I may not have participated in most choir practices but I do remember the songs that have special meanings for me. One of them was "Like a child". I remember the music but I cannot remember the lyrics. To me the song fits our discussion yesterday on 1 Peter 2:1-10.

As an adult, a 34 year old adult, there are times when I take God for granted. I let work rule over my Sundays. I make excuses and bargain with God promising I'll do this till October. I know You have a plan for me but please let me hang on till October." Worse, even if I am off work, I choose to sleep because it is my 'only' day off for the week.

I would say that in my faith journey I am a toddler that needs spanking sometimes. I need to remind myself, better yet, focus on my spiritual growth.

I pray that in pursuit of higher learning concerning my career, in an environment where freedom abounds, that I will not forget God. That every place I visit, every person I meet, every voice I hear, He is there. I will have to learn to listen more attentively.

Like a child, I pray that I will not lose that innocence, that inquisitiveness, that eagerness to learn and yearn for more because really, there's still so much more.

Most of all like an adult I pray that in everything I do, may it be Christ-like, that my actions and speech will reflect everything good that I learned over the years. Like Kuya Joel has said, I have so much on my hand that need to be passed on: experiences I've been through, lessons I've learned from successes and failures, places I've seen, people I've met who mean so much and those I've neglected.

Thank you dear friends for a wonderful Sunday, thanks for the birthday wishes too. I'm happy to spend the day with you.

Tata Rivera

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My Life’s Journey – Julia Cada Noya

I was raised as a Roman Catholic and grew up attending Saint Sebastian Parish Church of Lumban, Laguna.  Beautiful church located at the center of the town.  I could still remember many unforgettable religious celebration; Flores de Mayo, Holy Week, Simbang Gabi, Paligong Puon (by the river), and most of all, the town Fiesta, wherein every house is open for everybody.  Eat anything you like, as much as you can, pick any house, anyone is welcome.  Where can you find that?  Our family is not too religious but we regularly attend Sunday mass just like any ordinary family, nothing special.

Life isn’t easy.  It’s not easy for anyone.  To think otherwise, that you alone suffer is a serious delusion.  It’s just a big delusion to think that your happiness depends on how other people treat you.  I always knew those who win in faith are those who win in daily life.  And the fundamental source of victory in daily life is faith.  That has been drilled into my head. The words are simple, yet complex in meaning.  I believe, using my own life as an example.  This requires a strict balance within my life among all of my roles:  as a member of a community, mother and friend.  Finding this balance has been a continual struggle for me.

I have faced a number of difficult situations.  Sometimes life seems really unfair and I feel isolated, how hard it is to live in this world, how unfair life can be. I have three children, Melody, Julius and Robert, their ages, 17, 12 and 11, respectively.  I am a single mom with two jobs, constantly struggling with time.

I have been searching my religion and I finally found mine, here at Filipino-American United Church of Christ, of which I am most proud.  It is here where hope, encouragement, and sense of peace is floating, a place where I am renewing my life.   I am beginning to understand that life is a journey on which we search for someone or something to hold life together and make sense of what we experience.  Each Sunday, I learn and discover something new. I must say I am truly thirsty with the word of God.  As I listen to the Gospel each Sunday you could not imagined what it does to me.  It is where I find my comfort.  The words of wisdom told long long time ago yet so powerful and relevant to our lives.  I am learning to live as God’s holy servant. “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.” –John 3:16

I wish I could say that I win every day.  There are many responsibilities and requirements associated with each one of my roles.  Life is an everlasting struggle with our selves. It is a tug of war between moving forward and regressing, between happiness and unhappiness.  I have found that I am in constant battle with myself.  I may not win every day, but I am proud to say I never give up.  Each day, regardless of whether I was victorious the day before, I try my best, basing everything on my Christian faith.  I know there is no struggle I cannot overcome.  Each day is a new opportunity for success, and each success helps me demonstrate that faith in God really does equal daily life.

I thank you so much for having you and each and every member of Fil-Am UCC in my life and most especially Melody, Julius and Robert’s life long journey.

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A  TIME TO DANCE……. by Rachel Amper Dadap

For  everything  there  is  a season  and  a  time  for  every  matter  under  heaven...

Something I did that Sunday that nags my sense of propriety: a solo dance performance.  Why I dance and what made me dance I believe has its original primeval source and urge to move to the rhythm of the music or the beat of a drum. Spelling my guts I danced to the accompanying stare of several pairs of eyes. Who would think I was in my right mind that moment? I confess I wasn’t. My mind snapped and the command to dance became irresistible and uncontrollable.  And that is how my feet found its way to the dance floor, to the beat of the 123 count, to the haunting melody of lawiswis kawayan.

This moment lasted only a minute or two. It could have been a cathartic experience if I were not too conscious. I felt a wave of shyness engulfing me. Even as my feet moved to the rhythm my body was as stiff as a rod. A kind of war” wage in my mind to stop the desire to free the spirit of my soul’s language. The question of to dance or not to dance reach its ethical epic of to be proper, to be  right to the norms of social conduct and behavior .It triggers an ethical debate of what is proper and not proper in a Christian context. Propriety becomes a choice of to sit and watch, or to stand and dance, to let go, to free inhibitions of the spirit trapped inside the prison walls of our culture, traditions and upbringing…..no dancing, no lipstick, no to this and that.  I also see my father’s face…..stern, piercing eyes with admonition; “dancing is not Christian and lady- like”.

In my embarrassment I tried to hide behind the biblical skirt of Ecclesiastes 3:1-9….” For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:  a time to be born, and a time to die; (3:1), a time to weep, and a time to laugh, a time to mourn, and a time to dance (3:4)

I soon realized that I really was looking for a “theological justification” an excuse of my self – inflicted embarrassment. Having found Ecclesiastic’s  support and assurance that everything  was alright after all …that “ I could have danced all day”  had I wanted to, I felt a little relaxed, guilt free and relieved. But where is the “theological justification” that gives me the safe heaven?

Surely, it doesn’t make things theological just because there is a quote from the bible and much more not from an ordinary incident turned into an intimate personal reflection.

Chapters 1 and 2 of Ecclesiastes give us a view of the writer’s reflection of his own life -experiences of the world. The teacher identifies himself as the son of King David. In his monologue he presented himself as a wise man reflecting on his experience. He “applied his mind to seek and search out wisdom and all that is done under heaven” (1:12-13) but found it as “unhappy business that God has given to human beings to be busy with” He saw all the deeds that are done under the sun and see, all is vanity and a chasing after the wind.(1:13-14)    The literal sense of the term vanity is a “breath of wind”. It is used metaphorically to suggest transience, uselessness or deception. In his reflections the teacher reveals the uselessness of everything that human beings strive hard to achieve.   He views the world as changeless as generation comes and goes, and a world without progress. Nature does the same cycle.”The sun rises and the sun goes down, the wind blows to the south and goes round to the north, round and round goes the wind, and  all streams run to the sea”(1:3-7) What has been is what will be…there is nothing new under the sun.

As the section nears its conclusion the observation emphasize on human suffering; “what do mortals get from all the toil and strain  with which they toil under the sun? For all their days are full of pain, and their work is a vexation, even at night, their minds do not rest,. This is also a vanity” (2:22-23) Now he offers an answer of sorts: all that he has found rewarding is pleasure in work, and he proposes that mortals can do no better than to eat, drink, and enjoy what they do.(2:24) At this point he attempts to explore a theological justification: “for the ability to enjoy life, or perhaps the ability to know that one should enjoy life, is a divine dispensation granted only to those who pleases God” (2:26) Set against all sense of frustration and vanity to all human efforts and all things happening, the teacher attempts to justify God, affirming the reality of divine judgments and the reality of change. While human generations each pass into oblivion, nature continues regardless. The continuity generates change. Without change there is no novelty, there could be no effect and satisfaction. Without change the world would be without progress and culmination.

Every action or event will come to pass and God has made each suitable for its time. (3:11a) To Qoheleth (teacher) is also a source of resignation. What has happened will happen again. Each situation is attributed to divine action with God creating and maintaining a sealed system in which nothing has a beginning and an end.

It is against this background that the teacher asks the question; “What gain the workers from their toil” (3:9) God has given human business to do and a sense of the past and future. But hu-mans lack the ability to comprehend the divine activities. There is nothing better for humans to do than to be happy and enjoy life. The ability to do so is made available to all by God upon which the world itself can make no impact. It’s unchangeability is a deliberate device that insures that humans will stand in awe of God.

Writing this reflection lead me to think and look beyond the “dance” incident. I discovered my own vanity. My embarrassment comes from my desire to be perceived as proper, to be in the right and acceptable manner. Though I believed it was alright to dance or had the freedom to dance I was mindful of what the audience would think of my impulsive act. My vanity was wrapped around the narrow confines of the self…how I look, or behave, what people think and say. Vanity can crept in surreptitiously, blow things out of proportion to Make Mountains out of a mole hill. Caught in the web of our vanity we forget to think of others… brothers, sisters in our church and neighboring communities. Vanity destroys our commitment and covenant to God.

Jesus understood the temptation of the vanities of the self because he was led by the devil up in the mountains. The devil showed Jesus the panorama of the world below. “To you I will give the glory and all this authority, if you then worship me, it will all be yours” (Luke 4:5-7).

In Jesus’ life- experience the temptation to become powerful and to have all authority, riches and adoration of the people was real. There was the temptation to use his power over the Romans that oppressed his people. There was the temptation to be glorified or the temptation to feel good and proud. But Jesus knew they are vanities…power, honor and glory. All is Vanity!! 

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My name is Julius Noya and I live with one sister, one brother, one dog, one cat, and one caring mother. I go to church at the Filipino-American Church in Richmond Hills and the church has taught me a lot so my mother thought we should be confirmed. So my brother and I joined the Communicants class taught by Pastor Bong (Rev. Reuben Cedino) and Reverend Noel Vanek of the Church in the Gardens.

This Class was very fun and interesting. We had a lot of fun during events like the overnight visit to The Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine, also when we had a retreat at the Church in the Gardens which everybody enjoyed. But my favorite and most memorable event was when we sort of had a fight but for fun. It was really one of my memorable moments.

In the communicants’ class I also learned lessons like Jesus’ resurrection, Noah’s Ark, Adam and Eve, and the story of Jesus’ disciples and how they stood fast in their faith. This led them to become apostles and saints. All these stories make up the basic stories of how we should live our lives and believe in God who helps us everyday. So when the God offers you his hand take it, trust me.

During this whole thing I say it’s a great experience. So I hope others will join the class and enjoy it like me. I learned a lot and had fun doing it. Confirmation has a lot of preparation but during the class you’ll know it’s worth it. Know that my friends and I are confirmed we are part of our churches and we will strengthen our relationship with God so we can learn his lessons and let it influence our lives.

My pastor chose this verse for my Confirmation Certificate and I will follow this Bible verse “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all  your mind and with all your strength.” Mark 12:30. This helps me realize I should help the church with my music or my presence. So from here on out I will love God help my church and never forget my memories with my communicants class. Let’s See where God leads me.

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I was originally a member of United Church of Christ in the Philippines, Cagayan de Oro City. I practically grew up attending the same church as a child then attending school at Pilgrim Institute; as did my sisters and brother. Even today, every time I go home, I still consider Cagayan de Oro UCCP my home church.

I migrated to this country in the early 1980’s and lived with my sisters in Michigan for 4 years. At that time, I was not worried about where I would attend church on Sundays because Manong Joe Malayang was the pastor of a church in Richmond, Michigan. I would just pack my young nephews on Fridays or Saturdays and spend our time with the Malayang’s for the weekend, attended church with them and sang with Manang Benny’s choir.

When I moved to New Jersey, I started looking around for a church that I would be comfortable and make me belong. Over the years, I jumped from different addresses and churches, looking for that comfort zone until I found Riverside Church in NYC. This was the year I moved to Manhattan because of my new job.  Riverside church has a great music ministry and a lot of programs for the members and non-members, but I still felt that it was too huge a congregation for a tiny and inconspicuous person like me. As the years passed and my addresses had constantly changed in different places in Manhattan, my church would also constantly change. The extent of my participation in church would just be in and out of the service. I never attended the churches’ coffee hour or fellowship. This went on for years until I moved to Queens, NY.

In Queens, I found a Presbyterian church a few blocks away from my apartment. I’ve attended services in this church even before my moved to Queens because of some friends who lived nearby, so I was comfortable attending their service. But again, it was in and out of church and no fellowship although I saw some familiar faces from time to time. But something inside me was still empty. Finally, I gave in to Rachel’s unrelenting invitation to attend Fil-Am UCC. In the beginning I was reluctant to go because I learned that they didn’t have any pastor. When Rachel informed me that the church called a pastor from Silliman University and originally served Cagayan de Oro UCCP, then I promised Rachel I would go with her. That was history. I liked the warmth of the congregation especially to new comers. I was welcomed and was made comfortable with everyone and the fellowship hour is great. I have tremendously grown in my faith and service to the Lord since my affiliation to this church.  I loved the fellowship, singing in the choir among other things that I do to serve the Lord. The greatest plus is that the church members are like a huge family.

I am looking forward to more involvement in the church life, activities and mission. As the song goes, “here I am Lord, take and use me, for I know you have a plan for me“ and that’s where I am going. I am thankful to Rachel who led me to a greener pasture in my walk of faith and ever thankful to God that I finally found my home church away from home.

To the rest of the people who are out there still looking to find their niche in their spiritual journey…..look around and be mindful in your surroundings. For all you know, it is just under your nose. Just be faithful to God and He will always be faithful to you. Praise be to God! Amen.

Ms. Dinah A. Neri