The Woodlands, TEXAS - Top officers of ANCOP (Answering the Cry of the Poor)-Tekton and North America took turns in defining the group’s mission and in discussing projects for poor Filipinos during the well-attended ANCOP Summit held on July 5, 2010 at the Marriott Waterways Hotel in this Texas township.
ANCOP is a ministry of Couples for Christ (CFC), which also held its National Leaders Conference in the same hotel on July 2-4 with over 650 CFC leaders from across the United States in attendance.
Bro. Jose Tale, ANCOP–Tekton and CFC Chairman, traced the history of ANCOP since its founding in Barangay Bagong Silang, Caloocan City, in 1994. He said ANCOP started as pastoral formation with the youth of Bagong Silang. “In the beginning, there was no GK, only ANCOP. We started our work for the poor by repairing houses,” shared Tale. He continued, “Later on, GK was born and we started to build houses for the poor.” “But due to fundamental differences, CFC granted an independent status to GK last year, thus, ANCOP was born again,” the CFC chairman concluded. In defining the group’s mission, Tale said ANCOP “shares Christ’s love with the poor as an instrument for healing, addressing their relevant needs (material, physical and emotional) and fulfilling their yearning for a better future through personal and family transformation that leads to a just and caring society and a life of dignity for all.”