Integral Human Development

Our First Computer and English Class for our Burmese Parishioners on Sat 29 and Sun 30 January 2011. 

History of Catholic Church

4th Ordinary Sunday

Mission to Build Community 


BECs 
As Centers of 
Evangelisation 




The BEC is where
 - we connect with the divine within our daily routine.
 - we come to know with certainty that God exists and is involved in our one and only passionate life.

BEC's are different from groups for Bible Study or prayer
                 they are not a therapy group
                              not a group that sits there to feel good together.
                                                                     to stroke each others psyche
They are places where people  - share their faith.
                                               - do service.
                                               - develop a strong support network.
                                               - provide spiritual energy for each other.
Everyone in the parish
     - must become a resource for the other  - to inspire
                                                                  - to help all in their search (journey)
     - must acknowledge that there is a connection between building community and growing in wellness    

Pope John Paul II in 1988 taught that  " small basic communities " where the faithful
                                               communicate the Word of God
                                        and express it in service and love to one another
                                        are centres of evangelisation in communion with their pastor."

(adapted from the NewBec Bulletin in the Archdiocese based on an article by Msgr Thomas Morgan)

for us here in Cameron Highlands -

3rd Sunday of Ordinary Time

Mission to Build Community

    BECs

Help Deepen 

     Our 

  Faith

Small Christian Communities are absolutely crucial for a parish to be relational in our culture. We need systematic, dynamic intentional structures to deliver adult faith formation. These structure help people to be in radical union with each other. They help people deepen and renew their faith. They help people experience conversion.

The Small Christian community becomes a center for telling our stories. We don't tell our stories enough. Yet, it is absolutely essential that we verbalize our stories. 

When we tell and share our stories we build interpersonal ties. It is where we deepen our faith in th God who lives in our very flesh and blood. It is where the incarnation comes alive. 

The Small Christian community is where we say what we feel and what we mean. It is where we practice the art of listening to what others are saying. It is where we may even reflect back to them the feelings and concerns behind what is being said. 

The Small Christian community is where we make every effort to hear that others are saying. We simply listen and hear. We don't try to fix. We don't give advice. We help one other overcome our separateness and isolation by just empathetically listening. 

The Small Christian community is built around compassionate listening. People listen with concentration and with commitment. Members follow one another's point of view with no preconceived notions. 

The Small Christian community members are passionate about hearing one another's stories. And this is the seed more than anything else that facilitates the breakdown of loneliness and isolation. The Small Christian community is all about helping each other go deeper into the mystery of the human person and the mystery of God. The faith-sharing facilitates our growing in the faith. It promotes growing from within. 

The Small Christian community is where we unburden our sick hearts; where we unburden our sick souls; where we unburden our sick bodies; where we unburden our despair; where we unburden our hopelessness; where we unburden our loneliness; where we unburden our boredom;

The Small Christian community is where we get another perspective from just the simple sharing of our stories. It is where we build relationships. It is where interpersonal ties are strengthened. It is where new perspectives are reborn.

The Small Christian community satisfies the search of the human heart and mind of God. It is where we connect deeply with our one and only lives. It is where we are comfortable in our clothing and comfortable in our skin. 

By Msgr Thomas Morgan