"JUSTICE WITHOUT FORCE IS POWERLESS!"

"HOWEVER, FORCE WITHOUT JUSTICE IS TYRANNICAL!" We came across this quote and we are presently trying to fathom its meaning and usefulness. Ang IGLESIA EVANGELICA UNIDA DE CRISTO ay isinilang nang 1932 subali't ang binhi nito ay umusbong bago pa umigtad ang bagong siglo nuong pinagpupunyagian ng mga bayani ng ating bayan na itaguyod ang kanilang PAGKALAHI. Pinagbuwisan nila ng sariling buhay ang pagkatanto ng kanilang lahi - PILIPINO. At sa ating mga ninuno sa Unida ito ay ipinahayag nila sa pamamagitan ng pagtatayo ng isang iglesiang taal na Pilipino. Self-sustaining, self-governing, self-propagating. Hindi sumandig kailanman sa salapi at ideyang dayuhan. NAGSASARILI. WALANG INAASAYAHAN KUNDI ANG DIOS LAMANG. Ang haba ng panahon ang PANDAYAN ng isang iglesia. Sinubok ng Dios ang iglesia sa loob ng WALONG DEKADA = DEKADA OTSO. At sinusubok at susubukin pa ito. Kaya ba nating panindigan ang tinitindigan nito? Ang tipan at pangako ay sa kanila binitiwan ng Dios, at anuman tayo ngayon ay dahil sa kanila. Sa ating mga ninuno na tumawag sa ating "MGA KAPILAS NG AMING KALULUWA" ay nais kong sabihing MARAMING SALAMAT PO!

THE MAYAN CALENDAR HULABALOO

BUC DEKADA OTSO

On this day Baclaran Unida Evangelical Church of the Iglesia Evangelica Unida de Cristo remembers 80 years of God's Faithfulness.

And our shout is UNIDA AKO. PROTESTANTE. EBANGHELIKO. FILIPINO.

ANOTHER STEP UP = ANG TINIG NG UNIDA

angtinigngunida on livestream.com. Broadcast Live Free

ANOTHER STEP UP
Baclaran Unida Evangelical Church inaugurates another STEP UP through its Baclaran Unida Multimedia Arts for Christ: a podcast titled “Ang Tinig Ng Unida.”
And hey, it’s in iTunes! You must download iTunes and we are making that easier for you here. This news is our Gintong Butil 17. We are out there, as in out there! Modern technology has proffered a way and we are taking it. And we are now offering it to our Unida Internet Travelers. An Unida broadcast that you can listen to at your own pleasure, anytime you want and wherever needed. It is as if you are there and you are also here. We are going to reach the world without physically getting out of where we are. We will be there while we are still staying here. We will not be immobile because we now have the capacity to be mobile.
The world will know that there is IGLESIA EVANGELICA UNIDA DE CRISTO: A Church that brings the Gospel, yes the Good News, of the Saving Grace of Our Lord and Saviour JESUS CHRIST.
We proclaim that there is only One God, there is only One Lord, there is only One Saviour, and there is only One Name given for man’s Salvation: JESUS!

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.

UNIDA IN SONGS THROUGH THE YEARS

IGLESIA EVANGELICA UNIDA DE CRISTO HAS GROWN THROUGH THE YEARS. And this no more apparent than in the anthology of its music and songs. At the turn of the century its legacy of nationalism and faith in the One True God evolved into what it is right now.

It is truly self-sustaining, self-propagating and self-governing. No foreigners in its fold of leaders. It followed the example of the apostolic churches that spread in the first centuries of Christianity.

BUEC REACHES DEKADA OTSO

ON January 8th 2012 Baclaran Unida Evangelical Church celebrates DEKADA OTSO. The event starts with their declaration: UNIDA AKO, PROTESTANTE, EBANGHELIKO, FILIPINO and their theme is "MIGHTY AT EIGHTY FOR GOD ALMIGHTY."

A PIVOTAL DECADE

Deuteronomy 7:7-8
7 The LORD did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people; for ye were the fewest of all people:
8 But because the LORD loved you, and because he would keep the oath which he had sworn unto your fathers, hath the LORD brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you out of the house of bondmen, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. KJV


We now live in a pivotal decade. We have come to a fork in the road. SANGANGDAAN. Right or left? Or should we blaze a new trail straight forward?

It was inevitable. THE CHURCH OF CHRIST. The one He established in Caesaria Philippi. His body, of which he is the head must make a decision. And after doing it, there is no turning back.

It is not easy in our times when a lot are calling our attention, beckoning for us to come and seeing a lot of people answering the call. Leaving only a few behind. With Unida perhaps being the fewest. We live in a generation where definitions are blurred, where meanings have become ambivalent if not turned-around 180 degrees. Where it is so hard to distinguish what is right and what is wrong. Where the church is seemingly traipsing with the world in order to be relevant; so that a lot of people can “ease in” and we can be more in number. But the True God loved the few over the more. That is inescapable.

It is now therefore no longer a wonder that the First of the Ten Commandments is: "I am the LORD your God, You shall have no other gods before me.” Exodus 20:2-3

Because right now there are so many gods that men are elevating to Godship, yes, to the top of the mountain. And many are being deceived and misled. But God said I AM, you shall have no other before me. He was emphatic and we should listen.

But when only a few is left behind, do not be distressed nor dismayed. What you must struggle for is to be God’s Own through His Covenant of Grace by the blood of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

Since time in memorial men have tried to reach God by their own efforts, they even invented a Queen of Heaven in Semiramis to intercede for them. They did not reach the TRUE AND ONLY GOD because they also invented their own God in Baal. But there is only one God.

We live in a decade where growth is measured in numbers. Their logic goes like this: Unida has been around since 1932 but it has not shown BIG NUMBERS, therefore Unida has not grown as the scriptures said it should. But I say: through the years the Unida Faithfuls, though small in numbers, had been put through the grinder and they went through it with flying colors for 8 decades. Surviving alone without money is grinder enough but we are still around. Why? Because we are children of a great God.

Growth IS measured in the collective Faith of the individual Christians who are part of the Body Of Christ. Growth is measured in the Faith of the Church. So that when it comes to a pivotal decade, a fork in the road, a sangangdaan, it knows what to do. PUT ITS FAITH IN AN ALL-KNOWING GOD and HIS COVENANT OF GRACE. NO OTHER GOD.

We are commanded to make DISCIPLES of NATIONS. Because within those nations are God’s own people. We must seek and reach them to preach and teach them God’s words and commandments. Lest they hear these they cannot know what God had done for them; that he died for them and that God’s own blood was shed to save them. Because they are incapable of saving themselves by the Covenant of the Law, God had made a New Covenant by His blood. Lest they hear this and have faith they cannot be saved.

For there is only One God. There is only One Lord. There is only One Saviour. There is only One Name given for man’s Salvation. JESUS. Believe.


Pastor Galying
Sunday, November 27, 2011

WE RECEIVED GOOD NEWS WITH THE SAD

We thank God for the visit from USA of Mrs. Remedios Galvez Reyes, widow of our late and beloved Bishop Alfredo I. Reyes and the husband & wife pastoral team of Pastors Nathaniel and Janet Blair. I hope I spelled their name right because their coming blessed us so much. We were literally overwhelmed.
To them we say, thank you so much for the early Christmas gift. They, however, also brought sad news that frankly bothered this writer a lot. In the USA, they informed, it is forbidden to say “Merry Christmas” to anybody in public. Prayers are forbidden in schools and yes also the playing of Christian gospel songs, anthems and hymns. You are also not to mention the name of Jesus Christ. There are no more Christmas Cards in the USA. Which led me to the question : Are the Americans, God forbid, trying to erase the name of Jesus?
Filipinos are good imitators but I hope we do not imitate our American brethren in this. Remember that verse where Jesus said you will be persecuted for declaring yourselves Christians? I used to think that He was talking to the Christians of His time, now I believe He is looking at us. Remember the verse that said, they that persevere up to the end shall be saved? Well, when it is declared illegal to say the name of Jesus Christ, will you stay up to the end?
Previously, Dan Brown came with his Da Vinci Code and now this. Perhaps it is time to revisit our Gintong Butil written by this writer years ago against the contentions of Dan Brown and the questionable Judas Gospel. Here goes:
THE JUDAS GOSPEL & THE DA VINCI CODE
Oh my, how callous have we become?
A Dissection by Rev. Gamaliel B. Filio
The Robe
They literally disrobed Jesus Christ when they nailed him to the cross. Now they are AGAIN trying to “literarily” disrobe Him of His Divinity and to reduce him to a mere man by marrying him off to Mary Magdalene and by demeaning him through his betrayer Judas Iscariot.

It would be funny if it does not hurt when you laugh. Because they are nailing Jesus on the cross once more and once more for the same reason – M O N E Y. Judas betrayed him for thirty pieces of silver and now after him come Dan Brown, using DA VINCI to make Jesus look bad, is making a lot of money – at the expense of Jesus.

The Crown of Thorns
Is there nothing sacred anymore? Have we really sunk this low? I decried the fanaticism and mysticism of the Roman Catholic Church of my youth. And yet I cannot help but be appalled by what this generation have replaced it with. We have crowned his head with thorns of disrespect.

The Lashing!
We use to utter the Name of Jesus with awe and reverence as befits the Son of God. But Dan Brown disrespected Jesus and lashed & tore his flesh once more at the center of an international audience through his Novel and now the movie “The Da Vinci Code.” And Oh how some people lapped it up and made it a best-seller and translated it into 44 languages. The producers of the movie, because of the controversy it created, is running all the way to the bank.

The New Pontius Pilate
The novel is FICTION, a product of the author’s imagination, and therefore not fact. Dan Brown took a button and sewed a colorful, imaginative but historically inconsistent and multi-layered SHIRT on it.

But since it is fiction it should be read like “Harry Potter”, “The National Treasure”, “James Bond”, “Mission Impossible” and even C.S. Lewis’ “The Chronicles of Narnia.” Nothing less, nothing more. That it is being given an importance it does not deserve is a testimony of how sacrilegious our world has become.

One said that while it is fiction there are some truth in it. They should stop pulling our leg because this statement is incorrect. You have to take a novel as a whole and not in parts. Even if some truths are injected into it, it is still fiction woven out of whole cloth.

The Nails
It grieves me that Brown did a Pontius Pilate in desecrating the name of Jesus by means of fictitious allegations and imaginations as did that Roman Procurator. That is disrespect on the Name of Jesus and every Christian martyr, living and dead.

The plot is imaginative but based on loose premises and untruths masquerading as widely accepted truths. “The book opens with the claim by Dan Brown that "all descriptions of artwork, architecture, documents, and secret rituals in this novel are accurate"; but this claim is disputed by academic scholars in the fields the book discusses. As widely noted in the media, there has been substantial confusion among readers about whether the book is factual. Numerous works have been published which explain in detail why any claim to accuracy is difficult to sustain.” (From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)
The Cross
They are crucifying Christ on the Cross of Controversy. Because without controversy books, television, movies, and media has no other way to call attention to itself. And if people do not pay attention to them they will not make money. Truth is no longer important but Controversy that attract people. That spells M-O-N-E-Y.

Who is Da Vinci anyway that what he is implying in his Last Supper painting is being passed off as the truth? Brown made him the keypoint to his Novel and concocted a conspiracy as only a Fiction-Writer can. Congratulations, he started a controversy and he is now a rich man because of it!

But as soon as the controversy wears out, the book, together with its author Dan Brown, will be forgotten but the name they disrespected – JESUS – will stand forever.

The Tomb
Jesus died in calvary and they laid him in Joseph Arimathea’s tomb. Judas committed suicide and was buried in Potter’s Field. But while Jesus resurrected from the dead on the third day, it is the Gospel of Judas that is being resurrected today.

It is being presented not as fiction but as an original factual manuscript. And here the first debate lies, and secondly on what it contends.

Is it real or fake? The debate cannot end even up to doomsday, perhaps. I believe, however, that it is an absolution after the fact, written by one of the close friends of Judas to redeem him from what he has done.

But a discussion on the real role of Judas in the fulfillment of the prophecies about Jesus Christ is quite relevant to us today.

It is evident that the language and style of this gospel is so different, if not inconsistent, with the 4 gospels of the Bible. Jesus speaks in a different manner and about things not discussed in the four. Mathew, Mark, Luke and John are compatible and their books compliment each other although different in style and approach. And Jesus speaks in a way that is common to the 4 and other books of the Bible.

However, the verse that intrigues and the point of contention is that one where Jesus supposedly told Judas: “But you will exceed all of them. For you will sacrifice the man that clothes me.”

The Judas Gospel is contending that Jesus, instead of letting the prophecy be fulfilled through the people that has been foretold thousands of years ago, conspired with his “friend Judas” so that the prophecy will happen. And yet the verse admits that he is both man and God. If Jesus is God as he demonstrated when he raised up Lazarus from the dead, he does not need to conspire with anybody to make things happen. Prophecies will be fulfilled no matter what anyone does.

Did Jesus make a mistake in choosing Judas as one of His disciples? My answer is he did not, because the role of Judas was something that was prophesied and it was part of the plan of Salvation that God put in place. Nobody could stop it, nobody could change what Judas was, not even the Son of God.

Now in the states it is forbidden to say Merry Christmas and they replaced it with Happy Holidays. That is an exercise in futility because without Jesus Christ those supposedly holy days are NOTHING. And here in the Philippines they cannot take away Jesus from us. Simply because the name chosen by God for our church is IGLESIA EVANGELICA UNIDA DE CRISTO.

KABABAIHANG UNIDA UPHOLDS ITS LEGACY

There they were, resplendent and pure, swaying with hands aloft as they sing “TAWAG NG PAGKAKAISA”. More than 500 women of Unida Church merging as One in the Name of JESUS.

It is the first National Fellowship of KKU when it presents before God the National, District, and Local Officers. It is not the token given that was the more important but the acceptance of the commitment to serve God with all their soul and all their might.

With one accord they shouted: “WE ARE ONE. ONE HEART. ONE MISSION. Sapagkat ang layunin ng Dios para sa lahat ng mga kapilas ng kaluluwa ay ang magbigkis tayo ng banal na tali ng pagkakaisa.

“TAWAG NG PAGKAKAISA”
Adaptation by Rev. Gamaliel B. Filio
Sung to the tune of “Fishers of Men” and “Read Your Bible, Pray Everyday.”

Ikaw, si Jesus at Ako;
Maging ISA! Let’s shout, let’s go!
Tawag ng pagkakaisa,
Ibalita mo. Ipakita mo. Isabuhay mo.
Kaligtasang tinanggap mo,
Isabuhay mo.

Ikaw, si Jesus at Ako;
Maging SAMPU! Let’s shout, let’s go!
Tawag ng pagkakaisa,
Ibalita mo. Ipakita mo. Isabuhay mo.
Kaligtasang tinanggap mo,
Isabuhay mo.

Ikaw, si Jesus at Ako;
Maging LAKSA! Let’s shout, let’s go!
Tawag ng pagkakaisa,
Ibalita mo. Ipakita mo. Isabuhay mo.
Kaligtasang tinanggap mo,
Isabuhay mo.

Ikaw, si Jesus at Ako;
Maging MILYON! Let’s shout, let’s go!
Tawag ng pagkakaisa,
Ibalita mo. Ipakita mo. Isabuhay mo.
Kaligtasang tinanggap mo,
Isabuhay mo.

ELECTED BY MEN, CHOSEN BY GOD

UNIDA CHRISTIAN CENTER sits serenely at the junction of the by-pass road going to Tagaytay City and the smaller road going to Silang Town Proper, at the left side of Aguinaldo Highway coming from Manila. Here every three years Unida feels the presence and power of the HOLY SPIRIT when God chooses the men who are to lead the church for three years.
On May 21st in the Year of Our Lord 2010, I personally felt the presence of the Holy Spirit when I was elected as the “least of the apostles” but nevertheless was chosen by God to be the Tesorero General.
Alas, I can only speak for myself. The UNIDA way is so humbling. You end up saying to God “I am only so because YOU had your way.”
Last Friday (May 21, 2010) God chose the Unida Generales from the 11 set apart from the rest by men. I heard my name read for the first two positions but God said no. But in the position I did not prefer I heard my name read first and at a chance of 1:9 God said “I want you” and I literally crumbled with the question “why” twirling in my mind. But He quickly put me in my place. He wants me as one of the generales, no ifs and no buts. And like I said time and time again to other people, when God calls you there are only two answers: “Yes Lord and Yes Lord.”
Tesorero General. Pastor Gamaliel B. Filio, unang bunot. “Ikaw ang Pinili ng Panginoon.” 95 people covered my back and made sure that it happened and God delivered the coup d grace. I am in, the Unida way.

7 LAPTOPS USED IN BUC VOTING = GOD CHOSE HIS LEADERS BY PELOTILYA

April 11, 2010 is a benchmark in the history of Baclaran Unida Church. It is the first time that automated elections was conducted from where God is to choose the men and women who will be the leaders of the church for the next three years.

Unida by-laws provide that leaders are to be chosen first by voting and then by pelotilya. The voting part was done using 7 laptop terminals through the efforts of our young adults and youths. This was modern technology at its best. Voting results were out 5 minutes after closing.

Pelotilya was done as our forefathers did before us – drawing of lots as done by the apostles and disciples in the ACTS.

It was a spiritually-powered process that moved everyone in the church.

We will post the results by June.

BUC "BAGONG AKO" CHURCH CAMP

THE OLD SELF SUBMERGE; BEHOLD THE NEW SELF EMERGE!

BUC CHURCH CAMP

A VISION is about to come about. Baclaran Unida Church will go on a CHURCH CAMP on April 1-3, 2010 at the Y.C. Yen James Yen Center, IRR, Silang, Cavite. And we mean the whole congregation. The camp is called “BAGONG AKO” CHURCH CAMP and this is the first time it is going to happen.

And we have our very own theme song titled “NANDYAN KA LANG PALA, LORD”, the MTV of which is above, just click the youtube video.

Layunin: Upang linangin ang kakayahan na ang bawa’t isa ay may binagong buhay at magkaroon ng isang iglesiang buhay at gumagabay.
Paraan: Tuklasin ang Dios na nasa iyo sa pamamagitan ng pananalangin at pag-aaral ng Biblia, ang Salita ng Dios.

JEREMIAS 29:11-14a “Sapagkat alam Ko ang nais Ko para sa iyo.” sabi ng PANGINOON, “Nais Kong pasaganain ka at huwag kang saktan; balak Ko na bigyan ka ng pag-asa at kinabukasan. Upang Ako ay iyong tawagan at upang pumarito ka at manalangin sa Akin, at pakikinggan Kita. Hahanapin mo Ako at makikita kapag hinanap mo Ako ng buong puso. Matatagpuan mo Ako,” wika ng PANGINOON. NIV sa Filipino.

“NAND’YAN KA LANG PALA, LORD!”
Musika ni Genesis F. Luz
Titik ni Rev. Gamaliel B. Filio
Areglo nina Lance at BIGS Band
MTV Production nina Lance & Nikki Filio

Koro 1
Nandyan ka lang pala, laging kasama
Nandyan ka lang pala, hindi nag-iisa
Ang layo ng tanaw, nandyan ka lang pala
nandyan ka lang pala, hindi mawawala.
Verse 1
Nagtungo sa bundok pero wala ka
Sinisid ko ang dagat pero nas'an ka.
At kahit na anong tingin sa papawirin, wala ka
wala ka pa rin
Kahit anong aking gawin ay sisikapin
Nais ko lang ikaw ay aking makapiling
Koro 2
Nandyan ka lang pala, laging kasama
Nandyan ka lang pala, hindi nagiisa
Ang layo ng tanaw, nandyan ka lang pala
nandyan ka lang pala, hindi mawawala.
Angkinin ako Hesus, ako’y sa’yo
Ayoko ko na sa mundong kay gulo.
Angkinin mo nako Hesus, tayo na!
At ang pangako koy wala na ngang iba.
Verse 2
Sa bahay ng Ama ako’y nagtungo;
Tiyak na naroon ka sa mga pagsamba.
Sa mga awiting nakakaligaya;
sa tunog at saliw ng gitara.
At sa aking pag-iisa at panalangin
Dito sa puso’t kalul’wa Ika’y nakapiling.
(Repeat Koro 2)

Koda
Kahit anong gawin ay sisikapin;
Nais ko lang ikaw ay laging makapiling.
Sa pag-iisa at panalangin
Dito sa puso ko't kalul’wa Ika'y makapiling.

GREAT@78 BUC@HEAVEN'S GATE

BACLARAN UNIDA CHURCH celebrated it’s 78th Year last Sunday, January 10th with a Thanksgiving Morning Worship and capping it with a Choir Concert at night. And there was a parade around the community on the morning of January 9th to boot.
BUC is at the center of Barangay Baclaran and had its roots when it was still a fishing village with a beach called “aplaya” in the vernacular. Fishing boats were aplenty then and every child then could swim like a fish. At night the sweet smell of dama de noche permeates as the fishermen go out to sea with their fishing nets and lamps in tow.
They were simple folks but their faith in God is big enough for their “kapilya” to be still be alive and kicking after almost eight decades.
BUC can be seen in video at its YouTube Channel www.youtube.com/PastorGalying and at its blogsite at http://www.bagongunida.blogspot.com. Its Sunday Sermons and the like are posted at www.churchcloud.com/ieudc/Sermons.

ELI DURING SUNDAY SCHOOL NIGHT

Remember Lance Malachi nicknamed Eli, who in November 8th 2007 was operated on at the Philippine Heart Center? He had inverted red and blue arteries and when only two weeks old we prayed for him when he had that surgery.

Well, he is now two years old and just how great God's love is can be seen in this video of Eli dancing with others kids of Mambo no.5.

Take a look at him also as a child actor in our Teleplay "Salvacion" that can be viewed below.

"SALVACION" BUC's CHRISTMAS PRESENTATION

Salvacion - Part 1 (Christmas Church Presentation) from Lance Filio on Vimeo.

Yes, we have done it. We have produced a Teleplay. See it here. It took some doing but we did it. This is for God alone.

BUC CELEBRATES CHRISTMAS WITH "SALVACION"

We have done it! We are now in post production of our teleplay titled "SALVACION". It will be shown on December 24th with the live concluding part. See you on that night! Our storytelling scince December 16 is going on nightly featuring our group "TROUBADOURS OF CHRIST."

SALVACION: BUC's 10-day Celebration of cChristmas 2009

CHRISTMAS 2009 will be a grand and different celebration at Baclaran Unida Church – it will run for ten days. From December 16 up to December 25, 2009 BUC will literally glow with the spirit of Advent. The theme will run through one Spanish word: S A L V A C I ON and it will be storytelling time from the start of Simbang Gabi. Storytelling of the Christmas Story in songs, prose and dance.

Christmas is a celebration of God’s Love. In the beginning was the Word and He created the whole universe making man as the center of all His creations. Why did it become necessary that God has to give His only begotten son so that Salvation may come? If it be our wish to know of this, we must go back to the beginning and hear the whole story from day one like a Christmas Teleserye.

December 16, Mierkules - Tesalonica at Young Adults “Ang Pasimula at Paglikha”
Patnugot: Michelle Vizcarra Storyteller: Abi David
December 17, Huwebes - Efeso at Kalalakihan “Si Rahab at ang 2 Espiya”
Patnugot: Arnold Limpin Storyteller: Billy Limpin
December 18, Biernes – Antioch at Kabataan - “Bakit Bethlehem?” (Boaz, Ruth at Noemi)
Patnugot: Elba David Storyteller: Asher Pascua
December 19, Sabado – Colosas at Kababaihan “Si Samuel, David, at Goliath”
Patnugot: Baby Padilla Storyteller: Ira David
December 20, Linggo – Filipos at Koro “Juan Bautista, Elizabeth at Zacarias”
Patnugot: Mecce Espiritu Storyteller: Nash Limpin
December 21, Lunes – Galacia at Mga Diakonisa “Si Jose, ang kaniyang lahi, at ang Anghel”
Patnugot: Pining Bederico Storyteller: Genesis Luz
December 22, Martes – Corinto at Mga Elders “Si Maria, ang tala, at ang Tatlong Hari”
Patnugot: Miriam Pascua Storyteller: JP Manuel
December 23, Mierkules – Sunday School “Nang Gabing Isilang si Jesus”
December 24, Huwebes
On Christmas Eve, it is traditional for the church to stage a Christmas Drama. But this year, we are going to go beyond this. We are going to shoot a video teleplay entitled, you guessed it, “SALVACION” and show it that night, plus of course live singing of Christmas Carols. Different and yet not that different.

The bad news is that the script had to be written for the storytellers and the drama of December 16-25. It is truly a daunting task! But the good news is that I have finished writing the script for the storytelling and drama and Lance and Nikki will direct the whole thing. And it only took three days to write. We have started rehearsals and are scheduled to shoot the whole day of November 28 in different locations. Reshoot and post-production will follow.

One of the things that bothered me is the fact that churches celebrates Christmas with dramas and thanksgiving worship on the eve of his birth. Yet on the very day of his birth the churches are closed. But not in Baclaran because we have a Happy Birthday Jesus Worship on Christmas Day, December 25 every year.

December 25, Biernes – Happy Birthday Jesus Christmas Worship
Patnugot: Pred. Irvin Rebucas Tagpagsalita: Rev. G.B. Filio
Ang Koro ay aawit ng dalawang Christmas Hymns
Pastoral Family Singers will sing. Offertory: Marigold dela Cruz
There will be singing groups and solo singers
We will come out with a DVD of the whole activity and we are sorry we cannot put it in our youtube channel because it will be too long. MERRY CHRISTMAS.

TYPHOON "ONDOY" POURED UNPRECEDENTED RAIN AND FLOOD

WHEN DISASTER STRIKES,
EVERYONE is caught unawares and totally surprised. “This can’t be happening. It has never happened before.”

This came out of our lips when Typhoon Ondoy poured rain water equivalent according to PAG-ASA to one month of rain. And it surely felt that way Saturday when the street in front of our house flooded in the wink of an eye. Looking out to where the sea was, we saw Roxas Boulevard under water and the water flowing into our direction instead of out to sea.

We went into the rain to assess the situation forgetting that I had my cell phone in my pocket. It conked out. Then I saw in the intersecting street my son Bengene in his small car trying to turn left into our house but by then the street was under water so I signaled him to back up. But because of the rain, he can’t see his rear so I went to him and guided him going backward to park in front of Ate Pet’s house.

I went back and saw our street flooded and the drainage clogged. I reached down and found a wet rug blocking it. I forced it out. Flood water came rushing down, with all the plastic bags, lots of them. I told one of the guys to guard the plastics from blocking the water.

Then I realized that if our street is flooded what about those places that are flooded when we are not? We thought about the house where our grandson Eli stays. We were informed that the front of house is already under water.

A day after we learned the extent of the disaster and another day later we are seeing the full gloomy news. Flood went into Gagalangin Unida Church, Tipas is under water and will stay so for a week or perhaps a month, Tipas Unida Church is surrounded by water and worshippers will have to go by banca to worship, and we received the news that our Pastor Rainier was rescued from the roof of their house. A lot of cars and vans were submerged in water.

Government agencies are busy rescuing people and feeding and curing those in evacuation centers. It will take a lot of time before we recover from this disaster.