We remember how this missionary would always volunteer to help out when it comes to media and communications. Atom Yango will always be part of the Catholic Social Media Summit’s service team.
This week’s featured missionary is someone who always wants to work backstage – actually on the back of the camera. Atom is very well involved in the social communications team of his parish. Together with his parish priest, they built out their social communications ministry to provide livestreamed services to their parishioners and to the unchurch. Atom once said in one of our conversations before the pandemic, “I want our Holy Masses to reach those who cannot be reached, I want to use social media to livestream our masses so that people can watch and return to the church.”
When the pandemic came, and all masses were livestreamed, their parish was ready.
Tell us about yourself and your journey of knowing Christ
They call me Atom at the office. I am a blessed volunteer as Media Minister at Diocese of Antipolo. 😉✌️
I started serving our Shrine-Parish when I was in Elementary as an Altar Server. Then I spent my teenage life as a Youth Leader, co-founder of Tanghalang Aranzazu (a popular parish-attached theatre organization), also a Kapamilya employee, serving at CFC Singles for Christ ABS-CBN chapter, and currently serving as part of the Social Communications Ministry Team of the Diocese and our Parish (Shrine of Our Lady of Aranzazu)
What or who made you decide to be a missionary?
Can you share to us your journey of becoming a missionary?
And as my spiritual maturity continues to grow serving at our parish, nagtuloy tuloy na ito until last 2012, I was asked by our then Diocesan Social Communications Director, Fr Larry Paz to spearhead the newly created Media & Public Information Ministry of the Shrine & Parish of Our Lady of Aranzazu. This was a new endeavor for me as a parish worker, a new calling, I knew Christ tapped me again to serve Him through this very unique, timely and my most-loved ministry.
What makes you feel like a child?
Joining also with our Parish Youth members lalo pag nasa parish activities.
Also every December sa parish when we have our caroling sessions sa community.
In your missionary adventure, what were your joys, struggles, challenges and even difficulties?
Sabi nga nila, being a Church Worker, or parish volunteer, especially in being part of the Media Ministry is a “thankless” one. Most of us in the ministry all around the parishes might experienced most of this, yet we translate and transform this connotation as a “blessing” that even other people might not “appreciate.” And we always look forward na marami pa ding tao ang naabot ng aming serbisyo at yun ang nagpapasaya at nagpapagaan ng loob namin lahat.
How do you define joy?
I think Joy is something that when you give it away for free, it will came back to you for free; siksik liglig at umaapaw.
In who and what you are now, what are your other dreams or do you still have anything you want to achieve?
Like what we did in our parish, what I want to also achieve is to make every Media or Social Communications Ministry to be recognized as a separate ministry in the WESTYFLA structure in every parishes. This is very evident that SoCom should be a “horizontal” ministry to provide services to every organizations or movements on each silos of the WESTYVLA.
What is your message to young people who are now feeling lost, who are still finding their purpose, who doesn’t know what to do with their lives?
What is your message to young people who wanted to serve but do not know how?
If you have a favorite Bible verse, what is it and why.
“To whom much is given, much is expected.”
((Luke 12:48)
If you have heard that line of wisdom, you know it means we are responsible for what we have. If we are blessed with talents, wealth, knowledge, time, and the like, it is expected that we use these well to glorify God and help others,
