Corinthian Youth Movement

We are a Christian Community inspired to encourage each other to mature in faith and grow in Christ’s love through brotherly and sisterly fellowship.

Who We Are

The CORINTHIAN YOUTH MOVEMENT was adopted from the Antioch Movement conceived by Fr. Charles Gallerger of the United States, and was brought to Forbes Park, Philippines, by Hugh Zurat of Australia. The movement came to the Good Shepherd Parish (GSP) in June 1984 under the initiative of Monsignor Fidelis Limcaco, the GSP’s Parish Priest at that time.

The mission given to this community was to pass on God’s love unto others. This means they are to reflect on Christ’s presence in their lives, to make the Word of God a daily experience, to be an instrument of reconciliation in the family through Christ, and to integrate Christian values in all aspects of life.

The mission of the Corinthians was materialized when seven youngsters, namely, Aaron Araoya, Irene Isidoro, Joy Ramos, Denise Rivera, Jay Rivera, John Rivera and Magda Rivera, with Tito Bading and Cielo Rivera as the adult couple, came together and lighted up the torch of the community.

It was a struggle for these chosen youths. They encountered several challenges including the inappropriateness of the American format, lack of support and limited manpower. But with the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, they successfully overcame these trials. The program was revised to suit the culture of the Filipinos and with that a new name was chosen for the group, taken from the Holy Bible, an early Christian Community called the Corinthians. And with only seven experienced staffers and three adopted members, the Lord showed a sign of approval of the organization on the 14th of June, 1984, when fifty-nine teenagers successfully went through the first Corinthian Weekend Seminar. Since then, Corinthian Weekend Seminars have been given in Fairview, and in other parishes as well.
Through the leadership of the following chairpersons, the Corinthian community remains in its mission to pass on God’s love:

Throughout the community’s undertakings, adult guidance were given by the following couples who served as parents to the young members of the organization:

What We Do

Every year, the Corinthian Youth Movement holds Corinthian Weekend Seminars. A Corinthian weekend is a chance for young Catholic students to listen, discuss, and better understand what it means to be a Catholic today.

The Corinthian experience can help with our youth’s difficulties with faith, his search for a personal identity, a move towards a commitment to a definite role in his parish. The weekend proposes to provide solutions to various other problems confronting a youthful Catholic student.

Since the first Weekend in 1984, the Corinthians has already given 48 weekends here in Fairview. It has also planted seed weekends in the communities of Sta. Lucia (1985 and 1994), BF Homes (1985), School of the Holy Spirit (1985), Phil-am Subdivision (1988), San Nicolas de Tolentino Parish near Tandang Sora (1992), Our Father Parish in NIA Village (1993), Santa Rosa Parish in San Pedro, Laguna (1994), St. Anthony de Padua Parish in Reina Mercedes Isabela (1996), St. Joseph’s Parish in Daet, Camarines Sur (1996), St. Joeseph Cathedral in Alaminos, Pangasinan (1996), Holy Family Parish in Makati (1997), Holy Family Parish in Kamias (1998), St. Michael the Archangel Parish in Orion, Bataan (1999), Holy Trinity Parish in Agno, Pangasinan (2000), San Isidro Labrador Parish in Bulacan (2001), San Isidro Labrador Parish in Las Pinas (2001), San Vicente Parish in Baguio (2002) and Santo Nino Parish in Bagong Silang, Caloocan City (2003), St Joseph the Worker, Marikina (2005).

Every Sunday, the members of the Corinthian Community also meet for their weekly prayer meeting, which follows after the weekend. This is a practical way to feed and sustain the spiritual and social needs of good young people in the midst of a secular, materialistic society. These young people want to follow Jesus and have many gifts to bring His Church, but they desperately need direction and support from one another and the rest of the Church. The prayer meetings offer a way to stay in touch with the community: an opportunity to continue growing with and in Christ.

Aside from the Corinthian Weekends and the weekly prayer meetings, the Corinthian Youth Movement has also created activities like the Dawn Prayer Meeting, Sportsfest, Leadership Training Seminar, Speaker’s Workshop, Recollections and Retreats, Visita Iglesia, Year-Ender Celebration, Community Building Seminar and Praise Day. These activities strengthen the Corinthian members as individuals and as a community while in the presence of Christ.

To pass on God’s love does not mean helping only people we know but also those whom we do not know yet need the love of God. For this reason, the Corinthians have adopted projects like rummage sales, free clinics, and visits to orphanages and other institutions.

In the Bible, the early Corinthians was a misunderstood group but St. Paul constantly affirmed his fondness of them. The present Corinthians sometimes see themselves in the shoes of those early brothers and sisters they were named after. They too, are sometimes misunderstood, criticized and doubted by people. But empowered with God’s providence and the Parish’s support, the Corinthians have kept their promise---to pass it on…God’s love.