San Lorenzo Ruiz Anglican Church: MISSION STATEMENT

Tuesday, June 5, 2007

MISSION STATEMENT

"The mission of San Lorenzo Ruiz is to worship God according to Scriptures and to live our lives by the Power of the Holy Spirit, so that we become like Jesus Christ, whose purpose is to bring the kingdom of God in our world through the Gospel."

A Letter from the Philippines- excerpts from Anglican Church of Canada

A letter from Tabuk, Philippines
A letter from Robert Hutchison, a theological student intern currently serving in Tabuk, Philippines
May 1 st, 2004

Dear Friends,

Well I have been here in Tabuk for one week now, and am slowly getting used to the heat and the working day. Heat reaches 30 plus degrees with very little breeze, so when one comes along even if mechanical, it is received with thanks. The working day starts usually around 0530 with morning coffee at 0600 to 0630 then breakfast at bout 0700 (later on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays due to a 0600 Eucharist service). After breakfast cleaning will commence both in the church and in the home. The church floors are made of clay tiles and must be scrubbed using a small commercial floor scrubber.
Earlier this week (Tuesday) I went on a couple of pastoral calls with the Rector – the first to St. Jude’s Hospital to visit an older woman who had been admitted on Sunday. She is suffering from diabetes and is facing a leg amputation probably at the knee but maybe higher due to gangrene in one of her toes, and its spreading up from there. However, there is a complication as she does not have credit with the blood bank, donors must be found by her family, if acceptable donors then the surgery will be done as soon as possible, if not they will wait until the last possible moment to do it as an emergency procedure, and that raises the risk for her significantly, as there is an approximate two hour trip to another hospital where the surgery will be done. (May 3 – The woman has been discharged from hospital, without the surgery, as she has decided that she does not want to lose her leg, the family’s pleas with her have not been successful.)
Rice terraces in a small village in northern Tabuk.
The second visit was to a family home where the patriarch of the family has been bedridden with gout for four years now. His wife says that his attitude is great, his appetite good, and he still likes to take wee nip each day. This man spoke very good English, as did his wife, both were teachers. He, a man of extraordinary vision, started three different high schools and a college here in Tabuk. The college has become a state sponsored facility, and it now has a very good reputation for the quality of graduates that come from it. He is also a man of faith, having been a member of the church choir for many years and also contributing to the education of the children of the parish in Sunday school. The Rector asked me to offer a prayer with this man prior to the offering of the sacrament. I hope to be able to visit with this man and his wife and their family again soon.
May 3
We had another wedding this morning at 0900, actually a reaffirmation (blessing) of vows taken in a civil ceremony. I was invited to be in a picture with the bride and groom, and also invited to the reception. The food at the receptions is great. I don’t recognize a lot of the dishes, but have tried most of what has been offered, and I have asked others what it is I am eating but often they do not know the English translation for it. The mangoes are delicious, sweet and juicy. I on one occasion had the opportunity to eat cooked Honey Dew melon; it was cooked with a meat dish similar to a stir-fry, quite tasty for those who like melon (and I do).
This past Sunday, Blaine, the Deacon-intern here, and I went to the preaching station at the small community of St. Julian. The service was held in the yard of one of the parishioner’s home. There were about 10 adults and the same number of children. The service was conducted in Ilocano. I had the opportunity to ask the people to share the Peace with one another in their language for the first time. The people are beginning to try and speak to me in their language, but I do not yet know enough to be able to respond, but we keep trying.
After the service coffee was served, a boiled beverage in a big pot over an open fire, sugar already added, unusual but quite good, it took a little getting used too, given that I usually take my coffee with a double cream and no sugar. With it they served fresh cinnamon buns, they were very good and I was offered two, I can still taste them.
Mountain Range in northern Tabuk.
They do not use many fresh dairy products here; I have seen no milk products, although I was given a dish of chocolate ice cream during the Episcopal Church Women’s 18 th Annual Convention, held here last week, but that is all, they do have coffee-mate for those who must use a creamer, they also have a Nescafe product called 3-in-1 (powdered creamer, sugar, and instant coffee all in one package) – it is not bad when it is the only thing available in the morning.
May 4
Yet another wedding at 0900 this morning, with at least five more weddings this month to come; apparently it is quite common for there to be many weddings in what is known as summer here. I was invited to the reception and invited to participate in the traditional native gong dance, which was fun, and Blaine told me later that I had not embarrassed myself, but had actually acquitted myself quite well for a first-timer. I took some video clips with the digital camera so will be able to show some of the dancing.
I have discovered that wedding celebrations carry on for several days here. The food preparation alone takes several women and men some days to prepare. There are several meat dishes, dried fish, fresh fish, angel hair noodles, carrot salad using rice, pickled papaya, mountains of rice, fresh mango, and fresh small banana. There is usually an abundant supply of bottled water, pop (Coke usually) and for the Principal sponsors and special guests – Brandy, Scotch, and other liquors to sip on during the meal. The night before the wedding is the young peoples’ time to dance and party, with a disco dance ball being used to light the floor for them, the wedding day is reserved for the older guests and there is not a lot of dancing done, except for the traditional ones. The dance floor can be anything from roadway to cement pad to bare rocky ground. The hospitality is wonderful.
Another wedding tomorrow at 0900, so will close for now and try to get to the Internet café to send it off.

Peace be with you all and take care,

Rob

Tuesday, June 5, 2007

MISSION STATEMENT

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A Letter from the Philippines- excerpts from Anglican Church of Canada

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