SCCs/ BECs - A Gathering of Friends
Towards a synodal Church of communion and participation Building Communion through a shared vision of a church that walks together and lives in the neighbourhoods Enabling Participation through Small Christian Communities / Basic Ecclesial Communities. Propelled by Christ in the Gospel to Mission
Welcome to SCCBEC Asia Network
A Gathering of Friends who share a vision of the Church as a Communion of Communities walking together with peoples of different faiths and traditions, with the poor and with creation.
Inspired by the vision of the Second Vatican Council and the Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences (FABC), we are convinced that a Synodal Church can be nurtured from within the SCCs/BECs in the local churches. Gathered around the Word of God and activated by Christ we are closer to those in the peripheries and are well placed to have the triple dialogue with the poor, people of different faiths and cultures.
We, the team supporting this network, are hoping that this website can be a platform for sharing our experiences, resources and hopes.
Communion
Participation
Mission
What Are SCCs and BECs?
Acts 2: 42
“These remained faithful to the teaching of the apostles, to the brotherhood, to the breaking of bread and to the prayers.”
These four elements together, the teaching of the apostles, the brotherhood, the breaking of bread and the prayers were the fundamental and constitutive paradigm of the Christian community, which was different from the style of other contemporary Jews. Since these 4 themes are very crucial to the Christian community, Luke develops again these same themes in verse 46, saying;
‘Each day, with one heart, they regularly went to the Temple but met in their houses for the breaking of bread; they shared their food gladly and generously; they praised God.’
Luke emphasizes that these four elements form the fundamental structure of the Church which the Holy Spirit wishes to build up...
Although each place has developed some variations of their own, the small Christian Communities have the same essential four factors in common:
1. They meet together with the power of the Word of God
In Small Christian Communities the word of God is always in the centre. Christ is the Word of God incarnated into the world. Therefore wherever Christians meet together, the Word of God should take first and central place. Listening to the Word of God, sharing their experiences, the people of God mature as children of God and they develop an evangelical perspective to see, discern and judge the complex realities of our world. This realizes the teaching of Dei Verbum.
2. They meet in small groups: Community building
In our parish setting it is actually not possible to develop personal relationships with the other faithful. But in the small Christian Communities the Christians have close contacts with a limited number of members and feel the bond of community life having a new sense of belonging and solidarity based on a common faith. This is what Lumen Gentium teaches and wishes us to realise.
3. They pray togetrher in Communion with the Universal Church
While the majority of Christians find it quite difficult to pray individually in their ordinary lives, the small Christian community helps people grow together in their spiritual life praying together regularly, following the liturgical calendar of the Universal Church. In small Christian communities the members are deeply influenced in their spiritual life by others in the community through the sharing of experiences lived in daily life. The small communities present the milieu for a communitarian spirituality. This is what Sacrosanctum Concilium also tells us to achieve.
4. They realise the Gospel in their lives
The Small Christian Communities try to put into practice the Word of God in their concrete daily lives. There are several methods of sharing the Gospels but they all aim not only to meditate on the Word of God but also to live out in their daily life the knowledge they received from the Gospel so that they could contribute towards realizing the Kingdom of God in this world.
The small Christian Communities put us within a powerful context in order to challenge unjust realities in modern society so that we could transform the world into the Kingdom of God which Jesus wished to accomplish. This realizes the teaching of Gaudium et Spes.
Extracts from a talk by Bishop Peter Kang given to German Bishops visiting Jeju Island, South Korea in 2009.
Our Vision
The Church in the neighbourhood, people walking together, rooted in the Gospel of Christ within their own cultures. Gradually making the Gospel live through community life, and becoming living witnesses engaged, participating and missionary. Taking small but meaningful steps to reveal the face of Jesus in Asia.
