-
February 3, 2025
The Christian communities we are trying to build are simply the most local incarnation of the one, holy, catholic and apostolic church. Small Christian communities are the means by which the church is brought down to the daily life and concerns of people where they actually live in them, the church takes, in flesh and blood, the life situations of people (Association of Member Episcopal Conferences in Eastern Africa, 1979).
THE 4 MARKS OF BEC:
NEIGHBOR, WORD OF GOD, ACTION (SERVICE), LINK WITH THE WIDER CHURCH & THE WORLD
1. NEIGHBOR
A.) A small Christian community in certain area of the parish (Territorial)
-Its member community is composed of neighborhood at the Barangay (Village) level and Sitio (Rural Sub village) or Purok (Urban Sub-village) Level who live as a community and in service with each other.
B.) A community at the grassroot level of society
-the members of the community almost from the basic and the same socio-economic and cultural background and status with all their joys and hopes, their griefs and anxieties.
C.) A community of conscientized and organized Christian families.
-the FAMILY as the basic unit of the Church and society and so families in the BEC who fully and actively participate in the mission of the Church.
D.) A community that relates regularly because of their natural dynamics as neighbors.
-the natural dynamics of the community as neighbors with certain and special sense of relationship at a people will keep alive the sense of community of its members and of fulfilling communication needs for social interaction. In a BEC area, the closeness of people to one another, the communitarian spirit and their awareness of being Christians and Filipinos are evident
E.) A community under the leadership of the laity.
-the Lay Empowerment means that the lay people has leadership role in a participative community Thus, the lay leader in the BEC is the visible co-worker of the Priest in the Local Church
*The people in the BEC live as a Christian community
a.)They are united in faith and mission
b.)They know and communicate with one another.
c.)They share, care and support each other.
d.) They work together for the good of the people in the community.
e.) They participate actively in decision making and activities of the community.
f.)They accept responsibility for the transformation and development of the community.
2. WORD OF GOD
A.) A Christ-centered community.
-the members of the Community are deeply motivated and inspired by their faith in the risen Christ taking Him as the Head of the Church
B.) A praying, worshipping, and celebrating community
-a community which recognizes prayer and liturgy as a source of strength, inspiration and consolation that brings them to gather as one people of God.
C.) A reflecting-discerning-acting community
-the community gathers as a whole to reflect on the situation of its members in the light of their faith and searching on the meaning of the event they are in and acting on it through the inspiration of the Word and the Will of God. This is the faith-life journey of the people of God towards the realization of His Kingdom.
D.) A healing and reconciling community
-the members of the community, aware of their situations and problems, recognizing the reality of sin and sinful system in the community, collectively acknowledge the need for healing and reconciliation and have decided to experience renewal in the light of the Word of God
*The Word of God, Life of the BEC
a.) The Word of God unites the people in the BEC
b) It guides, transforms, strengthens and inspires people in the BEC
c.) It leads people towards an informed and enlightened BEC
3. ACTION
"The Basic Ecclesial Communities reveal a new frection of community and a new shape that is alive to the world today-a Church that seeks to know in order to respond to the urgent needs of the people today. Thus, the thrust of the Basic Ecclesial Community has always been human rights, political involvement, social jatice, protection of the ecology" (Bacolod Diocesan Synod II, acts Par. #304).
A.) The BEC is socially aware and deeply concerned with the total life conditions and integral liberations of the people in the community (Spiritual, Economic, Political, Social, Familial and Cultural)
B.) BEC strives to bring about people empowerment, social transformation and holistic development
*Social action and Services means...
a.) Action for human rights, justice, peace, social transformation and integrity of Creation
b.) Services for the development of people (Socio-Economic projects)
"Faith is exercised not only in religious acts but in services to care for the needy and care for the Earth" (PCP II, No. 79).
4.1. LINK WITH THE WIDER CHURCH AND THE WORLD
4.2. LINK WITH THE WIDER CHURCH AND THE WORLD
