The conference was hosted by the Archdiocese of Kota Kinabalu with The Light of Jesus Christ Covenant Community as the organiser. It ran from the 6 to 9 August 2009. The theme of the conference was Passing on the Faith. In his message of welcome to the participants, His grace, the Archbishop of Kota Kinabalu, Datuk John Lee, amongst others said:
When the Catholic Fraternity recieved recognition from the Pontifical Council for the laity as an International Association of the faithful in November 1990, one of its objectives is to safeguard the Catholic Identity of Charismatic Communities and to encourage them to maintain a strict bond with the Bishops and the Roman Pontiff. " That identity," according to our beloved late John Paul II, "requires you to be ever more fully associated with the life of the particular Churches." He quoted, "When ecclesial movements humbly seek to become part of the life of local churches and are welcome by Bishops and priests within diocesan and parish structures, they represent a true gift of God both for new evangelisation and for misssionary activity properly so called."(Redemptoris Missi. 72) I hope your reflection on "Passing on the faith" would be done within the context of the local Churches; and how your communities could help strengthen the faith of the new Asian Catholics.
Similarly, the Archbishop of Kuching, His grace John Ha in congratulating the host and the organiser of the conference mentioned:
The conference is a concrete expression of the unity of the Church. Coming from different countries in Asia, participants are united in the Lord Jesus. Covenant Communities aim to foster this unity by enabling their members to live it in a concrete and more manageable manner. In choosing the theme " Passing On The Faith", the conference seeks to brainstorm on how to share with others our faith in the Lord Jesus and bring them into the unity anchored on Him. "the stone rejected by the builders but becoming the cornerstone"(Mk.12:10).
The participating communities were as follows:
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Lord's Flock Catholic Charismatic Community, Quezon City, Philippines (Founder/Elder: Techie Rodriguez)
Family of God's Little Children, Tacloban City, Leyte, Philippines Servant Leader: Annie Corpin
Disciples of Jesus Cov. Community, Manila, Philippines Leader: Fr. Steve Tynan
Spirit of Love Cov. Community, Manila, Philippines Elder: Arcadio Tamayo
Elim Communities, Quezon City, Philippines Elder: Willy Nakar
Servants of Jesus Cov. Community, Sydney, Australia Presiding Elder: Joe Chircop
Disciples of Jesus Cov. Community, Kuta, Bali, Indonesia Area Leader: 1 Ketut Respatia
The Holy Trinity Family Cov. Community, Sibu, Sarawak, Malaysia Presiding Elder: David Siong
Bread of Life, Catholic Charismatic Cov. Community, Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia Presiding Elder: Peter Wong
Servants of Yahweh Cov. Community, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Presiding Elder: Ben Lye
Star of Yahweh Cov. Community, Sandakan, Sabah, Malaysia Presiding Elder: Michael Lee
Marvellous Light of Yahweh Cov. Community, Labuan F.T. Malaysia Presiding Elder: George Elias
Servants of the Lord Cov. Community, Papar, Sabah, Malaysia Presiding Elder: Stephen Lim
The Light of Jesus Christ Covenant Community, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia Presiding Elder: Joseph Chee
Although the programme were very tight due to time constraint, all participants learnt a lot from the conference on topics such as:
Living out the faith in the Word by Archbishop John Ha
Family as a seedbed for faith by Joe and Julie Chircop
Faith explosion in the new evangelisation
(i) by our witness in life - Fr. Mathew Carpenter
(ii) by our preavhing - Fr. Burt Pastor
Faith that moves mountain by Techie Rodriguez
Youth - the hope and bearer of faith by Fr. Steve Tynan
Nurturing our faith in community living by Bishop T. Bacani
As shown in the pictures(coming in the next posting), all was not concentration but there were lighter moments when the various groups presented items after the dinner which was held on Friday.
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