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Photo: Rey de Paz

THE PHILIPPINE COMMUNITY IN BERLIN

That the Filipino Community has its roots in Heilig-Geist Kirche (Bayernallee 28, Charlottenburg) could be taken as a fascinating turn of events. That the moving force which convinced the top SVD directors in Rome to put a Filipino chaplain in the community was the spiritual answer to the Pink Sisters' perpetual prayers!

Fact and interpretation
What, after all, is a fact? The word is usually used with great confidence and without reflection, as if its meaning were obvious. But so-called facts are not that simple. When, for example, an earthquake happens we can certainly call it a fact. The "fact" of an erthquake is fairly clear. It can be described in straightforward terms. And yet such description already contains more than a fair amount of interpretation: correctly and supposedly. The recovery of the course of events always involves interpretation from the very start. And which interpretation will triumph in the end? Who is the authoritative interpreter? Join us in tracing the 30 years of the Philippine Community in Berlin.

   Pater Gene Bacareza, a Bol-anon, was then in 1986 the first chaplain of the small Philippine community. Organizing several religious and civic clubs, establishing community events, and starting the first community newsletter, Pater Bacareza slowly developed the community as a center where Filipinos in Berlin can congregate and hold celebrations. He stayed on in Berlin until 1996 when his good friend, Pater Erasio Flores, took over his pastoral tasks.

   Pater Erasio Flores encouraged the members of the community to develop further their talents in music and leadership. He inspired them to maintain their most important role in Germany as the modern-day missionaries. With another mission awaiting Pater Flores in the Philippines, he left Berlin in July 2004.

   The dynamic young priest, Pater Adonis Narcelles, Jr., became the third community chaplain. In his first few months engagement, the community experienced first-timer events. The Basic Bible Seminar were inspired by his spontaneous thematic opened discussions. His photos of the Philippine landscapes during the Philippine Week were breath-taking. His series of cultural shows was a success: the pantomine of the SVD missionaries who were the first to arrive in the

Philippines, the advent retreat which enlightened the first ten attendees while in silence, and the rivival of Simbang Gabi.

On this fately year, 2011, Fr. Bacareza passed away on an Easter Sunday, April 24, then after a month Fr. Flores and later in July Fr. Adonis. Strange in a way, they all succumbed to cancer. In 05. August, Fr. Simon Boiser SVD, took over the pastoral duty as the chaplain of the Philippine Community in Berlin.

With Fr. Simon Boiser as our mentor, 2012 ushered the revival of the Migrant newsletter which was stopped in December 2005. With regrets, on November 10, 2013 the Philippine Community in Berlin had to say goodbye to Fr. Boiser who has been chosen by his SVD superiors to head the Philippine community in Hamburg. An informal turnover rite coincided on the occasion of the Philippine Community Foundation Day with members of the Philippine Community bidding farewell to Fr. Simon Boiser and welcoming the new chaplain, Fr. Jun de Ocampo from Pangasinan. The community has witnessed the comings and goings of many chaplains. We are pretty much sure that Fr. Jun will certainly become a beloved chaplain in the community just like his predecessors.

WHY THE "FILIPINOS-IN-BERLIN" WEBSITE?
Redefining Community ...

The popularity of the "Filipinos-in-Berlin" website among readers worldwide can be attributed to its unique character. It is the only website that offers inside news and local Informations about the Filipino Community in the heart of Berlin, the superlative metropolitan not only in Germany but also in Europe. Its local contents, made available to the global readers, help build a sense of community that extends beyond space and time.
Community is not anymore limited to groups of people of similar interests within the same locale. Community, defined in our mission, is about connecting people through multicultural

gatherings or events (Asian Week) and the laity's role and life, interacting with each other beyond physical and gigabytes barriers.
To promote further this new definition of community, we introduce constant innovations and dynamic updates to reach out our interested readers and sponsors. With the bulk of electronic data available on our website, we see it fit to demarcate our contents not only on geographical terms but also through distinctions between what are facts or merely opinions.
The "Filipinos-in-Berlin" website is eventually about people. It contains

sections representing various interests: Reflection, People, Migration, e-newsletter, Sports, Pilgrimage, Travels, Music, Talent, and even Video. It encourages interactivities not limited to the posting of reactions of our articles. First of its kind, Jingky Lozano-Kühne and Maria Renee Juan-Wolff, both Filipino scholars, have written a comprehensive 91-page orientation booklet to guide kababayans during their stay in Germany. download booklet.

This homepage is simply about putting virtual communities and individuals elsewhere closer.

Alan Valdez
Editor, The Migrant Newsletter (2002-2018)
Webmaster, filipinos-in-berlin.de (2006-2018)