FCC-Gouda welcomes 2019 with glad tidings

Jan 28, 2019 | News & Updates

January 27, 2019 (Sunday) is the 4th Sunday of the month, and, therefore, is the first Sunday celebration of the year for the Filipino Catholic Community of Gouda (FCC-Gouda) & Surroundings. On this day, the members of the community happily gathered together to welcome the year with a fully packed agenda of the day.

The one-hour service started with early arrivals of church members, greeting one another and welcoming back two of the community’s valued priests– Fr. Marcel Uzoigwe and Fr. Mark Robin Hoogland as concelebrants of this Sunday service.

Fr. Mark Robin and Fr. Marcel

One of the highlights of today’s Sunday activity was the ‘launch’ or start of the FCC-Gouda’s Children Bible Corner (CBC), an initiative to also get the young ones actively involved and get started in deepening their knowledge of God.

Children reading today’s gospel in Luke 4:18-20– “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because he has anointed me to proclaim Good News to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, and to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

Officiated by Fr. Mark, the community was also delighted to witness the Confirmation of Pascal Benjamin Hendrikus Kroeze. The confirmation ceremony comes in four acts: (1) the laying on of hands, a biblical gesture by which the gift of the Holy Spirit is invoked; (2) reciting of the creed to profess one’s faith; (3) the anointing of Chrism, which signifies that the person being confirmed is now sealed with the gift of the Holy Spirit; and (4) receiving the cross, which symbolizes the person’s Confirmation.

Laying on of hands on Pascal with his partner, Eve, by his side
Pascal recites the Creed to profess his faith and renew his baptism vows.
The Annointing of Chrism (consecrated oil): Fr. Mark Robin dips his thumb in the Chrism and makes a sign of the cross on the forehead of Pascal, signifying that he is being sealed with the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Fr. Mark gives Pascal a cross to signify Pascal’s confirmation.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the room, the children were all enthusiastic in meeting the other kids, sitting face to face, and knowing each other by name. Above all, through CBC, the children get the chance to be heard as well as to share their thoughts, feelings and experiences.

The children listen to the story of creation, read by Isabelle Hameete and followed by Daphne Streefland, two of the four CBC volunteers of the day. The other two were Lovella Modillas and Myra Colis.
Time for writing and colouring!

For the four volunteers helping out with this first CBC, they too find it delightful to have the children say something about who God is and why they are in the church. To sum up the brief but delightful conversations, CBC coordinator of the month, Myra Colis, taught the children an English song called, “My God is so Big” with the following lyrics saying, “my God is so big, so strong and so mighty… there’s nothing my God can not do.”

Attendees of the first ever Children Bible Corner (CBC) of FCC-Gouda showing their works, Bjorn reading Luke 4:18-20, and ending up their presentation with the song, “My God is so Big.”

As usual, the mass ended by greeting the birthday celebrants of the month, followed by the fellowship & salu-salo time to complete the day’s provision of food not only for the mind and spirit but also for the body.

Contributor: Susan Horn | Photo credits: Susan Horn, Kathy Grimme, Lovella Modillas