MANILA, Sept. 21, 2011?The Episcopal Commission on Youth of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines has extended the deadline for nominations of candidates for Youth Ministers Award from Sept. 15 to Sept. 28.
“We set the end of nominations to Sept. 28 for pastoral consideration. We opened possibility for some more nominees a day before the core team decides the process of ranking,” ECY executive secretary Fr. Conegundo Garganta explained.
Garganta made it clear that the consideration comes after the ECY office has received only 36 nominees during the set deadline.
He emphasized that the panelists cannot decide the ranking of the 25 youth ministers who will receive the award with only the number of the nominees they have right now.
The 25 youth ministers who will be ranked symbolize the 25 years of service of the CBCP-ECY. The awarding will be the highlight of the Grand Festival celebration of National Youth Day at the Quirino Grandstand on Nov. 18.
The panelists are former Ambassador Henrietta de Villa, PBA Player Chris Tiu, Actor Ryan Agoncillo, two other panelists outside of ECY and 10 panelists from the core team of the Year of the Youth.
Anyone may nominate an individual or a group, according to NSYA. Filled out nomination forms may be submitted through post mail to the Episcopal Commission on Youth, 3/F CBCP Bldg., 470 Gen. Luna St., 1002 Intramuros, Manila, or e-mailed toecynsya@gmail.com.
According to Fr. Favie Faldas, head of the ECY Steering Committee, the John Paul II National Youth Ministry Awards was created not only to recognize outstanding youth ministers in the Philippines but also to inspire the young and uplift the values and morale in the youth ministry.
“More importantly, we want to generate Gospel models for youth ministers and for the youth in general from these awardees,” he said, adding that awardees will be looked up for their commitment to the Catholic faith and outstanding leadership in the field of youth ministry. (Jandel Posion)
