Episcopal  Commission  on  the  Biblical  Apostolate 

The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines -

Permanent Committee on International Eucharistic Congresses

Episcopal Commission on Biblical Apostolate

Episcopal Commission on Family and Life Apostolate

Episcopal Commission on Youth

Episcopal Commission on Liturgy

Episcopal Commission for Pastoral Care for Migrants and Itinerant People

Episcopal Commission on Social Communication and Mass Media

Office on Bioethics

Episcopal Committee on Basic Ecclesial Communities

Episcopal Commission on Vocations

Episcopal Commission on Canon Law

and the Philippine Bible Society

in cooperation with

Power to Unite Catholic Family Bible Group, Inc. and

Columbia International Food Products, Inc.

present

The 4th National Catholic Family Bible Encounter

 Theme: The Word of God calls us to be Caring Stewards of Creation

I. OBJECTIVES:

• To strengthen family ties and relationships
• To increase knowledge and love for the Bible and the Catholic faith
• To bring the Catholic Church closer to families and vice versa
• To deepen Gospel values in the family and respect for life and creation
• To foster love for the Eucharist and the Blessed Mother

II. WHO CAN PARTICIPATE:

• Roman Catholic families composed of church-wed couples plus 2-3 children, single, 8 – 25 years old (elementary, high school, or college level/graduate)
• Regularly attend Sunday Mass
• Bona fide residents of their parish and /or B.E.C.
• Ready and willing to study the Bible with a Bible animator
• With basic knowledge of the Bible & Catholic Catechism
• Non-winners of the Regional and Arch/Diocesan competitions may still join for the second time only.  Winners [1st to 3rd ] of the Regional cannot join anymore.
• Families of students from Diocesan Parochial Schools.

III. MECHANICS:

1.  Letters will be disseminated to all the Archdioceses, Dioceses, Prelatures, and Apostolic Vicariates. They can confirm their participation through regular mail, e-mail, phone call, or text. They can also send back a filled-out registration form stating their confirmation or indicating their participation with the Secretariat via phone call.

2.  The competition will be announced to the parishioners and over local radio stations, where eligible families will be encouraged to join. Each participating family  is limited to 4-5 members, composed of father, mother, with 2-3 children, single, 8 – 25 years old (elementary, high school, or college level/graduate or out-of-school).

3.  It is the discretion of the Arch/Bishop whether the Arch/Diocese will conduct Parish-level or Vicariate-level eliminations. Diocesan Parochial Schools may conduct a separate elimination, the winner of which will participate in the Arch/Diocesan elimination. What is important is that Arch/Diocesan-level elimination must be held. The Office of Biblical Apostolate of the Arch/Diocese should assign one Bible Animator to guide and accompany the family participant all the way to Regional/National Competition.

4.  The Secretariat will not provide questions for the Arch/Diocesan Level eliminations.  The Office of  Biblical Apostolate of each participating Arch/Diocese  will submit 20 questions with answers and biblical  references for each category (Identification;  Multiple Choice; True or False; Who Said it and  To Whom it Was Said; & Open Bible) to the Secretariat.  This time, the coverage of the question may be taken from the entire Bible.  All questions are to be written in English. For the Regional and National Levels, questions are in English and will be provided by the Secretariat and the Philippine Bible Society.  Deadline for submission of questions: April 16, 2010.

5.  The Bible version to be used for the competition will be the Good News Version with deuterocanonicals in Today’s English Version. This version has the Imprimatur of Bp. Cirilo R. Almario, Jr, D.D., Bishop-Emeritus of Malolos and first ECBA Chairman; and a Nihil Obstat by Fr. Efren Rivera, O.P., S.T.L., S.S.L., and the first ECBA Executive Secretary. This version gives today’s readers maximum understanding of the content of the original texts. This is also the version translated to different vernacular languages in the Philippines, which is known as the BEC Bible.

6.  For the Arch/Diocesan competition to materialize there must be a minimum of four (4) family participants. Failure to gather four (4) family participants would mean cancellation of the competition in the Arch/Diocese. The official Arch/Diocesan family participant to compete in the Regional level must have won the eliminations in the Arch/Diocese. The Arch/Bishops are entrusted to conduct their respective eliminations.

7.  There will be Regional Arch/Diocesan competitions in Luzon, Visayas, Mindanao, and the National Capital Region (NCR). Luzon is divided into two parts: Northern and Southern.  Qualified finalists residing far from the venue will be provided with transportation, board, and lodging for a maximum of 6 persons (i.e., father, mother, 2-3 children, and 1 Bible Animator) for 3 days and 2 nights if necessary. The 3 family-winners from the Regional competitions held in Luzon, Visayas,Mindanao, and NCR will receive surprise gifts, while the 1st place family winners advance to the National Finals.

8.  Schedule of the Regional Arch/Diocesan Competitions:

                        Northern Luzon:         October 29-31, 2010              Urdaneta, Pangasinan

                        NCR:                           January 7-9, 2011                   Makati City

                        Southern Luzon:        November 5-7, 2010               Legazpi City

                        Visayas:                     November 19-21, 2010           Cebu City                                                                     

                        Mindanao:                 November 26-28, 2010            Davao City

9.  Deadline for submission of the names of Arch/diocesan winners for the Regional Competitions not witnessed by the Secretariat:

                        Mindanao                   December 4, 2010

                        Visayas                       November 26, 2010

                        Northern Luzon          November 5, 2010

                        Southern Luzon          November 19, 2010

                        NCR                            November 12, 2010

10.  The National Finals will be held on March 11-13, 2011 at Mandarin Oriental Hotel, Makati Avenue, Makati City.

11.  National Finalists and Biblical Animators from outside Manila will receive round-trip tickets, and accommodations all-expenses paid for a maximum of 6 persons (i.e., father, mother, 2-3 children, and 1 Biblical Animator) for 3 days and 2 nights in Manila.

EXTEMPORANEOUS SPEECH CONTEST

THEME:

“The Word of God calls us to be Caring Stewards of Creation”

OBJECTIVES

         1.   To promote awareness of the Word of God among the Filipino youth.

         2.   To inspire them to bring out their best in contributing to Christian family value formation.

         3.   To deepen their faith and commitment as witnesses to Gospel values in their lives.

         4.   To share their creativity in spreading love, hope, peace, and unity for a better world.

          5.   To deepen their appreciation and love for the environment.

CRITERIA

                        Matter:  ..........................................................      60%

                                  Content

                                  Relevance to the theme

                        Manner: ..........................................................        30%

                                  Diction

                                  Voice Projection

                                  Stage Presence

                        Form: ..............................................................      10%

                                  Audience Impact

                        _______________________________________________

                                                                                                   100%

1. The “Extemporaneous Speech Contest” shall be held simultaneously with the 4th National Catholic Family Bible Encounter (NCFBE).  No Contest shall proceed at the diocesan level in the absence of the NCFBE.

2. The Contest venue shall be proximate to the venue of the NCFBE and conducive to the attainment of its purposes. 

3. The Contest shall be open to all single Catholic youth aged 12 to 24 from all Arch/Dioceses in the Philippines.

4. The Arch/Dioceses, in coordination with its Youth Commission, shall choose the members of their respective Board of Judges at their level, subject to prior approval by the NCFBE Secretariat.  At the regional and national levels, the National Secretariat shall have the sole and exclusive discretion to appoint the members of the Board of Judges. 

5. Winners shall receive surprise gifts.  In all levels of the Contest, the Decision of the Board of Judges shall be final and non appealable.

6. The topic is given to the Contestant 7 minutes before the actual speech.  Topic is to be chosen by drawing lots.

7. The Contestant is to deliver 5 minute constructive speech based on the topic drawn.  On the 4thminute, the timekeeper rings the bell as warning that the speaker has a minute left.  On the 5th minute, the bell rings to signify the end of the time allotted for the speech.  However, a 30 second grace period is given.  After the 30 second grace period, the speaker is to leave the stage finished or unfinished.

8. Medium to be used: vernacular, Tagalog or English

Practical Reminders:

1. The judges will not be given the name of the contestant or from what parish or diocese.  Only number will be provided for them.

2. The Contestant should not introduce him/herself.  The number will serve as the identification for judging.