Service of Leadership
The primary task of caring for souls rests flatly on the shoulders of the appointed Pastor, Chaplain, or Parochial Vicar. The Pastoral Council is only a reccomendatory body of FCSL. It is never the one with the final say on anything. The Final decision lies on the authority of the one who is appointed Pastor for FCSL.
As an animating body, the Pastoral Council is the one behind everything that goes on in the community. Theirs is a thankless job of meeting, planning, executing, and evaluating. They make sure that all activities are in line with the vision-mission and Constitutions and by-laws of the community.
The Pastoral Council is elected by the community to render, until 2017, a two-year service. From 2017 onwards, the service has been etended for three (3) years. They meet regularly on a monthly basis.
From its beginnings in 1989 up to 2023, the community has had fifteen (15) groups of leaders.
Pastors
- Fr. Emiliano "Emil" Santos, SDB
- Fr. David "Dave" Buenaventura, SDB
- Fr. Noel "Bong" Osial, SDB
Pastoral Councils
- 1st Konsilyo Pastoral (1991-1993)
- 2nd Konsilyo Pastoral (1993-1995)
- 3rd Konsilyo Pastoral (1995-1997)
- 4th Konsilyo Pastoral (1997-1999)
- 5th Konsilyo Pastoral (1999-2001)
- 6th Konsilyo Pastoral (2001-2003)
- 7th Konsilyo Pastoral (2003-2005)
- 8th Konsilyo Pastoral (2005-2007)
- 9th Konsilyo Pastoral (2007-2009)
- 10th Konsilyo Pastoral (2009-2011)
- 11th Konsilyo Pastoral (2011-2013)
- 12th Konsilyo Pastoral (2013-2015)
- 13th Konsilyo Pastoral (2015-2017)
- 14th Konsilyo Pastoral (2017-2020)
- 15th Konsilyo Pastoral (2020-2023)
Service and Volunteerism
Fr. Noel Osial, SDB
Service and volunteerism go side-by-side. It has been roughly three years now that I have not heard the words “I resign!” from the pastoral workers in the Filipino Community of San Lorenzo. I had to admit that I had been traumatized to be surrounded by elected officers who continually threaten to resign from their service since I came back in 2015. For almost anything that goes awry, their battle cry is “I resign!”
Maybe that is the easiest way out, after all they had been sort of “forced” into service due to the process called election. Because they were “elected” into service, they had been in service only because others wanted them there. They themselves never wanted to serve. Others wanted them to serve. Service was not really springing from within. It was forced into them and they swallowed it against their will.
That is the primary difference with the new set of pastoral workers we have in San Lorenzo today. We have volunteers. It is they themselves who wanted to serve. There was no election, no oath of service, no fanfare. There was only work, work, and work. And they volunteered to do this work.
What a joy it is to be surrounded by people whose only desire is to do something good and are so grateful with the simplest “Thank you Sister/Brother!” they occasionally receive.
I believe it is this sincere desire to serve that binds these volunteers together and make them overcome the same difficulties that all groups encounter. They are ready to go beyond their differences in character and temperament in order to make things happen. Their contribution in terms of time, talent and treasure knows no bounds. They complement each other and they fill-up whatever is lacking in another.
No special treatment, no reduced fares, and no places of honor for them: they feel no sense of entitlement at all. No politics, no positions, and no social ladders to climb: their sights are set over and beyond these useless things. No rumor mongering, no endless telephone calls, and no destructive criticisms: and yet they confront and correct each other with a genuine concern for the other’s good.
No wonder they are very joyful and fun to be with.It is really such an honor to be in their company.
Thank you very, very much FCSL Volunteers!