Second day of personnel orientation centers on Ephata: the DC Inter-Assemblies Document

August 3, 2022 – On the second day of personnel orientation held online via zoom, Sr. Maria Luisa B. Javier, DC, SHC President, discussed the Daughters of Charity’s Inter-Assemblies Document (IAD) dubbed as Ephata, which is a guide in the planning and implementation of the DC’s missions in the inclusive years 2021-2027.

Sr. Malu first recalled the said IAD of the Daughters of Charity in its initial implementation back in the SY2021-2022 with the theme: Ephata, breakthrough the gate, Go towards the encounter. “We have integrated the missionary commitments in the Continuing Quality Improvement Plan (CQIP) during this phase and expect more inclusions in the succeeding years,” she said.

Sr. Malu also informed everyone of the four Visionary Commitments of the said document: Human rights and development, Care for our common home, Mystique of living together, and Transmission of faith and values to the young.

“In this school year 2022-2023, our commitment will be applied via the new theme, ‘Ephata: Gates through which to break…Keys to open them… concrete guidelines’,” Sr. Malu evoked, adding that lay mission partners can use their creativity in crafting plans, but it must still be aligned with this theme.

Afterward, Sr. Malu discussed the different doors to open and the keys to open them.

The first door is a wide-open eyes spirituality, where the key is contemplation. She said, “an example is the presentation of HR plans we did during Day1 of the orientation, and the HR department provided us time to reflect on those plans.”

The second door is a renewal of hearts and minds; the key is Conversion.

“The SY2022-2023 is a call for the renewal of the minds. Whatever misunderstandings we have, we let go. Forget about those who have pained us, and let this door symbolize renewal among us,” Sr. Malu emphasized.

A way of living as “leaven in our world” is the third door where the key is Presence.

Sr. Malu said that we “let us be the source of joy, let us offer something that will enlighten people. How does one live in the fullness of life? By our mere Presence, we somehow give life to one another.” The fourth door is a commitment to journeying together. The key is sharing.

“Every Catholic who is a follower of Jesus is our partner in the journey. To journey together is to live together, trying to perform our mission here on earth, and accompany one another to become an instrument of God’s Love. With sharing, we grow. It is by sharing even the goodness of the Lord,” Sr. Malu said.

The fifth door is shared and prophetic action and the key is participation.

Sr. President said that “one cannot be sharing without participating. By our baptism, we all share the threefold mission, and one of these is prophetic action. We may not be like John de Baptist, laying one’s life for the mission, but with simple things like proclaiming, we can become like him. When we denounce something that is not good, we offer some alternatives.”

“For example, while the responsibility of the GSU is to make the school orderly and clean, it is also our responsibility as employees to participate in keeping it clean. As teachers, we can do this by meeting and dismissing classes on time. We contemplate what we do, and if what we did is according to the will of God, then we fulfill his will,” she explained.

The sixth door is a culture of encounter, and the key is open-mindedness.

“We were able to meet yesterday, and along the course of time, we will encounter each other in the future. If God is with us, we see God in others as well. Respect for human dignity is anchored in the sacredness of our life. When a person commits undesirable actions, we can correct the action, but not the person,” Sr. Malu advised.

The document also provided six concrete guidelines for each door, with details anchored on the gospel and values of the church: Contemplation to love better, Conversion to further fraternity, Presence for the mission, Sharing as a way of life, Participation as a constituent element of the mission, and Open-mindedness as the foundation of all change.

Sr. Malu expounded on the 6th guideline as we should aim for the holistic formation of our students. She emphasized that it is our primary duty as educators of Sacred Heart College. She also presented the vital schedule for the coming school year.

In her concluding words, she told everyone, “Love is inventive up to infinity if we are contemplative. If some things are not clear, pause for a while, and pray to God to clear our minds for enlightenment. It matters that we have good values and attitudes since it is my responsibility to remind you to be sensible. You are all trained in SHC, so wherever you may be in the coming days, be proud that you came from SHC.”

The different department heads led the rest of the day’s program.

Ms. Hazel San Gil, Director CVF and Ms. Beverly Africa discussed the Pillars of Transformative Education, JEEPGY CEAP’s Mission.

Then, Ms. Lani Peregrin, QA officer, discussed SHC’s Roadmap in the New Normal.

This was followed by a review of the trends and approaches to Gender and Development (GAD). Mr. Eduard Mancilla, Director of the Student Activities, Development and Discipline Office, led the discussion on this topic.

Mr. Ronaldo V. Uriarte, Data Protection Officer, gave the participants an overview of the Data Protection Plans this school year.

In the afternoon session, Sr. Maria Ruby Engay, DC, and her team gave talks on Stewardship and Zero HArm Goal.

Finally, Mrs. Sylvia Ingente, Human Resources Director, informed everyone of the work scheme, wearing of school uniforms, and attendance at institutional activities for the school year.

An open conversations – where questions about the opening of classes were answered by the respective heads of departments – followed.

Diether Catindig and Jessa Pastorfide hosted the orientation.

(News: H. Nanad)