Mabuhay!

Mabuhay Ka Dakilang Dios is a favorite hymn in the Filipino-Methodist tradition. Roughly translated, I believe it means “welcome, you great God”. This is my deep sentiment as we enter November 17^th, our celebration of 100 years of Methodist faith journeys with God’s children of Filipino heritage.  I am excited to accept the invitation for our congregation to recognize the ways that diversity has been weaved into our faith communities. (“All Means All” in so many ways)  Welcoming God is also my sentiment  as we grieve in solidarity with people whose lives have been change forever by Typhoon Haiyan. The pictures and stories of horrific destruction and heart wrenching recovery are unsettling, even soul quickening – restless spirit, work through me. God is a loving and creating God. Certainly this Dakilang Dios is welcome in the most tragic of circumstances. From a distance, it seems like all we can do in a time like this is unite in prayer, but I am not sure that is true.

Mabuhay Ka Dakilang Dios is also the sentiment that calls each one of us be made new by God today. The creating God of all is creating in us as well – stirring our hearts, rending a compassion that changes lives. Today I read a story about the aftermath of Haiyan. The author of a British newspaper was astonished at the unusual characteristics of this aftermath. He wrote that normally we see masses of people flocking away from disasters as fast as possible. Yet, in Tacloban the traffic is decidedly headed INTO the center of devastation and heartbreak. With the Philippine Government paralyzed and infrastructure demolished, people are charging in to towns and villages to bring aide to people that are mourning, starving, and resurrecting all at once. Sometimes a heart open to Dakilang Dios is moved to act in unpredictable ways. I hope we all feel urged to new levels of compassion – called into the fray instead of out of the way.

Bishop Warner H. Brown encourages our 
solidarity in a formal statement of compassion, even as the storm was striking the coast of the Philippines. “Our humanitarian relief and development agency, the United Methodist Committee On Relief (UMCOR), is monitoring the developing situation (currently, on the ground at the point of devastation). For this emergency, and others that arise, donations to UMCOR are channeled through The Advance. One-hundred percent of each donation goes directly to the disaster. Donations to International Disaster Response, Advance #982450, will be used to respond to this and similar emergencies.”

Merced is home to a growing and thriving Filipino – American community. My neighborhood in particular is a wellspring of influential, supportive, community shaping people of Filipino heritage.  I am certain that our community would be set back in the absence of the significant contributions of those who came from the Philippines to journey with us as citizens and workers in a common community.

The same is true of our entire annual Conference. I would like to share some of the history that was written by the California-Nevada Filipino American Methodists in reflection of the 100^th anniversary of Filipino participation in the Methodist tradition. These are the words of our own Filipino faith community. They are proud to share the history of partnership and enrichment that Filipino Methodists have contributed to the life of our church. Please read and enjoy the exciting contributions that have reinforced our conference and our faith.

To date, the list of Filipino churches and other United Methodist Churches with predominantly Filipino presence in our Conference includes: Grace-St. Francis, Vallejo Fellowship, South Hayward, St. Paul’s in Fremont, Fresno Christian Fellowship, St. Paul’s in Stockton, Daly City UMC, Geneva Avenue UMC, Pinole UMC, Valley Faith, and Delano UMC. It should be noted that only four out of the eleven churches are served by Filipino Pastors.

In addition to local Filipino churches developed and chartered, another unique and significant contribution of Filipino ministry in our conference was the adoption of a century old yet new ministry to the youth in this Annual Conference called Christmas Institute. It is a school of faith for youths and young adults held annually for five days after Christmas Day. This Methodist Church program in the Philippines attracted many young people whose faiths were nourished and their love for the church deepened. It

facilitated friendships among the participants that later blossomed into committed relationships. The school also became a vehicle of clergy and deaconess recruitment.

 In this Conference, this program ministry started when Arturo Capuli took some young people from Grace UMC and Fresno Fellowship to attend the Christmas Institute held December of 1984 at the Los Angeles National Forest sponsored by the Filipino Caucus of the California Paci fic Annual Conference. The following year, with the leadership of Rev. David Rodriguez, Rev. Nathanael Cort

ez, and lay members Rosadia Escueta, Regina Eng, Boni Capistrano, Marcelo and Josefina Capistrano, and Ruth Cortez, a Christmas Institute was held in San Francisco attended by a large number of youths and young adults. Since then, this uniquely significant ministry program is held annually participated in by youths from Filipino churches and their friends. The program has now evolved to

be self supporting and largely led by youths and young adults. The yearly average attendance is 150.

 List of Filipino Clergy in the 2013 Journal of the California Nevada Annual Conference: (see Appendix A. Out of this number, two served as District Superintendents: Ruth O.Cortez and Benoni Silva-Netto. In 1999, Ruth Cortez was appointed Shasta District Superintendent by Bishop Melvin Talbert to become the first Filipino in California Nevada Annual Conference and the first Filipino woman in the United States to hold such an office. Benoni Silva-Netto was appointed District Superintendent of Shasta District by Bishop Beverly Shamana in 2005. Among the clergy, Felicisimo Cao was elected Chair of the Conference Board of Ordained Ministry in 2013, becoming the first Filipino to assume such responsibility in this Conference. Another Filipino clergy, Bener Agtarap, has been appointed by Bishop Warner Brown as Superintendent for Church Growth and Vitality.

This Conference wide recognition is not confined to the clergy. Many of the lay people in our Conference became actively involved in the work and organizational structure of the Annual Conference. Laddie Perez Galang have been chair of the Committee on Nominations for many years and currently serves as chair of Conference Mission Service (formerly Conference Board of Missions). Alice

Pena have been involved actively in the work of the Conference. All of the recent Filipino recipients of

the Annual Conference Bishop’s Award were lay women: Alice Pena (deceased), Virginia

Maniti Williams, and Ruby Bago.

 In more recent years, Filipino churches, groups, lay and clergy, have contributed to the growth of the total ministry in California Nevada Annual Conference.

In the realm of liturgy and music Ministry, Pasasalamat (A Call to Thanksgiving) is the Annual Thanksgiving Gathering of Filipino American churches, usually held in November on a Saturday before Thanksgiving Day. The whole day is dedicated to worship, fellowship, sharing of talents, and dining together. The liturgy and music have distinctly Filipino flavor expressing the experience of the past, appreciation of the present, and hope for the future. Among the local church singing groups that have been notably appreciated are the Pinole UMC Singing Ensemble and the Melrose UMC Spiritual Image.

The latter has been invited to sing in local churches, civic gatherings, and musical concerts including performances during 2004 and 2008 General Conferences (Global Gathering) of the United Methodist Church. The Spiritual Image also sang in concerts in the Philippines and Myanmar.

In the sphere of social justice, in 2006, a group of Filipino pastors and lay people brought to the attention and action of the Annual Conference in session the spate of extra-judicial killings in the Philippines targeting journalists, civic leaders, human rights activists, clergy and church lay leaders. The response of the Conference was the creation of the Philippine Pastoral and Solidarity Task Force, who in partnership with the National Council of Churches in the Philippines (NCCP), made its first solidarity trip in 2007. The then presiding Bishop, Bishop Beverly Shamana, led the first team of sixteen (16) clergy and lay persons. The first team and all the teams that since made the trip had face to face meetings with families and other survivors of victims of extra-judicial killings, abductions, harassments, and torture. The team also met with government and military officials, most notably, the Chief Justice of the Philippine Supreme Court, Reynato Puno, a United Methodist. From this initial trip, a DVD and Study

Guide on human rights issue in the Philippines were made and distributed to United Methodist Churches in California and Nevada. Bishop Warner Brown, the current resident bishop, has also made the solidarity visit with the task force in a recent year. The latest solidarity trip was made in July 2013. Participants in the on-going program have become advocates for justice bringing backstories of injustice to the United States and the international community. The National Council of Churches in the Philippines and other human rights advocates in the Philippines have been urging the members of the Task Force and the whole Annual Conference to help in pressing both the Philippine Government and the National

Democratic Front to continue the peace talks and eventually end the more than thirty years war of insurgency.

Volunteers in Mission is another area where Filipino AmericanUMCs are actively involved. The most notable is the Medical Mission that visits the Philippines yearly and partners with some Philippine medical practitioners to provide healthcare assistance to the poor.

To continue the work done in the formation of new congregations and revitalization of existing ones, the Annual Conference Session in June 2009 approved the creation of a Committee to focus on this program ministry. The Conference Committee on Filipino American Ministry (CCFAM) was created and mandated to grow a strong sense of unity among Filipinos, develop a sense of mission and ministry, celebrate and enhance Filipino cultural roots and values, fully engaged and support NAFAUM (National Association of Filipino American United Methodists) And PAGLAGO, the national Filipino program for church growth and development.

The previous paragraphs provide some clues on where the ministry of and among Filipinos in California Nevada Annual Conference is headed and what may be the shape and contour of that ministry.

Currently, there are twenty seven (27) active and retired clergy in the California Nevada Annual conference

1.Jeannelle Ablola

2.Bener Agtarap

3.Leonard Autajay

4.Mark Buenafe

5.Paul Cabotaje

6.Alex Cambe

7.Felicisimo Cao

8.Arturo Capuli

9.Arnel Clemente

10.Ruth O. Cortez

11.Winston Cruz

12.Estan Cueto

13.Elmar de Ocera

14.Wilson de Ocera

15.Deborah Dillon

16.Elpidio Estolas

17.Romeo Gunzon

18.Rodrigo Estrada

19.Reynaldo Letana

20.Edilberto Lubiano

21.David Rodriguez

22.Emil Sazon

23Benoni Silva-Netto

24 Dante Simon

25.Florante Tangonan

26.Tony Ubalde

27.Romeo Velasco