ABOUT US
The Filipino Catholic Community of Gouda (FCC-Gouda) & Surroundings is a community of believers with a vision of a world having one heart, one soul, compassionate in deeds and service, all united by the love of Jesus Christ. It is our mission to build a strong foundation, grow and enrich the worship life of the Filipino Community and fellow Christians.
It is our utmost aim to connect people to Jesus and to one another; to ensure that Christian beliefs and practices are maintained according to biblical principles; to nurture, maintain and proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ in worship, word and genuine service; and to accomplish effective communication channels among Filipinos and fellow Christians.
Our Three Pillars
We believe that we could accomplish our mission and vision through the following:
Worship and Prayer
- Organizing Eucharistic Celebrations, Baptism, Festive Roman Catholic celebrations and gatherings.
- Setting up Catechism for children; encourage, involve and support youth to be active in faith; teaching people in the field of faith and evangelism for the proclamation of the Gospel in accordance with the creed and beliefs of the catholic church.
Service
- Diaconal work is help and assistance for the needy based on the righteousness of Christ and His teachings on love and mercy for thy neighbors. Help will be provided irregardless of race, religion, sex, political conviction, social or ethnic origin in accordance with the scriptures.
- Supporting legal entities to work for peace and justice; supporting communities and organizations with similar or related purposes and goals.
Improvement and Growth
- Improving of our knowledge and understanding of God through organising of Bible study, cathechism and praying the Rosary.
- Seek opportunities to educate ourselves about contemporary social issues (Respect life, anti-discrimination etc.)
- Recruit parishioners for service opportunities that draw upon their interests, gifts and talents.
- Increase participation in community service projects where the Filipino parish can be most effective.
The FCC-Gouda Members of the Board
“We are here to uphold the vision, mission, goals and objectives of the community, all for the glory of God.”
From left to right: Amor van Os, Johannes Oosterwijk, Mary Jane Streefland, Teun Blanken, Jenny Luna, Fr. Marcel Uzoigwe. All members of the FCC-Gouda Board are all working as volunteers and are receiving no compensation for the work that they do for the community.
See complete list of duties and responsibilities of the members of the FCC-Gouda Board.
A Brief History
The first ever Filipino mass in Gouda was held on December 27, 1997 at the Onze Lieve Vrouw Hemelvaartkerk. It was organized by five Filipinos- Simon Dumanon Jr., Trini Ruiz, Rebecca Oosterling, Billie Hoogendoorn and Pilar Velasco- living in Gouda and Gouderak. A Filipino priest studying in Belgium was invited to officiate the mass. Later on, Fr. Dan Ceballos, msc, celebrated the masses once a month in Gouda.
Together with other Filipino Communities in Rotterdam, Tilburg, Dordrecht and Amsterdam, the Filipino representatives met and made plans to create a Filipino Parish here in the Netherlands. They approached the Cura Migratorum (literally ‘care for migrants’, disbanded in 2006), a foundation supervised by the Dutch Bishops Conference, to request that a Filipino priest be assigned to this to-be-set-up Filipino Parish.
Fr. Ben Vocking, coordinator of the Cura Migratorum, challenged the Filipinos to write a proposal. The Filipino Group formed an interim board headed by Simon Dumanon and worked hard to write the proposal which they submitted to the Cura Migratorum on November 17, 1998. This proposal was recommended for approval and submitted to the Bishop of Rotterdam on February 28, 1999.
On March 23, 1999, the diocese of Rotterdam approved the appointment of Fr. Dan Ceballos, msc, as the official Parish Priest of the four Filipino Communities: FCC Rotterdam, FCC Tilburg, FCC Dordrecht and our very own FCC Gouda. Fr Dan said a mass in a different FCC on each of the four Sundays in a month.
With the sudden passing of Fr. Dan Ceballos in August 29, 2016, the four communities were left rudderless. Without a permanent common priest and pastor, they decided to go their separate ways.
On October 8, 2016, the newly independent FCC Gouda officially became a foundation (stichting) and changed its name to Filipino Catholic Community of Gouda and Surroundings. The Community continues to hold masses every 4th Sunday of the month.
YOU’RE MOST WELCOME TO JOIN US AS WE CONTINUTE OUR JOURNEY TOGETHER!
SEE UPCOMING ACTIVITIES FOR THIS YEAR.