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Delegation to Philippines probes violence against church workers

Jan. 3, 2006

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By United Methodist News Service*

A delegation of United Methodist leaders from the United States is
visiting the Philippines Jan. 3-7 to learn more about the killing and
harassment of church workers, peace and human rights activists, and
journalists.

"The situation in the Philippines is deeply disturbing," said the Rev.
R. Randy Day, chief executive of the United Methodist Board of Global
Ministries in New York. "Church workers, human rights activists and
others who are perceived as threats are terrorized and killed.

"We need to hear firsthand the stories of the people who serve God in
the midst of this danger, and show them that the international church is
with them in their struggle," said Day, who attended college in the
Philippines.

The delegation expects to meet with church leaders and U.S. State
Department and Philippine government officials during its four-day visit
and will report on its work before departing.

Day is one of the nine United Methodist leaders who will gather in
Manila. The delegation includes Bishop John Hopkins of Cleveland, who
leads the denomination's program coordinating organization, the
Connectional Table, and top staff executives of three of the church's
program agencies.

The United Methodist Church has had a presence in the Philippines since
the late 19th century. Its three bishops serve a community of about a
million people connected to nearly 1,700 congregations throughout the
nation. The denomination works closely with the United Church of Christ
in the Philippines, the largest Protestant denomination in the nation,
and the National Council of Churches in the Philippines. Its third
denominational partner is Iglesia Evangelica Metodista en Las Islas
Filipinas.

In addition to Day and Hopkins, the delegation includes:

-James Winkler of Washington D.C., chief executive of the Board of
Church and Society.
-The Rev. Larry Hollon, Nashville, Tenn., top staff executive of United
Methodist Communications.
-The Rev. Larry Pickens, New York, top executive of the Commission on
Christian Unity and Interreligious Concerns.
-Ascencion "Inday" Day, New York, executive director of the National
Federation of Asian American United Methodists.
-The Rev. Liberato Bautista, New York, a staff executive at the Board of
Church and Society.
-The Rev. Ruby-Nell Estrella, superintendent of the Northwest Manila
District in the Philippines.
-Kristina Gonzales, Seattle, a member of the Connectional Table.

Before leaving for Manila, Winkler met with a member of the staff of
Sen. Richard Lugar of Indiana, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations
Committee, to update him on the delegation's visit and share the
denomination's concerns about the human rights situation in the
Philippines.

A delegation of Protestant bishops and representatives of the World
Council of Churches and the Christian Conference of Asia visited the
Philippines last July on a fact-finding mission, at the urging of the
country's National Council of Churches. The church leaders said that
besides outright killings, human rights violations included intimidation
by the military, illegal detention and torture of peasants working on
farms for rich landlords, according to Ecumenical News International.

Worldwide, the United Methodist Church has a presence in about 125
countries. Its congregations provided more than $5.3 billion in funding
for church missions, outreach and administration in 2003.

The denomination has about 181,000 members in the Philippines, among
more than 11 million members worldwide.

*This story is adapted from a press release by the Public Information
Office at United Methodist Communications.

News media contact: Tim Tanton, Nashville, Tenn., (615) 742-5470 or
newsdesk@umcom.org.

********************

United Methodist News Service
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