we stand f E
ven at their young age, the Kids for Christ already know the significance of faith in their lives. They already know how to pray, how to care for others, how to love their family. The sight of young ones rapt in worship, singing and dancing for joy, can give adults goosebumps, and maybe even envy because adulthood often brings with it the loss of such spontaneity in their relationship with God. The more than 2,000 Kids for Christ members from North Luzon, Metro Manila and some foreign countries who, together with their families, gathered at the Baguio Convention Center in Baguio City last April 28 to 30 showed this joy in worship. The families from Mindanao, on the other hand, converged at the RDR gym in Tagum City, Davao last from May 5 to 7, 2017. On May 12 to 14, Aklan became the hub where 700 delegates for the Visayas FamCon. And for its final leg,800 delegates gathered at the Legazpi City
Convention Center last May 19 to 21, 2017. The occasion that brought them all together was the 2017 KFC Family Conference. The theme, taking off from the Couples for Christ theme for 2017 of “Stand Firm in the Faith,” was “We Stand for Jesus”. As with any KFC conference, the focus was on faith, fun and friendship, with a touch of healthy competition. The conference had, of course, all the elements of any CFC conference – inspiring talks, even more inspiring testimonies, praise and worship, and the daily Eucharist. But because the participants were children aged 6 to 12, there were also entertainment, sports activities and creative challenges.
Unlike other conferences of CFC, this conference had as focus the family. Thus, throughout the conference, entire families did things together. Even the talks were delivered on stage by families. The three sessions, aptly titled “We Are Family”, We Stand for Jesus”, and “Do Everything in Love,” closely hewed to the CFC theme. Speakers at the sessions, who came up on stage with their families, were Singles for Christ
THE OFFICIAL MAGAZINE OF FAMILY CONFERE
for jesus International Coordinator Noli Manuel for the first talk, Ablaze President Rommel Ancheta for the second talk, and KFC fulltime pastoral worker Aaron Borja for the third (Luzon & Metro Manila FamCon). The Mindanao conference had the Ong family (Session 1), the Morones family (Session 2) and JM Zamoras (Session 3). For the Visayas, it was the Manapsals for Session 1, the Montalbans (Session 2) and Dondon Buntod for the 3rd session. Lastly, the South Luzon FamCon had the Bajaros, the Divinagracias and Lloyd Polinar for Sessions 1, 2 and 3, respectively. The fun part of the conference had all the kids excited. The creative challenges featured the family dance showdown and music competitions. For the sports challenges, there was the family basketball shootout, family obstacle race, badminton, both for men’s and women’s divisions, table tennis, (men’s and women’s divisions), and family relay. The family praise parade was an exciting spectacle, as always, with families dressed in their colorful costumes, dancing to the music of the particular
ENCE 2017
Various workshops were offered for the families present, ranging from baking, how to achieve a healthy lifestyle, photography, care for the environment, painting, doing household chores, introduction to the lives of saints, calligraphy, public speaking and voice lessons. The laughter of children dominated the venues, an assurance that the future members of the CFC community are being honed to be truly happy and holy. (Christina Quiambao)
NORTH LUZON FAMILY CONFERENCE The spiritual element was clearly evident in the celebration of the Holy Mass every day of the FamCon in Baguio. The first day’s Eucharistic celebration was officiated by Rev. Fr. Benedict Jason Lopez, a former KFC member himself. Fr. Benedict shared that his growth in the community inspired him to serve the Lord as a priest. In his homily, he said, “The Lord reminds us and tests our faith; the difference is within us, on how we see it in every situation. Even if we are rich or poor, we are one in Jesus.” On the second day, Most Rev. Victor Bendico, Bishop of the Diocese of Baguio, officiated at the Mass. Noting that it was the feast of St. Catherine of Siena, Bishop Bendico spoke of the life of St. Catherine and how, despite the struggles she faced within her family, her love and faith never ceased. “There will be difficulties that our family may encounter, but through love and understanding, surely God will not abandon us,” the prelate exhorted. The last day of the conference saw Rev. Fr. Jeffrey Habalo celebrating the Mass. Fr. Jeffrey, in his homily, acknowledged that he too had his share of denying his family and of making big mistakes. However, he proclaimed that “along the way these mistakes converted me to someone who is just so proud to present my family to the world”.
MINDANAO FAMILY CONFERENCE
Attacks on the family: Mspending less time together Mhaving too many distractions Mweakening of the faith How to guard our families against these attacks: ÂŤstand firm in the faith as a family through prayer ÂŤstand firm in the faith as a family through communication
VISAYAS FAMILY CONFERENCE
How can we make our families grow in
love? Tip #1: Listen to one another. Tip #2: Practice acts of love daily. Tip #3: Face problems together. Tip #4: Forgive each other.
DID YOU KNOW‌?
...that children in families that eat together at least 3X a week turn out to be twice as happy than kids in families that do not experience a family meal? so families, make it a point to have frequent meals together!
Spell Love?
L-O-V-E! L - Learn to forgive. O - Offer what we have. V - Value each other. E - Eat together.
IMPORTANT: Pope Francis said, “The spirituality of family love is made p of thousands of small but real gestures.� (Amoris Laetitia 315)
SOUTH LUZON FAMILY CONFERENCE
8 1 0 2 , 3 1 MAY 11
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