08160
February 29, 2008
Sacramento church delegation visits jailed Philippines pastor
Walnut Grove church supports prison ministry
Editor’s note: The Rev. Larry Emery, pastor of Community Presbyterian Church, Walnut Grove, CA, is in the Philippines with a delegation from the Presbyterian Peace Fellowship organized by the Philippine Solidarity Network of Chicago Presbytery. The Walnut Grove church and the presbyteries of Sacramento and Chicago have long-standing partnerships with the United Church of Christ in the Philippines (UCCP). This story is based on email correspondence from Larry to friends and colleagues in the U.S. — Jerry L. Van Marter
CAVITE, Philippines — On Feb. 27 a delegation of Presbyterians from Community Presbyterian Church of Walnut Grove, CA, was able to visit a Philippines pastor who has been jailed by the country’s government for nearly a year.
Berlin Guerrero, a UCCP pastor who has been jailed on trumped-up charges for nearly a year, leads a Bible study at Cavite Provincial Jail outside Manila. Photo by Larry Emery The delegation went to the jail in Cavite where UCCP Student Pastor Berlin Guerrero is being held. “Most of you know this, but I have been a friend of Berlin and his wife for many years through my work with the Philippine Partnership Committee of Sacramento Presbytery,” Emery writes. “He was abducted by the Philippine Naval Intelligence on May 27, 2007, and his location was unknown for two days while they tortured him, looking for information about progressive activists in the area. He was then placed in jail and charged with murder and sedition.”
Guerrero’s supporters have presented their case to the Philippines’ Supreme Court asking for dismissal on the grounds of false arrest and lack of evidence.
The Walnut Grove delegation was accompanied to the prison by PC(USA) mission worker in the Philippines Becca Lawson, and by Guerrero’s wife Mylene, as well as two PC(USA) Young Adult Volunteers (YAVs), currently serving in the Philippines.
“For me it was a bitter sweet meeting, good to see him again, but not here, in prison,” Emery writes. “We met in the prison courtyard. We were able to sit on the plastic patio chairs that Sacramento Presbytery bought for Berlin’s use in his prison ministry.
“The group was able to ask questions, and then we were able to freely talk for awhile with Berlin, his wife and the other prisoners. Afterwards we walked to the front gates where we were able to take pictures,” Emery continues.
“Becca, Richard, Roger, Mylene and I then went and thanked the warden for allowing us this special visit,” Emery writes. “He expressed his appreciation for the chairs, but also for Berlin and all he was doing in the prison for the prisoners.”
Though cameras were not allowed in the prison, Emery managed , with the “cover” of one of the YAVs, to take a picture and record the prison choir singing and Guerrero speaking.
Prison conditions are very different in the Philippines. “They sleep in two large auditoriums, one for female prisoners and one for males, Emery writes. “But they both share the same grounds. There is much prostitution among the prisoners and the females sometimes win favors for the prisoners by offering themselves to the guards.”
Prisoners at Cavite Provincial Jail engage in Bible study — the chairs and Bibles they use are furnished by Community Presbyterian Church in Walnut Grove, CA. Photo by Larry Emery Berlin Guerrero’s ministry, then, is daunting. “I asked the members of the choir if they had any religious background before coming to prison,” Emery writes, “and they affirmed they were nominal Catholics before. Berlin has led them to a new faith in Christ and hope for the future.”
Guerrero’s ministry with the inmates in the Cavite Provincial Jail has been enhanced by a recent purchase of Bibles and chairs for use in worship and Bible Study, as well as for use for meals and visitation.
“Up until this time the prison had only one Bible and no chairs for the use of inmates,” Emery writes. “Meals and family visitations took place sitting on the floor.”
A gift from the Walnut Grove church provided funds for the chairs and the Bibles. Emery says he hopes other churches in Sacramento Presbytery will also donate to help further Guerrero’s ministry here.
“Prisoners expressed their thanks for the Bibles and chairs,” Emery writes, “which met the needs of both the body and the soul.”
The prison visit has strengthened Emery’s resolve. “I have many feelings that are hard to express about this experience, and it has just fortified more my desire to advocate on behalf of human rights in the Philippines. Berlin is a faithful child of God and servant of his people. He is in prison not because of his professed religious beliefs, but because he put himself in service of the poor and the oppressed, in response to his religious faith.
“If only more in our country would do the same.”
Emery said he will be seeing Mylene Guerrero again during the delegation’s visit. “I will talk with her more and see how she and the family are doing through this ordeal,” he writes. “Please keep Berlin, Mylene and their children in your prayers.”
Earlier in their visit, the delegation heard from the sister of a killed Methodist pastor, a UCCP Pastor who survived an attempted assassination and a mother of a disappeared pastor.
“The most difficult for me was hearing from my friend, the Rev. Joel Tendoro, about death threats against him and Mylene Guerero, Emery writes. “I so respect the bravery and dedication of each of them for continuing to advocate for justice against oppression, even after their experiences.”
The group also traveled to Smoky Mountain, a massive dump ouside Manila where hundreds of Filipinos live in squalid conditions and recycle items from the dump for a living.
“We walked around and talked to people and slept in their homes that night,” Emery writes. “The home Matt Lang and I stayed in was very simple — no electricity and only candles for light. The government is trying to demolish the Smoky Mountain settlement, but the people do not want to go...where else do they go? What else would they do for a living?
“It would be different if the government had an alternative for them. The military presence is very strong in the Smoky Mountain area as they are trying to stop community organizers who oppose the demolition of the Smoky Mountain settlements.”
The Rev. Hunter Farrell, director of World Mission for the PC(USA)’s General Assembly Council, is en route to Manila, and hopes to connect with the Walnut Grove delegation and visit Guerrero.
Meanwhile, an interfaith protest rally today (Feb. 29) is expected to draw up to 100,000 protesters in Manila. Similar events are planned around the country. The purpose of the rally is to protest greed, corruption and oppression by the government of President Gloria Arroyo. A recent financial scandal and attempted cover-up has brought these issues to a boiling point.
The rally is sponsored by the Roman Catholic Church (which is divided in its stance to the Arroyo government) the National Council of Churches, the United Church of Christ of the Philippines, the Philippine Independent Church, and the Methodist Church of the Philippines.
Among those in attendance will be two former Philippines presidents, Corazon Aquino and Joseph Estrada. Emery will attend as a guest of Bishop Eli Pascua, a prominent PC(USA) partner who visited the U.S. last year. Also expected to attend for the PC(USA) are Farrell and Insik Kim, Presbyterian World Mission’s area coordinator for Asia/Pacific.
Emery writes: “Please pray for the safety of all involved and that the rally will be kept peaceful and orderly. The religious leaders will, of course, not be advocating anything violent or disruptive, but there are always rogue elements in any situation. Also, just as the FBI did often during the Vietnam war protests, police secret agents here stir up trouble to discredit progressive movements.”
Emery says the primary goal of such activities should be on getting behind one viable candidate for the 2010 election and in the meantime to keep holding Arroyo’s feet to the fire to prevent the worst abuses from taking place.” Further, he adds, U.S. Presbyterians should join in pressuring the U.S. government to withhold military aid to the Philippines as long as it is used to oppress Filipino citizens.
While in prison, the Rev. Berlin Guerrero has written at least two poems:
A Pastor in Prison
When a pastor is in prison
his ministry is not impaired;
the bars and walls
are only futile attempts
to cut his connections to the world
beyond the state curtain.
His confinement
is limited only to the physical body
and never to his spirit;
transcending the man-made prison
he is ever connected to the Source.
He remains a priest….
meditating on the liberating Gospel
together with fellow prisoners,
they come before the God of freedom and justice.
He remains a prophet…
speaking the truth,
exposing the crookedness of a penal institution
meant to straighten persons
pointing out the negligence and faults of the
court system
which add up to injustice already done
to the poor and the oppressed.
His understanding and skill of pastoral care
is deepened and honed
in the countless narratives
of human frailties, failures and hopelessness
where the only the spoken language
is that of forgiveness, love and hope.
He becomes a healer…
of the sick and broken
-a sea of humanity, its will defeated and dying.
His touch caresses the hardened heart
and calms the troubled soul.
His ears are attuned
to the whispered pleas
and unspoken prayers
of the remorseful, lost and heavy-laden.
His voice echoes
God’s message of redemption
in a pit of forsakenness
and a valley of damnation.
He is humbled in finding himself
among the wicked and downtrodden
which reminds him
of his own imperfection.
He treats each inmate as a child of God
invited to partake in Christ’s feast
and into God’s reign
in the here and now,
of the concrete prison cell.
Christ is enfleshed
through the pastor’s acts
in the redeemed and redemptive community
he prayerfully works to bring about
within the wall and iron bars
of the cursed state prison
June 21, 2007
# # #
Prison Ship
My co-passengers in this journey
told me sadly, we are in a boat
aimlessly afloat with no port
to deck.
We are on a prison ship
four hundred souls
and more
kept in a small vessel constructed for only half
our number.
Yet in the smaller cabins
made for a dozen fifty-four of us
are locked in.
Our meals are so meager
morning porridge
served in a tiny cup
lunch and supper
comprise
loose rice, vegetables boiled to a pulp
in an ocean of salty soup.
When evening comes
The corridors are lined
By the thin, the sick and the lame
Boils, rashes and lesions
Grow and multiply
On our skin.
We are a forgotten lot
Cast a way
In a sea of forsakenness.
Like a broken pot
Our homes are shattered
Loved ones are gone astray.
The ship captain
mean only business,
stirs the boat clear
of prying eyes
and preaching priests..
He can be merciless
In dealing with counter-currents
And voices
That refuse to be silenced.
In our deprivation
Profits are amassed
There’s not a single coin
Left in our pockets
Every cent,
Into the crew’s store is siphoned.
We sleep on , empty stomach
When will this journey end?
Will we ever see, land again?
Is our destination
Better than where we’ve come from?
Our hope lies in that distant land
called Freedom, Justice its cornerstone
Human fulfillment and abundance
Are its mission
Lasting peace shall reign in a haven
Where prison ships will be forever gone.
July 27, 2007 |
