STEP UP

UNIDA
DEKADA OTSO
“Step Up”
By Rev. Gamaliel B. Filio

UNIDA. Baclaran Unida Evangelical Church of the Iglesia Evangelica Unida de Cristo, 1932. We are, admittedly, a small church. That is, small in numbers but BIG in Faith. We do not play the numbers game but aim for Quality of Faith through Teaching and Preaching the True Gospel of the Saving Grace of Our Lord and Saviour JESUS CHRIST.

We have reached our 8th decade. No small deal for a church initially ridiculed for being small and penniless at the start.

But this is a church that stood its ground on our faith that God will provide all our needs as He did the apostolic churches that sprouted in the first century of Christianity. UNIDA CHURCH was forged with the fire of Filipino Nationalism that raged at the turn of the 19th century FILIPINAS. This translated into a “Monument of Church Nationalism” that was awakened in the hearts of our forefathers in their struggle to free themselves from the fetters of the Church of Rome.

This “monument” is enshrined in the hearts of the pioneer Unida Pastors who served without remuneration during the first decades of the Church. “Naglingkod sa Dios at hindi sa Piso.” We have produced a Teleplay proclaiming this, titled “DEKADA OTSO” where we pried into the struggles of a Unida Pastor today. The fictional character Pastor Daniel Garcia embodies a composite of a current young Unida pastor.

Si Daniel Garcia. Isang bagong pastor. Inakala niya na ang
pagpapastoR ay ganun-ganun lang. Hanggang sumuong siya sa mga
pangyayaring sumubok sa tatag ng kaniyang pananampalataya sa
Panginoong Jesu-Cristo. At sa iglesiang kaniyang nilakhan at kung saan kinatagpo siya ng Dios. Tunghayan… Ang tele-dulang
ito ay batay sa kasaysayan ng Iglesia Evangelica Unida de
Cristo.

Baclaran Unida Evangelical Church, a “kapilya” where I grew up, is steeped in a tradition of Christmas Stage Plays, begun by my father, Pastor Genio, followed by Paying Garcia, then by this author, and today by my youngest son Lance. We begin practices in October and by December 23, we erect the stage at the side of the Kapilya. Even during those early years when I was one of the actors we already had musical scoring using long playing wax 45 rpm records played on turntables.

But now we have STEPPED UP from stage plays to Video Plays called nowadays Telenovela. When we produced our first Teleplay titled ‘ANG APAT” and our second one titled “SALVACION”, we used only one video camera. Today for our first full-length Telenovela titled “UNIDA, DEKADA OTSO”, we used five video cameras, have shoot a lot of footages and you can just imagine the post-production work that had to be done. And the cost skyrocketed. Because it has to be PROFESSINALY accomplished. Hindi basta-basta lang. This is for God!


Lance is making a limited copy of this Telenovela. Wait for it. It is worth it.

On January 8th 2012 our kapilya will celebrate its DEKADA OTSO. The theme is “MIGHTY AT EIGHTY” and permit me to add “FOR GOD ALMIGHTY”. Their shout is UNIDA AKO, PROTESTANTE, EBANGHELIKO, FILIPINO. We are self-sustaining, self-governing, and self-propagating. No foreign money and no foreign concept.

Plus, our Baclaran Unida Multi-Media Arts for Christ (BUMAC) is set to inaugurate its initial PODCAST of “ANG TINIG NG UNIDA” with this Intro:

Mula pa nuong 1932, pinag-isa ng Dios ang anim na iglesiang protestante, ebangheliko at pilipino at tinawag itong UNIDA. At humayo ang mga lalaki't babae nang kanilang panahon na hawak ang kanilang mga bukas na bibliya at wala silang ibang ipinakilala kundi ang ebanghelyo ni Kristo bilang tagapagligtas ng buong mundo. Ito ang tinig ng UNIDA na aming ipinapahayag ngayon: makasaysayang pananampalataya para sa nagbabagong mundo. Ito ang “TINIG NG UNIDA”. Pananampalatayang Unida para sa Mananampalatayang Unida.

We invite you to look at three videos, one at www.bagongunida.blogspot.com and two at our Youtube Channel, www.youtube.com/PastorGalying. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.