Filipinos in Berlin

BERLINEWS
Community Pulse and Spectrum
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    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!

       Pater Gene Bacareza, a Boholano, 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 Philippinepine Week were breath-taking and his series of cultural shows was a success like the pantomine of the SVD missionaries who were the first to arrive in the Philippines. The advent retreat enlightened the first ten attendees while in silence and the Simbang Gabi revived a Filipino tradition.

       The turn of time, 25 years of community service, has laterally and collectively enhanced the Filipino Community, like a ship that has survived through cultural crisis and troubled waters, fit again to brave the coming new year.
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 events, e.g. the Asian Week, 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, Poems, People, Sports, Pilgrimage, Health Care, Music, Talent, and even Jokes. It encourages interactivities not limited to the posting of reactions of our articles. People in the community or elsewhere can share their opinions, ideas or Literatures, like Wolfgang Bethge, by posting them in the "Filipinos-in-Berlin" website.

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


    alan valdez