April 11, Saturday. It was the day when 6 beautiful women spent a whole day Sa Kabukiran to strengthen the bonds of their friendship through a seminar on friendship entitled: Discovering Friendship with the Beloved Disciple. It was Marie Gozun who first proposed the idea to her group of friends to hold a kind of seminar/retreat Sa Kabukiran especially right after the Holy Week. She proposed the encounter to have a theme about friendship as their group was a tightly knit group of friends who just wanted to experience some growth in their life as friends.
This is the second seminar here at Sa Kabukiran initiated by the Gozuns. The first seminar was held in March with Willy and Marie Gozun’s family. I thank Willy, personally, for having initiated these seminars first for his family and now with his wife’s group of friends. As facilitator of the seminar, I found both seminars a learning experience, as it was my first time to handle a seminar intended for a family and then a group of friends. But I also thank the participants who also enriched me greatly with their wealth of sharing. At the end, everything became such a pleasant and enriching experience.
Willy’s family seminar revolved around the idea of relationships within the family. Each member had their own time to write about what they felt within the family. (I must admit though, that the activities were a bit risky. It takes an open and loving family to be able to open up to one another and engage in this kind of activity) At the end, the seminar took a look at St. Paul’s definition of love in 1 Cor. 13 which ultimately should be the basis of what love is all about. As love defines the relationship we have in the family, it was important to understand the concept of love in its Christian context especially when we relate to one another in the family. The seminar with Willy’s family seemed to have energized the whole family so much so that weeks later, Willy himself came up and suggested to his wife’s group of friends to attend a seminar about friendship.
The seminar on friendship was also unique. To start with, the participants of this seminar had to be friends already. The seminar tried to explore the dynamics of relationships within the context of friendship, using the fourth Gospel, the gospel of John as a kind of framework. Jesus also had friends. The early days of Jesus’ public life focused on how his new friends wanted to know and follow him. Jesus wanted his friends ( also called apostles) to know him deeper and understand who he really is. At the end, redemption according to the gospel of john is even defined within the understanding and context of friendship: “ No greater love can a man have for his friends, than to lay down his life for them…”
Seminars like these are a breath of fresh air for people who go through the process. For me who facilitate such seminars, it is one great learning experience. Come to think of it, such seminars like these ones that are meant to strengthen bonds of community and friendships are at the heart of Sa Kabukiran’s vision. I just hope that many more people will one day experience seminars like these so that Sa Kabukiran will be known as a haven where people can truly experience deep friendships and genuine community building.
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From left: Myself, Eileen, Ket, Marie, Re and Jo.
Picture taken by Julie.
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