PREX seminar, Tokhang project of Fr. Junar

More than a hundred participants attended the batch 130 Parish Renewal Experience (PREX) seminar on November 30 and December 1. For 19 years in existence the PREX-Sta. Ana seminar was GKK-based and collaborative in nature.

First, the PREX seminar was GKK-based because majority of the participants were from the GKKs of Zones 3, 4, and 5. These are parents of children or babies who were scheduled to receive the sacrament of baptism on December 2 (Sunday).

Second, the PREX seminar was collaborative because the parish priest, Fr. Junar Dela Victoria, tapped the different ministries and groups to provide assistance to the PREX people. Fr. Junar, assigned the food committee to the catechists while the pastoral team oversee the logistics.

It was also the first time that the PREX seminar was held outside Sta. Ana Shrine parish seminar hall. Due to the expected big number of participants, Fr. Junar rented the conference hall of Holy Cross of Davao College located in the 7th floor.

During the PPC (Parish Pastoral Council) meeting in September, Fr Junar was already telling the Council of his plan to include PREX in the formation seminars of the GKK people which were visited by the parish pastoral team during their house-to-house GKK visitation. Fr. Junar gave a moniker to this GKK visitation. He calls it Tokhang which would mean toktok (knock on the door) and hangyo (beg/request/plead). This is the infamous Operation Tokhang of the PNP (Philippine National Police) of which suspected drug users or drug dealers are visited by PNP in their homes to request them to stop their illegal drug activity or to surrender to the police authorities for rehabilitation program. But for Fr. Junar, Tokhang is a good activity and good opportunity to bring the parish/Church to the homes of the GKK people.

After three months of Tokhang, the pastoral team was able to identify more than 150 families whose members are in need of baptism or church weddings. The parish offers them free baptism or binyagan ng parokya and free wedding or kasalan ng parokya with a requirement that they will attend formation seminars like that of PREX.

The discourse of Fr. Junar during PPC meetings as he shares his excitement of his Tokhang could be analyzed as he wants “fresh people; new batch of laity; new breed of church leaders” to become active in Sta. Ana Shrine Parish. And he is hoping that the first batch of his Tokhang project which numbered more than a hundred in PREX seminar batch 130 of Sta. Ana Shrine Parish will provide him with a good harvest.

The Tokhang continues to other zones after the PREX seminar batch 130 hoping that by next year, when the parish will celebrate its 70th, there will be more than 70 fresh breed of church lay leaders.

Military salute for Fr. Junar for his noble Tokhang project. Sta. Ana (Lola Ana) is smiling.