PADANG, Indonesia (UCAN) -- The last thing Fratis Francis Gultom and Domina Simanungkalit do before sending their son and three daughters off to school each morning is trace the sign of the cross on their children's foreheads.

Before breakfast the family prays together.

"We have had this tradition for the last 10 years, with the purpose of instilling a spirit of religiosity in our family," Gultom shared recently at a workshop on Family's Role in Basic Ecclesial Communities for the northern Sumatra region.

The 51-year-old secretary of Medan archdiocese's family commission was one of more than 60 Catholics at the workshop, held June 20-22 in Padang, capital of West Sumatra province, 925 kilometers northwest of Jakarta.

The family commissions of Medan, and Padang and Sibolga dioceses, the other two members of the Church province the archdiocese heads, arranged the event as part of a move to transform existing Catholic neighborhood communities into Basic Ecclesial Communities (BECs).

Several participants shared how they try to practice Christian family values and bring up their children in the faith.

Gultom and his wife, who married 18 years ago, encourage their children to take part in various activities organized by their Catholic neighborhood community and St. Mary Parish in Tanjung Selamat, near Medan, 540 kilometers northwest of Padang. All his children belong to the parish's Areka group for children and teenagers. His son and one daughter also serve at the altar.

The parents too are active in Church affairs. Gultom is a member of the parish pastoral council, and Simanungkalit, 44, sings in the parish choir. But they also involve the children in practical family matters, such as discussing household chores at a monthly family meeting.

Another couple, teacher Beppo Tambunan and midwife Etika Boru Sitanggang, who got married eight years ago, acknowledged that creating family togetherness is difficult because of their busy work schedules.

However, they make the effort to say night prayers with their 8-year-old son and 4-year-old daughter. Tambunan, 35, says his son is now "pretty good" at such prayers, while his daughter is learning to make the sign of the cross.

They also send their children to the weekly faith-formation classes St. Therese of Lisieux Cathedral Parish runs in Sibolga, 345 kilometers northwest of Padang.

Father Antonius Konseng, head of Padang diocese's family commission, told participants the sharing of such experiences shows BECs could take root in Medan ecclesiastical province. "Continuous efforts to empower (families) are important," he asserted, adding that "families, as a communion, are a symbol -- or even a realization -- of God's love."

During the workshop, Father Bernardus Realino Agung Prihartana, executive secretary of the Indonesian bishops' family commission, told UCA News, "The quality of Catholic family life determines the quality of BECs."

As the gathering came to a close, participants agreed to hold training programs for BEC animators in their respective dioceses.

The late Divine Word Bishop Darius Nggawa started BECs in Indonesia in 1977, in his Larantuka diocese in East Flores. In 2000, the Grand Assembly of the Indonesian Catholic Church formally launched the movement nationwide.

A BEC usually comprises about 20 Catholic families who live close to one another and meet at least once a month to deepen their faith together and reflect in the light of the Gospel on issues facing the community. These sessions include prayer, meditation, sharing and role-playing based on biblical themes.

The 2005 Sidang Agung Gereja Katolik Indonesia (grand synod of the Indonesian Catholic Church) reaffirmed the importance of BECs as a means of renewing the nation through Christian values.

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