Being a friend is what it's all about, 24/7: FIS
vocation drive
CEBU: 11th April 2006 -- Not over 30? No, please keep
reading! That is only one of a range of much more important
questions in the 'Being a friend' brochure from Cebu, as the FIS
province gets into vocation mode. In fact, taking material from
both the North and the South Salesian provinces in the Philippines this
month, one gets a sense of 'The Call', as the Salesian Bulletin for
Jan-Mar also presents 'Youth Calls'.
The Cebu effort is worth a closer look. The
Social Communications Delegate there, Fr Fidel Orendain, started out
the year by presenting each Rector with a complete 'travel bag' for
Salesian vocation promotion, including several banners to be hung out
in schools and parishes, a set of vocational posters, and a 'workbook'
for promoting Salesian vocations, 32 pages offering a Salesians some
basic ideas and concrete inspirations for daily vocation promotion.
This workbook may well interest others. It is
well put together - a potpourri of ideas,
really, many picked up from well-known internet sites (duly
acknowledged), but with specifically Salesian material including a page
on the Salesian Brother. There is a page, too, indicating how the
Lay Mission Partner can play a role in promoting vocations. It is
not a large booklet, just 32 pages, and not glossy, just
practical. The leaflets are glossier - the one already referred
to, but another, produced in 'flat' pastel tones, is especially
attractive, and other than the 'get in touch' portion on the back would
be usable anywhere. In fact, of the smaller items, that is, other
than the banners and larger posters, the material could well give ideas
to others to emulate. There is effective use, too, of the 'Manila
mural' that has received so many searches on Bosconet - Jesus' Last
Supper with the street kids. You can still find a link to the
jpeg image as the last item on the Bosconet homepage, down right, and
the story in #1404.
The Salesian Bulletin, instead, presents a wide
range of vocational stories, this time more Filipino oriented, as the
SB has an official readership of some 13,000 but probably many
more. In this 'vocation' edition you find stories about young
Salesian Cooperators (called to love), Brother Bernard Villasanta who
still serves youth from his wheelchair as he has done for the past 24
years (called to suffer), the Salesians Sisters (to the one who loved
us first), a Salesian past pupil from Makati who joined the diocesan
clergy after forsaking a well-paid and prestigious position in society
(called later), the Caritas Sisters of Miyazaki (called to mission),
Called as a Family - the Damas Salesianas family movement, DB
Volunteers (VDB) (called to silent witness) the Archconfraternity of
Mary Help of Christians, or ADMA (called to spread devotion). It
concludes with the Pakistan story of Don Bosco relief works after the
earthquake. This is especially appropriate as Pakistan is a
mission stemming from Cebu province.
sdbvocfis@yahoo.com would get you more information -
even if you are over 30!
GLOSSARY
potpourri: French term used in English to
mean a mixture of things.
_______________________
AustraLasia
is an email service for the Salesian Family of Asia Pacific.
It also
functions as an agency for ANS based in Rome. For queries please
contact admin@bosconet.aust.com
For RSS feeds, subscribe
to www.bosconet.aust.com/RSS/rssala.xml
