Reflection Night

SFC-ICC is inviting you to spend your Holy Monday reflecting upon the seven last words through music... 

April 6, 2009

7:00 P.M. - 10:00 P.M

ICC Formation Center

SFC UNVEILS RESTATED VISION AND MISSION

By Jerry Palma

With over 7,000 delegates from all over the world, SFC International Coordinator Aldy Katigbak, unveiled the restated vision and mission statements of the Singles for Christ during Session 4 in the recently concluded SFC ICON held in Cebu City last February 20-22, 2009. The theme for this year’s ICON was in sync with the Couples for Christ’s “Forward in Christ”.  

We have been all too familiar with our SFC vision “A generation of leaders and martyrs”. As a result of the series of SFC congresses held nationwide last year, the SFC Council discerned the need to restate the SFC vision and came up with its new vision statement - “Every single man and woman all over the world experiencing Christ”. 

With the restatement of the vision, a new mission statement was likewise unfurled. Aligning with the CFC’s mission, SFC’s new mission statement is “ Building the church of the home and the church of the poor”.

The vision gives shape and direction to the community’s future. It is a statement of what the community wants to become. And that is precisely what the new vision depicts– that in the future, all single men and women everywhere, without exception, shall be experiencing Christ in their everyday lives and making this world a new heaven on earth. This is a particularly tough vision but appropriate given that SFC is now everywhere and reaching towards the ends for the earth. 

The mission statement is a brief but broad description of what we do, with/for whom we do it and why we do it. Building the church of the home and the church of the poor means that we are committed to live in God’s righteousness and holiness, evangelizing people through a life of love and service; we shall work for the renewal of families that will serve God and build generations of Christian leaders; and, we shall pursue Total Christian Liberation through social justice, respect for life, and work with the poor.

As SFC member, we should embrace the same vision and mission and with commitment, passion and dedication, move forward to bring Christ’s love to everyone and, to be effective, be an example of a person experiencing Christ in our daily lives.

In order to move forward, we learned from Session 4 that SFC’s must have a posture of Jesus’ heart   – C (Catholic); H (Humility); R (Radical); I (intercessory); S (Sacrificial) and; T (Togetherness). Only in Christ Jesus following His heart’s posture will we be able to move in the right direction, with the right attitude and with sufficient love. 

As we all know, the vision cannot be attained by just memorizing it or talking about it – we should make a move and take action. And now I would like to pose a question, in our own little way, – 

WHAT CAN I CONCRETELY CONTRIBUTE TO THE ATTAINMENT OF OUR VISION?

post your replies here :)

Saint of the Month

St. Christopher

Catholic Patron Saint of Travel Safety

The one-time Catholic patron saint of travellers, Saint Christopher -- whose name means "Christ carrier" -- is not mentioned in the Bible. While there may have been a 3rd century Greek martyr named Christopher, the story told of him is now generally acknowledged to be a 12th century addendum to the Christian canon. Christopher is typically depicted as a tall, middle-aged, bearded man with a staff who wades across a river carrying the Christ child on his shoulders. As the story goes, the extremely robust Christopher devoted his life to carrying people across an otherwise unfordable stream. One day a little child appeared before him and asked to be carried across. To Christopher's surprise, as he forded the river, the child steadily increased in weight until Christopher found his tiny burden so heavy that it was amost impossible to bear. When he asked the holy babe why he weighed so much, the child replied that he carried the world's sins upon his shoulders. As a reward for his service, Christopher's staff was miraculously transformed into a living tree, and Christopher himself became the Patron Saint of travellers.

 

Christopher was a widely popular saint, and was especially revered by mariners, ferrymen, and travellers. HIs feast day was July 25th, except in Greece, where it was celebrated on March 9th. In modern times a major center of his cult was in Italy and among Italian-Americans, a fact that did not stop the Vatican from de-canonizing him during a late 20th century purge of the list of saints. Saint Christopher medals and holy cards are more difficult to find now that his status has been downgraded to that of a mere legend, but they are still being manufactured and many Mexican and Italian Catholics still believe that his image is the best amulet to carry in one's wallet, wear on a necklace while on a journey, or hang from the rear view mirror attachment of one's car. The enamel and silver Saint Christopher medal shown here dates from the 1930s

Our Theme Song

by Jeba Angeles

Everywhere you go… love stories. Every theater shows… romantic movies. Every radio station plays… love songs. Every T.V. show has a Valentines’ day special. What’s up?! Yes, it’s February, or THE LOVE MONTH, as some people would call it. This is the month when most people become extra sweet, some even go to different heights just to express how much they love the one God has given them. And yet for some, they say, it’s just another month, “what’s the big deal?” They are the ones who affectionately call themselves “the loveless”. What?! “LOVELESS?” as far as I know, nobody in this world should be called “loveless”… maybe there are some in Mars or Saturn, but not here, no way! There is always a God who will love you no matter what.

 

“There will always be a God who will love you…”, this became the driving force that led a group (Darren, Bugs, Rhea, Jeba, Poyee, Rolly, and I hope I didn’t forget anyone) into organizing a “Valentine concert”. Many titles for the event were brought forward, but one stood out among the others, “Our Theme Song”. The title was only fitting because the event’s main objective was to let everyone, with or without GG, feel that they are loved - that we all are loved. The team shared ideas; from the songs to the food, from the venue’s set up to the invitations. It was amazing. Everyone was so excited.

 

And so, on February 15 at the ICC Formation Center, the big night came. The place was just as wonderful. One of the guests even told me that she really felt the love when she entered the venue. But of course, there were some problems during the program, but with God’s amazing grace, the whole of the program ran smoothly. Smiles were in every person’s face that night, love songs made our hearts jump for joy, inspiring messages uplifted our already high spirits… Love was really in the air that night. After the concert, only happiness can be traced in the face of everyone who came.

 

Should the love month ends? Should the sweetness, the romance, and the tenderness end, too? The love month doesn’t happen only once a year, it happens the whole year, and it lasts for eternity. In my opinion, we should stop calling it “love month”, instead, we call it “Eternal Love”, plain and simple, because love makes the world go ‘round and ‘round… “What is LOVE?” to me Love is a mystery that starts with the letter “L” and ends with a…. nah! It never end. 

Icon Experience

by Kathy Jacob

What can I say, I really had a great time during the 16th SFC ICON. I'm having a hard time putting in words how happy i am to be a part of this community. Let's start with the city tour we had last Feb 20th. i can't believe that I've seen Magellan's cross for real. it may sound funny and childish, but i got teary eyed when i saw it. this landmark started it all that Christianity was spread all over the country.

Another amazing thing in Cebu was that churches were built on every corner of the street. people from Cebu will not have any excuse not to attend mass. the structure and architecture of each church explains how rich Christianity is on our country. going to different historical places in Cebu, it was like taking history class again! lol!

 

the whole conference was really memorable. almost 7000 thousand SFC's all over the world gathered in SM city's parking lot to celebrate this wonderful event. the sessions and sharings were very inspiring.

 

but there's one quote that struck me most during one of the sessions. It was given by Brother Siok.He quoted "Hope is the Antedote of Fear".It made me realize that , whenever we are uncertain of some decisions in our lives, sometimes we are afraid to take the risk. We are scared of failures, rejections and disappointments. But if we just believe that the our greatest "ICON" is with us every step of the way, we should not fear. We should not let our inhibitions lead our lives, because we are moving forward everyday with Christ.

The conference song "Move" has very catchy lyrics as well.

I will move, I will run
I will climb the highest mountain
For you are my priceless Gold
I'll be swift, I'll be bold
from this land I'll conquer the world
For you are my king and my God
I will move

Starting this year, all SFC should start to do some bold moves to inspire and to be instruments to other people no matter what the status in life, gender, age, nationality and religion, to let the world know that God is always on our side and his promise of eternal life is true

First Time Moments

by Pearl Arellano

Cebu ICON was one of the most memorable, exciting and adventurous event for our group, for many of our “First Time Moments” happens there……

 

February 19, 2008, Ate Alyn, Donna and I met in Pasig and decided to go to the airport together, we met before lunch coz’ we don’t wanna be late for our flight. And as planned we arrived very early at the International Airport 3 -it was our first time to be at that particular airport so we were really excited.  But our excitement was replaced with tense upon learning that we should not be on that place but at the International Airport 2 instead, and so we hurried up and went to the right place. Kenji & Donna was much more excited than us coz’ it was their first time to travel miles away from Manila, first time to check-in in an airport, first time to ride an airplane and first time to be in Cebu. And after an hour we’re there.

 

From the airport we went straight to Dumanjug, Cebu for a side trip. Indeed, the place overwhelmed us with its captivating white beach and breakwaters. Even before the conference proper started, we already felt the deep love of God by just allowing us to be mesmerized by the wonders of His creation which are open to be explored by everyone. That love of God was much more realized and felt after having the taste of Cebu’s lechon for free, haha, no not really, but after listening and internalizing the talks during the conference. With the experiences we had before and during the conference, I believe that all the delegates agreed that we all have to forget what lies behind and have to move on; we all need to move forward in Him, and move to be like Him.

 

But that was not enough, after the conference we went to Bohol for another side trip. It was all our first time to be there. We travelled to Bohol by ship (roro) and it was Kenji & Donna’s first time to ride that kind of vessel that’s why they were both excited & a little tense. The beauty of that small island captivated our eyes. We went on an “amazing race” like tour, running from one place to another. Our day was fulfilled by the view of white beaches along the road, pictures with huge python and cute tarsiers, crossing a hanging bridge, lunch in a floating restaurant crossing the Loboc River while being serenaded by good local performers, and most importantly a bite of Chocolate Hills. It was a tiring day but all the sweat was worth it 

Pride of Central B

GK1MB Head Mari Oquinena launched the SFC Bayani on the 2^nd day of the SFC ICON held in Cebu City last February 20-22, 2009. Our very own Julius Ulep was nominated by our Sector Head and was chosen as one of the 12 SFC Bayanis for his love and service for the poor and he will be serving as one of the Gawad Kalinga Ambassadors. The SFC Bayanis, together with known stars in the movie industry who are also GK Ambassadors, were presented and honored during the launching. Mari Oquinena talked about how our love of God is concretely exemplified in loving and serving His people especially the poor who have less in life.

Cheers to Ambassador Ulep!!! Keep it up…

Heart of a Servant

Central B is so blessed to have a very committed and dedicated GK volunteer in the person of Julius Ulep. Julius, who joined the Singles for Christ in Pasig in 1999 and formerly the GK Sector Rep, has been serving Gawad Kalinga in Arkong Bato since the early stage of SAGIP program in 2003. His consistent weekly visits in the site endeared him with the kids. In fact, he was able to establish the closest bond not only with the SAGIP kids but also with their parents.

 

When he was asked to lead the Child and Youth Development (CYD) in Arko, he did not hesitate to accept the service considering that he also participates actively in the SAGIP Program  as a Sports Coordinator/Trainer.  Being a longtime SAGIP facilitator, then a Program Manager and now a CYD coordinator, Julius is very instrumental in influencing fellow SFCs to serve in GK. His enthusiasm in serving the poorest of the poor is really admirable and contagious. That’s also one of the reasons why GK volunteers in Central B continue to thrive.

 

Julius is a classic example of a selfless servant. While he was doing all the GK works he was also serving as Unit Head in Central B3 until last year when decided concentrate on his work as head of the CYD. Energetic as he is, he still found time to be the Central B’s Sports Coordinator today.

 

We can only hope and pray that every SFC member can be like him…someone who never gets tired of serving and loving God and His people.  That is the heart of Julius, a heart of a true servant.