October 2007 Volume 6 Number 10

“Good Housekeeping’

“Good Housekeeping.” One might wonder why we are using such a mundane word as theme for this month of October. Does this have something to do with spirituality? We might just be promoting a brand of house cleaning products. I strongly assert that this “Good Housekeeping” topic touches the very soul of our spiritual life especially when we connect it with last month’s theme of “Abiding in God.” If abiding is defined as dwelling in God as God in Christ dwells in us, good housekeeping, therefore, is a must! I realize as I look back to my years spent in administrative work whether in the academe or church community that housekeeping is so naturally part of me, sometimes even perhaps to a fault as I tend to fix and put order in other peoples’ lives. (Very bad, huh!)

I remember as a 9-year old child, I love to go hopping to nearby homes of our relatives in the neighborhood. When I see clutters I clear them up. One day I saw a pile of unfolded clothes in the sala of the home of a distant aunt. There was no one in the house and thinking that I would make my aunt happy by doing the clearing for her, I neatly folded the clothes and put them inside the cabinet. What a very good feeling only to be scolded later by my mother because my aunt complained that the pile of clothes which were supposed to be washed were cleared, put inside the cabinet and combined with the clean ones. Now she cannot identify which one is clean or dirty. Funny, isn’t it? But that’s me even as a child - a “housekeeper” and so as an adult this time God seems to be channeling such energy in me to do lots of housekeeping wherever I go.

There is joy in doing housekeeping in God’s household despite the pains and frustration. Good housekeeping is a spiritual discipline where first and foremost, one clears his/her own clutter within. During the 46th Annual Church Workers Convocation in Silliman Universtiy Divinity School, Dumaguete City where I was invited to be the keynote speaker on the same theme, “Good Housekeeping,” I posited some points on the topic some of which are as follows:

1. Good housekeeping begins within ourselves. Unless

our own selves are right with God and spiritual grounding is constantly practiced, we will end up with cluttered lives and therefore pose threat to others because of our own spiritual dirt within.

2. We need to be grounded on the truth that in God’s household where we are called to do housekeeping, we must always remember our identity as the “housekeeper” and not the Owner, who is God. We get orders from the Owner of the house and not the other way around of ordering God. Housekeepers’ success lies on faithful obedience and willingness to follow.

3. Firmness is a requirement for good housekeeping, which is demonstrated in consistency in implementing house rules. Especially for young children, consistency must always be observed in words and actions so as to inculcate good ethical values in them. A good housekeeper must be an example in following rules and living out empowering habits he/she is teaching as mandated by the Owner. This is integrity! Having an integrated center in one’s life, which is Christ, makes a person to hold fast on what is right, firmly assert and do it.

4. Because housekeepers are humans and not God, creatures and not the Creator, good housekeeping must bear in mind that we come and go in the household of God. We don’t stay in the house as lead helper or “mayordoma” forever but there is a time that we need to let go of the center stage for the next generation. Every act therefore of housekeeping must be done in preparation for the next line of housekeepers. Efficient housekeeping is to be seen on the strength of training accorded to everyone in the house, that when the lead housekeeper is gone, the household system is not crippled. Yes, God being the Owner will not leave or abandon the house to its own ruin but God mobilizes people to work with Him. Hence, God is pleased to see a smoothly run household with established lines of leadership that is duly respected.

I can go on and on enumerating insights I’m currently learning in my housekeeping responsibilities in church but the most important is the realization that one must be strongly aware of his/her own weaknesses, his/her own evil in his/her own dwelling within the heart which could be challenged and stirred up bringing chaos in others’ abode. At the end of the day, it is not the output of a well-kept house, spotlessly clean and everything in order that would be important but the transformative process in coming up with it, producing the fruits of the Spirit of God and feasting on them. It turns out then that “Good Housekeeping” as a theme is very rich to reflect on. May this month of October bring us to a deep reflection on the said subject and as one whole community of faith, let’s continue to wrestle with issues in our own household that shake our life together as God’s children, as God’s housekeepers.

ASystematic Housekeeper

By: Pastor Grace Fe Inocentes

When I hear the word “housekeeping”, the first thing that comes to my mind is the proper management of a home, which is the primary role of a wife. Of course at first I didn’t fully understand what it means. All I know is that, housekeeping was a difficult subject than other courses offered in college. The wife must secure the needs of her family; bring kids to school, clean the house, cook for her husband and to stretch out the budget for the whole week. It seems that this special job is only meant for women, but of course the Bible says that man should be the head of the family and to be responsible with its spiritual nurturing.

Housekeeping does not only pertain to home management. Some tried to be a good housekeeper but failed in doing such. Probably, missing out the principles that they must follow. What is that?

Every time I wash my clothes whenever I got home from the dormitory, I always hear the voice of my mom saying, “You must have a system when doing something”. And until now, I’m still reminded by that word, “system”, by my second mom, Pastor Leng. Sometimes I get irritated with myself whenever I mess up the tasks that I must do. I pressure myself because I failed to have a system. That word was like clashing cymbals in my ear… System! System! That’s why, I talk to myself whenever I clean the CE Cabinet muttering, “I have to put the crayons in the box systematically, oopps… the manuals!” But it helped me! Reminding myself to be systematic was really hard; there are times that I want to beat myself just to have focus.

A good housekeeper should have this discipline, a systematic lifestyle and it’s a must! Every one of us, including those people who have menial jobs is a housekeeper. God has entrusted us with blessings that will help us cope with the demands of this world. But if we will just use it, without foreseeing what will happen the next day, or doing anything unsystematically, then we need to check out ourselves again. Though I’m still single, I considered myself as a housekeeper of God’s household. All the ministries that were entrusted in my hands should be managed properly; time, talent, and even money. Some people end up nothing because of their lack of discipline. They love to spend their money and time for pleasure, living a life with full of pretensions. Covering their bodies with jewelries and expensive clothes but always ending up wasted. If you are married, in a relationship status or still single, be reminded that we are housekeepers of ourselves and of our possessions. Whether you are a man or a woman.

As the Bible says, “God is a God of order”. Thinking of it, Jesus got angry when He saw people, selling doves and exchanging money, which trampled His Father’s House! Our Church is God’s Home, wherein we can dwell in His presence and experience His mighty works. If the Lord made some changes, maybe He wants to show us something, and that is to submit our lives, our hopes and our plans to His hands. The church is not ours, we are just housekeepers who were given special assignments; to keep God’s Household clean, disciplined, intact, in order and preserve its integrity. We are now in a fast-pace world, and in order for us to grow as a church, there has to be a system that needs to be implemented. Let us not put God and His Spirit in a box, trying to control it in the way we want it, but let God explore and work in us through people He commissioned in guiding us. Jesus is the best example of a housekeeper, He always leave a deep mark in one’s life. He loves to sweep away the dirt of sin, diseases, and unclean hearts. If we want to have a systematized lifestyle, a life that pleases God, then make Him the personal housekeeper of your life…

As Proverbs 4:26-27 says, “Plan carefully what you do, and whatever you do will turn out right. Avoid evil and walk straight ahead. Don’t go one step off the right way…”

May the Lord find us faithful as we fulfill our tasks as housekeepers of God’s Household… shalom!

Lectionary for October 2007

Kingdomtide

“Good Housekeeping in the Household of God

October 7 – Worldwide Communion Sunday

“Many Rooms, One Household”

OT: Psalm 133 and 134 NT: Colossians 3:1-11

Preacher: Pastor Grace Fe Inocentes/CYF Choir

October 14 – Peace Sunday

`“Working for Peace in God’s Household”

OT: 1 Samuel 25:23-38 NT: Ephesians 2:11-22

Preacher: Pastor Leng Lubang/Children’s Choir

October 21 – UCM Sunday “Manly Roles in God’s Household from a Woman’s Eye”

OT: Genesis 46:1-7NT: 1 Timothy 3:7

Preacher: Sis Wilma Pelagio/UCM Choir

October 28 – Reformation Sunday

“Re-forming Housekeeping Concepts”

OT: Numbers 36:1-13 NT; 2 Timothy 2:20-21

Preacher: Pastor Leng Lubang/CYAF Choir

SCCD hosts 2nd Conference Council Meeting. The SCCD hosted the 2nd Conference Council meeting for EY 2007-2008 on September 14, 2007, which hit a record-breaking 8-hour session from almost 10 am to 6 pm, not the usual meeting time according to LCSMC Conference Minister Rev. Armando Carlos. The Conference Council is constituted by elected officers, chairpersons of the various standing committees and Conference staff numbering to about 25. This year’s Conference Council is chaired by Mr. Cito Fontanilla of UCCP Ellinwood and co-chaired by Mrs. Betty Gorospe of UCCP Anabu who presided over this meeting with the former being absent. With SCCD’s newly constructed church building, hosting is expected to be more frequent because of its spacious area. The Christian Witness and Service Summit will be held here as well on October 6 and the monthly CWA Fellowship of LCSMC on October 20.

One Day Wage for the Lord hits beyond target. This year’s UCCP-wide Special Offering, One Day Wage for the Lord hit beyond the targeted P15,000 amount in the church budget collecting a total of P18,657.25 during worship on September 16. It also registered a significant increase from last year’s ODWL of P15,368.00 indicating a generous response from among the church members. The ODWL is observed in all UCCP churches one Sunday a year wherein members are invited to make a special offering of an amount equivalent to their one-day wage or according to the measure of their faith. 22% of this is remitted to the Conference for support of wider church ministries.

CEN Month Celebration reflects on the theme of abiding. “Abiding” was deeply reflected all throughout the Sundays of September in observance of Christian Education and Nurture Month with the different CROs taking leadership in worship. A word that may have been associated with “subservience” turned out to be active obedience in God, being willing to follow godly ways with a “submitted heart” thus enjoying manifold blessings. With the SCCD Choir being “put under discipline” since August 19, the various CROs took charge of the message through music during Sunday worship aside from leading as liturgists, ushers and testimony-givers. The five Sundays of September featured the organizations namely Children’s Sunday School, Christian Youth Fellowship, United Church Men, Christian Women’s Association and Christian Young Adults, the newly formally organized group. Abiding or dwelling of September paves the way for Good Housekeeping theme of October.

Fellowship of the Least Coin launched congregational wide. The Fellowship of the Least Coin (FLC) which used to be just a CWA (Women) activity is now congregational wide having been launched during Sunday worship on September 23 which was set as FLC Sunday in UCCP. Ms. Corazon Tabing-Reyes, being the incoming Executive Director of the ICFLC (International Commission for the Fellowship of the Least Coin), was invited as speaker on that Sunday shedding light on the story behind FLC. In her sermon meditation, she spoke of the spirit of reconciliation as the motivating force behind the beginnings of FLC in the mid-50s with an Indian woman, Shanti Solomon initiating it after her own experience of being banned from entering a country which did not have diplomatic relations with her own. In this FLC tradition, a least coin is dropped for a prayer of peace and reconciliation. It was not conceived as a fund raising activity but a prayer movement for global peace though the money collected from it in the process supported lots of projects worldwide arresting poverty and marginalization of women and children. The FLC was born in UCCP Ellinwood, Manila and beginning January 2008, its head office will be in UTS Dasmarinas, Cavite with Mrs. Reyes assuming the said Executive Secretary position. The Least Coin Jar of SCCD will become part of the worship symbols on Sundays and Wednesday Prayer Service for anyone to drop his/her least coin for a prayer for peace.

Jesus’ Kids Choir revived. The filling-in of the CROs for SCCD Choir’s non-singing during Sunday worship having been put under discipline and while waiting as well for a professional choir conductor has revealed a group of young singers in the church, the Children’s Choir. Organized from the Children’s Sunday school, about 20 kids ranging from ages 5 to 12 join the weekly practices under Pastor Grace Fe Inocentes’ conducting. This budding Children’s choir has revived the old name Jesus’ Kids Choir, which became well known in the SCCD church community in the 80s.Currently this Jesus’ Kids Choir of the 2000s are learning songs each time they meet on Saturdays building up their repertoire for their regular singing in worship service at least twice a month beginning October. The Church Council approved the project of choir gown for members of this Children’s Choir with December of this year as target for wearing it.

Livelihood Project in Simborio launched. The past four months since the closure of the Supplemental Feeding Program in Simborio in May were spent as preparatory period for the birthing of a sustainable livelihood project through a “mini-credit cooperative” launched on September 30, 2007 with a small core group of members and SCCD church Elders. About fifteen women joined the group that was organized following cooperative principles, Samahan ng Kababaihang Nagkakaisa” (SKN), “Association of Women United” where a membership fee of P50.00 is freely given as well as monthly dues of P30.00, P10.00 of which goes towards their mutual benefit fund that will be used for emergencies like sickness, hospitalization and death. The collections would be duly deposited to the bank. SCCD provides a revolving fund of P5,000.00 for capital build up from which loans will be taken for members who are engaged in small business activity. The interest of 2% charged to the loan which is payable in two months will go towards the organizational fund. It is hoped that from this credit cooperative other livelihood projects that would suit the peoples’ needs and interest would be conceived. This project is closely supervised by a licensed Social Worker, Sis. Miriam Gerero who has initiated similar projects in various communities in her years of work in the DSWD. She is also the incumbent president of the SCCD CWA. To monitor the fund collection and overseeing of abeyance on rules and regulations is Sis.Wilma Pelagio, SCCD Outreach Worker to Simborio. During the Launching Activity on September 30, the officers of the SKN who took their oath of office were Fe Relox, President; Maria Guisita, Vice Myla Briones Secretary Lorna Consorte Treasurer, Anotinitete Guisita Auditor, Rosa Bella De Tomas, Adviser.

SCCD weekday activities increasing in attendance. The regular weekday activities of SCCD, Wednesday Prayer Service and Thursday Bible Study are attracting more attendees since the second quarter of this year. From the previous year’s average attendance of 9, the past months witnessed an average attendance of 25 for the Prayer Meeting and 20 for the Bible Study. The study on Paul’s letter to the Corinthians has stirred up interest in some members who have become regular participants in the Thursday Bible study perhaps because it comes closely to SCCD church life. The Wednesday Prayer Meeting has evolved into a Mid-week Prayer Service with the Pastoral Team taking charge for two months now in leading it. Different ways of praying are being explored and tried and longer time is spent for meditation alongside sharing of testimonies on answered prayer. Indeed the church that prays and studies together grow deeper and stronger in the Lord.