wfn.org | [ENS] Ties celebrated,

["Matthew Davies" <mdavies@episcopalchurch.org>]

Monday, April 18, 2005
   
Ties celebrated, strengthened between Episcopal Church and Philippine
Independent Church

By Pat McCaughan

ENS 041805-1

[ENS, MALIBU, California] -- Representatives of the Philippine
Independent
Church, meeting here this week to revision a 44-year Concordat agreement
with the Episcopal Church in the United States, said they also hoped to
focus worldwide attention on and garner support to end violence against
the
church in their homeland.

"We have become the voice for the voiceless and the church has been
included
on the list of enemies of the state because of our solidarity with the
poor
and oppressed in the Philippines," said the Rt. Rev. Tomas A. Millamena,
the
Obispo Maximo of the Philippine Independent Church, or the Iglesia
Filipina
Independiente (IFI).

> January to March of this year, 32 church workers, both clergy and
laity,
of all denominations, have been murdered," he said.

Just last month, on March 13, the Rev. William Tadena of the IFI was
killed
in Hacienda Luisita in the province of Tarlac. He was an outspoken
critic of
militarization and a tireless worker for human rights and supporter of
striking workers, Millamena said.

Media and political groups have also been targeted by the government,
and
the situation is further complicated by the exploitation of workers by
foreign mining corporations and illegal loggers, he said. Millamena
added
that he, along with other bishops, will make a formal appeal to
Philippine
President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to intercede on behalf of the church
and
the poor and exploited.

He and others, including the Rev. Larry Herrera, viewed reaffirmation of
the
Concordat as a sign of new hope.

"It is very important to find solidarity with the Episcopal Church and
the
IFI," Herrera said. "This is an opportunity to partner in mission,
evangelism and social justice."

"It is very difficult to put your life on the line," added the Rev. Ray
Natividad. "The harassment by the authorities is creating hopelessness
among
our people. The church must offer hope. That is the message for
Christians
all over the world otherwise we are not living out the message of the
Resurrection. We have to provide activities where people can come
together
and fight obstacles that prevent them from claiming the fullness of life
promised to us by God."

The Rev. Fred Vergara, the Episcopal Church's Missioner for Asian
American
Ministries, acknowledged that the IFI "longs for our solidarity in view
of
their suffering" and added that this week's meeting was a first step to
streamlining and jumpstarting the Concordat.

"This is very, very positive," he said. "There has been a lethargy and
lack
of follow-up, no active living out of the Concordat. But the Presiding
Bishop has given us a mandate to update this agreement and to be
proactive
in developing partnerships in mission and ministry in both the U.S. and
the
Philippines.

"It also provides a model for our future Concordat agreements," he
added.
"In fact, the Church of South India also wants to update our agreement
with
them."

The meeting is part of a renewed effort to strengthen Episcopal Church
relationships worldwide to reflect a changing 21st century landscape,
said
the Rt. Rev. C. Christopher Epting, the Episcopal Church's Deputy for
Ecumenical and Interfaith Relations, who also attended the gathering.

"We haven't met for about nine years, but we should periodically review
the
Concordat and all our full-communion relationships," he said. "We are
discussing how to be better partners here and in the Philippines."

He said he expected no major changes in the agreement, but rather a
"fleshing out" of the original accord. He acknowledged that, in a "time
of
ecumenical tension, rather than break new ground, it might be better to
consolidate existing support."

Vergara added: "It's amazing that, in 1961 when the Concordat was
approved,
the Episcopal Church in the Philippines was a missionary diocese of the
Episcopal Church, USA. Now, because of rapid immigration, it's the other
way
around."

Many Filipino members of the IFI church, both lay and clergy, are living
in
Hawaii, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, Los Angeles. A church Vergara
planted several years ago in Las Vegas has grown so rapidly that a
second
congregation has been started there, he said.

"They want to maintain their identity within the context of partnership
with
Episcopal life," Vergara said. "We need to honor that desire with our
Concordat, as part of the healing and reconciling work we are engaging.
And
as part of that work, the Presiding Bishop and Executive Council are
trying
their best to accommodate and to listen to voices of those who feel they
have been neglected or not heard."

Alice Webley of the Diocese of Southern Virginia, who also serves on the
General Convention's Standing Commission on Ecumenical and
Interreligious
Relations, and Christina Hing, a member of Church of the Good Shepherd
in
New York City, who also attended the Southern California gathering, said
the
sharing of stories is an important component of the revisioning and
healing
process. They advocated greater participation of women at all levels.

"Being a Filipina in the church, I am very concerned with how women are
perceived and how women are usually left behind when decisions about
church
matters are decided," Hing said. "I'm involved with matters of mission
and
ministry at my home parish and am happy to be here and to help get the
word
out about revisioning the agreement."

Webley, a former secretary for the Union of Black Episcopalians, called
for
greater emphasis on balancing full communion relationships. "Too often,
the
focus for these agreements seems to be centered more in the U.S. than in
the
partnering country," she said.

"I'm very happy to take this information back to my own diocese and to
be
able to say, 'if you have an IFI congregation' there are resources
available," she added. "Too often the news doesn't filter down to the
pew."

Vergara said that the group will meet again informally at the EAM
Consultation June 30-July 4 in Seattle. Its next official meeting is
planned
for March 2006 in the Philippines.

In 1961, the General Convention approved the Concordat, which provided
for a
sharing of resources including clergy and laity, partnerships in mission
and
ministry and pastoral assistance in ministering to growing numbers of
IFI
members relocating to the United States. IFI membership is estimated
between
2-3 million in the U.S. and the Philippines.

The Episcopal Church is also full communion partners with the Old
Catholic
Churches of Europe, the Mar Thoma Syrian Church of Malabar, India, the
Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, the Churches of North and South
India, the Church of Bangladesh, the Church of Pakistan, and other
provinces
of the Anglican Communion.

-- The Rev. Patricia McCaughan is senior correspondent for the Episcopal
News Service.

___________________________
To SUBSCRIBE to enslist, send a blank email message, from the address
which
you wish subscribed, to: join-enslist@epicom.org

Send QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS to news@episcopalchurch.org.

The enslist is published by Episcopal News Service:
www.episcopalchurch.org/ens