Church Partners with Catholic Church, UCCP in Interfaith Community Seminar

Leaders and volunteers of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints joined in an Interfaith Community Seminar on July 24, 2021, in Barangay (Village) Kasambagan, Cebu. The seminar is the first step of the Interfaith Advocacy and Education Campaign (IAEC) in rehabilitating and reviving the 9.1-kilometer Mahiga River in the Cebu province. 

In July 2020, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) partnered with 28 private companies and local government units in Cebu to clean up Mahiga River under its “Adopt-an-Estero/Waterbody” Program. The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cebu was tasked to handle the IAEC efforts of this movement. 

With a shared belief in being responsible environmental stewards, the Church partnered with the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cebu, and the United Church of Christ of the Philippines (UCCP) to educate the community about the problems and the effects of environmental injustices. 

The recent seminar was aimed to “encourage people to act, participate, innovate, and solve the environmental issues in their own community and most importantly, to teach them to love and care for God’s creation.” 

Father Murphy P. Sarsonas, Chair of the Cebu Archdiocesan Commission on Environmental Concern (CACEC), shared the importance of personal accountability. He said, “We are stewards of God’s creation and thus we have the responsibility to care for our environment.” 

Reverend Raymundo Pineda Gelloagan, UCCP Community Ministries – Cebu Chairperson, also emphasized that the way we treated the environment reflected our gratitude towards God. He shared, “Ang pagpanglimpyo sa atong palibot usa ka responsibilidad matag tagsa kanato ug nagpaila sa atong pagpasalamat sa gasa sa Ginoo kanato. (Cleaning our environment is a personal responsibility we all have, and this tells a lot about how grateful we are for the gift God has given us.)” 

Following the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) guidelines and local health protocols, the seminar accommodated only 40 people from the barangay plus Church volunteers. Proper health measures were also observed during the entire event. 

Also present during the seminar were Engineer Kuo G. Sarong, DENR - Environmental Management Bureau representative; and, Babette S. Gucor, Interreligious Dialogue Visayas Focolare Movement Head.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints believes that all humankind are stewards over the earth and should gratefully use what God has given, avoid wasting life and resources, and use the bounty of the earth to care for the poor and the needy.