Disaster Relief Cagayan de Oro Update

Disaster Relief Chaplaincy Training (a training in Critical Incident Stress Debriefing/Psychological First Aid for clergy and lay professionals) will be facilitated by Bukal LIfe Care & Counseling Center. December 27-28 at Cagayan Gospel Church, 15 cor Tomas Saco St. Nazareth, Cagayan de Oro

Disaster Response Trip to Cagayan de Oro

5 members of our team, led by our Executive Director, will be traveling to Cagayan de Oro, as part of a Bukal Life Care & Counseling Center mission. Our Bukal Life team is going down with the focus of training and empowering church leaders (clergy and layleaders) to effectively provide crisis care/counseling to their members and members of their community. Evangelical churches in CDO are joining together to form Kagay-an Evangelical Disaster Response Network. They are working with a broader team of NGOs and government groups. The team leaves Baguio (and Davao) on December 26 and returns on the 30th. Please pray.

Flooding in Northern Mindanao

Please keep the people of Northern Mindanao in your prayers as they are recovering from massive flooding. Hundreds have died and thousands are in temporary shelters. We are looking to put together a disaster response counseling team. We need your prayers in this… but they need your prayers much more than us.

Bukal Life-Baguio Christmas Party

Bukal Life-Baguio had its Christmas Party at the Salas’s on December 16, 2011. (Bukal Life-Manila held its Christmas Party on December 9th).

This was also a sending off and thanks to Tessa Leones for her help with us in CPE and training seminars. Ma’am Tess was head of Psychology at Saint Louis University for many years until her retirement. She joined us for over a year, but is going with her husband to be with children and grandchildren in the US.

We are thankful for her help and have best wishes for the whole family.

December Pastoral Care Updates

CPE and CPO are ongoing.

CPE (Clinical Pastoral Education) Extended in Baguio is presently in its 4th week. We have a total of 11 trainees with three supervisors.

CPE-Manila is hoping to start up again in January with a new batch. The center for ministry is the Philippine Children’s Medical Center.

CPO (Clinical Pastoral Orientation) is in its 5th week as a partnership with the Philippine College of Ministry in Baguio City. 17 trainees.

CPO is also being held periodically in Kalinga as part of a partnership with the UCCP

Our CPE-Intensive will start in late March, but we are accepting applications already. (Go to the forms page and download the Application Form. You may also want to download the Financial Aid Form).

Clinical Pastoral Orientation in Tabuk, Kalinga

Rev. Aguirre (or Executive Director) is holding a mini-Clinical Pastoral Orientation CPO) among pastors and workers of United Church of Christ in the Philippines (UCCP), North Highland Conference, November 28-29, 2011, Tabuk, Kalinga.

Clarification

We have been getting some inquiries regarding residential counseling and care services. So as a point of clarification:

1. We do not have residential services. Our present services are limited to outpatient counseling in Baguio and Manila (and soon to add Bacolod). Questions regarding outpatient counseling sessions may be made to 0933-302-0373.

2. Additionally, we do chaplaincy services as part of our CPE and CPO programs at a number of places. These include (but are not limited to) hospitals (such as Benguet General Hospital, Baguio General Hospital, and Philippine Children’s Medical Center) and detention centers (such as Baguio City Jail).

3. We should note that we are in the VERY EARLY stages of discussion regarding setting up a Residential Counseling Center in the Baguio City area. However, it does not exist at this time and cannot promise when (or if) it will be done.

CPE News– November 2011

Here is a bit of an update:

1. 2011 Batch 3B (Our first Manila group of CPE students) graduated on November 12 with 11 completing their requirements. Congratulations to all!!

2. Our first CPO group began this Monday with 16 trainees here in Baguio.

3. 2011 Batch 4A CPE begins this next Monday (November 21) with three groups here in Baguio led by Becky, Ryan, and Joyce. Best wishes for all.

4. 2012 Batch 1B CPE (Manila) is expected to start some time in January. Stay tuned.

5. 2012 Batch 2A and 2C will begin in March. 2A is our normal Baguio CPE Intensive. 2C will (prayerfully) be our first CPE training group in Bacolod City. Doc Sim hopes to start this at West Negros University.