Planting, Cultivating, Reaping, Planting
 

“Yes,” affirmed Fr. Meng Barawid, MI, parish priest of Boso-Boso. “This massive attendance is an indication that the people here have already felt the presence of the Church.”

The Nuestra Señora dela Anunciata Parish in Boso-Boso, San Jose, Antipolo City was canonically erected last (exact date, please) 2004 under the Diocese of Antipolo with Fr. Meng of the Order of the Ministers of the Infirm as its pioneering parish priest.

During his first term, which was from his installation in 2004 up to 2007, Fr. Meng started the parish pastoral programs from ground zero ??– not zero because Fr. Rolly had already laid the groundwork. Since everything was new for him and for the people of Boso-Boso, the laborious task of organizing various ministries and chapels became the top priority. Conducted were loads of trainings and talks to make the tapped leaders understand the types of ministries and the respective roles they were going to carry out for the advancement of their parish.

Despite the tough jobs inherent in the initial years of cultivating the parish, all the sweat and blood invested were all worth it. Sweet fruits are now produced. An active parish pastoral council is currently at the helm and fourteen chapels are getting off the ground.

Among the fourteen chapels, ten are actively maintained by lay ministers and Camillian seminarians and the other four are gradually tended. All enjoy a once-a-month visitation by Fr. Meng. A good number of the chapels are by the way located in far-flung mountains.

“Not only are the activities here in the center gaining more participation but in the chapels as well,” Fr. Meng noted, as he described the significant statistical growth of parish membership as product of the regular worship and of the other pastoral programs being implemented. 

But counting numbers is not the main game of the parish. Fr. Meng has the appropriate words for it, “It is the Faith-led strengthening of the grassroots.”

To make this happen, as Fr. Meng is taking off for his second term, he leads the parish in gearing towards the establishment of Basic Ecclesial Communities (BECs). Several pastoral workers have just graduated from a BEC organizing course.  And new endeavors are presently underway to strengthen the Faith of the parishioners for their empowerment and for the spirit of volunteerism to flourish in their hearts and to make everyone feel a sense of belongingness in the Church that is theirs.

Asked how he infuses a Camillian flavor into his ministry, the ever-witty Fr. Meng answered, “By assisting them in creating a community where everyone helps each other, a community with a healthy relationship, a healthy commitment, and a healthy environment.”