wfn.org | Philippine United Methodists elect third bishop

[NewsDesk@UMCOM.UMC.ORG]

April 18, 2001 News media contact: Linda Bloom*(212) 870-3803*New York
10-33-71B{186}

By United Methodist News Service

The Rev. Solito "Sol" Kuramen Toquero was elected April 17 as a bishop in
the United Methodist Church in the Philippines.

The election came during a special session of the Philippines Central
Conference, with U.S. Bishop Michael Coyner of Fargo, N.D., presiding. Two
new episcopal leaders, Bishop Leo Soriano and Bishop Benjamin Justo, were
elected last December, but no other candidate received enough votes to fill
a third vacancy. Because of disputes over which of two retiring bishops
should be reactivated for that position, the Philippine College of Bishops
decided instead to hold the special session.

Toquero, 58, is a member of the Bulacan Philippines Annual Conference and
has served as a missionary to Hong Kong and associate pastor of the
English-speaking Methodist church there since 1997.

Like Soriano and Justo, he supports the idea of the Philippine church
entering into an "affiliated autonomous relationship" with the United
Methodist Church, which means it would be a self-governing body while
retaining a relationship with the larger denomination.

He is a graduate of Wesleyan University and Union Theological Seminary, both
in the Philippines, and received his doctor of ministry degree in parish
ministry in 1980 from Christian Theological Seminary in Indianapolis. 

His studies also reflected the political situation in the Philippines at the
time. Toquero's bachelor's thesis at Union was on "The Non-violent
Philosophy of Martin Luther King Jr.: Its Application to the Philippine
Situation." His doctoral paper covered "Ministry in the Context of
Repression: Five Years of Ministry Under Martial Law, 1973-78."

Toquero began his ministry as a local pastor at the age of 19. Ordained a
deacon in 1970 and an elder in 1973, he served as a pastor and Methodist
training school director before leaving for the United States for his
doctoral studies. From 1980 to 1985, he was an assistant professor at Union
Theological Seminary, where he also coordinated the theological extension
program and field education. Between 1985 and 1997, he served as pastor at
various local churches in the province of Bulacan and Metro Manila.

Besides handling congregational duties in Hong Kong, Toquero also helped
manage the Methodist Shelter there with his wife, Egrie. The shelter
provides refuge for women domestic helpers from other countries who have had
their work contracts terminated or have been abused by their employers. The
new bishop also has served, by appointment of the Hong Kong Christian
Council, as a member of the Radio Broadcast and Television Advisory
Committee.

The Toqueros have two adult children, Mervin Sol and Armen Ria. 

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United Methodist News Service
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