishment and contentment.  

My First Household Meeting

After finishing the Christian Life Program (CLP), the participants of the CLP are invited to join Couples for Christ (CFC).  They are put into a cell group of between five to seven couples called a household.  The household meets weekly in the houses of the members on a rotation basis.  At the household meeting, the members pray, share experiences on the night's or day's relevant topic and have fellowship after.  It usually takes two and a half hours.  The household is headed by the Household Head.

Our first household meeting was held a week or two after the CLP at the house of our household leaders, Jun and Rose Ricamonte.  Ours was a small household as there were only four couples in our group and that includes our household leaders.  The first meeting was spent mostly on "getting to know you".  Bro. Jun and Sis. Rose were complete strangers to us as they were not our facilitators in the CLP.  The meeting went on smoothly except for one thing, there was no guitar accompaniment.  Our worship sounded empty.  Nobody in the group could play a guitar except for my husband, Jun.  At that time, Jun hasn't played the guitar for fifteen years and had actually given away his guitar.  After that acapella worship, Jun toyed on the idea of relearning how to play the guitar but wait, where's the guitar?

He Called Us and We Said Yes

Jun and I's journey in the ride called Couples for Christ started in January 1998 when a co-parent, Lina Eguico, from my children's pre-school invited us to an Orientation for the Christian Life Program (CLP) of Couples for Christ (CFC) on the coming Saturday.  Since Jun was on a business trip to Naga City and was due to arrive that same Saturday, I had a ready excuse not to attend without hurting her feelings.  But the Lord has His ways.  Jun arrived on Friday morning as his meetings in Naga finished earlier than schedule.  When I told him of Lina's invitation, I was surprised he said Yes.

Saturday arrived and Lina came exactly on the appointed time to fetch us (to make sure that we will attend the Orientation).  We passed by the house of another couple nearby, Artz and Tess Bermejo.  Another recruit.  We drove to the Barangay Hall beside the Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church in Proj. 6, Quezon City.  I was disappointed to see the venue.  I was expecting an air-conditioned function room.  What I saw was a small rickety hall with electric fans.  Yes, no aircons. 

 The recruits, Jun and I and Artz and Tess, were immediately introduced to everyone in the service team.  I smiled without remembering the face that goes with the name except for one.  I couldn't forget Tessa Flojo.  She and her husband, Noel, were the assistant team heads for the CLP.  Of all the members of the service team, hers was the smile that said "Welcome to my house."  I felt comfortable.

Does it ever occur to you that God paves the way for us to get nearer to Him?  In our case, He sent us angels in the guise of Jun and Lina Eguico and Tessa Flojo to be able  to help us endure the arduous task that is the CLP.  What about you?  What was your Orientation Night like?

Welcome!

On the day of the face to face session of Module 1 of Ateneo's Certified Blog Entrepreneur Program under Ms. Janette Toral, I learned that the main output of the first module is to come up with a blog within two weeks. It doesn't mean that I have to submit a url of the blog.  It literally means a blog with at least ten posts by Oct. 29.  I said to myself, this is tough what with two other active blogs.  What to do?  The easiest way out for me is to pick one of the existing blogs as my project.  All I have to do is to add the ten posts.

But no.  I decided to make a new blog this time chronicling my journey as a member of Couples for Christ.  I drew inspiration from the comment of Bro. Alex Domingo at the household meeting we had a few days after the face to face session.  He said that Couples for Christ (CFC) should have a website or blog that would answer the concerns of members regarding its teachings.  I deviated from what Bro. Alex cited as I feel I am unworthy of writing about the teachings of CFC. By the way, below is the picture taken by Bro. Junel Ama, our household head, of the household grouping that Jun, my husband and I belong to:

To my readers who are my brothers and sisters in CFC, I hope I can inspire you to find happiness and contentment in serving the Lord.  For non-CFC readers, I truly pray that you will picture yourself among us by joining us in Couples for Christ.  Welcome to all!!!