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Basic Ecclesial Communities We are often told that small groups are
the answer for parish life. In Malaysia small Basic Ecclesial Communities
("BECs") have been in operation for over twenty years. Anne
Lee, who is married with two children, and was involved in Charismatic
Renewal in England for many years before she returned to Malaysia
some years ago, shares her experiences of them.
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Where I live, in the suburbs outside Kuala Lumpur, (the capital of Malaysia), my community is chapel based (rather than a local parish church) with about 2000 Mass goers. Due to political sensitivities, building a traditional church in a new residential development is extremely difficult and our chapel is actually housed in a 3 storey commercial building. There is also a shortage of priests and we don't have a resident priest and belong to a nearby parish. The parish priest ministers to our basic liturgical needs, while the chapel is run by a chapel committee of lay persons. I was drawn into this vibrant participating Christ-centered community through the local basic ecclesial community, better known as BEC. Nobody really knew me and I didn't know anybody in the chapel. But BECs are an integral structure of Catholic Church life in Malaysia and have been going for about 20 years. These are neighbourhood based groups where the ideal size would be about 10 families, although sometimes they can have up to 40 or even more families. All Mass participants especially newcomers (like me) are immediately made aware of which group they belong to at the first opportunity. Our chapel has 19 BEC groups and my particular one has about 20 families. I was invited to a BEC gathering at someone's residence. The BECs are supposed to meet once a month on a Wednesday evening, and on that day there is no other church activity because it is expected that people will go and attend their community meeting. Typical sessions begin with a hymnal sing along and then we go through a reflection paper (usually a bible passage) prepared and provided by the Archdiocese. There is a sharing on it and in principle, if honest views are shared, the discussion could be interesting and even controversial. To me, oftentimes the reflection itself is rather academic and not as interesting as it could be as Malay sians are generally reserved and non-combative. After the reflection, there will be discussions on chapel events and any issues that may be raised. Finally, there are usually refreshments (sometimes a full-blown dinner even!) and fellowship. Often, the fellowship is the "high-point" of the gathering as we get to know each other and relationships are developed and friendships bloom. Although the Church in Malaysia strongly urges every Catholic to actively participate in their respective BEC communities, often it's hard to get people to come, and you usually find it's the same people who turn up. Generally, numbers can vary from as few as six to about 30 people. In my BEC, there are about 20 people (adults and children) out of the 20 families who come regularly. My BEC consists of mainly young families so we bring our children to the meetings and have special activities for them. "A blessing" The mission of the Basic Ecclesial Community is sound and well structured. Its ultimate success depends on how it is administered and the response of individuals, and in some ways, the social background of communities. There have been more disappointments than success stories and its full potential remains to be tapped. But for the people that live actively as a BEC member, it can be a real blessing. As a recent example, it was the people in my community who provided much of the support and food when I organised a birthday party for my son. They were also the ones whom ! first turned to for help when I had a minor car crash. They went with me to make my police report and sorted out matters with the garage for me and several members also offered to lend me their cars while mine was getting fixed. I really love our group and was rather upset when our priest told us 2 years ago that we should divide into smaller groups as we had sot too big. Many of us were worried that we wouldn't have enough people coming, but in fact within a couple of months we were back to full strength again! Now 2 years down the road, we have divided yet again and find that there are many new faces whom the Lord has brought into our midst. I think our group has done so well, because we have a very good couple leading us. They are very supportive of everyone and do all kinds of things for people, like arranging transport to church for those who can't get there, bringing Father to visit the sick for anointing and even helping out with food shopping. Initially I didn't want to go for EEC gatherings because of the time factor, but you are supposed to go and I realised that it is just a matter of priorities. It's easy to think other things are more important, but they are not. Once I started going, I was glad I had because the people were so nice and they have become my extended family. Whenever I am back in England, they check up on my mum and help out in all kinds of ways. My community also aims to do various charitable activities each year. "Ideal place to discern gifts" BECs are also the ideal place to discern a person's gifts as the wider community is too big for the priest to know everyone. It was my BEC leader who nominated me to a post in our chapel committee (our equivalent of a parish council). In Malaysia, the parish councils are much more significant than they
are in England. Many basically run the parish because there are too
few priests for them to do it all. Our priest comes at weekends and
on Thursdays to celebrate Mass, give RCIA talks and then comes once
a month for the chapel committee meeting where he is kept up to date
with what's happening and any specific problems that might need his
wisdom or decision. Each BEC for example, takes its turn to animate
and organise Sunday Mass, arranging the collection, etc. We don't
have any full time lay workers but somehow it all works, as everyone
will have their ministry, so it's not too much for any one person!
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In
England I had been quite active for many years in the Lord's "field".
I slowed down when I got married and the children arrived. By the
time I returned to Malaysia, participation in the Lord's work was
almost nonexistent. 1 had a demanding job as a lawyer and although
I had help in the house, life can be very hectic with two children
and my mum to look after, so I just went to Sunday Mass and left it
at that.