REAP holds Conference for the 6th Educar Congress

Carlos Legaspi, Jr., PhD•October 25, 2021

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The Recoletos Educational Apostolate in the Philippines (REAP) held a virtual conference in preparation for the 6^th EDUCAR Congress, October 22, 2021, at 1 pm via Zoom. The program opened with the opening prayer led by Fray Don H. Besana, OAR, University of Negros Occidental -Recoletos (UNO-R) President. This was followed by the Welcome Address of REAP President Fray William C. Villaflor, OAR.

The REAP schools presented the outputs of their group discussions of the 6 areas which are the OAR Institutional Educational Project (PEI); the Augustinian Pedagogical Bases; Model for the Evaluation of the Management of the Augustinian Recollect Charism (MEGCAR); Evangelizing Dimension in the Educational Centers; Social Dimensions and ARCORES; and the EDCAR Network. The order of the presentation was UNO-R; University of San Jose -Recoletos (USJ-R), Cebu; San Sebastian College -Recoletos (SSC-R),Manila and Canlubang; San Sebastian College-Recoletos de Cavite (SSC-RdC) with Sacred Heart School Recoletos, Alfonso, Cavite and San Pedro Academy (SPA), Valencia and San Pedro Academy-Recoletos (SPA-R), Caidiocan, Valencia.; University of San Jose Recoletos, Balamban, Cebu; Colegio de Santo Tomas-Recoletos, (CST-R) San Carlos City with Colegio de San Nicolas de Tolentino-Recoletos (CSNT-R), Talisay City;

Fray Eduardo Celiz, Jr., OAR, School Director of USJ-R, Balamban gave the Closing Remarks. Fray Jessriel Marcha, OAR, School Director of SPA, Valencia, gave the closing Prayer. Mrs. Ma. Judy B. Legaspi was the emcee of the program.

Fray Villaflor in his welcome address reminded the participants that according to the timetable set by the General Secretariat, we are on the second phase of the preparation for the 6^th EDUCAR virtual General Assembly on November 3-5, 2021. He also said that this year, the Order is focused on the theme: “Creators of Spaces of dialogue with the World and Contemporary Culture” and to make this more accessible, the educational apostolate carried the motto: “Busquemos Juntos la Verdad” (Let us seek the truth together). Thus, it is fellowship, teamwork and cooperative learning are encouraged among local, national, and international educational centers. He told everyone to share the gift with everyone.

Fray Celiz, in his closing remarks, shared that the afternoon’s process is “synodality” for it allows each school to listen and share the specifics of our Recollect schools to discern what is the best for the local EDUCAR Network. We are working together to strengthen our common mission in the field of education. The process undergone, the experience of working together and going back to the basic principles which we are anchored give us hope during this pandemic. We remain dedicated and creative in doing and accomplishing our common mission of witnessing and sharing the Augustinian Charism, values, and experiences, he added. We may never grow tired of bringing Christ in our apostolate. He reminded all that we need to be open to the reality and possibility of learning from one another and helping each other to see a broader perspective of our mission. With all these, we could be more effective and fruitful in our educational apostolate.

Carlos Legaspi, Jr., PhD

Writer/Contributor, University of Negros Occidental-Recoletos.