Mga kapatid kay Kristo,
Last September 16, 2017 some of you responded to my call to participate in our First Assembly of the Filipino Apostolate held at St. Joseph's Parish Hall in Malden, Massachusetts.
It was a fruitful day. It was a grace-filled moment. I sensed the concern, the support, and commitment to the Filipino Apostolate of those who attended.
Mission Statement
First and foremost, after some discussions, discernment, and reflection, we came up with a
revised Mission Statement for the Filipino Apostolate:
Kami ay isang Sambayanang Kristiyano na gumagabay, kumakalinga, at umaaruga sa buhay-pananampalataya ng aming mga kabataan, at kapwa Pilipino sa Arkidiosesis ng Boston.
We are a Christian Community that guides, takes care and nourishes the faith life
of our young people and our fellow Filipinos in the Archdiocese of Boston.
Our Mission Statement identifies us as a Christian Community and not as a parish. As a Christian Community we would like to "Live Christ, and Share Christ". All of our lines of actions and programs throughout the year will be defined by our desire to guide (gumagabay), to take care (kumakalinga), and to nourish (umaaruga) the faith-life of our young people and our fellow Filipinos.
Consequently, we agreed upon the following changes:
1. Rescheduling of our regular Sunday Masses
Beginning October of this year, we will only have two Sunday masses a month specifically on the Second and Fourth Sunday of the month unless other special activities or celebrations occur outside those two Sundays.
2. Restructuring of the present chapters
Since the chapters will be affected by the mass schedules, the Filipino Apostolate will be
restructured to two geographical area: the North Shore area, and the Central-South Shore
area. We want to remove the notion of chapters and emphasize the notion of communities.
The North Shore Communities will be composed of communities from Malden, Salem,
Peabody, Lexington, Everett, Somerville and other areas north of Boston. The Central-South
Shore Communities will be composed of communities from the Greater Boston area, Newton,
West Roxbury, Quincy, Braintree and other areas south of Boston.
3. Location and schedule of masses
Presently we have two locations consistent with the two geographic sectors: St. Joseph's in Malden for the North Shore Communities and Holy Name in West Roxbury for the Central-
South Shore Communities.
Our presence in St. Joseph's in Malden could change if there is a need to look for a parish which will be strategically convenient to most of the communities coming from the North Shore sector. However, we definitely need to maintain our presence in Holy Name at West Roxbury since our corporate and financial identity is attached to that parish.
Our Filipino Mass at St. Joseph's in Malden will remain on the Second Sunday of the Month,
while our Filipino Mass at Holy Name in West Roxbury will be moved on the Fourth Sunday
of the Month. Nevertheless, Quincy will still be the venue of our Annual Summer Picnic.
Pastoral Council
As a result of these changes, a simplified structure of the Filipino Apostolate Pastoral Council under the leadership of the Chaplain was adopted. The Chaplain will act as the chairman of the Pastoral Council with the Coordinators of the two Communities as his Co-Chairpersons. The other members of the Pastoral Council will be the Assistant Coordinators, and Secretaries of the two sectors. These officers will be chosen by the Chaplain from nominations coming from their communities. The Treasurer, and the Auditor, however, will be appointed by the Chaplain. The process of nominations will be announced to all the communities by November. The selection and appointment will be done in December and the installation of the new set of officers will take place either in January or February, 2018. The Coordinators of the two sectors will appoint their own Finance Team, as well as the Heads of the following Ministries: Liturgy, Formation, and Community and Outreach.
Other Matters
Due to time constraints, Budget, and Calendar of Activities were not discussed. These items will be taken up by the current Pastoral Council before the end of this year.
However, two community activities are being organized before the end of the year:
1. An Advent recollection on the 2nd of December, from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm at St. Joseph's
Parish Malden.
2. Our traditional Filipino Apostolate Christmas celebration on the 24th of December, our
regular 4th Sunday mass for December at Holy Name Parish, West Roxbury.
Details of these two activities will be announced in the coming months.
Finally, I would like to thank all those who sent their responses to my survey questions and all those who participated in the Assembly. Thank you for all your contributions.
I sense in all of you that commitment of becoming "agents of communion, participation, and
mission" as we "Live Christ, and Share Christ" in our Christian Communities.
May our Ina ng Antipolo - Mary, Queen of Peace and Good Voyage lead us always to her Son.
AMEN!
Given this 24th day of September, 2017 during the Filipino Apostolate celebration of our Filipino Martyrs San Lorenzo Ruiz and San Pedro Calungsod, at Saint John the Baptist Church, Quincy, MA.
