On January 08, 2025, a historic event unfolded as the community gathered along for the Southern Mindanao Mission’s Public Affairs and Religious Liberty (PARL) Mission-Wide Grand Fellowship. The gathering, which took place in the Polomolok Municipal Gym, was a spirited demonstration of the unity, faith, and determination of the community members who have established and maintained the organization for over 80 years.
An annual event that unites people and groups from many backgrounds to advance cooperation, understanding, and religious freedom. This occasion offers a singular forum for promoting communication, cultivating connections, and investigating approaches to tackle the intricate problems confronting our societies.
The event began with an opening ceremony that covered the history of the organization from its modest beginnings to its current prominence, followed by an inspirational speech and an encouraging invocation from Mrs. 𝗗𝗮𝗿𝘆𝗹 𝗚𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝗔𝗯𝗮𝘆𝗼𝗻, a former party-list representative.
According to her words, “𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘶𝘴 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘏𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘮𝘴 𝘶𝘴, 𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘺𝘴, “𝘞𝘩𝘰 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨? “𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘢 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘏𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘯.” She emphasizes, “𝘙𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘺, 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘢 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘮—𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘢 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘮 𝘪𝘧 𝘸𝘦 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘏𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘍𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳.”
As stated by SePUM Communication and Media Director Mr. 𝗥𝗵𝗼𝗲𝗻 𝗦𝗵𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗖𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗼”𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘨𝘰𝘢𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘻𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘤𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘩 𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦, 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘵𝘰 𝘯𝘰𝘯-𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘴.” He stated, “𝘈𝘴 𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘩, 𝘸𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘭𝘶𝘥𝘦𝘥; 𝘸𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘮𝘣𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘢𝘥𝘰𝘳𝘴; 𝘸𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘎𝘰𝘥’𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴. 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘵𝘢𝘴𝘬 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘦 𝘥𝘰 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘭𝘺.”
The recognition event, which acknowledged longtime members and significant contributors for their devotion and dedication, was one of the celebration’s highlights. Members’ testimonies recounted their experiences with spiritual strengthening, personal development, and a strong sense of community.
As the event came to an end, the Public Affairs and Religious Liberty (PARL) leadership expressed gratitude to everyone who contributed to making the celebration a success and reaffirmed their dedication to advancing the organization’s goals and mission so that future generations will continue its legacy.
In addition to honoring the past, this served as a reminder of the community’s common goals and hopes for the future. The road continues toward another milestone in the upcoming years with faith, togetherness, and steadfast determination.
