Lay Missionaries Spread the Church in Philippines

The Filipino Church has 36 laypeople working full-time in the missions in some parishes, and in immigrant communities in Asian countries.

Manila (AsiaNews) - They like to call themselves "truly lay, fully Filipino and missionary to all" - the 36 laypeople who on January 12 took part in the general assembly of the Philippine Catholic Lay Mission (PCLM). During the working sessions, Elmer Jamolin talked about his four years as a lay missionary in the parish of Sto. De Cebu Parish in Cebu, in the southern part of the country.

The most urgent task entrusted to Jamolin in 2005 was that of contributing to the birth of Basic Ecclesial Communities (BEC) among the people of the parish. Another layperson was sent with him, Lucita Salva, and the two were met at the destination by the pastor of Sto. De Cebu, Fr. Rey Semeros, and his assistant, Agustin P. Polong.

"Mission work is a slow process," Jamolin tells AsiaNews, reviewing the four years he spent among the people of the parish. "The most challenging part of my BEC mission was to listen to their own life stories, their struggles, woundedness and hurts, indeed, BEC is a process, a way of life as my local parish priest stressed."

Jamolin explains that house to house visitation is not just a social gathering, but more an invitation to live out the gospel in their daily experiences, through Bible sharing sessions.

Relationships with neighbors, work, children: the daily activity of the BEC's, promoted by Jamolin and by the laypeople trained for this kind of mission, enters into contact with the life of the people. Because most of the parishioners work in factories or the export processing zone, he explains to AsiaNews, "it was a bit adjustment for us, when we had to sleep in the mornings, and go out in the evening, making our visits to the different villages for the formation of leaders, prayer meetings, and catechism, youth ministry and education of children and women. We also met rejection and indifference in our mission, but just like Christ, patience and understanding became my traits."

Jamolin's work, realized with the help of the pastoral council in the parish and the people involved in training the animators, proposes building over time a group of lay people designated to carry forward the mission of the BEC's.

There are 36 other people like Jamolin in the Philippines who have decided to dedicate their time to promoting the birth of basic ecclesial communities in the country.

The experience of the PCLM began 32 years ago. Today it numbers 13 laypeople working full time in the missions in parishes in the Philippines and an equal number in immigrant communities in Japan, Thailand, Myanmar, and Cambodia. The structure rests on a staff of 10 people, and is supported by donations from families, parishes, friends, and benefactors all over the country.