A counselor training program for lay leaders of Sta. Rita Parish, Gingoog City

This paper proposes a counselor training program integrated with the existing pastoral services of Sta. Rita Parish, Gingoog, City. The study utilized the descriptive method of research. This was accomplished in two ways, namely: 1) through observation, having lived there for the past three years, and through informal interviews with the parishioners, discussion, and analysis with the lay leaders, priests and sisters regarding the pastoral program in operation, and 2) through a survey of the needs and problems of parishioners using a self-constructed questionnaire. The subjects of the study were classified as subjects for survey and subjects for interview. The survey subjects were a random sample of 300 parishioners, constituting 50 percent of the 600 graduates of the Christian Community seminar. The interview subjects were 400 people consisting of priests, sisters, lay leaders and parishioners who used to come to the Sta. Parish Office to transact Church business, to seek counseling advice and to discuss spiritual matters. Percentages and frequencies were used for statistical treatment. The study concluded that since a pastoral counseling/care program is expressly needed by the people of Sta. Rita Parish, the following gains were foreseen with the implementation of the proposed program: Each community member of the barrio a) will be within the reach of a trained person who could help them in their problems in time of crisis b) could be of help to assess one\u27s potentials and gifts as a person c) will develop a healthy respect for himself d) will develop self-reliance and pride in his own resources e) will be able to accept change and understand it f) will be able to better integrate his life and better cope up with the grind of daily life\u27s struggles in this competitive world where poverty is the daily bread of the majority