Maasin Community
Edmund Rice Community - Maasin Diocese, The Philippines
At the beginning of June, the Brothers officially moved to a new location here in the Diocese of Maasin. After almost two and a half years of living in a small rented house in the town of Hilongos, the opportunity came to move to a more appropriate location (in terms of space and facilities), when the FCJ Sisters (Faithful Companions of Jesus), made the decision to withdraw from the Diocese, and invited the Brothers to either rent or purchase their large (7 bedrooms) house, located in the Barangay of Maria Clara, about 7km from the centre of Maasin City.
The house, which is currently being rented by us, is a solid two-storeyed , well-maintained building, that is only about ten years old, and offers plenty of space for the accommodation of visitors, something that we have struggled to provide whilst living in Hilongos. The move to this new location, also marked a turning point in the establishment of a Brothers community in Maasin Diocese. It signalled a re-evaluation of the whole aspect of our community and ministry in this region, in dialogue with the OLT.
The month of June witnessed plenty of comings and goings, as far as the Religious personnel of Maasin Diocese was concerned. The FCJ Sisters, who have been closely associated with the Brothers in this part of the world for several years now, decided to withdraw from the Diocese, much to the sadness of many citizens of Maasin City. The Brothers attended a farewell function for the Sisters, here in Maria Clara, two days before their departure on 28th May. Three weeks later a farewell function for Carl Sherrin was held in the Brothers’ house in Hilongos, before he moved back to Sydney. This also marked the official end of the Brothers’ rental accommodation in the town of Hilongos. Eight days after that, two Brothers from the Indian Province, Theo Alvares and Roshan D’Cunha, arrived to join Frank in the new house in Maasin. Finally, on 5th July, Graeme Leach arrived from Kabankalan, to help facilitate the exploration of new ministry outreaches for the Brothers in the Diocese.
Also during the first week of July we hosted a visit by Ian Robertson (our new Cluster Leader) ,and Shane Wood (Project Officer of Brothers’ Ministries in Developing Nations). After the helter-skelter of the comings and goings, and moving residences, our community of four has settled down to focus on exploring in some depth, our possible future involvement in ministries in the Diocese , a process that is requiring us to meet a variety of people, both in Church and in Civic circles, to ask relevant questions, seek information, reflect on what is gathered and to write up our findings. Even though some aspects will prove difficult to negotiate, I am sure that we will eventually arrive at legitimate and satisfying conclusions.
Late May and early June signals the end of summer here in the Philippines, although strictly speaking we have only two seasons; season 1 = hot and dry, with season 2 = hot and wet. Variations do happen depending on climatic conditions such as El Nino, and La Nina. This year, the end of summer brought very hot and humid conditions, with temperatures reaching 35 – 36 o C for some weeks. Electric fans are a necessity during these times, but we have no Air Con in the house.
The rainy season really only began in July, and the temperatures have cooled noticeably since mid-July. Now I require a sheet over me to sleep at night. It is wonderful at this time of year to view the brilliant, bright green colours of the rice fields, and the different shades of green in the lush jungle on the hillsides. However, it is also the beginning of the typhoon (cyclone) season. Several sharp electrical storms have visited us over the past couple of weeks, but no typhoons so far.
Frank Perkins
