Seminar on "Spirituality of Stewardship" for the CBCP

This week the Catholic bishops of the Philippines are gathering for their week-long assembly which started yesterday. I was part of the team (made up of  the staff of  the Socio-Pastoral Institute) that prepared and conducted a seminar on "Spirituality of Stewardship (SoS)" for the bishops. In the morning of  the first day, Bishop Broderick Pabillo opened the seminar with a talk on "Spirituality of Stewardship and New Evangelization." This was followed by the sharing of experiences by lay leaders (Merlita Sibal and Adelyn Tores) and their parish priest (Fr. Manny Catral) from Tuguegarao who have been implementing the SoS in the BECs of their parish. Then the Clergy stewardship program of the Diocese of Legaspi was presented by Mayee Abear. After the lunch break, Bishop Antonio Tobias and Fr. Tony Labiao shared their experience of implementing the SoS in the diocese of Novaliches. I then shared my observation and theological reflection on "The Spirituality of Stewardship and Basic Ecclesial Communities." This was followed by a series of short talks by the guests from the United States who have been promoting the Spirituality of Stewardship (Fr. Andrew Kemberling, Rick Jeric, Tim Gray, Sharon Hueckel, Terry Polakovic). This morning, after the recap by Joey Clemente, Bishop Mylo Vergara shared his experience of promoting the SoS in the dioceses of San Jose (Nueva Ecija) and Pasig. The last part of the seminar was the workshop and open forum.