Consecration of First Anglican Asian Bishop in Latin America

Archdeacon Raphael Samuel was formally consecrated as the Diocesan Bishop of Bolivia at a Sunday morning service of the eucharist  at Cristo Luz Del Mundo (Light of the World). The Presiding Bishop of the Southern Cone of the Americas, the Rt Rev Hector  “Tito” together with the Bishops from Peru, Uruguay and Paraguay led in the consecration of the new Bishop of Bolivia.   Bishop Raphael succeeds Bishop Frank Lyons who left the diocese of Bolivia last year to serve in the Diocese of Pittsburgh

The election of Archdeacon Raphael Samuel as the Bishop of Bolivia represents a landmark in church missions in that he is the first Asian missionary to be consecrated Bishop in the Spanish speaking Anglican world.

Bishop Raphael Samuel, is a Singapore clergyman sent by the Diocese of Singapore to serve in Bolivia. He and his wife, Michelle, are the longest-serving missionaries in the Bolivian Anglican Church.

Raphael, a Singaporean Tamil, was born in January 16^th 1957. He was raised in a traditional Anglican parish and received Christ when he was a teenager. He hails from several generations of Anglicans and was educated in a Methodist school. After formal studies, he joined the Singapore Navy in 1974, after which he responded to the Lord’s call to serve in the Anglican Church in 1980.  At this juncture, a life-changing experience of the Holy Spirit, left a deep and lasting impression on his life.  As part of his preparation for full-time ministry, he studied theology for 4 years at Trinity Theological College, where he and Michelle met.  The communal setting at St Peter’s Hall, an Anglican institute for ministerial training in the campus at Trinity, served as an integral part of his formation as a priest in the Anglican Church.        

In 1991, the national director of Bolivian Church, Rev Greg Blaxland, visited Singapore with a view to raise missionary candidates for the work in Bolivia. At a meeting with the Singaporean clergy, he shared the need for ordained pastors to serve as missionaries in Bolivia.

Raphael, a pastor of a congregation, had already considered the possibility of serving in Latin America prior to Greg’s visit to Singapore.  A few years earlier, SAMS Australia’s General Secretary, Rev Ted Newing had counseled him to pray and wait for the Lord’s timing. The invitation from Bolivia came as a confirmation of God´s calling to serve in Latin America. Bishop Moses Tay, the former bishop of Singapore, played an active role in forging links between the diocese of Singapore and the work in Bolivia.  

Raphael, Michelle and their 3-year old son, Elijah, arrived in Bolivia in January 4^th 1993. He and Michelle spent 6 months studying Spanish and the intricacies of cross cultural work at the Maryknoll Language Institute in Cochabamba, Bolivia. Since then, Raphael, has worked actively in the Bolivian diocese on several levels. He served as pastor of a congregation in Santa Cruz, and as Archdeacon of the diocese; has helped the Bolivian church acquire diocesan status, started new works; raised leaders, and assisted local clergy to assume the leadership of the congregations. Raphael completed his Masters in Theology in Spanish in 2010 and is working on further post graduate studies in the area of family counseling.      

His wife, Michelle, is actively involved in various ministries in the church, especially in the area of worship and the creative arts. Their son, Elijah, is due to graduate from a university in Singapore this year.

       

A CLASSIC!

Here's a photo of my son, Elijah, with his friends, David, Rachel, and Ale (pronounced "aalae").

We were at a  picnic in Santa Cruz, Bolivia when this photo was taken several years ago.

Elijah was barely 5 years  old when this photo was taken. He is now 22. David, Ale and Rachel are studying in the US and Elijah in Singapore.

Will they ever get back together for a reunion?

TO GO BOLDLY...

A missionary would not feel out of place on the starship, Enterprise. The crew of the enterprise led by captain James T. Kirk, were sent to observe and learn about the different life forms in other planets. Too a certain extent missionaries also observe and sttudy the cultures of the people they serve.

 Developing a feeling for the different personalities in the team commanded by Kirk was a key feature in the science fiction TV series Star Trek in the 60's. Kirk, together with "Spock" (L. Nimoy), his vulcan science officer,  "Bones" (De Forrest Kelly), the ship's doctor, "Scotty", the ships engineer, were some of the main characters of  the show.

Star Trek ran for only 3 seasons  before it was cancelled. My appreciation for Star Trek grew over a period of time as I slowly worked through all the episodes from the 3 seasons in Bolivia. Many of the episodes were absolute gems. Some were tolerable and the rest were above average.

Although the TV series came to an end, the mythology of the show lived on through re-runs, conventions and numerous requests for a movie and the return of the show. Studio moguls and producers must have seen the commercial value of a remake of the series. Star Trek was then brought to life in the 80s and 90's through a host of movies. A new TV series Star Trek: The New Generation also got off the ground. Before long, other spin-offs, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enteprise more than kept the Star Trek franchise  alive.

Many of the episodes from these spin-offs were superior to the episodes from the original Star Trek and the The New Generation.  Recently, a new run of movies chronicling the adventures of the young captain Kirk has made its way to the big screen!

Episodes from the original series opened with the hypnotic words (you tube clip in this post) of Kirk:

 Space..the last frontier...these are the voyages of the star ship Enterprise, its 5 year mission: to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no man has gone before. 

And missionaries boldly go where no man has gone before! 

FROM 2010 TO 2012

In 3 months, 2011 will make way for 2012. "Time" as the saying goes, waits for no man. Much has happened since we returned to Bolivia in December 2009.

INCULTURATION AGAIN

Michelle and I had to re-inculturate ourselves in Bolivia after two and half years in Singapore (We were in Singapore helping our son to cope with his 2 year national service obligations. During this period Raphael was assigned to work at Christ Church  parish - Diocese of Singapore).  We put aside our Singapore conditioning as we set up home once again in Santa Cruz, Bolivia. It was and is not easy. Inculturation is a process. We are moving forward step by step as we find our bearings in the new situation we're in. Bolivia as well as the Diocese have gone through profound changes during our stint in Singapore. Our Bolivian colleagues and friends went through definitive life changing experiences without us. And this is a good thing although we need to rebuild our rapport with them!

The Bolivia of 2006 was not the Bolivia of 2010. A new constitution was put in place by the President and the constitutional assembly. We had read about this fundamental change in the Bolivian political landscape during our stint in Singapore. And now we were a part of this grand experiment in nation building. Bolivia  according to the new constitution is the Plurinational State of Bolivia (Estado Plurinacional de Bolivia). The  constitutional provisions include autonomous rights to the various indigenous groups within the framework of a centralized national entity.      

The growth in the Bolivian diocese, a blessing, has at the same time exposed our vulnerabilities: lack of trained leaders, finances, ecclesiastical structures etc.  This of course is stark contrast to the Spore diocese (which is sometimes characterized as a a well oiled machine). Working in a context where the rules and boundaries are not clearly defined is a challenge which requires lots of patience.

 BUILDING LEADERS

At the beginning of the 2010, the churches in Santa Cruz organised a successful diocesan youth camp. Participation from all the churches in the Diocese helped to contribute to the success of the camp. Michelle played a key role in the organization of the camp. The theme was seizing the kingdom.

The churches we had started and helped to build in Santa Cruz, before our move to Singapore in 2006,  learned to move on without our guidance. This was a happy development. Missionaries hand over the work  to local leadership and move onto the next phase in church development i.e leadership training and improving the quality of the churches programs. Since returning to Bolivia, I has been focusing on leadership development. I ran an intermediate course on homiletics for lay preachers. I regularly mentor pastors and meet up regularly with the leadership teams of the churches. I am currently training six couples to run a marriage enrichment program and disciple teachers in the children ministry.  Michelle continues to work in the area of the creative arts and her latest efforts in bringing banners and flags have brought lots of excitement and enthusiasm.

Michelle and I, by God's grace are the longest serving missionaries in the Bolivian Anglican Church. We've come a long way. At times discouragement sets in but we continue to trust Him in our journey to the New Jerusalem. Praise the Lord!

2012 promises to be an eventful year.  My the Lord grant us the grace to move in his plan and purposes!

Keep in touch!!

BOLIVIA WIN IN SINGAPORE

STORY OF 2010!

The Bolivian under 15 soccer team won a gold medal at the youth olympic games in Singapore!

I've always dreamed of Bolivia catching the eye of Singaporeans, a noteworthy feat worthy of accolades. And the YOG provided the platform to make concrete a personal dream. The Bolivians were awesome. They steamrolled over their opponents, including the Haitian team in the final. A Bolivian vs Singapore final was a mouth watering possibility that never materialized.

The sight of the Bolivian team singing the national anthem as the Bolivian flag was slowly raised in Singapore, was especially moving. Bolivia, my adopted homeland was triumphant in Singapore, land of my birth.

Is It Worth It?

Do national security concerns justify injury and death during national service? 

Last year a young Singaporean died during national service. He was not the first, nor will he be the last. As a parent whose son was also doing his national service, the death of this 19 year old youngster made me sit up and think about the cost of  NS.  


My son survived his NS obligations. But other parents have had to deal with the pain of losing their sons during National Service. Our sons benefit from NS. This is true, but do the benefits outweigh the dangers posed by the training and the loss of 2 years in the life of a young man? Perhaps not. And shame on us, if we shrug our shoulders and heave a sigh of relief that it wasnt our son who died. 

NS poses some tough questions. I dont know if I have all the answers but I see no harm in scaling down the training to one year. This reduction in NS will help minimize the risk of fatalities and provide our sons with more time to get ahead in their studies and career projections. No, I am not against NS but there are benefits of reducing the present 2 year commitment.    


The death of a national serviceman last year forced me to put my thoughts in a post last year.  The piece came from my gut. I chose however keep it as a draft and to not post it. A year has passed. There's greater sense of peace to have it posted on this blog. So here it is. Better late than never:    



Another NS man dies after training!

No, he was not a man. 19 year olds are not men. They are teenagers, mere boys, still kids in some families.

And there is no honor  in losing one's life, especially when one is still a teenager.
 
The arguments for NS sound patriotic and right. None of them however justify the death of a 19 year old boy. There should be a zero casualty rate in training. Parents entrust their sons to the SAF for two years with the hope that no harm will befall their sons. 

Death during NS is a tragedy. There is no silver lining for those who grieve the loss of their loved ones. 


The boy's name is Liam Kai Zheng. And yes, he was a boy - only 19 years old! Kai Zheng is not a number on a form but a teenager  whole life was extinguished. His parents will not celebrate his 21st birthday nor will they attend his wedding. Forget about the grandchildren. We mourn for Kai Zheng. He was one of us. A part of the wider Singapore family. He died for the sake of our security needs. Does national security require our sons to face the dangers and demands of military training for 2 years? 

Do they give their lives in order for us to feel secure? It might seem obvious for those whose sons either escaped unscathed during NS or whose call up for NS is still due. Its different for those who've lost their sons during NS. Its easy to be cold and pragmatic until we lose one of our own. 

My condolences to his family.

Here is an excerpt from the Straits Times May 23 2009,


After Mr Liam Kai Zheng, 19, got off the boat at the Singapore Armed Forces' ferry terminal in Changi, he was taken in an ambulance to the Changi General Hospital, where he died nine hours later on Friday morning.

Mr Liam had recently completed a four-day field camp before checking out of the Basic Military Training Centre in Pulau Tekong on Thursday night.

Bp NT Wright: NPP Protagonist

NEW PERSPECTIVE OF PAUL 

This post was inspiried after an exchange between blogpastor and myself over the merits and the demerits of the New Perspective of Paul on facebook. I refer to NT Wright because I am familiar with his writings and Wright represents the New Perspective of Paul (NPP).

Wright's view of Justification is covenantal, forensic and eschatological. "Faith" for Wright, not unlike circumcision, functions like a boundary marker which identifies gentiles as part of God's people. In Paul's historical context, a highly influential group believed that one had to be circumcised if one wanted to become a Christian. Paul opposed this view because he saw it as an intrusion which highlighted jewish ethnic nationalism at the expense of one's belief in Christ. Parts of Paul's letter to Romans and the letter to the Galatians gives creedence to Wright's emphasis.   

I sometimes think ... however that Wright unnecessarily gives emphasis to the the larger context of justification at the cost of the personal dimension of the justificiation which includes a person being declared righteous before a Holy God. Cant we have both? Paul was referring to a personal faith as a well as a faith which functioned as a boundary marker for God's people. A new believer's personal faith made him part of God's people without having to exhibit redundant Jewish religious beliefs  

I am all for a wider context of justification. My own understanding of justification has been enriched by the NPP but not at the expense of seeing faith as a personal belief. Wright is correct in saying that faith is a boundary marker but his view is deficient when he gives no space for faith as a personal belief. He tries to clarify himself elsewhere but you get the feeling he is trying to go beyond the old perspective. Hence the criticism that's levelled against him.

Here is an example of trying to integrate the old and new perspectives of Paul:

Romans 3:21-26 speaks of Christ's righteousness coming through faith. The faith described here refers to persona belief and a trusting relationship v. 22, 26. This is the old perspective. The NPP however go on to read Romans 3:27-31 as grounds for identifying faith as a new boundary marker for God's people which includes the gentiles v 28-30. The law/circumcision is viewed as a redundant boundary marker which only propagates a Jewish ethnicism which tries to make gentiles into Jewish proselytes. Romans 4 makes a lots of sense when read with the NPP lens. But the point is that the old perspective and the NPP is integrated when we marry Romans 3:21-26 with the Romans 3: 27-31.