Joseph Alonsabe (centre) leads worship at the Our Lady of Good Counsel school auditorium in Surrey, BC on January 4, 2014. (Photo: Jao Dantes)
Families. Regardless of size or ethnicity, we come from a family. On January 4th, the CFC-Youth community in the Pacific East Cluster was blessed with the opportunity to welcome more than eighty members to our family.
The Covenant Orientation started off with the chance to enjoy each other’s company in playing games and spending time together, which is a main component of family life. The event began with the first talk and a worship led by Jeff Adolfo, East Cluster Head. Following this were several other talks. From my point of view, witnessing the entire day seemed nothing out of the ordinary until lunch. During this period I witnessed all the Household Heads eating with their Households and even the Chapter Heads eating with theirs. Upon seeing these things I realized that this community really is a family. Possibly it was everyone eating together or the laughter but the atmosphere was highly redolent of one word: family.
Lunchtime led to the final talk which was followed by the commitment ceremony. This ceremony had set in stone all the values and teachings that had been taken in the entire day. This ceremony had made it certain that more than eighty new members had been welcomed to our family. And it’s true what they say: “the family that prays together stays together”.
Thus this saying would be put to action as as I led worship. My exhortation was a personal testimony of my experience in the community, a testimony of the love has been shown to me as well as a testimony of the love that I have witnessed in the four years that I have been in the community. The exhortation also consisted of welcoming all of the new members to the community, welcoming them to a community that will always love them. The worship began with the Sign of the Cross and we began to praise and worship our God. During the worship I truly began to feel God’s presence along with my family as we sang one. I truly encountered a sense of unity as the as the lyrics, “We are one in You Lord” were cried out. When the worship had ended the only thing left were the closing remarks and announcements.
At the end of the event we talked and chatted with the newest members of the family. Perhaps a good way to sum the day is with the theme chosen by Pope Francis for the World Day of Peace on January 1, 2014: “fraternity, the foundation and pathway to peace”.
Joseph Alonsabe, CFC-Youth Pacific Region
