EDSA and SLB (2010 Anniversary Message)

[simbahan...@gmail.com]

... we wish all of you - our friends, members, supporters and partners in mission - a grace-filled anniversary of the founding of SLB and of the beginning of the restoration of democracy for our country. Thank you for being the witnesses and workers of this Spirit that has made us who we are and what we are about.

EDSA and SLB (2010 Anniversary Message)

---

 

That the Simbahang Lingkod ng Bayan was born 24 years ago on February 25, has inevitably infused the spirit of EDSA into who we are and what we are about.

 

EDSA was about setting things right.  It was a restoration of things gone terribly wrong. And so every cause and campaign we have tried to advocate over the years - from supporting the iconic Sumilao Farmers, to speaking up against faulty government deals and standing up to environment pillagers with big backers – all this has been fuelled by this same spirit. It is the spirit that we sometimes call justice.

 

EDSA was people magnanimously coming together for something greater than themselves. It was people responding to a call of great and dire need. And such a response is what we have seen, time and time again, in every disaster relief operation that we have helped to manage or advocacy that we have helped to put forward. And no matter how many times it is repeated, it is unfailingly awe-inspiring and profoundly humanizing on every occasion.  Deep within us, something stirs when we see what crowds can do when they set their hearts and minds to work on something together.

 

EDSA was our dream for a better Philippines. This dream pushed us to do something about it. And this dream will continue to inspire every volunteer, every member and every worker of SLB to give generously for the realization of this dream.

 

EDSA was not the end, but the beginning. And this is why no matter how sometimes miniscule, repetitive, and seemingly insignificant our work is, today, we still say, that the good fight is on. And there are no signs of retreat. We tread small steps, but have come through vast distances.  We are learning. We are moving. We are doing.

 

And so, we wish all of you - our friends, members, supporters and partners in mission - a grace-filled anniversary of the founding of SLB and of the beginning of the restoration of democracy for our country. Thank you for being the witnesses and workers of this Spirit that has made us who we are and what we are about.

 

Perhaps the work we have done in the past 24 years may not have pushed the cause of justice in our nation that far.  However, we enjoin all our friends and partners to renew our commitment and continue to work towards this cause based on the hope that is kept alive by our faith in God and our love of neighbor.  Much lies before us, but not without hope and not without knowing that in what we hold true, there is reason to celebrate and much to inspire us forward.

 

 

 

Simbahang Lingkod ng Bayan

Manalangin. Manindigan. Makialam