CAC 1985

THE HISTORY OF CHOICE ASIA

How come we have Choice Asia in January 1985 ? Here is the true story about its conception (material received from Terentius & Rose) The Conception of the Choice Asian Conference It was 1984 and CHOICE Singapore was three years old. The then National Coordinating couple, Terentius & Rose Loh, were deeply touched, inspired and challenged by the Choice programme - the embodiment of the fundamentals of the Catholic faith, something so profound yet simply presented; the very down-to-earth, personal, intimate, simple yet powerful way that the team presenters serve as instruments and witnesses of God's unconditional love at the weekend;

the transformation that the programme made in the lives of the single adults, couples and family life; and the challenge it poses to all participants and presenters alike, to work ceaselessly on belonging and be true witnesses of God's unconditional love, This calling to belong sparked a yearning to belong to the Choice families outside Singapore and to bring the Good News through the Choice programme to the rest of the world. Behold!!! The idea of a meeting of all Choice Coordinators worldwide was conceived. It would be a God-given opportunity to meet Choice family members from far and near, to share and learn from each other, and to reach out to the rest of the world in a concerted effort.

Terentius & Rose shared this yearning and vision with Fr Frans De Ridder, the then National ' Coordinating priest. He was fully supportive and was as excited as we were about the possibility of a meeting of the "extended'* Choice family. This was followed by some research work to ascertain the countries that conduct the Choice programme and the contact details of the Coordinating teams. The results showed that the countries which conducted the Choice programme regularly were in Asia. Hence, the Choice Asian Conference!!!

Notes on the status of the participating countries in 1985

Singapore : Was 3 years old
‌Indonesia : ME Indonesia sent a couple & 2 singles (M&F) & 2 priests to Singapore to experience a choice WE, to later start choice in Indonesia. So Choice Indonesia was at that time an O&A program of ME. It’s 1st WE was Dec 10 -12 1982.
‌India : An O&A Program of ME Malaysia : Started Choice in August 1981 – not an O&A Programme of ME

Through discussing proposals in national as well as mixed countries group sharings with one goal in mind which was

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the attendees of this 1st conference agreed on a.o

A. The Choice Logo & Motto

With the following meaning

The HEART symbolizes the single adult, capable of loving and being loved. The word, "CHOICE11 within the heart signifies the adult's ability to choose to belong and be involved with others. The CROSS, placed beneath the heart, symbolizes Christ - the embodiment of uncond i t i ona1 love. It is with this peculiar love that the adult must love and serve : to lay down one's life out of love. The Motto,"TO KNOW LOVE AND SERVE YOU"expresses a personal love that is informed, affectionate and manifested in acts of love and service. It guides and inspires the adult to strive for a deeper, more trusting and loving relationship with the family, friends, Church, and the whole world.

B. Theme Song

The greatest thing in all my life is knowing you, The greatest thing in all my life is knowing you, I want to know you more, I want to know you more, The greatest thing in all my life is knowing you, The greatest thing in all my life is loving you, The greatest thing in all my life is loving you, I want to love you more, I want to love you more, The greatest thing in all my life is loving you. The greatest thing in all my life is serving you, The greatest thing in all my life is serving you, I want to serve you more, I want to serve you more, The greatest thing in all my life is serving you.

Note at that time Choice Malaysia had “Pass it on” as their theme song”

The attendees of the 1st Asian Conference are happily & joyfully singing “The Greatest thing in all my life”.

C. “The vision & mission” & “The Objectives of the Choice Asian Conference” were the most important points of discussion.

A Quatation from Fr. Tom Morrow’s Leaders Guide

“Today there are a great many people whose most persistent need seems to be the restoration or the discovery of a sense of belonging. In a society which values self – reliance to the point of excluding others from our lives, we may be very anxious to deny that we could ever concern ourselves with such matter. We react, rather than respond, with the memory of deep hurt, with helplessness about the possibility of belonging, with frustration in trying to belong”.

Vision & Mission

To bring the good news, through the Choice program, to the world so as to bring about a “change of heart” in the single adult who will be the instruments of unconditional love to their families and the church at large.

objectives

a. To share experiences pertaining to Choice b. To learn form each other. c. To motivate each other. d.To promote a sense of unity and identity amongst Choice communities in Asia.
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1. Other points of discussions were the “Weekend Proper and Follow ups”

2. The possibility of all Choice conducting countries to become a movement, not just an O&A program of Marriage Encounter in their respective countries.
‌3. Criteria for presenters – composition of the national team, sequence of topics / themes in the weekend proper. All those points were further & deeper discussed in the 2nd Asian Conference in Indonesia
‌4. Fr. Frans de Ridder and Couple Terentius & Rose Loh were nominated as Choice Asia 1st. The singles were nominated by this ecclesial team after the 1st conference.

Coordinator Asian Team (CAT)

Some snapshots of what happened in the 1st Asian conference

Fr Hardi of Indonesia in national dress led a fun Game.

Fr. Frans courting sisters… ???

Participants of the 1st conference

The 1st conference’s Closing Mass

On May 26, 1985, Ferry – Lely Nathan had a once in a life time opportunity to meet Father Tom Morrow in New York City. This is the excerpt of their conversation.

On purpose of CHOICE :

We are not teaching value in CHOICE. If there are some participants who feel they learn or get something in CHOICE WE it’s very good. We try to make them think and share about it. I’m not saying there are no exchange of values over there, but it’s not the main purpose of CHOICE. I don’t define it that way. Basically the purpose of CHOICE is to create an environment for the young adults, they are more adult than young. CHOICE creates a place, an atmosphere within the Church where they can come and share their experiences, listening God’s words, listen to their peers, and even enriching the Church with information about single life. CHOICE gives them chance to talk and share. To realize that they don’t have to be perfect to be accepted by the Church. That they don’t have to fully agree with everything the Catholic Church teaches to be part of its family.

On the young adults as the object of CHOICE

Everybody has a vocation. “I have chosen you”. The Lord has chosen us into His Church, and we have choices to choose?? >> pilihan untuk ditentukan. Many people remain single because they don’t find the right person. They are single by chance. I want the young adults to realize that they can also be single by choice, that they can choose to live a life of a dedicated single. We come to the simple CHOICE message, ie you have a choice to make, a commitment. You can choose to belong or not to belong, to communicate or not. You can lead a meaningful single life or you are single by coincidence, because I don’t find the dream of my life… You can make it more positive in a sense that you consequently choose a way of life not just simply waiting for things to happen.

On activities after the weekend

I think it would be good if after the weekend they are invited to do something. I think they are waiting to take part in some (social) activities. But I’d rather see them more active in their own Parish than in CHOICE. They could occasionally meet in follow up programs, but basically they are expected to comeback to their own parish, surroundings, habitus, and do something there. To make a nicer place to live in.

By Peter Maskun spouse of Seraphine This excerpt in taken from a recorded conversation

We invited Fr Tom Morrow to attend the 2nd Choice WE in Indonesia – He said “Yes” but the dates co incided with his sister’s wedding so he did not make it.

THE HISTORY OF CHOICE ASIA

The Founders of Choice Asia

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