fondacio - England

Enneagram Workshop 3 + 4 Sept 2011

2011-09-06T11:08:00.002+01:00

Pictures from our workshop 3/4 Sept 2011, featuring our fondacio friends, Alice, wilfred and Jonathan who have flown over specially to be with us for a few weeks to help us with the session and visit schools and parishes.

Visit from Fondacio Asia

2011-09-06T11:01:00.003+01:00

From Alice

Greetings from Walsingham House at Canvey Island!

We just arrived this afternoon and was welcomed by the Walsingham Retreat House Youth Team (made up of 2 full time staff and 6 volunteers). They form a team of youth volunteers every year to run this retreat house with the Retreat Manager, Jon Cornwall. This comes under the Brentwood Catholic Youth Services (BCYS) headed by the Director, Sarah Barber, whom we met this evening. The retreat house is mainly catering to formation of those below 18.

Check out the website of the Retreat house http://www.walsinghamhouse.org/

It was interesting to be inserted in their activities as if they knew us and yet we are complete strangers!! The new team of 2011/2012 are now undergoing training at the Retreat house and we are guests which they welcome after being introduced by Fondacio UK community (particularly Fr Peter and Maddy who know Sarah Barber)

We had spent a week of glorious time with Fondacio UK community, meeting with their friends in the neighbourhood of Brentwood.
Every evening, one member of maddy's sister's prayer group or maddy's friend provides us with dinner (home cooked). We then had different guests at each meal which could be either invited or the lovely families who provide us with delicious and wholesome food. We also have a Malaysian lady popping in one morning to give us lunch....it was chicken curry!!

Each evening, the encounters have been full of interesting exchanges and conversations, getting to know one another and developing friendships.

A weekend enneagram session given to some 12 local persons have also been fruitful & encouraging as we met Fr Bill and Dianne (friends of Fr Peter from up north), Tom and Mary (Maddy's nephew and niece). Tom's girlfriend, Mary's friend Lydia, a migrant couple (Slovakia and South Africa), a Nigerian woman with 2 kids, a Filipina (many years in UK), a baptist man (counsellor friend of Peter), Catherine and Teresa (members of Fondacio UK). Interestingly, it was the first time that Fondacio Uk gave the enneagram to their local people (correct me if I am wrong)

We also noticed that many of the persons we met so far have some form of involvement in charity work and there seems to be indication of possible projects - social development linked with youth pastoral, volunteering either in Uk or Asia, formation and training, community organising, exposures etc.

We have also been meeting some key people in the diocese as mentioned in previous mail. They were Sr Nuala who is the coordinator of Brentwood Religious education, Fr Dan who is the Chaplain of the Brentwood Catholic Youth Services and Fr James who is assistant priest at the cathedral. Wilfred who is staying on longer will be working with the BCYS and the Walsingham retreat Youth team for their annual Autumn Youth Gather Event (15-16 Oct). We will also be attending the Diocesan Youth Mass this Wed wth a few hundred young people (so I heard). We've been told that Brentwood Diocese has one of the most active and progressive youth service in UK and it is quite impressive to see the programs they have for young people. See http://www.dioceseofbrentwood.net/ and http://www.bcys.net/. We are staying at the Walsingham retreat house and we participate in their traning sessions for the volunteers for this week up til Friday. On Friday, we may have a chance to meet the bishop, not confirmed yet.

That evening we move on to a confirmation group of 50 from Catherine's parish (Maddy's sister) in the evening for a meal and some presenation. Over the weekend we will be with Christ the King Parish (where Peter and Elizabeth Robson belongs to) and most probably some sharing at mass. No details yet so please pray for us. According to Fondacio UK, Fr Britto, who is the parish priest is very keen to introduce fondacio to his parish and surrounding parishes that comes under the deanery (something like a vicariate I think). We hope to be able to share with them who fondacio is and what is the mission of fondacio in Asia and across the world!!

In the coming weeks, there will be several encounters with students of ages 14-16 in Schools, confirmants in parishes and young adults and parishes in the deanery that Peter and Elizabeth are in. There will also be a week where Wilfred will head up north to be with Fr Peter in the Diocese of Shrewsbury.

Looking back at this week (Jonathan, Wilfred, Maddy and I had a time of sharing last night), we are certainly touched by the generosity and openness of the persons in the local community. We were also surprised by how the week unfolded and how God had made so many things possible and enriching for all of us. We felt so at ease in being with the UK community and their friends, the sense of being a part of the Fondacio family was certainly an important factor.

We also saw the challenge for the community in the UK in terms of discerning the direction and plan of action during and after this mission project. We felt that so many things are connected...the best is yet to come!! We will see.....

Jabez update

2011-08-03T21:40:00.002+01:00

4 young Asians - who have graduated from the Institute of Formation Fondacio Asia (IFFA) - will be coming to visit us in the UK between late August and mid October. They will be Mary Anne from Vietnam, Wilfrid from Malaysia, Jonathan from the Philippines and Shengna from China. They will hopefully be accompanied by Alice from IFFA. The idea is that they first go to World Youth Day in Madrid and then come on to us.

We are currently preparing a programme of events for them - to speak and lead sessions in schools and parishes in the Brentwood diocese. We are working in partnership with Sarah Barber of the Brentood Catholic Youth Service and Jon Cornwall, leader at Walsingham House on Canvey Island.

The aim of this intiative is to enthuse our young adults in Brentwood (and maybe later in the Shrewsbury Diocese) to look deeply at their spiritual life -their gifts and opportunities to use them - and to start something for them on a regular basis - a place to meet and share their lives, their hopes, their faith.

IFFA August 2010

2010-07-19T10:49:00.001+01:00

Four members of the Fondacio English community are once again heading to Asia in August 2010 to give training and courses at IFFA to help the formation of the next class of future leaders of the Catholic Church in Asia. This is following on from the successful help and assistance they gave in 2009.

Their services and time are once again being funded out of their own pockets and from the very limited funds in fondacio England.

It would be greatly appreciated if anyone could help us cover the costs some of the travel to the Philippines from UK. They did a great job last year but without assistance we will not be able to send them again next year. So any amount people can kindly give would be greatly appreciated. Fondacio England is a registered UK Charity. Please contact us for details on how to donate if you are able to.

God Bless and thank you, Alan

fondacio Asia - Harvesting the Laity - IFFA video

2010-06-05T12:07:00.002+01:00

Peter Robson asked me to post this 16 minute film produced by fondacio Asia called...Harvesting the Laity. It is all about the important work in the Asian Churches to train young Asian adults to built the Church of tomorrow. The work of IFFA.

[if you click on the link above you will need to have your browser set to play 'avi' files with a suitable player i.e. windows media player, realplayer etc - but as it is a large file it will take some time before it is ready to play]

P.S. sorry but the film finishes mid-scentence after 16 minutes, but I think most of it is there. If anyone can give me the last part I will gladly upload it!

Direct link to "Harvesting the Laity Video" - that open in separate window to allow you to download onto your computer

ST LUKE'S BEBINGTON VISIT TO PAYATAS, PHILIPINES!

2009-12-11T22:42:00.002Z

Last August I experienced the communities living from and around the metropolitan waste dump site for Manila at Payatas, Quezon City. Together with 3 friends from FONDACIO (UK), we visited a youth training project, a medical centre and attended the induction Mass for their new parish priest. FONDACIO is a Vatican-constituted lay association of the faithful. I have remained a member from my teaching and seminary days, finding support both for my ministry and my life's struggles. FONDACIO has small local communities, based in parishes, colleges and volunteer centres in 22 countries in Europe, Africa, the Americas and Asia. Community members seek to work alongside impoverished peoples of any faith to build hope, solidarity and love out of a prayerful presence towards active engagement for justice.

The thousands who have built up the shanty town of Payatas live through scampering over the rubbish dump to sell what they can for recycling. Since the popular overthrow, inspired by the then Cardinal Sin, of the dictator Marcos, no relocation of these communities has been made possible. It would be like living in poverty at the Clatterbridge roundabout site with few facilities, but on a vast scale. There is running water and electricity for many parts; sewage facilities are varied, it’s all dirt tracks with corrugated iron and wooden boarding for houses. There is a huge school and everywhere you look there is washing hanging out to dry. School uniforms are immaculate and the youth largely dress like our own: jeans, skirts, printed tops, trainers or flip-flops. I cried after our visits, but received laughter and a renewed sense of faith in life whilst there.

Volunteers at the FONDACIO youth centre provide 3 month courses in basic computing, English and 'ideals education' i.e. faith - with a view to finding work outside the dump site: the students' personal testimonies of how grateful they are to God for hope in their lives reduced me to silence... When lunchtime came, as we all exited the centre, Michael Jackson was on the TV in a shanty house opposite - everyone gathered and danced to 'Thriller'!

The medical centre serves thousands with one doctor and a team of FONDACIO trained paramedic volunteers. They have to deal with TB, respiratory problems and related diseases, baby supervision and have an under 5s shared feeding project with the mums. The children were playing around as we shared their lunch of boiled chicken & rice, grilled fish and vegetables. Healthy food is a priority.

When the Bishop laughed his way through his sermon with the couple of thousand present for the Vincentian Fr Ramon's induction Mass, all singing in and around the concrete and iron girder shell of the Church of Our Lady of the Promised Land, I found a hope for humanity in our Church that I have perhaps felt just glimpses of in the UK: I remember the raucous hymn “Here I am, Lord’”, the teenage tambourine dance for the Gloria, the rows of Eucharistic Ministers and Altar Servers and the noise and bustle of excitement outside and the marvellous shared buffet…

The FONDACIO projects are funded internationally. And what a dream, I thought, as we begin to scratch our heads over our excess church buildings within our own Diocesan LPAs, to co-build the Church at Payatas, in solidarity with the communities there. It’s 120 pesos to £1, with about 450 pesos for a day’s wage. I am rich, they are not. I am asking myself, what can I do about all this?

So it is then… over the next year, our small community of 8 FONDACIO UK are now beginning preparations for youth exchanges and volunteering opportunities through the FONDACIO college near Payatas, where we lived for two weeks – inspiring, loving people. We were asked to give 'Enneagram' inspired retreats with the FONDACIO communities there and the students, using their music, dance and theatre expression. The college run a 10 month training course for up to 25 youth leaders each year from various countries in Asia. Seeing them pray and dance, I thought what inspiration for us back home…

Through sponsorship, we are hoping to fly over next October as many as we can of the 20 students and staff we shared with, to work with our youth in our schools and in our parishes through St John Plessington College, the Shrewsbury Diocesan Youth Service and St Joseph's Ecumenical School, Wrexham, with others too and our local LPAs. The intention is to share life stories, performing arts events and justice projects awareness, with a view to longer term exchanges and volunteering. We have so far received pledges of £9,000 towards air fares. We are applying to the National Lottery for funding towards international, multi-cultural exchange and education experiences, with a view to the combating of rising political racism here in the UK – if this is successful, we may be able to develop a longer term project between our Youth Services and those of Asian countries.

However, please contact me if you have any BUSINESS LINKS which could sponsor multi-racial international exchanges;

OR if you feel an approved Asian youth worker (aged 20's / 30's) would enjoy your family hospitality when over here;

OR if you would like to be part of this wild dream in any way, whatever age you or I may be!

I feel as we reflect together jointly here at St Luke’s and within our LPA, on our futures as parish communities, if we can look to the African and Asian Church at this time, a renewed hope can be enkindled within us from young and older people alike for a better world for us all.

Peace and God bless Father Peter

Visit to Malaysia & The Philippines August/September 2009

2009-10-21T11:44:00.004+01:00

The invitation
Charles Bertille, Director of the Institute of Formation Fondacio Asia (IFFA) invited Fondacio England to support Fondacio Asia by:
- Supporting students at IFFA with pocket money for buying basic essentials
- Engaging volunteers specifically to teach English at IFFA during May for the new contingent each year, and also for other Fondacio Asia projects.
- Offering sessions for the students at the Institute
- Financial support for Fondacio Asia projects

Fondacio England’s response
- A project to engage English school children not only to support the Asian students in terms of pocket money but also to build relationships between the two sets of students was conceived.
- Encouraging volunteers was seen as a way of opening up ourselves more for mission and bringing new life to our own community. We were very hopeful of sending two volunteers in May 2009 but this didn’t come to fruition due to the personal circumstances of the two young people.
- A 3 day retreat called ‘nine faces of God’, using the enneagram as a tool for self and ‘other’ awareness. The 3 days were designed as a journey, - Day 1 - ‘We are God’s gift’, Day 2 – ‘Our need for healing’, Day 3 – ‘God’s call for our life.’ The retreat incorporated drama, creativity, music and dance. A shortened version was scheduled for Fondacio Malaysia and two three-day sessions, the first for the IFFA students and the second for Fondacio Philippines and the staff of IFFA were scheduled.
- Fondacio England have been supporting Maria Yan and the mission to China and will continue as far as possible.

Trip to Fondacio, Asia August 2009
Besides the three planned retreats the trip also was seen as a ‘discovery’ time about Fondacio Asia, IFFA and the other mission projects so that Fondacio England were better placed to invite volunteers, and grow links with Fondacio Asia generally.
Malaysia - The session in KL was very well received. It was attended by community members and a few refugees/migrant workers from Myanmar. Fr Peter Hooper celebrated Mass in the Cathedral in KL, where he and Maddy Edwards were accommodated. Closer relationships were built with Fondacio Malaysia and an understanding of their work with the refugees / migrant workers.
Visit to Payatas, Philippines
2 projects with Fondacio involvement were visited - The Youth Development Centre and the Medical centre – for people living in the shanty town that has grown up around the huge dump site - both would benefit from English speaking volunteers. We were impressed with the approach, which seemed to really live out the Fondacio spirituality and feel that any relationship with volunteers from England would also benefit and give new life to the community back in England.
Retreat for students of IFFA
Again the retreat was well received - the students understood the concept of the Enneagram as a tool for understanding and growth. Two highlights were:
· The Mass for healing and sharing of music on day 2, which ended with some of the students laughing and playing in the afternoon downpour – a real sign of the healing grace received earlier.
· The final Mass of Celebration, prepared totally by the students, who dressed in their national costumes – it was very beautiful.

Retreat for Fondacio Philippines & staff of IFFA
The emphasis of this retreat was about growth in community although it followed the same format as the retreat for the students. On Day 3, the community were invited to live a ‘community of salvation’ where each one could invite the others to challenge them whenever they were not acting from the best of themselves. This lead to some very deep sharing and one sensed that this was also a real time of reconciliation. The Fondacio England community (Fr Peter, Maddy, Elizabeth and Peter) also lived this ‘community of salvation’

Evaluation session for first semester
The Fondacio England community facilitated the initiation of the evaluation of the first semester for the staff and students. The staff and students were encouraged to enter into the evaluation from the ‘best of themselves’ - this short session ended in a time of reconciliation and peace.

And what now?
In brief - For Fondacio England this was a very strong time of re-discovering Fondacio International. It also helped build links with Fondacio Asia that we want to encourage and grow. We feel much more in a position to invite volunteers, specifically for Fondacio Asia but also wherever they will be received into a Fondacio project. We are currently initiating conversations with people and groups involved in developing young people in England. We hope these conversations can also lead to more and stronger relationships being formed when Charles visits England in October 2009. We hope to return to the Philippines for further sessions each year. We hope that the volunteers ‘sent out’ will not only give to the people & projects in Asia, but also will receive from the Fondacio spirituality, and more, will breathe new life to the community in England. Fr Peter is looking at bring IFFA students on mission to the UK.
Maddy Edwards October 2009

fondacio congress 2008

2008-10-13T20:48:00.002+01:00

Three of our community (Maddy and the 2 Peters) are currently in Belgium for the 2008 international congress meeting. You can find out what they are doing and discussing from the congress blog at this website http://fondacio.over-blog.com/ The blog is written in French, Spanish and English so scroll down and read whichever part you can!

Prayer Please,

2008-07-10T19:22:00.002+01:00

Hi all,
Angela has asked if we could all pray for Ben, a nine month old who has just had surgery for a brain tumour. He has a twin sister, so it is difficult for the parents to split their time between the two babies. Thanks.

After the discernment weekend

2008-07-02T23:31:00.002+01:00

My first incursion into this new website - I hope it is part of the new start, new energy for us after the discernment weekend just gone. It was a real blessing to have Clare & Patrick with us - this always seems to be true when we have visitors from Fondacio International. I think the image of us turning outwards & seeing Christ in the world remains with me most vividly - I wish I had a picture of the sculpture that we love with the candle placed outside of it - representing us & Christ in the world.

discernment as to England's mission within Fondacio

2008-06-30T23:46:00.001+01:00

Dear All,

It looks like our mission vision is on the move to becoming a bit more alive with discernment over the next year and with Patrick and Claire being able to support us in enabling this vision of our mission within Fondacio to be activated. This is my contribution for now with the blog.

Love and Prayers Roisin

Mexican Wave in Liverpool Cathedral

2008-06-28T12:23:00.003+01:00

One of fondacio England's members, Fr Peter Hooper, recently celebrated Mass for St John Plessington Catholic College in the Metropolitan Cathedral in Liverpool.
At the end of Mass Fr Peter addressed the students and said, in the words of the famous McFly pop song, "It's all about You"....!

He then went on to teach the young people of the Wirral that whenever young people have gathered with Pope John Paul II, and now with Pope Benedict, they have always celebrated with the "Mexican Wave". The whole congregation of students, staff, parents, governors and priests then performed a threefold "Liverpool wave" around the wonderful circle of the Cathedral seating.

If you wish to see this unique event, there is a video on the College website. Go to this page and select the video for "part 2" (it will be towards the end of this video).

Vision Statement

2008-06-21T21:11:00.004+01:00

In June 2006 we formulated a Vision Statement: -

Our Fondacio community in England is…

An OASIS of LOVE and PEACE
JOURNEYING in ONENESS

And a Mission Statement: -

We will live this vision by…

Being LIFE-GIVING and LIFE-RECEIVING
Open to CHALLENGE
In GENTLENESS and FAITH

We hope to continue to live our community life in this spirit.

Prayer Request

2008-06-21T20:14:00.002+01:00

Please pray for a family in our local parish. The father, Steve, has just lost his job with very little notice (not his fault) and he has a large family to support including 2 children with disabilities.

Love and Prayers to you all, Roisin

End of Community Year 2008

2008-06-21T19:25:00.000+01:00

We are meeting for out end of year community weekend in Emmaus (West Wickham) from evening of Friday 27 through to Sunday 29 June 2008. We will have some international guests from Belgium and France with us for the weekend (Patrick Francois, Patrick van der Planke and one other person). Full details from Teresa or Peter