Basic Ecclesial Community: A New Image of the Church

Originally posted on October 6, 2008 via Multiply.com
************************************

(Published in Annual Fiesta Souvenir 2002)

The heart of the Vision and Mission statements of the Parish of the Five Wounds of Our Lord Jesus Christ, in Las Pinas City, is to be a dynamic and caring parish.  Thus, we proclaim in our vision statement: "On journey to the Kingdom of the Father, we, the Parish of the Five Wounds of our Lord Jesus Christ, are a communion of ecclesial communities, empowered by the Spirit, for the redemptive work of Jesus."And our vision of joyful communion finds fulfillment in the active presence of Basic Ecclesial Communities (BEC) in our Parish.

What is BEC? Sometimes it is called "Munting Pamayanang Kristiyano" in the dialect. Others prefer the local term "Munting Simbahan".  In our Parish we like to call our BECs as "Munting Sambahayan sa Parokya" to emphasize the family-like camaraderie among the BEC "practitioners" or disciples.  Let us analyze and understand the nomenclature used.  It is "basic" because it is the "core" , the "essence" , the most "fundamental" grouping.  The term "ecclesia" (a Latin word) means an assembly of citizens or small churches.  We use "community" because it is a "communion" of people -- "empowered by the Spirit, for the redemptive work of Jesus" as we describe ourselves in the Parish Vision and Mission statements. BECs are, therefore, small communities of Christians, usually of families, who gather together around the Word of God and the Eucharist.

BECs are the emerging "new image" of the Church.  The "church" in this sense is not merely as a building structure of solid stone (like the boat-shaped new Church we are building in our Parish) but more importantly as the People of God, the Mystical Body of Christ, the Servant Community, the Community of Disciples. It is a new model of being "Church" because BECs are called to be a "living sacrament" revealing God's kingdom and redemptive presence here and now. Thus, through the formation of BECs, we as a Church, might effectively present ourselves as the salt, light and leaven in today's world, especially to the marginalized and unevangelized of our brethren at the grassroots level of our Parish community.

But simply put, the BEC spirit is really a way of life; it is a call to live the teachings of the Gospel in the most concrete situation we find ourselves in everyday, as a family, a parish, a community in journey to the Father's house.  The formation of BECs aims to provide new meaning to our Christian belief, to link faith with daily living as one Parish community.

The Parish of the Five Wounds formed and trained the core group of BEC volunteer workers in early 2000.  After their training and commissioning, the BEC core immediately went to work by organizing themselves into different teams and defining a common mission plan.  Active BECs were established in five mission areas of the Parish: These are Bagong Silang, Laong, Pagtakhan, Paramount-side and Hongkong mission areas of the Parish.  The BEC teams "immerse" themselves regularly in these mission areas to proclaim and share the Word of God, facilitate the celebration of the Eucharist, and simply to experience "living" Christian life at the grassroots.  The proclamation of the Sunday Gospel is done every week, usually on weekends, so that the BEC participants understand better the liturgy of the Sunday Mass. And,through their sharing and meditation of the Sunday Gospel readings, the BEC teams and participants relate relevant topics and explore practical applications in their daily living, for example, basic family and community values of love and respect , caring for the sick and elderly, productive use of time and resources, cleanliness of the environment, etc. Through the BECs, residents of the mission areas feel that they are part of the Parish community.  

In summary, BECs transmit an image of Jesus that underlines His presence among the poor, announcing God's kingdom with bias for the marginalized of society, denouncing injustices against the weak and the poor, systems and practices that lower human dignity, and summoning all to build a true parish community for "the new heaven and the new earth".