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Episcopalian
“Why seek ye the living
among the dead?
He is not here, but is risen!”
First QuartEr 2012
In thIs Issue
lPrime Bishop’s Easter
Message l Opinion/
Reflections lEvents on Pix
lSpecial Feature lUpdates
from Dioceses
l NewsUpdates

FROM THE PRIME BISHOP Editorial
T he disciples of Jesus were a group of Jews with
a few pagan recruits. During the crucifixion
they were a disgruntled, discouraged and confused
group. After the resurrection and their subsequent
empowerment by the Holy Spirit, they went around
proclaiming that the Jesus who rose from the dead
was the same Jesus of Galilee crucified on Good
Friday. They also proclaimed the same message of
the historical Jesus about the coming Kingdom of
God, and that the purpose of Jesus’ passion, death,
resurrection and ascension was for the redemption of
the whole human race. As a result of their proclamation,
Christianity as a new religion was established.
There was transformation in the lives of the
disciples resulting from the resurrection of Jesus –
from a disappointed lot to a vibrant group given new
life, new hope and new future. This is a message of
the season of Easter, ushered in by the resurrection, to
all Christians everywhere and in any given time.
Empowerment is another appeal of the resurrection.
To Filipino Episcopalians, Christ’s resurrection
spurs us with renewed strength and vigor to see to it
that our Vision 2018 with its four goals, are pursued
cooperatively with passion and commitment.
Let the season also be for us a time to see more
clearly the face of the risen Christ in the sufferings of
the poor, the oppressed and the marginalized who are
the most neglected sectors of Philippine society.
l
Christ is Alive!
Alleluia! Christ is risen! This ancient greeting
comes alive and more meaningful to Christian
believers this Easter morning. This greeting
emanates not only from the mind but from the heart.
The greeting is also addressed to our whole being:
heart, body, mind and soul. It is looking at the heart
of God – it is a greeting of faith. It is faith.
Hallelujah, meaning “Praise the Lord” – it
is the command to praise. Why praise? Why not?
Praising God is the least we can do because on that
first Easter day He raised Christ from the dead –
that we too might be raised in the end.
Hosanna to the King! Crucify Him! He is not
here for he has risen as he told you. These words
summarize the events of the Holy Week which
culminates today, the day of the Resurrection. Just
to emphasize what transpired in those last days
which brought us to this celebration, I like what the
editorial in the PDI described those past days: It
says the Paradox of Christ.
The Paradox of Christ
Only days before, Jesus had swept into
Jerusalem, welcomed like a victorious king amid
the wild cheers of the throng of people. The next
moment, the Establishment is bearing down on
him – accused as a blasphemer by the religious
leaders and a destabilizer to the Roman authorities.
He would find refuge, although temporarily, in the
Garden of Gethsemane. But soon, he would be
in the hands of his persecutors, subjected to the
cruelest of physical indignities. Before long, he was
once again walking the streets of Jerusalem, only
this time, with gashes and bruises, blood and grime
all over his body, a crown of thorns on his head, and
a heavy wooden cross on his back. The crowd that
had hailed him a few days earlier was also back on
the streets, but the tumultuous cheers had turned
into raucous jeers. A few hours later, he was on the
hill of Calvary, nailed to the cross --- and dead.
His enemies thought they had buried him
forever in oblivion. Of course, at that time, they had
no way of knowing that by dying he had conquered
death. What looked like one man’s total defeat, he
Editorial continued on page 12

“Will you go and do likewise?”
Most Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori
The Episcopal Church (USA)
bring you greetings from The Episcopal Church.
I We’re engaged in God’s mission in about 7000
congregations in 16 nations – in Taiwan and Micronesia,
Honduras, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, Haiti,
the Dominican Republic, Austria, Belgium, France,
Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Puerto Rico, the Virgin
Islands, as well as the United States. We have been
known as the Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society
since the early 1800s and we continue to try to live into
that identity, knowing that God calls us to bridge all the
borders that divide and separate human beings. This
season of Epiphany reminds us that Jesus crossed
the border between heaven and earth for the sake of
all families, languages, peoples, and nations. We are
sent to do the same kind of border-crossing work. This
morning’s celebration is an important example, as the
IFI and the ECP continue to move across borders that
have separated people in the past. St. Jude’s even
sits on the border between two dioceses, perhaps
encouraging the faithful to keep crossing over! The
relationships among our three churches are a further
witness to a divided world, and it’s clear that together
we have an ability to challenge the walls of injustice
and violence that others try to build in this country and
beyond.
The lepers in this morning’s readings are stuck
behind social borders. They are walled off from their
communities, forbidden to cross into “clean” territory.
Maybe you’ve seen an air curtain in an architecturally
innovative building. Those air curtains are designed to
separate the outside from the inside – usually to keep
the temperature inside the building more constant, to
save energy and keep the air cleaner. Clean rooms for
surgery or manufacturing computer chips are similarly
designed to keep the inside environment sterile.
Naaman and the leper in the gospel live in a
hermetically sealed world like that, shut away from
neighbors by an invisible wall, only they’re on the
outside, looking in. Their skin diseases give very public
evidence of their uncleanness, and their societies have
walled them off from interaction with so-called “clean”
and “normal” people. Being unclean is much more
a social disease than a physical one. In the ancient
world there were other ways of being unclean that
couldn’t be seen by your neighbors. The lepers know
they are judged unclean, and if you read carefully,
Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori preached during
her visit at the St Jude’s Episcopal Church in Bangao, Buguias,
Benguet on February 12, 2012
you’ll discover that they ask to be cleansed, rather than
healed. The varieties of uncleanness are evidenced
by the requirement that their newly clean state be
certified before they’re permitted to rejoin society. It
isn’t enough just to look good.
T he ancient world had a well-defined system for
dividing up the world, with societies divided into
categories like clean and unclean, sacred and profane,
shamed and dignified (or perhaps something like
‘appropriately proud’). In those days, people were
afraid of pollution, both physical and spiritual, and the
things you were supposed to stay away from were well
known – dead people, women, foreigners, Samaritans.
We would recognize some of those categories today:
foreigners, immigrants, adherents of other religious
traditions, people from the “wrong” families or parts of
town. Adults divide up the world like that, and children
do it, too – you can watch them chalk off the playground,
often by gender and in-groups vs. out-groups.
Naaman is a powerful military leader, but he’s in
trouble because people can see he’s got a skin disease
– and something visible like eczema or psoriasis
gives others the idea that there must be something
dangerous about him, and they shouldn’t get too close.
He just might have an evil spirit that will infect us!
The gospel leper wants to be clean more
than anything else – he comes on his knees. He and
Naaman go looking for restorers, people who will make
them clean and once again fit for community interaction.
They want to be restored to relationship.
continued next page
The Philippine EPISCOPALIAN 3

4
from previous page
We know that orphans don’t thrive if they are put in
institutions that only care for their physical needs.
Children need to be held and hugged and talked to.
Adults need human interaction just as much – we all
eventually begin to shrivel in enforced solitude.
Gospel work is about restoring relationships,
with God and neighbor. It’s about cleaning us up for
polite and wholesome society, and welcoming us back
to the banquet table.
Most of the pain and dysfunction in human
lives, whether it’s poverty, violence, war, arrogance,
or oppression, arises from the boundaries we draw
between “our” kind of people, the clean ones, and those
outside the wall, whom we often define as dirty or less
than human. We are pretty good at dressing up those
divisions with fancy language, saying that this person
is a criminal or an enemy, or that one isn’t “nice,” or
that group over there will corrupt my children. In spite
of all that division, God keeps looking for ways to break
down the walls.
Who are the lepers around the edges of your
community? People who’ve got HIV? Muslims?
People from the lowlands? Tourists? Soldiers?
What does it take to pronounce them clean and fit for
relationship? Jesus gives us example after example
of breaking down those walls. He eats with all sorts
of officially unclean people, he talks to women, he
touches dirty people, he meets with his enemies, and
he invites everybody to the banquet.
The people Jesus gathers as disciples are mostly
unclean or dubiously righteous: Mary Magdalene,
who has been healed from “demons,” fishermen, a
tax collector, at least one revolutionary zealot, and
plenty of other folk who know what it is to live on the
margins. He is particularly attractive to people on the
outs – that’s who all those crowds of people following
him were – the landless and unemployed, the sick and
the poor, and even some of the officially clean people
who didn’t feel so clean.
Those marginal people are often the source of
societal cleansing, even when they are feared because
of their difference. Look at the slave girl in Naaman’s
story, who steps across a border in order to break down
a wall. She is a slave because her master’s soldiers
captured her. But she offers to help him through one
of her home-town prophets. There’s quite a lot of risky
boundary-crossing going on here! The outsider is an
essential part of our own cleansing, for we cannot be
The Philippine EPISCOPALIAN
Presiding Bishop Schori (with shades) and Rev Peter Ng
(shaking hands) are welcomed by Bishop Brent Alawas and
Bishop Joel Pachao (right).
wholly restored to right relationship without him or her.
What we see as unclean God has already pronounced
good at creation. That one on the outside is God’s
beloved daughter or son. Who are we to cry, “unclean,
unclean!”
The divisions between clean and unclean,
inside and outside, friend and stranger, are maintained
not only by those who draw the boundaries, but by those
who accept those boundaries as normal. Sometimes
we participate in our own exclusion by accepting
somebody else’s definition of us as “unclean.” That
has something to do with the requirement that the leper
go and show himself to the priest. He needs somebody
else to validate his cleansing. We need others to
remind us of our belovedness – we cannot be whole
and healed and holy all alone. It takes a community.
Even God is a community.
A t creation, God pronounces all of it “good.”
Humanity is blessed and called “very good.” The
great creation stories of Genesis insist that human
beings are made for relationship, that it is not good
for human beings to be alone. We are created for
partnership with other human beings and with God,
to tend the garden, break down the dividing walls,
and bring the unclean inside the community. Who is
being left outside? Who needs to hear, “I do choose
– be made clean”? We can say those words and be
the ones who restore others to community. All of us
at one time or another need to hear those words and
experience that restoration ourselves. Will you go and
do likewise?
[Homily delivered at the St Jude’s Episcopal Church in
Bangao, Buguias, Benguet, PHILIPPINES during the
Presiding Bishop’s visit on February 12, 2012.]

NBW AT THE MISSION
CENTER
Cathedral Heights, Quezon City. The culminating
celebration of the National Bible Week (NBW)
was observed at the National Cathedral of St. Mary
and St John on January 28, 2012. This first observance
in the Mission Center started with a marathon public
reading of the Bible, iProclaim, held at the front
courtyard of the National Cathedral which started
at 8:00 AM and ended at 6:00 PM. Books of the
Bible from Genesis to Revelation were assigned to
different representations from institutions and church
organizations from the mission center.
The first National Bible Quiz sponsored by the
National Evangelism and Christian Education program
followed after the public Bible reading. Contestants
from three dioceses namely, Northern Philippines,
Northern Luzon, and Central Philippines representing
the Episcopal Church Women, the Brotherhood of
St. Andrew, the SKEP (youth), and Sunday School
participated in the said activity.
The activity was much appreciated based on
the feedbacks of the community and participants. The
National Evangelism coordinator and the Diocesan
counterparts have laid down plans for next year as
early a first quarter of this year in order to improve
next year’s observance.
The theme of this year’s NBW celebration
is Pagpapahayag ng Salita ng Diyos Tungo sa
Pagbabago (Proclaiming God’s Word Towards
National Transformation) and is based on Jonah 3:1-
10 and Matthew 5:13-16. The National Bible Week
celebration is spearheaded by the Philippine Bible
Society. The national celebration is contained in the
Presidential Proclamation numbers 2242, 44 and
1067./dbt
NewsUpdates
NATIONAL BIBLE WEEK PHOTOS
“May they be One”
from top to bottom:
• Prime Bishop Malecdan opens the NBW
culminating activities
• BSA member practices his part
• Sunday School girl reading
• ECW participates
• National Bible Quiz
The Philippine EPISCOPALIAN 5

“God of Life, Lead us to Justice
and Peace”
6
Special Feature
Dear sisters and brothers in Christ,
It is a great joy for me to worship here in this wonderful
cathedral this morning, together with you whose church
this is, and together with other participants from the
conference on world mission and evangelism gathered
in Manila these days.
We are in the middle of a global conference
about the mission of the church in the world. The theme,
“Together Towards Life – Called to Live Out the Hope
in Christ” is inspired by the same Gospel as the Gospel
reading today, the Gospel of John, chapter 10: “I came
that they may have life, and have life in its fullness.”
The reflections we have had together these days have
been nurtured through images, dances, presentations,
conversations, prayers, and experiences of the life given
to us by God. We understand deeper than before how
this life must be shared with others, and how it shall be
shared. The sharing is especially empowering because
we are sharing the experiences we have, particularly
those experiences of life as vulnerable, oppressed,
or threatened. The fullness of life is a promise that is
particularly given for those who experience poverty or
struggle to see the meaning of life. We have listened
to how many circumstances make it quite difficult to
experience the gift of life properly.
We have listened to voices and stories from
the Philippines who are bringing witness to the life
in fullness given here. We also have heard the cries
for life with justice and peace, longing for life without
violations of human rights, without extrajudicial killings,
without the daily struggle against poverty, without
being dominated by geopolitical powers or caught in
the middle of the struggle between the big powers. We
are therefore also brought into the middle of the life of
peoples here in the Philippines - and in this part of the
world.
This is also the day of the annunciation, 25
March, 9 months before 25 December, Christmas day,
the day when Mary was told by a messenger from God
that she was called to carry the Son of God to the world.
This is the day when the church around the world also
celebrates this mystery of life. And we celebrate that
this mystery also could mean that God could come into
The Philippine EPISCOPALIAN
Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit was elected
general secretary of the World Council
of Churches in August 2009, and took
up his new post in January 2010. At
the time of his election, Tveit was the
general secretary of the Church of
Norway Council on Ecumenical and
International Relations (2002-09).
Before taking up the post of general secretary,
Tveit served the WCC as a member of the Faith and Order
Plenary Commission and as a co-chair of the Palestine Israel
Ecumenical Forum core group.In his home country, he served
as a member of the board of directors and executive committee
of the Christian Council of Norway, moderator of the Church
of Norway - Islamic Council of Norway contact group and the
same for the Jewish Congregation contact group. He also was
a member of the Inter-Faith Council of Norway and a member
of the board of trustees of Norwegian Church Aid. Tveit is an
ordained pastor in the Church of Norway and has also served
as a parish priest in Haram, Møre Diocese, 1988-91 and an
army chaplain during his compulsory year of national service in
1987-1988.
In 2002, Tveit was awarded a doctorate in theology by
the Norwegian School of Theology/Menighetsfakultetet in Oslo
for his dissertation on Mutual Accountability as Ecumenical
Attitude.
our world through a woman, through the life of a human
being. This is a day to celebrate that Jesus came that
we may have life, even life in its fullness. Every time
a new life is created in the womb of a mother, it is a
sign of the mystery of life. That particular birth and that
particular human being of Jesus is a mystery among
the mysteries.
Everything needs to be received and interpreted.
Also the mysteries of life given to us in Jesus require an
ongoing interpretation: What do these words of Jesus
mean today? What does the cross of Jesus means
today?
This long line of interpretation, of seeking
meaning in what was said and what happened with
Jesus, even when there seems to be no meaning,
started already in the early church. The Gospel of John
is an advanced combination of the story of Jesus and
the interpretation of it. We hear it clearly in the Gospel
reading today. The noise from above was interpreted
by Jesus: This was for you, he said to the religious
pilgrims who had come to Jerusalem to worship.
continued next page

from previous page
The words Jesus says that he will be lifted up, is
interpreted in the Gospel immediately as words about
his death on the cross.
The Gospel tells us the story of Jesus in its
contradictions. He came to his own but his own did
not receive him. He is the life of the world, he who
is there to give life in abundance to everybody, dies
in the most horrible way. He is brought to the depth
of the experience of humiliation, the depth of the
earth, to this cruel punishment on the cross. This is a
suffering that no human being should experience as a
victim, being taken captive by those in power or those
serving them, and brought to silence through violence,
injustice, abuse of power. This suffering should never
be repeated. There is enough suffering in the world
and we should not add anything to it in the name of
God or in our own names. Nothing. Nothing. The
cross became the way of Christ - the one and only –
who could make an end to the power of sin and death.
We dishonour our Lord Jesus Christ if we continue any
suffering of any human being in his name.
The Gospel does not present this as the end of
the story. The perceived total failure in the crucifixion
is already linked to the resurrection in the way Jesus is
told to anticipate what will happen. “To be lifted up” is
a description of both his crucifixion and his glorification.
The cross and the resurrection are already brought
together in the text telling the story of Jesus.
The cross of Christ expresses the mystery of life. The
cross of Christ in the light of the resurrection shows
that there is no place and no time when God cannot
and will not be with us. It shows the total solidarity of
God with anybody who suffers injustice, who suffers
from evil, from sin.
The cross of Christ has become the tree of life,
because it is the way God can take away sin, forgive
sin, and bring new life to what is dead by sin. The
cross of Christ is where he was lifted up with shame
and humiliation. But God turned this into another
reality. The authority of this world has been dismantled
and made naked showing the end of their grip. The
worst that human beings could do God has made into
a source of life, life in its fullness.
Therefore the cross of Christ also becomes the
way God can lift us up. He will draw all to him.
The cross has been used in this country and in many
other countries as a sign and symbol of power to
oppress, to exploit, to colonize, to humiliate, and even
to kill. This is blasphemy against the God of life who
let the cross be the end of the power of sin, of evil, of
WCC Gen Sec
wears the National
Cathedral Shirt
(center-above) and
preached during
the High Mass
at the National
Cathedral of St.
Mary and St John.
injustice. Through the resurrection of Jesus there is
no more any power that can be abused without being
exposed as an abuser and oppressor. Christ has
forever displayed the illegitimacy of any authority not
giving life, not bringing justice and peace.
Therefore, the mission of the church will always,
always be to lift up others, to encourage people to
stand up themselves, and to overcome the humiliation
of them in the name of God or in any other name. The
power of sin should be resisted, in our lives, in our
societies, and in the world, so that the life of God can
be received, appreciated, and celebrated. It has a been
a real inspiration to see and hear how the churches
in this country are able to show again the cross as a
uniting sing of God’s justice and God’s love
That is what we do when we celebrate the
Eucharist; we share in the life of Christ, and we share
the life of one another. Given to you, to be given to
others. A gift for you, for you, for your liberation, for
your hope, in this ambiguous life in the world. It is both
a gift and a calling.
May Christ lift all of us to be what God has
created us to be. May God bless your church, everyone
who live here or who has to take a job abroad. May
God bring life in justice to you, in the name of Christ,
our Lord, the crucified and risen. Amen.
The Philippine EPISCOPALIAN 7

NewsUpdates
8
ECP Hosts Anglican WCC
Delegates
This is an unforgettable experience…thank
you very much of your very warm hospitality’,
these were the words of the Most Reverend Jeffrey
Driver, Archbishop of Adelaide expressed during the
dinner tendered for the Anglican delegates of the
World Council of Churches CWME Pre Assembly
Conference on March 25. The five-day conference
was held at the Traders Hotel in Manila from March
22 until 28, 2012 and attended by about 300 church
leaders from all over the world.
The dinner was organized by the National
Office in coordination with Rev. John Kafwanka of
the Anglican Consultative Council Mission Office
and assisted by Rev David B Tabo-oy, ECP National
Evangelism Officer; both are official delegates to
the conference. The get-together was attended by
seventeen (17) Anglicans in attendance to the said
assembly as delegates, staff, and resource persons.
Earlier on the same day, the WCC General
Secretary Rev Dr Olav Fykse Tveit preached during
the main Holy Eucharist celebration at the National
Cathedral of St Mary and St John, Quezon City. After
the Mass, Rev. Tveit and company that includes the
Bishop of Colombo (Sri Lanka), Archbishop of Adelaide,
and the Rev Canon Robert Kereopa of the Anglican
Missions of Aeteroa, New Zealand, and Polynesia
had fellowship with the cathedral congregation at the
Cathedral hall and later had lunched at the National
Office courtesy of the National Cathedral./dbt
Table discussions on the WCC Mission and Evangelism
draft statement. Rev David B Tabo-oy (center) is the lone
representative of the ECP to the WCC Pre Assembly conference.
The Philippine EPISCOPALIAN
EDNP GETS NATIONAL
AWARD AS A HEALTHY
LIFESTYLES ADVOCATE
The Episcopal Diocese of Northern Philippines was
one of five declared national winners in the Second
Outstanding Healthy Lifestyles Advocates Award given
by the Department of Health on February 29, 2012
at the Diosdado Macapagal Hall, Landbank Plaza,
Malate, Manila.
The Episcopal Diocese of Northern Philippines
implements healthy lifestyle advocacy through health
Sundays celebrations, No Smoking campaign, Liquor
Ban, Junking junk food, health assistance plan, organic
food production- herbal and vegetables gardening in
church mission schools and a demonstration organic
farm; and environment protection.
The five awardees are the following: Varuela,
Agusan del Sur and Carmona, Cavite (local government
category); Davao City Health Office (government office
category); Episcopal Diocese of Northern Philippines
(non-government organization); and Novartis
Healthcare Philippines(Business category). Each of
these winners were given a cash reward of 100,000
pesos.
Meanwhile, the other three finalists who
received PHp25,000 pesos each and a plague of
recognition are the Municipality of San Jacinto,
Masbate, Taft District Health Office, Surigao City, and
the Heaven on Earth Vegetarian Center, Baguio City.
The Outstanding Healthy Lifestyles Advocates Award is
a program of the Department of Health in collaboration
with the Philippine Coalition for the Prevention and
Control of Non-Communicable Diseases (PCPCNCD).
The award gives recognition to the work of organizations
and institutions which have demonstrated exemplary
contributions in the formulation of policies and
programs that promote healthy lifestyle and caused
its effective implementation resulting to clear and
palpable impact on the health situation and outcomes
in their areas of jurisdiction. . Examples of healthy
lifestyles advocacies include promotion of physical
activity, promotion of healthy diet and nutrition, control
of harmful use of alcohol and tobacco control.
Recent data from the Department of Health
reveals that seven (7) out of the ten (10) top causes of
death in the country are non-communicable diseases
(NCDs). Heart diseases, strokes, cancers, accidents,
continued next page

18 Graduates from Saint
Andrew’s Theological Seminary
NewsUpdates
Eighteen young men and women graduated from Saint
Andrew’s Theological Seminary this school year. Alvin
Pecdaen Sion of the Episcopal Church in the Philippines
topped this year’s batch of Bachelors and Masters in
Theology courses by receiving the Alumni Award and
Cum Laude honors. Another Episcopalian in the person
of Roda Sagwil received cum laude academic awards of
her excellent scholastic performance. The Right Reverend
Alexander Wandag delivered a very moving and practical
message during the graduation rites held at the famous
Saint Andrew’s Chapel at Cathedral Heights, Quezon City.
Following is the the list of seminary graduates 2012:
SATS Graduates 2012
Bachelor in Theology
1.Agway, Gerald Gaccad – Basao, Tinglayan, Kalinga
(EDNP)
2.Amayag, Alejo Baing – Bagnen, Bauko, Mt. Province
(EDNP)
3.Apil, Jonathan Oplawan – Tambingan, Sabangan, Mt.
Province (EDNP)
4.Ayabo, Marie Linang – San Juan, Tabuk City, Kalinga
(EDNL)
5.Fagkas, Christina Madchawing – Belwang, Sadanga, Mt.
Province (EDNP)
6.Isles, Marlonito Pareja – Sta. Paz Sur, San Francisco,
Southern Leyte (IFI BILLESSA)
7.Magallis, Jane Alinao – Basao, Tinglayan, Kalinga
(EDNP)
8.Malaggay, Noel Edduba – Bagtayan, Pasil, Kalinga
(EDNCP)
9.Masado, Jaime Wawac – Cabacab, Mankayan, Benguet
(EDNCP)
10.Moyaen, Mariano Waeyan - Batal, Santiago City,
Isabela (EDS)
11.Ranes, Reynante Rafinian – Baybay Baculin, Baganga,
Davao Oriental (IFI BILLESA)
12.Sion, Alvin Pecdaen – Mesaoy, New Corella, Davao del
Norte (EDSP)
13.Tanqui-on, Conrado Dazo, Jr. – Brgy. Amantilllo,
Marabut, Western Samar (IFI BILLESA)
Master in Divinity
1.Menong, Winston Garlejo – Aluling, Cervantes, Ilocos
Sur (EDNP)
2.Padua, Allen Labeste – Nuro, Upi, Maguindanao (EDSP)
3.Sagwil, Roda Sugan – Bugnay, Tinglayan, Kalinga
(EDNP)
4.Salvador, Hubert Taclobao – Lubon, Tadian, Mt. Province
(EDNL)
5.Soliman, Rino Tristan Riazon – Sitio Lawin, Brgy. San
Rafael, San Marcelino, Zambales (IFI-Zambales)
from previous page
The SATS Batch 2012
diabetes mellitus, chronic lower respiratory diseases
and renal diseases account for over 50% of deaths
occurring annually. According to DOH Secretary Ona,
“the most common non-communicable diseases are
collectively known as Lifestyle Related Diseases,
particularly because these diseases have common risk
factors such as tobacco use, unhealthy diet, physical
inactivity and excessive alcohol use. To a large extent,
we can prevent these NCDs if we are able to prevent
and modify these risk factors. We need to empower
people to be responsible for their own health and we
need to educate them about the potential harm that
unhealthy lifestyles would bring”. /doms
The Philippine EPISCOPALIAN 9

NORTHERN PHILIPPINES DIOCESE
Greetings of Shalom and a warm welcome to each
and everyone of you in the name of our Lord and
Saviour Jesus Christ as we gather together again for
our 41st Diocesan Convention.
Let me first extend special greetings to our host
congregation of the Cathedral of All Saints! Here
we are again in this beautiful cathedral and spacious
compound to worship, have fellowship and deliberate
on the mission and ministry of our Diocese. To the
Cathedral Chapter, Cathedral ECW, Cathedral BSA,
Cathedral Youth and Cathedral staff led by Dean Amos
Kollin and assisted by Deacon Matthew Napat-a; Dr.
Dennis Faustino, our new headmaster of All Saints
Mission School and his faculty and administrative staff,
and deacon intern Ms. Elvie Tulingan who is our new
matron of the ASM Girls Dormitory --- thank you very
much for welcoming us again this annual diocesan
family affair.
May we now reflect on the theme on our convention this
year which is taken from Paul’s letter to the Romans.
The letter to the Romans as students of biblical studies
learn is the longest and most profound theologically
among St. Paul’s epistles. Paul wrote this letter
sometime in 57 A.D. although some biblical scholars
opine that it was written earlier, while he was Corinth.
According to Paul himself, his work of evangelization
in the East (Asia Minor & Greece) is done so he was
taking it easy in Corinth while contemplating his next
move of striking the West after delivering his collection
of alms for the poor in Jerusalem. Paul was not under
pressure, he was in a relax and reflective mood while
writing this letter that’s why it is the most organized,
longest and weightiest of the Pauline letters.
Paul wrote to the Christians in Rome, whom he has
never met, to introduce himself and to preach the
gospel in line with his apostolic call to bring about
obedience to the faith among Gentiles and Jews alike.
Unlike other Paul’s letters that were written to address
10
from the Dioceses
“Offer yourselves as Living Sacrifice..”
The Philippine EPISCOPALIAN
specific issues of the local church e.g. problems of
divisiveness and immorality in Corinth, the problem of
false teachers in Galatia, Romans is more general in
theme. Basically, the theme is, the meaning of salvation
in Christ.
“ Offer yourselves as a living sacrifice to God, dedicated
to his service and pleasing to him.” The scriptural
basis for this is found in Romans chapter 12 verse
1a which reads, “ And so, dear brothers and sisters,
I appeal to you therefore to give your bodies to God.
Let them be a living and holy sacrifice-the kind he will
accept.” Iti Ilocano kunana, “ Kakabsatko, dawatek
ngarud kadakayo, a gapu iti naindaklan nga asi ti
Dios kadatayo, ipaayyo koma ti bagiyo a kas daton a
sibibiag, nasantoan ken makaay-ayo kenkuana. Daytoy
ti pudno a panagdaydayaw a rumbeng nga ipaayyo.”
The word THEREFORE, to us in convention usually
comes during the the resolutions, di ba? It actually
comes in the concluding part of the resolutions calling
for action after the statement of facts and causes in the
whereas part.
So what are the whereas portions or premises in
Romans preceeding the therefore appeal of Paul to
give our bodies as a living sacrifice?
In sum, Paul’s declaration is that, humanity is lost but
God in his infinite goodness acted to redeem His people.
Salvation is available to both Jews and Gentiles. It is
for all. It is made available by God’s grace or favor , not
by one merit, through faith or complete trust in Christ.
Those who believe can enjoy freedom from the power
of sin, freedom from dominion of the law, and freedom
to become like Christ and enjoy God’s boundless love.
Verse 1 of chapter 12, where our theme comes from,
provides the transition from Paul’s theological exposition
in the previous chapters to practical application. To
continued page 15

DIOCESE OF SANTIAGO
“Keep on the Road to Vision 2018”
from the Dioceses
K ablaaw.
Kasama ko po ang mga diocesan staff at muli namin
kayong binabati ng maligayang pagdating, kayong mga
diakono, kaparian at mga delegados na kumakatawan sa
ibat-ibang parokya at mga misiones at organisasyon ng ating
diosises. Ganoon din po, aming binabati ang mga visiting
delegates.
Nang sa ganoon ay mapalalim pa an gating
pagkakilakilala sa bawat delegado, tatawagin ko po ang mga
pangalan ng mga deaneries, kapag natawag ang pangalan
ng Deanery, magsitayo po ang mga delegados at silang
salubungin ng liman palakpak ng malakas na ulan (limang
palakpak at limang tadyak): Bonsai Deanery, Pacific Coast
Deanery, Corn Fields Deanery, Ifugao-Nueva Viscaya
Deanery, Eastern Mountain Province Deanery and Host
Deanery Green Fields Deanery.
Ngayong taon, idaraos natin ang ika-labing tatlong
diocesan convention. Bagamat may mga pamahiin tungkol
sa numerong ito dahilan daw sa maaring kamalasan na
maidudulot nito, ito’y buenas naman sa atin sapagkat, kasama
natin ang mahal nating Arso-bispo ng Iglesia Episkopal ng
Pilipinas, noong kapanahunan niya bilang Diocesan Bishop
ng Episkopal Diocese of Northern Philippines, naisilang
ang ating diocese. Atin din pong binabati ng maligayang
pagdating, na walang iba kundi si Most Rev. Edward
Malecdan. Siya ang magbibigay ng mensahe bukas sa
Convention Eucharist at magbibigay din ng isang Biblicotheological
reflection. Finally, kasama rin natin ngayon
ang ating Diocesan Assistant Chancellor, atin din pong
binabati, walang ibang iba kundi si Judge Justo Malecdan Jr.
Dalawang Malecdan ang kasama natin ngayong, isang Arsobispo
at isang Huwis.
Ayon sa dating gawain at pamamaraan ng
kombensiyon, akin ko pong hinihiling sa komben-siyong ito
na mabigyan ng kaukulang puesto at opotunistang magsalita
sa lahat ng talakayan ng kombensiyon, ang lahat ng mga
bisita at visiting delegates.
Ti Tema ti Kombensiyon.
Ti Tema ti kombensiyon tayo ket: “ Keep on the
Road to Vision 2018” wenno agtalinaed iti dalan agturong
iti arapaap iti 2018 wenno manatili sa daanang papunta sa
mga panaginip ng taong 2018. Ti met Biblical Inspiration
tayo ket maadaw iti libro ni Profeta Isaias (52:7) ket kunana :
“NAGPINTAS KETDIN NGA IMATANGAN TI NAIBAON
NGA SUMUNGSUNGAD ITI BANTAY! UMAYNA
IPAKAAMMO KADAGITI KABANBANTAYAN TI
NAIMBAG A DAMAG ITI KAPPIA! IPAKAAMMO NA
TI BALLIGI KET KUNANA “AGARIN TI DIOSMO,
SION…!”
“How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of those
who bring good news, proclaim peace, bring good tidings
and proclaim salvation…”.
Nadumaduma ti pannakaibalikas na daytoy nga
bersiculo insigun iti aramaten nga bersiyon ti Biblia, ngem
saanko nga talakayen itatta agsipud ta isunto’t pagpuunan ti
Biblico-Theological Reflection inton bigat. Aramatekto kas
pangngarig nga mangibalikas iti dadduma nga innak kunaen
ditoy palawagko kakabsat. Adda met ti kanta nga nagtaud iti
daytoy nga kinanta ti maysa nga country singer nga ni Tom
Paxton. Dumanon to ti gundway nga inta’y met kantaen iti
daytoy panagkomsiyon tayo.
State of the Diocesan Address (SODA)
Kaaduan nga Convention address ket iladawanna
ti kasasaad ti Diocese (nagapuanan, ti agdama ken iti
masakbayan). Awan kadagitoy ti inka’y mangngegan
iti daytoy Convention Address agsipud ta addan dagiti
datus kadagiti nadumaduma nga reports, manipud report
ti Registrar, Diocesan Committees and Commissions and
Diocesan Program Units. Nalpas ti YEAR A, bukbuklen ti
umuna a tallo a tawen (2009-2011) iti decada ti panagpundar
kadagiti parokya, nga agturpus inton Dos mil dies y otso
(2018) wenno ti makunkuna nga Vision 2018, ket mabuya
tayo ti nagapuanan iti tallo nga tawen, agdama nga kasasaad
ken ti papanan babaen kadagitoy nga reports. Naisadya nga
kasta tapno mabalin nga mapagsaludsudan no maiparang ti
reports ken iti plenarya. I am going to present some kind of a
critic on the present state of our diocese with retrospect and
hope to shed light as we enter into Year B. (2012-2014).
The Mission.
Sometimes in 1984 (28 years ago) the Anglican
Consultative Council came out with the document ‘Bonds
of Affection’ and a follow-up document in 1990, ‘Mission
in a Broken World’ which contained the first definition
of Mission. In both documents, it says “The Anglican
Communion understands mission as primarily God’s mission
continued to p13
The Philippine EPISCOPALIAN 11

Editorial ....from page 2
turned into a monumental victory for all mankind.
This is the eternal paradox of Jesus Christ
whose resurrection from the grave we celebrate today.
As a text message that has been circulating this Holy
Week puts it: “He had no servants, yet they called
him Master. He had no degrees, yet they called him
Teacher. He prescribed no medicines, yet they called
him Healer. He commanded no army, yet kings feared
him. He won no military battles, yet he conquered the
world. He committed no crime, yet they crucified him.
He was buried in a tomb, yet he lives today.”
Now we can see – that Christ’s life is a
MESSAGE in itself for which we can always draw
particular lesson or two to guide us as Christians in
this country and in our respective communities. Such
lesson or lessons could guide us at certain turns and
times of our lives, if only we look closer – and look at
the mirror and seriously reflect on the reflection that we
see.
Lesson One. From his triumphal entry which we
commemorated last Sunday in the service of Palm
Sunday and that led him to his crucifixion several days
later: “Sic gloria mundi fugit.” Latin words translated in
English, “All earthly glory is fleeting.” This is a timely
reminder for our leaders who want to stay in power
forever, never mind if they have to lie, cheat, steal,
bribe, threaten, and use force and other tools that go
with their positions.
For a world increasingly awed by, if not
obsessed with, wealth, fame and power: There are
larger and greater things than our material treasures
and desires, or even existence. All through his ministry,
Jesus kept emphasizing that “Not by bread alone does
man live.” And “What does it profit a man if he gains
the whole world and loses his soul.” He proved this
sincerely with his life and examples – when He refused
Satan’s temptation of giving him “all the kingdoms
of earth and the glory of them”; when he gave up all
worldly attachments, including his family, and even his
life.
We also learn from Christ’s example the need
to sacrifice for the larger goals. He had come to save
the fallen man and he was the only hope for man’s
salvation – no one else. But to fulfill his mission, he
had to suffer pain and humiliation like no other man.
And he knew that all this sacrifice would generally be
unappreciated, especially by those who were meant to
benefit from it the most. The thought of it almost broke
his spirit. “Father, if you be willing, remove this cup
12
He
is
R
I
S
E
N
The Philippine EPISCOPALIAN
from me; nevertheless, not my will, but yours be done.”
But he persisted, and sacrifice he did.
And we know the rest of the story. It did not end, it
made a new beginning.
Sisters and brothers in Christ, if we do not
see our celebration this Easter day through this
looking glass, then our celebration is a sham. Even
our celebration of the Holy Eucharist would just be a
meaningless ritual if we do not see the connection of
Christ’s ultimate sacrifice and the lessons he taught us
in his words and actions.
Another lesson that we learn: Just when we
think things cannot get any worse, God infuses our
lives with promise and hope. God makes right that
which previously had been wrong. God brings life out of
death. This is what Jesus accomplished when he rose
from the dead on that first Easter day. There maybe
doubts about the resurrection just like the doubts that
the ‘gospel of Judas’ that may have made a dent in the
faith of Christian believers.
Here is where the whole truth becomes even
better than we ever thought possible. Like Mary
Magdalene and her friends of old, early that Easter day,
we may make our way to the tomb of our lost love, the
sepulcher of our dead dreams, our ruined reputation,
our devastated faith, or late some evening we may look
starkly into the depth of our despair, hopelessness, and
depression. And there – right there! – Just when we are
ready to give up, to give in, we find God, or realize God
has found us. No angel in shining raiment will have to
tell us what has happened; we will know first hand the
beyond-joyful reality of resurrection. And we will hear
the angel’s assuring words, “He is not here, he has
risen!”
Christ the Lord is risen today, alleluia!
The
Lord
is
R
I
S
E
N
indeed!
(First preached on Easter 2006-Cathedral of the Resurrection
by the Rev David B Tabo-oy, former Dean and Rector)

from page 11
(Misio Dei). For the Anglican Communion, God's mission
is holistic, concerned for all human beings and the totality
of a human person; body mind and spirit. It is concerned
for the totality of God's creation. This holistic understanding
of mission is expressed in the Five Marks of Mission as
follows:
• To proclaim the Good
News of the Kingdom
• To teach, baptize and
nurture new believers
• To respond to human
need by loving service
• To seek to transform
unjust structures of
society
• To strive to safeguard the
integrity of creation and
sustain and renew the life
of the earth
The Five Marks of Mission
are not comprehensive in themselves but they serve as a
guide and help the churches within the Communion to live
out a mission lifestyle in their local contexts, and in variety
of ways.
Mission takes place primarily in a local context - congregation,
parish, diocese and province - it is the responsibility of every
baptized Christian; young and old, male and female, lay and
ordained”.
God’s Mission (Missio Dei) is the mission of the
church and it is not always correct to say the mission of the
Church is the Mission of God, because the church undertakes
activities and thinks it is also God’s Mission. There is always
the anxiety thinking if what we are doing is in accord with
the Missio Dei.
Being a member of the worldwide Anglican
Communion, we as the Episcopal Church in the Philippines
adopted the Five Marks of Mission and very much the spirit
of the Mission Conference of 1987. It was faithfully adopted
by national synod and the Decade focus on Renewal and
Reaching out as well as the Decade of parish development
or Vision 2018.
The Marks of Mission and context. It should be
good to look at the five marks of mission in the context of the
objective realities it was first defined. In another Anglican
communion document which came out in 2006: Holistic
Mission, A Profile of Mission and Evangelism in the Anglican
Communion, a survey of at least ten context upon which to
look at the five marks of mission was undertaken involving
all the provinces of the Anglican Communion; the result of
Delegates of Convention, Diocese of Santiago
which was presented to the 2008 Lambeth Conference.
Other Faiths” or “interfaith. It tried to look into
Evangelism in the context of the existence of other faith(s)
and impact as “Islamization, Fundamentalism, perception of
Christianity as a western intrusion, creating negative values and at
worst fatal” The challenge of Holistic mission is for the church to
address the well being of people: physically, socially and spiritually
and has to cross the boundaries with “loving service”. “People are
interested to hear the words of the Gospel and would like to see
Jesus Christ actually walking in
their midst doing good”.
Migrants, Refugees and
Displaced People. All over
the world, there are migrants,
refugees and displaced people
for various reasons, from war
to poverty to dehumanizing
conditions. These are the
people who are most vulnerable
and prone to abuse. These are
the people who are uprooted,
marginalized and live uncertain
future. The challenge of Holistic
mission is to establish networks
with fellow brethrens and faith based group and to evangelize both
in the country of origin and among receiving countries.
HIV/ AIDS. This is the modern affliction after Leprosy
which carries with it not only physical, but spiritual and societal
rejection. The challenge is how the church would accompany the
afflicted as well as their families in their dying and mourning and
creating support community groups. Likewise, raising awareness
in terms of prevention, dealing with stigma, shame, testing,
treatment, care support and empowerment the end goal of which is
“respect of the dignity of every human being”.
Response to disaster emergencies. Holistic mission
includes responses to emergencies as: floods, tsunamis, typhoons,
earthquakes, fire, avalanche, forced evacuation due to war etc…
what is the appropriate church mission in situations such as these?
What advocacy does the church have to address climate mitigation
and address the root causes as well as undertake risk reduction.
Children and Young people. In the western countries,
the young people are the so called “un-church”. “Many if not most
of young people are not interested of the church yet interested in
spirituality and life encouraging values.” Where are this sector in
the life and ministry of the church and what programs can attend to
their particular needs? Nurture is very much a nature of mission.
Reconciliation. Due to theological and cultural
differences, the communion is being threatened to break apart.
Tribes engage in tribal wars, management and workers are in strife,
community people and leaders cannot go together. Reconciliation
is very much in the heart of the mission of the Church.
Decline. Attendance in church service is rapidly
declining. Pews are often occupied by the women only. Where
continued next page
The Philippine EPISCOPALIAN 13

14
NORTH CENTRAL PHILIPPINES
Madaydayaw ti Dios: Ama, Anak, ken Espiritu Santo
ta nadanon tay manen ti tinawen a panagu-ummong
tayo kas familiana ditoy a diocese. Tatta ti maikaduapulo ket
uppat a Diocesan Convention tayo ken nasayaat toy tema
nga intay pinili kas inspirasyon tayo ita a tawen- naadaw
manipud ti surat ni Pablo kadagiti Kristiano iti probinsya ti
Galacia: '...Saanen a siak ti agbibiag, no di ket ni Kristo ti
agbibiag kaniak' wenno iti english kunana, 'It is no longer I
who live but Christ who lives in me' [Gal 2:20].
Adda siguro mangipagarup kadatayo a ni San
Pablo kasla mangopisina a nakatugaw a mangpampanunot
maipapan iti Dios ken ni Kristo sa nangala ti lapis ket
isurat na no ania man dagiti naamiris na. Ti kinaagpaysona
insurat ni San Pablo dagiti aw-awagan tay nga epistola a
mangsungbat kadagiti saludsud dagiti kinaskasabaanna,
wenno mamabbaga kadakuada, wenno mangiwanwan iti
pampanunotda wenno manglawlawag kadagiti madisdisturbo
a panunot wenno pammatida.
Ket awan naidumaan daytoy suratna kadagiti
Kristiano idiay Galacia [dagiti gimong iti siudad ti Pisidian
Antioch, Iconium, Lystra, ken Derbe]. Madisdisturbo dagiti
Kristiano idiay Galacia ta adda dagiti tattao [Judaizers] a
napan mangibagbagbaga a mangdildilaw kenni Pablo ket
ibagbagada a saan a pudno nga apostol isuna. Ket ti sursuro
nga ipapatida kadagiti tattao ket ti pammati ken Kristo ken
panangtungpal kadagiti sursurona ket kasapulan a buyugan
dagiti Gentil iti panangtungpal kadagiti annoruten ti Linted
dagiti Hudio. Ipapati ken ipilitda a dagiti Gentil a naawis
a nag-Kristiano tungpalenda kuma dagiti ug-ugali dagiti
Hudio kas kuma iti panakakugit, dagiti annuroten maipapan
iti makan ken pannangan, ken ti panangtungpal kadagiti
naisangsangayan nga aldaw dagiti Hudio tapno naananay ti
kinaimbagda iti imatang ti Dios.
Dagitoy a tattao kunada a dagiti ibagbaga ken
isursuroda ket adda pammalubos dagiti apostoles idiay
Herusalem. Kasta met nga ibagbagada a saan nga umanamong
dagiti apostoles iti isursuro ni San Pablo a wayawaya ken
Kristo.
Saan a barengbareng daytoy a di panagkikinaawatan.
Dakkel ti kaipapananna ket ti pagbanagan ti Kristianismo
nakasanggir iti pannakarisut daytoy a problema. Agbalin
ngata ti Kristianismo a maysa a mangiwaragawag iti
Naimbag a Damag kadagiti amin a tattao ania man ti puli,
tribu wenno pagsasaoda wenno agbalin to laeng a maysa a
secta ti pammati dagiti Hudio.
from the Dioceses
The Philippine EPISCOPALIAN
Nasiputan ni San Pablo a dagitoy a sursuro ket maikontra
iti pudno Naimbag a Damag ti Dios kenni Kristo Hesus. Ti
pinnakakugit ken dadduma pay nga linteg dagit Hudio ket isu
dagiti namaglasin ken namagsisina kadagiti Hudio ken Gentil
kadagiti naglabas a panawen. Ket no sublian manen dagitoy
awanen tayo ti inaramid ni Hesu Kristo. 'Ta mismo a ni Kristo
ti nangyeg iti kappia kadatayo babaen ti panamagkaykaysana
kadagiti Hudio ken Gentil. Babaen iti ipapatayna, rinebbana
ti pader a namagsina ken namagbinnusor kadagitoy a tattao.
Winaswasna ti Linteg dagiti Hudio a buklen dagiti bilin ken
al-alagaden tapno kadagitoy dua a puli-Hudio ken Gentil,
parsuaenna ti baro a puli.'[Ef 2:14]
Ket iti naibasa tattay isu ti bukod a pammaneknek
ni San Pablo maibasar iti padas na. 'No bangonek manen
ti nalpas kon a rinakrak, mapaneknekan a salsalungasingek
ti Linteg. Ngem no maipapan iti Linteg, natayakon- ti met
laeng Linteg ti nangpatay kaniak- ket iti kasta agbiagak
tapno agserbiak iti Dios. Natayakon a nairaman ken ni Kristo
iti krusna' [Gal. 2:18-19]. Saanen nga iturayan ti Linteg ti
panagbiagna. Babaen ti pammati ken Kristo agbiag isu iti
Apo ket iti pannakikaykaysana ken Kristo nagbalin isu a
baro a tao. Saanen nga agbiag isuna iti sidong ti Linteg no di
ket babaen ti gracia ti Dios nga impaayna baben ken Kristo
Hesus. 'Iti kasta, saanen a siak ti agbibiag, no diket ni Kristo
ti agbibiag kaniak. No kasano ti panagbiagko itan, agbiagak
a maipaay iti pammati iti Anak ti Dios a nagayat kaniak ken
nagted iti biagna gapu kaniak' [vs 20].
Ingibus ni San Pablo daytoy a paset ti surat na no
apay a saan nga umanamong isu iti surs.uro nga ipilpilit
dagitoy 'Judaizers' a mapalinteg tayo iti Dios babaen ti
panangtungpal tayo iti Linteg ken baben dagiti naimbag
nga aramid tayo. No siguro daytoy ti natungpal a mensahe
nagbalin laeng a maysa a sekta ti Judaismo ti Kristianismo
wenno pay ketdi iti panaglabas ti panawen ket entero a
napukaw. Ta no pudno dayta 'maiwaksi ngarud ti parabur
wenno gracia ti Dios ket awan serserbi ti ipapatay ni Kristo'
[vs 21]. Ngem saan a natay ni Kristo nga awan mammaayna
ket ti panangisalakan ti Dios ket agpaay kadagiti amin
a siaayat ken siwawaya a mangawat iti parabur nga iyawatna
babaen ken Hesu Kristo. Dayta ti pakabuklan ti Naimbag a
Damag ti Dios nga inkaskasaba ken inwarwaragawag da San
Pablo kadagiti immuna a Kristiano. Daytoy a mensahe awan
ti siasinoman nga inna inlaksig ket winaswasna ti aniaman a
lapped iti pannakaiwaragawag ti Naimbag a Damag ti Dios
iti entero a sangalubungan.
Ket dayta a Naimbag a Damag naikasaba kadatayo
ket isu met laeng kuma dayta, ket awan kuma't sabalin, a
continued next page

from previous page
Naimbag a Damag nga itultuoy tayo nga ikaskasaba ken
iwarwaragawag iti agdama a panawen.
On Reaching-out and Renewal
1. Lumawlawa ti sakupen ti mission tayo idiay Kabayan.
Nangrugi tayo idiay Bashoy, Kabayan kas outstation ti St.
Gregory, Loo. Ngem gapu ta aginnadayo dagitoy a luglugar
imbaon tayo ni Padi Agustin Lizardo III kas missionaryo
sadiay. Ita mairugrugi metten ti mission idiay Ambangeg,
Tikey ken Pito. Adda pay dadduma a komunidad iti Kabayan
ken Bokod a mabisbisita ken maad-adal no mabalidanto a
baro nga outstations.
2. Tatta a bulan agmaysa a tawen metten ti tuloy-tuloy a
panagbisita ken panagserbi dagiti taga-St. Gregory, Loo idiay
Central Buguias. Madama nga ad-adalen da Padi Danilo
Curiano ken ti Vestry no ania ti sumaruno nga maaramid dita
a lugar.
3. Nagasat tay met ta iti naglabas a tawen adda innem a baro
a simbaan ti intay nabendisionan: St Gregory of Nazianzus
in Gravel Pit, Lepanto [members are from the place unlike
St. Alban whose members come from many places]; Holy
Nativity in Lon-oy, San Gabriel; St. Dunstan in Manaba,
Mankayan; Ascension Church in Lipay, San Gabriel; Church
of the Visitation in Lubas, Ansagan, Tuba; and St. Martin in
Cuenca, Pugo, La Union. It is inspiring that construction of
many of these churches were funded by internal resources
isu a natawenan ti nakaipasdekanda. Maysa laeng dagitoy
a pakakitaan iti tumangtangken ken umun-uneg a pammati
dagiti tattao tayo.
4. Maysa kadagitoy, ti St. Gregory of Nazianzus, Gravel
Pit ket agngayngayangay a maawat kuma a maitipon iti
Convention kas maysa nga 'Organized Mission' ket outstation
na ti St. Hilda, Tagumbao. Natungpalda met dagiti kalikagum
ti paglintegan tayo isu nga dawatek kuma ta patgan daytoy a
Convention dayta a kalikagumda.
5. Kas pangsuporta iti expansion work tayo gimmatang ti
Diocese iti lote idiay Pudong, Kapangan [ sqm]; Banig,
La Trinidad [ sqm]; ken agarup maysa nga ektarya idiay
Palina, Pugo, La Union. Ti congregasyon idiay Bashoy
gimmatangda met iti 200sqm a lote a pakaisaadanto ti
simbaan idiay Tikey, Bokod.
On Theological Education and Ordained Ministry
1. Idi napan a tawen lima ti nagapu ditoy Diocese a nagturpos
idiay seminario: Rov Ban-eg [San Isidro Labrador, Lawin];
Ritchell Belinan [Epiphany Church, La Trinidad]; Jaime
Dominguez, Jr [Cathedral of the Resurection]; Raul Gawec
[St Margaret, Immalog]; and Kendall Mendoza [still
EDNCP continued on page 27
Events in Pix
RECENT VISITORS OF THE ECP PROVINCE
Mr Robert Kwn receives the
Plaque of Appreciation from
the ECP Executive Council
Young people of the National
Cathedral performs during
the WCC pre assembly held
in Manila on March 22-27,
2012
Bishop Greg Rickel- (left); Fr
Fred Vergara, Rev Ng, Rev Rose
(below) Rachel Parry of USPG
and David Evans
The Couple:
Richard and
Bishop
Katharine
Schori
Bishop Shibusawa of the
Diocese of Chubu, Nagoya,
Japan signs document
renewing partnership with
North Central Phils. Diocese
The Philippine EPISCOPALIAN 15

16
from previous page
are the men, children and young people. Likewise vocation to the
ordained ministry is depleting. “There is also the question if the
present church structure is viable?’
Where have all the members gone? Where have all the clergy
gone? Brothers and Sisters keeper is very much a Mission of the
church.
Growth. All over the world, there are hundreds
of millions which can be reach by the churches. The growth
somewhere is viable, but the problem is how. Initiatives have met
challenges in terms of sustainability. Sponsors, institutions and
societies have declined dramatically leaving initiatives stranded
and at worst frustrations on the part of the new growth areas.
Economic Viability/ Poverty. Dioceses and parishes
are challenge with financial viability as well as their institutions.
The communities are faced with poverty and people are just simply
surviving. Over and above these, are people are getting dispossessed
of their lands and livelihood. Land is getting concentrated all the
more on the hands of the few and corporate entities. Wealth and
resources are not distributed either but concentrated in the hands
of the already rich. What is mission in these context?
Indigenous People. The presence of Indigenous
peoples in almost all countries is something the church had not
taken seriously. They have a great wealth of theological insight as
well as spirituality which can impact on the Churches understanding
of God, Christ, Creation etc…They live in mountain ranges,
mountain valleys, hill sides and slopes, along rivers. Incidentally,
these are the places where the earth resources are concentrated.
The face dislocation, displacement, harassments and eventually
get marginalized. What is mission among the indigenous peoples?
Nos. 3 &10 – are my additions
Are these Context Relevant?
I submit that these contexts upon which the five
marks of mission were defined are very much relevant.
Nothing of these context were change, in-fact became more
profound and severe.
Other Faith is a reality, however we have not yet
arrived at a situation prevailing in some countries where
there is open conflict with the other faith. The rise of
“fundamentalism” is a reality as well.
Migrant, refugees and displaced people is a long
reality. It is said that the biggest refugees seekers because
of poverty is the Philippines. Filipinos are all over the world
sometimes not as a choice but the force of grinding poverty
especially in the rural and urban poor areas. Displacement is
a tragedy as a result of the aggressive development projects
as Mines, Logging, Mega Dams and Agri-business projects.
HIV/ AIDs is not profound due to cultural values as
“hiya” and social implications which is why it is being toned
down but it is a reality and a real head ache of the department
of Health.
Disasters/ Emergencies abound due to natural
The Philippine EPISCOPALIAN
calamities compounded by human greed. The Government
is not keen on solution but on risk reduction.
The situation of our young people exposed not to the
desired Christian culture but to the Pop culture of the times.
If they are the church leaders in the future, how much is the
church addressing these concerns.
Reconciliation. There is so much division in our
midst and there more exercise of getting divided than getting
united. There is so much erosion of the values that enhances
brotherhood of all men. Decline is a reality in churches our
church included. The question arises, Is the institutional
church still relevant or is there need of a shifting in terms
of mission now a days? Decline is also very evident in the
recruitment to the vocation to the ordained ministry. While
there is great opportunity of growth out into the world, we
are tied down with economic viability and sustainability.
With the poverty prevailing in the rural communities (which
happens to be our favorite communities) there seems
to be no hope at expanding to the less economic viable
communities. Perhaps this is something to reflect upon, Is
Mission all about drawing something from the communities
or sharing something with the communities? Where have all
the missionary zeal gone?
Indigenous People. Our church is basically
Indigenous and likewise our leadership. As the saying goes
“familiarity breeds contempt”. One challenge is how to draw
lessons out from the stored wisdom of our people for mission?
Second challenge is how to overcome “ethnocentrism” and
opening up to new and fresh desirable values to be able to do
mission in a pluralistic society?
The Diocesan Strategic Growth Plan (Year A).
Looking back in retrospect at SGP Year A. are the following
Strategic Growth Plans as well as Imperatives. We tried to be
very focus, deliberate and participatory in terms of planning
and implementation and evaluation. While far from perfect,
we have attained most of what we launched to undertake.
Strategic Membership Growth Plan: Membership Data and
Profile (MBDP);Deliberate entry into new Pastoral Areas (DPA);
Bring your brothers and sisters (BBS); Strategic Churchmanship
Growth Plan; Deliberate Recruitment to the ordained and Lay
Ministry (DREAM); Preferential Deployment Initiative (PADI);
Campaign for Renewal (CARE); Strategic Self Reliance and
Support Facilities Growth Plan:Systematized Accounting
in all LCUs as an Act of Thanksgiving (SALAMAT); Greater
incentives to Viable Enterprises (GIVE)
Diocesan Strategic Growth Plan Year B.
Looking forward at Year B. we intend to repeat the same, however
continued on p16

from page 10
Paul, faith is meaningless if it does not impact in a
Christ-like life to the believer. Christian behavior or
conduct springs from an intimate association with
faith. There has to be unity of thought and action, a
correlation between creed and deed. The letter from
James chapter 2 verse 17 aptly states, “faith without
works is dead.” Something is amiss if our faith doesn’t
have a positive impact in our lives. And the response
for the believer in Christ must be expressed in concrete
behavioral terms.
One of the known practices of man since the
beginning of human existence is to offer sacrifices
to the deity for the expiation of sins and/or to please
the gods. In the case of Israel, the practice of
sacred assemblies and sacrifices came with a call to
righteousness as championed by the prophets Amos
and Isaiah who rejected the Israelites’ burnt offerings
and grain offerings and instead called for justice and
righteousness to run down like a mighty stream. The
practice of animal sacrifices and offerings was also a
lucrative and extortive business in the temple in new
testament times. Remember, it made Jesus very very
angry.
Jesus the perfect sacrifice for the remission of
our sins has done it once and for all.
There’s this story of three friends who died
in a car accident and were in the gates of heaven
undergoing orientation. They were all asked the same
question: When you are lying in your casket with friends
and family mourning over you, what would you like to
hear them say about you?
The first guy immediately responds, “I would like
to hear them say that I was one the great engineers
of my time, a builder, and a generous provider for my
family.” The second guy says, “I would like to hear that
I was loving husband and a great teacher who made a
difference in the lives of many young people.” The third
guy thinks a minute and says, “I would like to hear them
say, . . . . HEY LOOK, HE IS MOVING!!! NATATAGO
PET NA!!! He is alive!!!
We all want to stay alive, don’t we? We all want
to go to heaven but not just yet. Alive alive forevermore
we sing.
Offer yourselves as a living sacrifice. St. Paul
here is talking of living persons not dead animals for a
sacrifice. God does not like deadwoods. A deadwood is
a useless person or material according to Webster. No
commitment, no action, and no output. The worst thing
is, they blame others for their non-performance. God
doesn’t like dead ducks or goners who might as well
be cut off like the branch that doesn’t bear fruit. God
doesn’t delight in dead beats who persistently fail in
their obligation to God and their neighbor. God doesn’t
delight in dead ends for you can’t go any further with
them in service. They even stifle the productivity of
others.
Offer yourselves as a living sacrifice. This is a
call for all us to submit ourselves completely to God
though an unwavering faith and committed service. It
is said that “anyone can serve leftovers. Only those
who love God more than anything else will serve up
the best for Him.” That best is ourselves and the best
that we can offer for the Glory of God, the best that
we can do to share our faith and demonstrate God’s
abounding love to others.
Offer yourselves as a living sacrifice. Christ
wants to abide in us. “He wants to use our eyes to
behold what’s happening in our communities and in
our congregations. He wants to use our ears to hear
the cry of those who are in distress and those in need.
He wants to use our lips to tell others the good news.
He wants to use our hearts to express compassion
and love to everyone. He wants to use our minds to
think through situations and to have something to say
to the people involved. He
wants to use our hands to
do His work and our feet to
go to the places He wants
to go to help others through
us. Our bodies include the
soul which is the seat of
our intellect, emotions and
will. Christ wants to think
His thoughts through us.”
(Theodore Epp).
Bishop Brent Harry Alawas,
Diocese of Northern Philippines
Let us pray:
Almighty God, you give us new life, new hope, and
new opportunities with each returning day: Help us
to use these blessings to the best of our capacity
in doing the work which we have to do; devoting
ourselves wholly to your service, and putting our
selfish interests aside to seek the welfare of our
fellowmen human beings; for the sake of him who
came among us as one who serve, your son Jesus
Christ our lour Lord. Amen.
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from page 14
with more focus, deliberate and participatory. We already learned
our lessons and there is no doubt that we will improve and achieve
more.
Strategic Membership Growth. Update Membership
Census (UMC); Go outstation and Teach (Goat); Encourage all
to come and participate (ECP);Strategic Churchmanship Growth;
Campaign for Renewal (CARE); Promote sound Environment and
Advocate integrity of Creation (PEACE)
Advocate Social Justice and Respect of Human Right and Dignity
(ASJRHRD);
Strategic Self-Reliance and Support Facility Growth
Plan: Systematized Accounting in all LCUs as acts of Thanksgiving
(SALT); Fresh Lessons Allows Varied Opportunities and
Rewards (FLAVOR); Shelter, Mobility and Resource Technology
(SMART); Reflection on the Five Marks and SGP.
In our excitement, deliberate acts and participatory mood,
have we reflected upon the Five Marks of Mission when we
launched into Year A of Vision 2018?
In our eagerness to launch into Year B. have we
reflected on the meaning and implication of the Five Marks
of Mission.
I charge convention to reflect deeper into the five
marks of mission and formulate concrete steps towards
incorporating the same into the strategic trust of year B.
Growing Membership, Glowing Churchmanship, Going Self
Reliance towards establishing Parishes full of Hope, Charity,
Faith and Love is good as these certainly are the means to be
able to move forward. However, Faithfulness to the Missio
Dei as articulated by the Five Marks of Mission will define
what mission and evangelism are we undertaking, holistic
mission or simply the mission of the church.
How beautiful it would be if we as the diocese of
Santiago is able to leave footprints around the mountains,
down the plains and along the seacoast of the Pacific without
counting the cost. How beautiful it would be to see steps
towards loving service to the suffering in silence victims of
HIV/ AIDS and all sort of affliction culture and society avoids.
How beautiful it would be to see multitude of footprints of
members of the Episcopal Diocese of Santiago proclaiming
peace and announcing the good news and salvation among
the potentially displaced and marginalized people as well as
the indigenous people that we shall overcome and Shalom
would reign someday.
The Lord be with you.
Rt. Rev. Alexander Wandag, Sr.
Diocesan Bishop
Diocesan Annual Convention
February 28-March 2, 2012
18
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The Philippine EPISCOPALIAN
scenario we in this Diocese are ready to confront these
challenges as we look forward to divide our diocese
into two.
“Working together in faith to serve and preserve
God’s creation,” Is the theme for this 41st annual
Diocesan convention. (Ex. 17:8-13; 1Cor. 12:12-
27 Lk. 16:1-13; Mt. 25:14-30). Through this theme I
wish to address the issues of Division and that of the
environment as we are task by God as his stewards
to protect. In some of my Deanery Pre-convention
remarks I did mentioned God’s mission is the same
yesterday, today and tomorrow. Whether we are in
the new or continuing Diocese we are called to do the
same mission, we are called to serve his people and to
preserve his creation. That I think is not debatable. The
question however, remain is, “how are we going to do
that”? How do we accomplish that?
First, I think what our theme suggests is by
“working together in faith.” What difference will that
make? Big difference my friends. In Exodus 17:8-13, we
see the importance of working together. Moses stands
atop the high mountain with his arms outstretched
in prayer so that the enemy down below might be
defeated. As long as his arms are outstretched the
battle goes well for the Israelites. But when fatigue sets
in and the arms give way the tide of the battle turns.
How did the leaders of the Israel respond to this? They
lend Moses a hand. Exodus tells us Aaron and Hur
each take an arm and allow Moses’ prayer to continue
in spite of his weariness.
Aaron and Hur do what they can so that the
great prayers of Moses can go on. Because they were
there, because of their efforts, the battle was won and
the plan of God was advanced. We can apply this
lesson from the scriptures to our efforts as we seek to
serve and be good stewards of the gifts God has given
us, all for the sake of advancing the Kingdom of God.
For whenever we use our talents, and whenever we
give our time for the work of the Church, we participate
in the building of the Kingdom of God.
Like Aaron and Hur, when we lend a hand at
Church, even though it might not seem like we are doing
a whole lot, we are, in fact contributing to something
much greater than ourselves. When we choose to help
rather than to stand idle; To build up rather than to tear
down; To participate rather than letting someone else
do the work.. we advance the mission of the Church,
just as our forebears, those who came before us, those
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DIOCESE OF SOUTHERN
PHILIPPINES
“Working together in faith to serve
and preserve God’s Creation.”
(Ex. 17:8-13; I Cor.12:12-27; Lk. 16:1-13; Mt. 25:14-30)
Greetings of peace and love to one and all! We
are blessed to be here and thank God for this
opportunity as we come together and join with our
brothers and sisters from all part of the Diocese for our
41th. Diocesan annual Convention. Indeed it is a great
joy to see you all and together thanked the Lord for
his tremendous love poured upon His Church in this
Diocese and upon His people. It is therefore my great
privilege and honor to welcome all of you, the members
of convention, our official and reporting delegates,
retirees, guests and observers to this convention.
As you may know, this 41st. Diocesan
Convention is very special and significant to all of us,
as this marks our last convention together of the one
undivided Diocese of Southern Philippines. Certainly,
there is a mix feeling of sadness and joy. Sadness
because separation or parting is not always a happy
occasion for acquaintances, much so for those of us
who have shared the joys of working together and
friendship. On the other hand, there is that feeling of
excitement of facing new challenges and opportunities
especially as we think of expansion and reaching out to
more people for the Lord. Such thought always brings
happiness and inspiration to all of us. May we all be
blessed this convention.
The Convention Theme:“Working together in faith to
serve and preserve God’s Creation.”
This 41st Diocesan convention will go down in
our journal history of convention as the last convention
of our undivided Diocese. As such this is significant
and memorable for all of us.
After years of planning and preparation, synod
finally gave its consent last May 2011. Most of us
can probably remember that we have been talking of
dividing the Diocese as early as the 1990’s. In fact I
was one of those few who believe on the need of the
division, for purposes of mission strategy. The Deanery
of Southwestern Mindanao was then targeted as the
area of the new jurisdiction. This did not push through
due to some canonical requirements that need to be
fulfilled. However, our endeavor was not a total failure
because while we failed in the creation of the new
Diocese then, but the idea lives on, that eventually
led to the creation of the new jurisdiction composed
of the Deaneries of Northeastern Mindanao and the
Visayas and South Central Mindanao. Looking back,
I realized how we really worked hard for this, yes, we
spent time, effort and money for this and oftentimes
we got frustrated when we do not get the result of the
things we wanted. This experience will remind us again
that it is “In God’s Time” that things are done not ours.
We praise Him for patiently leading us through those
years of planning and preparation. We praise and
thank Him for making available P3.7 million (from St.
Agnes building fund) for the Diocesan center and P600
thousand for additional endowment fund for the new
Diocese (from the budget surplus of the Synod last
May 2011). Indeed, there is no better time than “In His
Time.
In the midst of this joyous celebration, we
meet in this Convention filled with many challenges,
apprehensions and uncertainties. The past year our
Diocese was not spared with various political, economic
and social issues and concerns that affected us in our
delivery of services to our people. We continue to
feel the ill effect of the internal squabbles among our
politicians as they try to project themselves and their
political agenda, forgetting their primary responsibility
as an elected official. The ongoing impeachment case
against the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court with
all its merits cannot be said in all honesty that it is free
from political vendetta. No wonder, a new firework code
name “goodbye Philippines” came out in the market last
December. We do hope however, this is not a sign of our
peoples’ desperations and hopelessness in the leaders
of our nation. On the other hand the continuing unrest
in the Middle East together with the financial crisis that
affected Europe and the volatile economic condition
of the U.S. remain to be the culprit of the unrelenting
increase of oil products in the world market that makes
life of our people more miserable. But this is not all
my brothers and sisters, more devastating, damaging
and destructive are the natural calamities that visited
us in recent months particular here in Mindanao. The
flash floods, landslides and earthquakes are but good
reminders of our greediness and our failure in taking
care of our environment. We need not be reminded
of the fact that our environment is a special gift to
us by God and is intended for us to enjoy and not to
abuse. Amidst this gloomy and somehow discouraging
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20
SouthErn.....from p16
who are retired but still stand by us in many of our
Church activities, they have taught us to do by their
faith, their dedication, their commitment – their good
stewardship of time and talent. St. Paul, in his first letter
to the Corinthians chapter 12:12-27, also expressed it
very well as he described the working together of the
different parts of the body in order to get the right and
intended result. Everyone needs to do his/her part, but
more than doing his or her part it is also very important
that we do it together with others with our outmost
devotion and commitment. So that if we are to serve
our people we do it regardless as to who and where
they are.
Secondly, I want to underscore our being
stewards of God’s creation, which include most
especially our environment. As stewards we are given
the charge to safeguard the material and human
resources and using them responsibly; so is generous
giving of time, talent, and treasure. But being a Christian
steward means more. As Christian stewards, we receive
God's gifts gratefully, cultivate them responsibly, share
them lovingly in justice with others, and return them
with increase to the Lord. In other words, more than
enjoying God’s creation we also have to be responsible
and accountable for the gifts that God has entrusted
to us. The lessons we get from Jesus parable on the
unjust servant found in Luke 16:1-13 and the parable
of the talent in Mat. 25:14-30, are but some of the few
reminders for all of us who are called to be stewards
in God’s vineyard. And our recent experience here in
Mindanao will tell much of our betrayal of that trust
and our failures as God’s stewards. We come to this
convention with a very challenging theme: Let us make
that theme a reality in our lives. And it is imperative that
we must start it now.
State of the Diocese:
There are so many things to be thankful for in
the Diocese the past year. Blessings after blessings
we have receive from Him and from each other. Some
of them we are not even aware of but definitely His
abiding presence has been with us through the year and
onward. Everything went smoothly in our operations,
not-withstanding the challenges encountered that
kept us alert and led us to our various modest
accomplishments, which could not have been possible
without God’s bountiful grace and generosity. All praise
and glory we give unto Him.
Vision 2018:
We are now on our fourth year in the implementation
The Philippine EPISCOPALIAN
of the ECP Vision 2018. Relative to this, the Diocese
through our Christian Education Unit and Social
Ministry Unit programs had assisted some of our LCUs
by conducting congregational Development seminar
in the last two years. At the moment however, this
activity has been temporarily suspended to give time to
assess those LCUs that have undergone the seminar.
To date for various reasons our accomplishment rate
is only 33%, a little Way below our target rate of 40%
supposedly on the fourth year of our implementation.
“I charge convention through the finance committee
to review and assess our vision 2018 program and
assist the various LCUs in coming out with deliberate
plans, strategies to help ensure their accomplishment
target”(1). Along this line, I also call on all our clergy
together with their mission councils to come up with
their local plans and strategies to effect vision 2018 in
their respective LCUs.
CONCLUDING REMARKS:
In celebration and thanksgiving we shall bid each
other goodbye as we look forward to our forthcoming
division this year. I do hope that this division will challenge
us to do our best and work harder for the expansion of God’s
kingdom. Let us continue to inspire and encourage one
another, as well as to compliment each other as we seek to
serve God’s people in our respective jurisdiction.
Finally, may we also remember in our prayers all
our partners who continue to journey with us and enable
us to reach out to our various constituencies, particularly
we would like to convey our deep appreciation to St. Luke
Medical Center, its board of trustees, their former chairman,
Mr. Robert Kuan and their new chairman Mr. Frederick Dy,
for their sustained commitment to support us in our Church
buildings and rectories needs. For the Australian Board of
Mission (ABM) through their Director the Rev. John Dean
for their generous support in our Christian Education and
Evangelism programs. This year we were recipient of 11
units of motor cycles and copies of Bibles that has been
distributed to our clergy and LCUs. For the Diocese of North
Central Philippines through Bishop Joel Pachao for their
monetary assistance and all those who contributed in cash
and kinds for the victims of typhoon Sendong. Relative to
this the Diocese through our SMU and Brent Hospital and
colleges Inc., conducted a relief distribution to Iligan and
Cagayan De Oro last 26 of December 2011. And for
the Diocese of Olympia, through their bishop, The Rt. Rev.
Greg Rickel and for JB and Nancy whose visit paved the
way to the signing of an MOA between the EDSP and DoO.
As well as to all our ECP Dioceses and other partners who
extended to us their moral support and prayers. “I charge
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THE ANGLICAN COMMUNION
Archbishop of Canterbury
to be Master of Magdalene
College, Cambridge
Friday 16th March 2012
Archbishop Rowan Williams has today announced
his acceptance of the position of Master of
Magdalene College, Cambridge with effect from
January 2013. He will therefore be stepping down
from the office of Archbishop of Canterbury at the end
of December 2012.
Dr Williams’ intentions have been conveyed to
The Queen, who is Supreme Governor of the Church
of England and who formally appoints the Archbishop
of Canterbury.
Dr Williams was appointed the one hundred
and fourth Archbishop of Canterbury in 2002. He said
today: It has been an immense privilege to serve as
Archbishop of Canterbury over the past decade, and
moving on has not been an easy decision. During the
time remaining there is much to do, and I ask your
prayers and support in this period and beyond. I am
abidingly grateful to all those friends and colleagues
who have so generously supported Jane and myself
in these years, and all the many diverse parishes and
communities in the Church of England and the wider
Anglican Communion that have brought vision, hope
and excitement to my own ministry. I look forward,
with that same support and inspiration, to continuing
to serve the Church’s mission and witness as best I
can in the years ahead.
Dr Williams will continue to carry out all
the duties and responsibilities of the Archbishop of
Canterbury, both for the Church of England and the
Anglican Communion, until the end of the year.
The Crown Nominations Commission will
consider in due course the selection of a successor./
ACNS
l
Archbishop Rowan Williams
Anglican Women Theologians
Meet in Canterbury
Emergent Anglican women scholars from the
majority world and indigenous women studying
theology gathered on March 26 at the International
Study Centre at Canterbury Cathedral for a week-long
program of mentoring and strategising with the leaders
of the Global Anglican Theological Academy (GATA)
GATA was one of the outcomes of the meeting of
Anglican women theological educators organized by
the office of Theological Education in the Anglican
Communion (TEAC) in Canterbury, England, in 2009.
Supported by TEAC, the GATA initiative takes seriously
the fourth mark of mission endorsed by the Anglican
Consultative Council - the transformation of unjust
structures, and in particular, those that function within
our own Church household.
The unacceptably low numbers of women of
any age in leadership roles in theological education
and in representative roles across the Commissions
and official bodies of the Anglican Communion has
long been of concern to the founders of GATA.
GATA seeks to nurture an increasing pool of
highly qualified younger women from the majority world
who are capable of taking their places as leaders of
educational institutions and in representative bodies in
the Anglican Communion by developing an intentional
and focused program of professional mentoring and
forming a new community of intellectual theological
discourse among the participants.
The eight emergent women leaders gathered
were from New Zealand, Tonga, Malaysia, Philippines,
Namibia, Zimbabwe, Kenya, and South India. Five
are ordained and three are laywomen. Two have
received their doctoral degrees recently, five were
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22
anglican WomEn.....from p19
doctoral students, and one was on a pathway toward
post-graduate studies. They have expertise in Biblical
studies, liturgics, education for indigenous peoples,
public policy, and social activism against gender-based
violence, discrimination, and injustice against God’s
people.
The week-long gathering began with daily
contextual Bible Study and participants experienced
the rich worship services at the historic and magnificent
Canterbury Cathedral. They were able to discuss
in depth and to strategise ways of transforming the
structural and attitudinal barriers to their roles as well
qualified scholars and leaders able and very willing to
serve as leaders for their Provincial churches and in
the wider Communion.
Participants met with Archbishop Rowan
Williams whose ongoing support of the GATA initiative
has always been of profound importance. They
were able to meet with senior staff of the Anglican
Communion Office thereby gaining deeper insight into
the expansive mission and work of that office. They
were also treated to a rare glimpse inside the hallways
of the House of Commons courtesy of the hospitality of
Rev Rose Hudson-Wilkin, Chaplain to the Speaker of
the House of Commons. As an exemplary priestly role
model, she offered wise words of encouragement and
inspiration to the GATA group.
Participants agreed on an action plan to keep
alive the extraordinary momentum established during
the gathering.
Plans are in place to:
• establish a Facebook page to continue
conversation and dialogue among the participants and
with other Anglican women in theological education.
Participants of the Anglican Women Theologians
Conference in Canterbury
The Philippine EPISCOPALIAN
• produce a small volume on “Gender Based
Violence”
• develop a proposal for a book intended to
celebrate and affirm the lifelong teaching, researching,
and publishing ministries of the GATA founders and
other pioneers. GATA participants will be the authors.
Participants
The Revd Irene Ayallo (Kenya);Ms Judy Berinai (Malaysia);Ms
Indileni Hilukiluah (Namibia)
Rev Lalitha Jayachitra (South India)
The Revd Gloria Mapangdol (Philippines)
The Revd Vongai Mkaronda (Zimbabwe)
Mrs Alaimaluloa Toetu’u-Tamihere (Tonga)
The Revd Mary Tororeiy (Kenya)
GATA Executive:Prof. Kwok Pui Lan; Prof Esther Mombo;Dr
Jenny Plane Te Paa (Chair)
ACO Staff: Sue Parks
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Convention through the convention committee on greetings
to convey to them our prayers and gratitude.”(6)
Lastly, in behalf of the Diocese and in your behalf
allow me to express our gratefulness and deep appreciation
to the Parish of St. Philip and St. James, through its Rector
and Vestry, together with the staff of the Davao Episcopal
Mission Center (DEMC), as well as the Deanery clergy and
people of Northeastern Mindanao and the Visayas. We are
blessed for the fourth time this year, that this Parish has
accepted the challenge to host our annual Convention. To
the various Deaneries, LCUs, Diocesan Institutions and
individuals for their donations in cash and in kinds to this
convention. Sa inyong lahat maraming-maraming salamat
po. May we have fruitful convention and be blessed by this
experience. To God be the praise and glory.
Let us pray:
Almighty God, you give us new life, new hope and
new opportunities with each returning day, especially in this
41st.Diocesan Convention: Help us to use these blessings
to the best of our capacity in doing the work which we have
to do; devoting ourselves wholly to your service, and putting
our selfish interests aside to seek the welfare of our fellow
human beings; for the sake of him who came among us as
one who serve, your Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
The Rt Rev Danilo Bustamante
BISHOP’S ADDRESS: 41st. Annual Diocesan Convention
St. Philip and St. James Parish, MacArthur Highway
Matina, Davao City. February 27 – March 01, 2012
l

OPINION/REFLECTIONS
Thirty two years and 8 days ago (to be exact) I was one of
the people sitting there in cassocks. Our commencement
speaker was the Very Rev. Robert Hibbs who was graduating
his term as dean that year too. For about 1 hours and 15
minutes more or less, and with a deep, slow and heavy accent,
He spoke of nothing but THE PEOPLE THE PEOPLE THE
PEOPLE.
Before I proceed, I would like to thank the people at
the Dean’s office, of course our beloved Dean and President
Patrick Tancuanco and Ms. Ada who relayed to me the
invitation, the people of the faculty, The Board of Trustees
people, the 18 graduating people class of 2012, AILM
graduates. To all the people of God who are gathered here
to witness this Commencement. I bring you greetings from
the people of the Episcopal diocese of Santiago. It is indeed
a pleasure and privilege to be here to speak to the graduating
class.
no theological speech.
Let me, warn you dear members of the graduating class,
that while I speak, you will not be able to hear Exciting
Theological Expositions, discourses and quotable quotes. I
am not a theologian but just a student of the same.
just what i have seen and heard
Let me however assure you (borrowing from ACTS 4:20), I
would speak of what I have seen and heard for the past 32
years and 8 days. I would speak of true to life people and
non-people alike, true to life situations, nothing invented.
I will speak of parables and the real lamentations of the
people of God as I have heard it myself.
commencement
Commencement exercises, is simply a ritualistic exercise to
formally release you, before you go out into the world of
people and non-people alike and start with the real encounter
as you participate in His ministry. Out in the real world,
you’ll no longer be under the protective custody of your
parents and sponsors as well as your masters and professors,
most often you will have to fend for yourselves. You have
been here for the last four years trained, taught and molded
by your masters and professors. I am aware that you are not
yet a master, but you have the fundamentals, the basics, the
insights, the ready references to be able to face real people
and non-people alike and real situations out in the world as
you participate in His Mission.
Bishop Alexander
Wandag of the
Episcopal Diocese
of Santiago is
Commencement
speaker during
St Andrew’s
T h e o l o g i c a l
S e m i n a r y
graduation rites,
March 30, 2012
Yes, this is what I have first heard, and seen and let me
emphasize that, it is His Mission; God’s Mission, Missio
Dei. That is what we have been called and trained for. The
Gensec of NCCP said “We do a lot of missions tentatively
at the expense of The Mission”. Yes, indeed, the churches
must continuously examine their missions if it is accord
with Missio Dei. It is not always true that the missions being
undertaken by the church is The Missio Dei.
parable of the palay grain
Palay which is the staple food of the Filipinos has something
to teach us about us ministers. From the rice granary of the
north, Isabela, so I have seen and heard from the farmers
that the palay stalks which bends as if in humble adoration
towards the ground are full and heavy of the precious and
fully developed grains while the palay stalks which trust
their heads to the skies, as if in triumphal praises to the god
above, have undeveloped or insect infested grains. Ipah
parable the promising seminarians
So I have seen and heard Seminarians of St. Andrew’s
Theological Seminary, during interviews with the
Commission on Ministry would promise to go where ever
the Lord and the Bishop would send them, would devote
their whole life to the service of his people even if it would
mean the cross of Christ, but after graduation is another
annoying story.
parable of the root crops and fruits
So I have seen and heard graduates of St. Andrews who
are invisible during the weekdays and incomprehensible
on weekends which to the People in Mountain Trail
gardening communities would compare them as “Kaman
din mangamkamoti” or “Kaman din Mangaygayyabas” as if
looking for sweet potatoes or searching for ripe Guavas in
their sermons and or homilies.
parable of the decorated ministers with ranks
So I heard graduates of St. Andrew’s Theological seminary,
ministers, sporting ranks similar to the Police officers ranks
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instead of the normal Reverend or Father. Some have the
rank of SPO1 – Sunday priest only for 1 Sunday in a month,
SPO2 – Sunday Priest only for 2 Sundays, SPO3 Sunday
Priest only for 3 Sundays, SPO4 – Sunday Priest for four
Sundays in a month. The rest of the days of the month they
are nowhere to be found. So have I heard that the ranks
upgrades proportionately as they advance in age.
parables the child friendly and animal rightist
So I have seen and heard that the ministers after all
are always there easy to be found, baby sitting the whole
week until the spouse would take a break for the weekend.
On weekends, these CFPs transfigures as ARs, Animal
Rightist, so I heard, weekends are times to gather camote,
taro, gabi and haul feeds from the agricultural supply stores
for the lovely chickens, ducks, goats and pigs. Charity begins
at home, so I heard, and animals are also God’s creation, so
also I heard.
learn from the domesticated in the great cities
So I have seen and heard of graduates of St.
Andrew’s Theological Seminary, ministers, who upon
deployment would submit requisitions for: complete sets
of liturgical materials, hymnals and or songbooks, bibles,
interpreters dictionary of the bible, typewriters or computers,
Lighting systems, cooking gas range, motor bikes, hiking
shoes, hardship allowance, as accordingly they are too
domesticated in the great cities of Metro-Manila and the
rural areas would be unbearable without these amenities. So
I have read and heard of the Carpenter’s son of Nazareth
traveling the expanse of the lake of Galilee on foot, climbed
the hills of Galilee of Judea on foot, sometimes pluck grains
along the way to relieve their hunger pangs, no known
rectory or kombento, no motor bike except occasional boat
rides, I have heard and read people go to him in multitude
that he barely have time to rest. Whatever happened with the
sons and daughters of man graduates of St. Andrew’s at the
present.?
parable the Concordat ecumenism
So I have seen and heard that, the concordat churches,
have regional formations, Regional Concordat Councils
(RCCs), however these Regional Concordat Councils seldom
meets as if there is nothing in the ecumenical world to be
concern about. In the very rare meetings, many substantial
matters indeed are taken up like: “bonggang kumustahan”
and “bonggang chikahan” and the rest of the day is spent
with anything under the sun in the context of “Inomenical”
collegiality.
The Philippine EPISCOPALIAN
the struggles and miseries of the indigenous peoples
So I have heard and read that there are over 115 ethnolinguistic
groups (of people) in our very own Philippines
stretching from Batanes to Jolo, with over 150 distinct
dialects, with a combined population of over 16 million.
Almost half of these indigenous peoples are concentrated
in the island of Mindanao, the so-called Lumad (born and
grew up in the area) while the other concentration is in the
Cordilleras, the so-called Igorots (people of the mountains
which in the Bahasa language, Orang-utan). Being one of
them, so I have seen these people lives in mountainous areas,
mountain valleys and slopes, hill sides, along rivers and
brooks.
These are the people who consistently resisted
colonial rule and live as organized communities in defined
territories since time immemorial, have retained much of their
social, economic, cultural and political institutions. They
have a long history of struggle, oppression, Discrimination,
dislocation and marginalization brought about by the
colonizers. So I have learned that the church(s) which came
along with the colonizers are party to the struggles and
miseries of the indigenous peoples even to this day.
So I have read and learned that the indigenous
peoples are not safe in their remote habitations from the
greed of the colonialist and even some people of today, who
exploited the mountains and rivers resources. Protestations
and resistance from the inhabitants fell on deaf ears. The
churches contributed in the capitulation of the indigenous
peoples, calling them pagans, heathens, imposed upon
them a foreign religion subverting them from their inferior
religious culture in order to save them from the fiery furnace
of hell. (why did we have to change our names into foreign
names? why have we not retained our indigenous names?
Why not Anggako Wandag instead of Alexander the great?
Why not Malakas Fagutagana instead of Ephraim? Why not
Limahong Tanhuanco instead of Patrick? Why not Ikatlong
Pagkabuhay Reyes, instead of Resurrection III? This is not
conversion, this is the crime of subversion.)
the founding of the state government
So I have heard that the founding of a Filipino State
and the eventual turnover of governance to the natives of
the Philippines only aggravated and institutionalized the
oppression of the indigenous peoples. Several bureaus and
or commissions were set up to deal with the concerns of the
indigenous peoples. Several land laws were also enacted to
the detriment of the indigenous people. All of these enhanced
the cycle of expropriation of the ancestral lands and
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domains of the indigenous peoples as corporate properties
by the Agribusiness, Logging and Mining companies,
thereby perpetuate their discrimination, dislocation and
marginalization.
So I have heard and seen the churches realizing their
sins against the Indigenous people tried to make amends.
However, in the guise of Enculturation, Indigenization, the
churches managed to enriched their liturgies and religious
celebrations with indigenous arts (music, musical instruments
and dances), craft and symbols without proper recognition
of their ethnic intellectual property rights. So I have seen
the need for the churches to be serious about Enculturation
and Indigenization as Christians have much to learn from
the theology and spirituality of indigenous peoples as many
have remained pure and not yet corrupted.
The challenges to the very existence of these
indigenous people have not been so severe at the present
times brought about by the liberalized mining act of 1995.
So I have seen and heard the wanton destruction of the
mountains, rivers (Home for the IPs) as well as sea coast
from Batanes to Jolo for the precious metals, stones and
minerals.
So I have heard and seen communities from north to
south are organizing their ranks and are actively participating
in the struggle for genuine land rights and self-determination
within the framework of the Filipino peoples struggle for
genuine democracy, National Industrialization and Quest for
Genuine Peace with Justice. So we have heard their cries
to the churches and church people but may be the churches
have not heard or simply refuse to hear it.
learn from the struggling Filipino People
So we have seen and heard the noise of the peasant
farmers in the rural areas marching almost daily for a share
of the lands they could till. The protestations of others that
the piece of land they are presently tilling be spared from
the giant agri-business, logging and mining. The cries
of the urban poor facing demolition of their houses and
eviction in favor of the malls and aggressive development
projects. The anguish of those in the evacuation centers
due to wars and disaster. So we have seen and heard of the
factory workers, Civil workers, drivers in the picket lines
and or marching through the streets daily for just wages and
or protest against oil price increase. So we have seen and
heard the young peoples and students marching through
the streets for improved instructions and protest against
tuition fee increases. A new form of peaceful protest is being
popularize, “Noynoying”.
The Philippines so we have heard has the biggest
refugees in the world in terms of people gambling their luck
A seminarian receives a medal for academic excellence.
in foreign lands not for greener pasture (because there are no
green pastures here in the first place) but by force of poverty.
So we have seen and heard of the anguish of families being
torn apart and dislocated as a consequence. The silent
anguish of HIV/ AIDS afflicted people is so loud not to be
heard. So we have heard the number and it is growing, of
pastors, priests, Media people, Students, ordinary peasant
farmers, fisher-folks, victims of Extra Judicial Killings and
or enforced disappearances perpetrated by the government
and or its agents. Simply speaking in the attempt at making
a difference in society and trying to exercise the prophetic
ministry is a dreadful crime, the sanction of which is death
by EJK or ED. The culture of impunity pervades throughout
the land. These are the people, the very people of God upon
whom He sent his only begotten Son to minister and even
offered his life and died on the cross. These are the same
people we are being ash to go minister.
Don’t bother with the powerful and mighty and
rich, they are non-people unless they repent and return unto
the Lord. Mary in her excitement sang “the mighty He had
removed from their throne and sent away the rick empty
handed”. Let the non-graduates of St. Andrew minister to
them. Prophesy and pronounce judgment upon them instead
until they would have repented and become real people.
The biggest blunder of the church and the ministers
is somehow we have eyes but because of blurred vision we
cannot see, have ears but because of but because earwax we
cannot hear, nose but because of common colds we cannot
smell, skin but because “manhid” we cannot feel, minds but
scared to think, heart but cannot love genuinely, loving only
those who can love us in return?
Do we have to wait for Yahweh to appear again to another
Moses in Mt. Midian? I am convinced that the noise, cries,
anguish, protestations of the People we hear are the words of
God, while the disasters, devastations, massacres, the face of
the earth being torn apart, the murder of its natural resources
we witness almost daily is the burning bush.
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Like it or not, dear graduates of St. Andrew’s Theological
Seminary, you and I are the modern day Moses. If You don’t
like then leave! You like? Go and set God’s Peoples Free!
This is the Missio Dei!
To the AILM Graduates, martial music accompanies
the warriors into battle. We are still waging a battle “not
against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against
powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world,
against spiritual wickedness in high places.” (Eph. 6:12)
Music being the language of the soul is a powerful force
in True worship and the Missio Dei. I wish you continue
writing, singing and chanting the songs and chants of
freedom and liberation until someday somehow we shall be
able to walk through the promise land of Shalom.
What would be a fitting conclusion ? The lamentation
of the people, to the tune of the lamentation of Jeremiah
the prophet sung during the Tenebrae. You sing the line :
Jerusalem Oh Jerusalem return unto the Lord your God as
some sort of redirect. We are the new Jerusalem
So I heard the lamentation of the people of God.
Seminari, Ano ba ang inyong pinapakaing
mabubuting aral sa mga magpapari, parang wala silang
kamuangmuang sa lipunan at mga nangyayari, mayroon
diyan batugan, tulogtulogan o di kaya nagkukunwari,
parang wala na silang silbi.
Redirect: Jerusalem Oh Jerusalem return unto the Lord your
God
Deacon, Anong ba ang nangyayari sa inyong mga
sinumpaan noong inyong ordinasyon, bihira kang nakikita
sa isang taon, madami po ang nangangailangan ng inyong
pagmamahal at tulong, mga nalulungkot na mga balo at mga
ulila sa ngayon, saan ka ba naroroon.
Papadri, anong bang ang nangyayari, isa o dalawang
oras lang kayo sa linggo nagsisilbi. Hindi ba kayo nahihiya
sa inyong mga sarili, napakataas pa naman din ang inyong
tinatanggap na salary.
Obispo, parang awa po ninyo, ang mga tao po ay
nagkakagulo, napakaraming oso sa kanila’y humahabol,
lumabas naman kayo sa inyong mga trono palacio at mga
Nissan Patrol, at magpakatutuong pastol.
Congratulations members of the graduating class
(SATS and AILM). I do hope to meet you not in your nor
mine comfort zones but in the peoples uncomfortable and
danger zones.
All: HUMAYO KAYO UPANG IBIGIN AT
PAGLINGKURAN ANG PANGINOON. AMEN
The Philippine EPISCOPALIAN
NewsUpdates
CBDP Goes to Market
On March 22-23, 2012, the Diocesan Development
officers, National Development Staff and some ECP Finance
staff undertook a training on marketing and sales held at
the Bishop Benito Cabanban Memorial Hall at the ECP
Mission Center. This training is a sequel to the feasibility
study training that the CBDP staff undertook last year. Dr.
Corazon Abansi, Director of the Institute of Management,
University of the Philippines, Baguio, Ms. Ning Doble,
Faculty, University of the Philippines and Mr. Albert
Gamatero, Finance and Planning Director of Panaderia
Pantoja facilitated the training.
This training emphasized the importance of
marketing in the business development process. It was
hoped that this training will make the participants aware that
creating relationship through marketing involves work and
attention to details. The first part of the training dealt with
various marketing processes such as : sellers need to search
buyers identify their needs, design good marketing offers,
set prices for their products, promote them aggressively and
store and deliver them. The second part was devoted to
sharing of actual marketing practices and development of
marketing plans.
Examples of products to be marketed are the
following: Dalimayan Herbal soap from Amtuagan, Abra;
Peanut Butter, Dinapigue, Isabela; Maligaya Virgin Coconut
Oil, General Nakar, Quezon; Camote Flour , Cagayan;
Coffee Depulper services , Foko Wayeg, Sultan Kudarat;
and Soya Milk and cookies, Tadayan, Kapangan, Benguet.
The CBDP commits to support the participating
communities in the production of these products as well as
marketing them. In order to be able to market these products
mentioned above and other products that CBDP participating
communities will produce, Mr. Albert Gamatero, one of the
resource persons have the following suggestions, which are:
1. Launch the products
2. Establish a Central marketing Hub preferably at the
National Office, and
3. Create a Research and Development Unit to
continuously do studies on products being sold.
l

EDNCP from page 14
completing requirements of Canonical Examinations]. The
first four were eventually admitted as Candidates for Holy Orders
and sent out for internship or practicum as part of their preparation
towards ordination. Sangapulo met ti naawat kas Postulants for
Holy Orders ket adda idiay seminario.
2. Dagiti seminarista tayo isuda: 4th year - Noel Malaggay &
Jaime Masado; 3rd year - Jason Aguila & Terence Yangyang; 2nd
year - Audie Taguibao; 1st year - El Cid Catnas, Seth Galpo, Jose
Liano & Cherry Ann Sonay
3. Nalpas met ni Padi Alice Sibaen ti post-graduate studies na
idiay Virginia Theological Seminary. Madama nga isu ti padi ti St.
Augustine, Nama. Sinublat na ni Padi Mary Jane Dogue-is nga isu
met ti adda tatta idiay VTS.
4. Padi Leandro Menis - MBA from University of the Cordilleras
5. Nairubuat metten ti Lay Training tayo ket adda 23 nga estudyante
iti dayta a programa.
6. Nanayunan met dagiti diakono ditoy Diocese: Ronald Bantas,
Genesis Langbao, Christopher Dangpilen, Myrna Algona, Helen
Coteng Domoguen, George Caslangen ken ni Jose Manaoas. Kas
makitayo iti statistical report ti ngarud dagup dagiti ordinado a
ministro tayo ket: 35 a papadi iti active roll tayo ngem 3 kadagitoy ti
agnanaed wenno agserserbi iti ballasiw ta-aw ken 4 nga agserserbi
iti institutions. 18 met ti nakalista a retirado, no mampay adda
kadakuada ti addaan akem a parokya. Addan tayo iti 21 a diakono
- 1 retired, 2 serving overseas, and 3 are on leave.
7. Adda met lay people a nangdawat iti pammalubos, ken
inrekomenda dagiti papadi, a tumulong kadagiti ordinado a ministro
nangnagruna iti pannakaannong dagiti nasantoan sacramento: 112
lay eucharistic ministers;74 lay leaders; ken 27 a lay preachers.
Adu ti maitulong dagiti 'lay ministers' tayo ket sapay kuma ta adadu
pay ti siaayat nga agadal ken agserbi.
8. Our records show that as of 2010 there are 33,396 individual
members in the Diocese in 12 full-fleged parishes, 11 subsidized
parishes, 22 organized missions and 52 preaching stations. I am
pretty sure that when all the reports are in figures will show that we
have grown, probably not spectacularly but solidly nevertheless.
On Self Reliance
1. Idi napan a tawen inrugi tayo ti construction ti east wing ti
Lyman Ogilby Centrum. Maysa daytoy a napanunot ti opisina a
pamayan tapno manayonan ti pagapuan ti kuarta nga usaren tayo
a mangsuporta iti agdama ken baro a misyon ti simbaan ditoy
diocese. No makitayo mabiit ket malpasen.
2. Kasta met a madama ti plano a mangmula iti kape idiay maysa
nga ektarya a lote idiay Sagpat. Naaladan ket naisagana metten ti
pagbunubunan. Kalpasan ti panakabayad dagiti nausar a nangirugi
iti daytoy a proyekto tinto magalansya ket agserbi a mangsuporta
iti misyon iti Kapangan ken Kibungan.
3. Maisarunonto met ti Kamog ken dadduma pay a lugar. Umasasidegen
ti 2018- ti tawen nga inplano tayo nga amin kuma a
kongregasyon ket agbalin a parish wenno self-supporting.
4. Nagun-od tay met ti inaprobaran tayo a budget idi napan a
tawen ket barend malpas ti audit ket addan to pay bassit a mabati
a mapan kadagiti reserba tayo. Sangsangkamaysa tayo a nanggunod
iti daytoy ket awan duaduak a no ituloy tayo ti agkaykaysa
iti panagdayaw, panagkararag, panagyaman, panangasaba ken
panagbiag kas maiyannatup iti pammati tayo awan gapuna a ditay
masuportaran ti trabaho ti Dios nga intay inawat ditoy a diocese.
On Partnership
Bigbigen tay met a ti ngarud intay inawat a pammati
ken kinapudno ket agpaay kadagiti amin a tao, iti amin a lugar ken
iti amin a panawen. Ket maysa a pakakitaan daytoy a kinapudno
ket ti panakilangenlangen tayo kadagiti pada tayo immawat ken
namati iti Naimbag a Damag [in our ecumenical relations i.e.
concordat relations]; iti covenant relations tayo [i.e. ECUSA] ken
iti partnership ken companion diocese relationship tayo kadagit
kakabsat tayo iti sangalubungan a familia ti Iglesia Anglicana i.e.
Anglican Church of Korea, Nippon Sei Ko Kai, Hong Kong Sheng
Kung Hui ken iti Council of the Church in East Asia.
Maysa kadagitoy ket ti companion diocese relationship
tayo iti Chubu Diocese ti Nippon Sei Ko Kai. Nangrugi daytoy
idi napirmaan ti Diocese tayo ken ti Chubu Diocese ti Statement
of Companion Diocese Relationship ditoy Cathedral of the
Resurrection idi February 15, 2004. Uppat a tawen ti tarayenna
daytoy a tulag ngem napasingkedan idi 2008 idiay Chubu Diocese.
Agleppas manen ti uppat a tawen ita a 2012 ket dagiti kakabsat iti
Chubu Diocese inyebkasda ti ayatda a maituloy kuma daytoy a
panagkadua tayo iti panagserbi ken panagdayaw iti Apo babaen ti
resolution nga inaprobaan ti Diocesan Synod da idi Nobyembre.
Dawatek man iti Convention a sabten tay dayta nga ayatda babaen
ti panang-aprobar tayo iti maidatag to a resolution a mangituloy iti
panagkakadua tayo. No maaprobaran daytoy mapirmaan to inton
malem no Biernes ti documento ta umay ni Bp Ichiro Shibusawa
ken dagiti kakaduana.
Ti kinapudno ti panagkaykaysatay ken Kristo ket narikna
dagiti ada idiay St. Jude Episcopal Church, Bangao,Buguias last
Sunday. Addaak idiay a kaduak dagiti papadi ken kakabsat a
naggapu iti nadumaduma a gimong ditoy Diocese. Simmabat met ni
Bp Brent Alawas a kaduana dagiti papadi ken dadduma a kakabsat
manipud kadagiti nadumaduma a gimong ti Episcopal Diocese of
Northern Philippines. Adda kami sadiay a mangpasangbay kenni
Bp Katherine Jefferts Schori, ti Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal
Church [ti sigud a kunkunatayo nga ina tayo, ket ita maiyarig a
kabsat tayo kalpasan a naisina tayo kadakuada ket nagbalin tayo
nga autonomous province] on her first official visit to ECP. Kasta
met a simmabat ti Obispo Maximo ti Iglesia Filipina Independiente.
Ket idi misa ni Bp Alawas ti Liturgy of the Word, ni Presiding
Bishop ti nag-sermon ket ni Obispo Maximo ti nangmisa.
Ti siasinoman a mangkuna a 'saanen a siak ti agbibiag no
di ket ni Kristo ti agbibiag kaniak' agbiag iti panagserbi iti
Apo ken mangiwaragawag iti Naimbag a Damag - damag
nga agpaay kadagiti amin a tao ta waswasenna ti ania man a
lapped iti panagkaykaysatayo kenkuana. Amen.
The Philippine EPISCOPALIAN 27
l

Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori’s visit
St Jude’s Episcopal Church
Bangao, Buguias, Benguet
The Philippine
Episcopalian
02.12.12
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Blessed Easter to all.
Alleluia! The Lord is Risen
Indeed!
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The Most Reverend
Edward P. Malecdan
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