Singles conference draws 150 participants

KOTA KINABALU – The Singles for Christ (SFC) South East Asia and Borneo Regional Conference held at the Lintas Platinum Hotel here on 28-29 Oct 2017 drew 150 participants.

The participants came from Indonesia, Brunei, Philippines, Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur and Sabah).

Based on the theme “Eimai Katholikos,” Greek for “I Am Catholic,” the participants were given the opportunity to deepen their Catholic faith and grow in their prayer life through a deeper personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

They learnt how to “Live Catholic” with the four cardinal virtues: prudence, temperance, fortitude and justice.

The participants were led to explore the challenges of being a Catholic in today’s society and to meet and build friendships with likeminded Catholics from around South East Asian.

All these objectives were realised through the Catholic Festival: singing and dancing, accompanied by music, colourful decorations and Catholic elements.

One of the basic elements of a Catholic Festival was the Catholic Booth with four sections:
i) The Creed: what we believe, human response, profession of faith through trivia and bible quiz;

ii) Sacraments: how we celebrate the Christian mysteries, sacred signs, seven sacraments through matching/memory games, and fill in the blanks;

iii) The Commandments: life in Christ, the ten commandments through word scramble; and

iv) The Lord’s Prayer: how to pray through prayer walk, rosary, Mass (Father Paul Lo).

The SFC is one of the family ministries of Couples for Christ (CFC), a Catholic non-profit renewal community, and is a ministry for young professionals aged 21-40 years.   “Single” refers to anyone within that age group who is free from any legal impediments to marriage. The pastoral care offered by the ministry, though, is not limited to those who are called to marriage but includes as well those who may be considering either single blessedness or religious vocation as a state of life.

The regional conference is part of the SFC activities in the second half of the year, July to October, when members from the Philippines and nearby countries gather in an area grouping for a two/three- day conference full of various activities such as talks, workshops and competitions.