On February 21, 2007, Christians from among the UP Diliman faculty gathered together for a landmark fellowship dinner at Balay Kalinaw UP. Perhaps not so much a landmark as a staging ground, a takeoff point… Eleven of the 49 Christian faculty members identified and invited were able to attend and five of the eight faculty members from DCBC, which makes for a promising start. There were 30 at the dinner fellowship counting a few faculty spouses and non-faculty DCBC supporters.

The event was held by DCBC to reach out to and gather brethren together from throughout the UP Diliman faculty and, no less significantly, from other Christian churches. Among these were Diliman Bible Church (DBC), Lighthouse Bible Baptist Church (LBBC), Victory Christian Fellowship (VCF), and Church of the Risen Lord (CRL).

It was a purpose-driven bread-breaking and, certainly, it goes on to serve a higher purpose.

DCBC Senior Pastor Dr. Isabelo Magalit gave the thoughtful keynote message.

“DCBC is hosting this dinner and this meeting because we believe that Christians on the UP faculty should have a united witness to Jesus,” Pastor Bel informed the gathering. “We offer some assistance as the Lord enables.”

Pastor Bel Magalit is convinced that, indeed, something should be done to “integrate the witness” (his words). “At the very least,” he told those present, “We want to put together a Directory of Christians on the UP Diliman Faculty to facilitate your communication with each other. What you want to do together you yourselves have to decide.”

DCBC Council Chairman and Elder Mon Rocha led the assembly in prayer. Elder Glen Ibañez kept things light as emcee. Choir director Ervin Lumauag was made responsible for inspiring with music and Elder Manny Portugal for enlivening with group dynamics. Deacon Armin Alforque was charged with putting the event together.

Deacon Armin felt moved to minister to the UP faculty in his small way through DCBC. His old friendships with faculty past and present from his days in UP High and college, and brief teaching stint at UP Cebu, are his personal motives. A higher impetus derives from his having come to Christ in UP, incipiently through the UP Law Christian Fellowship, fully with DCBC.

DCBC has long ministered to the student population through its Sunset service and the Dormitory Christian Fellowship (DCF), also by keeping close ties with Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship (IVCF), among other Christian campus orgs. It has boldly expanded its ministry to the UP residential communities through its Tagalog service. There are UP faculty who are active members of the DCBC congregation. But Deacon Armin felt led for DCBC to initiate and maintain ministries focusing on faculty.

“The quality of a university such as UP is determined by its faculty, never the other way around,” he says. “Faculty has its own needs and pressures, quite apart from the student body, or other campus communities.”

Christian faculty, and UP Christian faculty in particular, has it own special concerns. These special needs and issues were brought up in Pastor Bel’s discussion with the assembly at the February 21 fellowship dinner.

He gave the faculty members present some questions to think about.

“What is the purpose of the University, more specifically, of the University of the Philippines? Is it character formation, academic excellence, social responsibility, or all three? Is there a hierarchy of values? Do Christians have a peculiar contribution to the discussions? What is the meaning of ‘Academic Freedom’? Does such freedom enhance or limit the witness of a Christian on the faculty?”

He asked them to put to themselves some questions specific to a Christian who is also a university professor.

“Am I prohibited or discouraged from evangelizing my students or fellow faculty? May I use my classroom for preaching the gospel? If ‘value-free’ is a myth, to what extent may I incorporate Christian values into the curriculum, choice of teaching materials, or pedagogy?”

Not all the time though was spent in pondering weighty questions. This was a fellowship dinner for the good teachers of UP, brethren in the faith and profession. There was plenty of good food and conversation for all to enjoy.

UP faculty members who attended from DCBC were Gel Quiwa, Computer Science, College of Engineering, with wife Pilar, who herself has an MA from UP in Special Education; Miriam Alcantara, Department of Family Life and Child Development, College of Home Economics; Liddy Arcellana, English, College of Arts and Letters; Bee Dumelod, Food Science and Nutrition, College of Home Economics; Mark Zarco, Engineering Science, College of Engineering; and Bot Jocano, Anthropology, College of Social Sciences and Philosophy. Nam Ugaddan, former faculty member Department of Family Life and Child Development, was there with husband Santi.

Other UP Diliman faculty who attended were Mel Luna, Community Development, College of Social Work and Community Development; Vina Argayon, National Science Research Institute (College of Science affiliate); Aileen Espinosa-Cura, Voice and Music Theater/Dance, College of Music; Djanna Cornago, Food Science and Nutrition; Emil Flores, English; Norbert Que, Engineering Science; Jeena Marquez-Manaois, English; and Greg Vargas, School of Statistics.

Happily, two UP Pampanga faculty members were able to join the fellowship dinner, Juliet Mallari, Director, and Cynthia Suguitan. From DBC, Luci Magalit, Piano, College of Music, daughter to Pastor Bel was also there to lend her support with mother Lety Magalit.

The value and benefit of the February 21 fellowship dinner did not end with dessert. Already, there are several further plans. UP will be celebrating its centennial from June 2007 to June 2008, and Pastor Bel envisions also celebrating the Christian element in those one hundred years past.

A book project, “100 Years, 100 Lives,” has been conceived by Professor Mel Luna who is head of Ang Nagkakaisang Guro at Kawani ng UP (ANGKUP), a UP Christian faculty and staff org. This will be a compilation of one hundred testimonies from people who came to Christ in UP. The project took its first step with a brainstorming over coffee a few weeks after the fellowship dinner. At this seminal meeting were Professor Luna, Pastor Bel, Professor Liddy Arcellana, Armin Alforque, Dr. André Publico, Associate Dean of the College of Engineering, and representatives of various Christian student orgs.

There are Christian music concerts and a major academic debate between Christian and atheist in the exploration stage. No doubt, there will be another fellowship dinner somewhere down the line (with more invited faculty in attendance it is hoped).

Pastor Bel remains sure of the purpose. “In this citadel of learning called the University of the Philippines, rich in the wisdom of the world, we desire to lift Jesus up so He will draw all people to Himself. Our message of the cross is foolishness to the perishing but it is the power of God to save. Many of the learned reject it, just as Jews demanded miraculous signs and Greeks looked for wisdom. However, we preach Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.”

Indeed, may more believing professors be professing believers to the glory of God through the person of Christ Jesus in the minds they are helping mold.