The Youth Ministry of the Diocese of Balanga is under the Diocesan Commission on Youth (DCY). DCY takes care of the integral formation of youth through the three areas that influence them most: their Church, their home and their family, and their society. The Commission has been very successful in its effort to form committed and mature youth leaders in parishes and campuses. These youth initiate formation programs for their fellow youth. At present, DCY is undergoing reorganization and the acting Youth Director is Most. Rev. Socrates Villegas, DD.
CAMPUS MINISTRY
In August of 2002, youth ministry was strengthened through the appointment of a coordinator of Campus Ministry. The ministry aims to empower lay youth on campuses, to provide an integral formation based on Gospel values, and to mobilize youth in responding to the needs of the Church and Society. It seeks to form Christ centered communities, and to establish a network among all the Campus Ministries in the diocese.
PERSONNEL
Ø
Coordinator
Add: Diocesan Commission on Youth
St. Joseph Cathedral Compound
Aguirre St. Poblacion
Balanga City, 2100
Tel # (047) 791-3620
Cellphone: )0918-370-5974
Ø Maricris “Akiss” Dominguez
Secretary
Ø Nancy Tinao
In-charge, Simbayanan ng Kabataan (Youth Center)
Cellphone: 09195517617
Campus Ministers:
Contact Number:
1. Allen Bangug
0919-889-8947
1. Jesus Rodriguez “Jess” Navoa
0927-686-2577
1. Kristian Robert “KR” Villafana
0919-234-1939
1. Rafael G. Canare
0916-528-7696
1. Cherry Loyola
0916-353-6989
1. Sem. Noel Nuguid
0916-426-5183
1. Sem. Joerald Gadia
0917-957-3088
1. Sr. Romana Beltran, MCST
0918-648-1689
1. Daughters of Mary Immaculate
c/o Ms. Lourdes Valdecañas-09178979031
1. Light of Jesus Community – Pilar Chapter
c/o Angel-09167870121 or Hazel-09175761027
THE CAMPUS MINISTERS WITH THEIR SCHOOLS/COLLEGES
ALLEN BANGUG
Monday St. Michael the Archangel Academy
Tuesday Mabatang National High School
Wednesday Pablo Roman National High School
Thursday Jose Rizal Institute (Orion)
Friday Bataan Polytecnic State College (Main) and BPSC High School
SEM. JOERALD GADIA
Monday Bataan Heroes Memorial College
Tuesday Tomas del Rosario College and TDEL High School
Wednesday Softnet
Thursday Proclesia
JESS NAVOA
Monday BPSC-High School (Orani)
Tuesday St. Patrick College
Wednesday Samal National High School
Thursday Bataan National High School
Friday Bataan National High School
SEM. NOEL NUGUID
Monday BPSC College (Orani) AM/ St. John Academy PM
Tuesday Academy of Queen Mary AM/ Jose Rizal Institute (Orani)
Wednesday St. Peter of Verona Academy
Thursday Balsik National High School
Friday Hermosa National High School
KRISTIAN ROBERT VILLAFANA
Monday Philippine Women’s University
Tuesday AMA Learning Computer Center
Wednesday Kalayaan College AM/ Microcity Computer College
Thursday BPSC Balanga Campus
Friday STI
CHERRY LOYOLA
Monday Bataan Maritime Institute
Tuesday Bataan National High School
Wednesday Orion National High School
Thursday Bataan National High School
Friday Bataan National High School
RAFAEL “PAENG” CANARE
Wednesday & Friday Bataan National High School
SR. ROMANA BELTRAN, MCST
Tuesday Bataan National High School
DAUGHTERS OF MARY IMMACULATE
Monday to Friday Bataan National High School (4th year Students)
LIGHT OF JESUS COMMUNITY
Polytechnic University of the Philippines – Mariveles Campus
OTHER SCHOOLS WITH CAMPUS MINISTRY
Holy Rosary Parochial Institute
St. Catherine of Siena Academy
Mariveles National High School-Cabcaben
St. Cecilia’s Academy
Saysain National High School
UNDERSTANDING CAMPUS MINISTRY
Is Campus Ministry simply the teaching of Religion?
Campus Ministry is a ministerial complex of educational and evangelizing efforts that seeks to build a Christ centered community. It includes all forms of ministries for the growth of the community: psycho-spiritual and values formation, catechizing, counseling, witnessing, and celebrating. It is rooted in the Gospel values.
Is Campus Ministry simply the task of one person or group?
Campus Ministry is a coordinated, holistic ministry effort that involves the entire educative-pastoral community of the school: faculty, students, staff, parents, administrators, pastors and everyone else who is associated with the school. The personal life, growth and activity of each person in the school contributes to achieving its fundamental goal of building up and living in a community.
Is Campus Ministry simply a series of various activities?
Campus Ministry is a journey towards the common goal: fullness of life in Christ. It fosters the total personal growth of the individual. It helps him/her to grow in a healthy relationship with God, others, self and the rest of creation. It is not an extra-curricular activity but is fully involved in bringing about academic and moral excellence in accordance to the vision-mission of the academic community.
Is Campus Ministry directed only to the young people?
Campus Ministry is a unified journey as a community. It is animating the youth, however everybody is involved: faculty, staff, administrators, alumni, parents and families. By animation, we mean “working from within”, helping the school communities to rediscover their fundamental values, clarify their common goals and deepen their relationships. It is actually empowering the youth and faculty and staff to become active in the life of the Church.
Is Campus Ministry concerned only with the school?
Campus Ministry works within the context of society and of the Church. The goal is to produce learned and principled Christians and citizens, lay leaders who will serve as leaven in society and government. The campus ministry formation and organization seeks to mobilize people in the life, mission, and work of the Church. It enables the school community to become receptive to the signs of the times.
FORMATION PROGRAMS
Campus Ministry Orientation Seminar
This is a one-week-orientation on Campus Ministry (CM) given to the students and faculty by the Campus Minister designated to the school. The purpose is to provide the students especially the CM core group the knowledge about youth ministry in campus.
Regular Faith-Sharing and Rosary Praying
This is done regularly (once a week or everyday depending on the school) to create an atmosphere of prayer in the school. The objective is to accompany the youth in their quest for the word of God and assist them in community building.
Youth Encounter
This is a weekend formation module aimed at facilitating the spiritual self-knowledge of the youth that will lead them to a deeper relationship with God and their fellow students. Through talks and personal sharing of the facilitators, the young people undergoing this will be led to a deeper relationship with God and their fellow youth.
Symposium/Youth Forum
This is an informal half-day gathering of young people. Special topics on certain issues are discussed such as topics on Drug Addiction and AIDS, Love, Courtship and Marriage.
Recollection and Retreat
This activity is recommended for everyone, particularly to the graduating students in High School and College levels. It is a time for prayer and reflection aimed at deepening that youth’s spirituality and values in order to motivate them to become better persons and in the process become actively involved in the life of the Church.
Basic Theater Arts Seminar
This is a three-day seminar that aims to bring out the best in youth. From the workshop, participants will experience self-discovery. Youth discover their hidden talents and capacities for leadership. The workshop is also team building and liturgical in approach and very good for motivating youth to become involved in the Church.
Youth Leadership and Values Formation
A three-day live in seminar aimed at helping the youth become aware of their leadership qualities and the need to develop them in order to help others effectively. The seminar is meant to assist the priests/animators in forming leaders for their different youth groups molded on Gospel Values.
Seminar on Ecology
It is a seminar that challenges the youth to bring new justice to mother earth and to reflect on their role within creation. This could be integrated during retreats done in Baguio City guiding the students into the Cosmic Journey at the Maryknoll Sisters’ Ecology Center. This cosmic journey is a nature walk of play and discovery into the earth’s deep interconnectedness. Students will be lead into fourteen stations celebrating the magnificence of the unfolding of the cosmos.
Regular Meetings
(Monthly, Quarterly and General Assembly)
This is to monitor the implementation of programs and activities of the Campus Ministry and to establish networking or resources among all the Campus Ministries in the Diocese of Balanga. Socialization can also be integrated during these meetings.
Community Out Reach Program/Exposure/Immersion
The program aimed at enabling the students to live out their faith-life integration. Hopefully, students will have a new level of awareness of the plight of the poor and of the present situation. And in the process students will have a more authentic compassion, passion for justice, and solidarity with the poor.
Voter’s Education & Socio-Political Movements
The program facilitates the mobilization of youth in becoming involved in the mission of the Church. They also develop critical thinking, decision-making, leadership skills and team participation geared for social transformation.
R.U.D.E. (Recollection, Updating, Dialogue, & Evaluation
It aims to strengthen the staff’s faith in God and assess their priorities and the progress of the youth apostolate in the Diocese. Problems regarding relationships among staff members and the coordinator are also brought into interpersonal dynamics. Series of courses or seminars necessary to upgrade the knowledge and skills of staff members are also given. This is being held quarterly.
CURRENT REPORT: July 3, 2004 – Dec. 3, 2004
The installation of the Most Rev. Socrates Villegas, D.D as the third bishop of the Diocese of Balanga on July 3, 2004 marked the beginning of Youth Ministry as a priority in the Diocese. Indeed, Fr. Soc has been a great blessing for Bataan’s youth. This is the context for the Diocesan Campus Ministry’s (DCM) report of July – November 2004. However, before looking at the Now…and looking forward, let us review Campus Ministry’s recent past in looking back.
In looking back at the reality of Youth Ministry within the Diocese in recent years, we come to recognize that God has been truly loving and attentive towards the young. We see in our past the presence of youth: faithfully attending worship services, witnessing publicly about their faith, reaching out to hurting peers, engaging in activities to better their communities and reflecting loving attitudes towards each other. In several schools and colleges, campus ministry units were established. The presence of committed, energetic youth ministers (volunteers) aided in their establishment. However, some of these ministerial units ceased to function when the Youth Commission of the Diocese experienced structural and organizational changes and the lack of sufficient numbers of youth volunteers. Furthermore, many educational institutions did not see campus ministry as a vital part of the educational formation offered to enrolled students. For this reason, campus ministry did not receive appropriate recognition and support. In the process, it became like another club of the institution.
Two years ago, the Diocese appointed a Diocesan Campus Ministry Coordinator to ensure the ministry’s ongoing clarification, development and expansion. Up to July 2004, lack of human and material resources impeded Campus Ministry’s effective formation, organization and mobilization of student youth.
Looking at the Now of DCM generates deep gratitude to our God. The five months of July – November 2004, have seen significant shifts in campus ministry, due to its becoming a Diocesan pastoral priority. Firstly, 36 out of 60+ secondary and tertiary campuses now have campus ministry programs, with an assigned campus minister who is present within the school once a week. Their presence is uplifting and revitalizing youth ministry on these campuses. Educational administrators, faculties, parents and students have responded positively to this initiative. This also means that there are now nine (9) fulltime staff of DCM, compared to just one coordinator during the past two years. Besides these new campus ministers, organizations like Daughters of Mary Immaculate and the Light of Jesus Community are helping in the implementation of programs. Secondly, the directive of Fr. Soc to create an atmosphere of prayer in the schools is making a difference. To reach this goal rosaries have been given to each student and faculty member. The campus minister enters by teaching them how to pray as community. Based from the reports we’ve gotten from the schools, students have been praying the rosary regularly. Some do it once a week while others do it everyday. We may not see the clear impact of this now but the fact that there are some schools wherein the students are the ones reminding their teacher of the prayer schedule witnesses to our belief that God is doing something great in this regard. It manifests the students’ thirst for God’s love. Also, we experience students asking the campus ministers to return oftener than just once a week. Thirdly, with the reestablishment of the celebration of Holy Mass on campus, not allowed since 2002, has helped the expression of the faith dimension of the lives of students and faculty become more acceptable on campus. Fr. Soc’s pastoral visits, with an open forum, are enabling open dialogue with the youth. The students have expressed their appreciation in being able to share their concerns and interests. They feel respected, valued and heard. This has furthered open communication between campus ministers and youth. Fourthly, the campus ministers are making themselves available for leadership skills training, recollections, counseling, vocation animation, and values formation. Their prayers, their example and witness help in influencing students to become active in the church. As well, these serve as powerful incentives to the students. Lastly, the regular, monthly formation program, with Fr. Soc as speaker and facilitator, is reaching an increasing number of youth. Through this formation program, the youth are gaining a deeper understanding of their faith. This could especially be seen when Fr. Soc recently asked their opinions and suggestions with the HERO vision of the Diocese. Their articulation of their thoughts and feelings during these sessions allow them to feel anew what it means to belong to One Family in faith. Their faith in action is seen in their positive response to serve their fellow youth, being “Youth serving Youth.” The Now sees us honing our effectiveness of our youth ministry through availability, loving presence, and full support for young people.
Looking forward…we hope to see a Campus Ministry that will engender students, faculties and administrators, in their respective school communities, to have a more intimate relationship with God. We hope to see Campus Ministry no longer labeled as an extra-curricular activity or peripheral concern, but an integral, holistic dimension of the educational process. Campus Ministry then will become a priority with personnel and budget allocations within the schools. We must increase the number of our dedicated and committed campus ministers, who give heart and stability to DCM through belief in the youth and their capacity. It is also an imperative that campus ministry programs need to include those students belonging to other faiths. The challenge is how to make our approach ecumenical so as to bring our students and faculties into rich inter-faith dialogue. It is also essential that our programs are able to empower students to become engaged in the social transformation of our society. Yes, we would like to see and are committed to our youth becoming HEROes.
|
