STATEMENT OF SOLIDARITY: STOP THE ATTACKS!

SCSDC UCWO
United Church Workers Organization

26 “Nevertheless, they were disobedient and rebelled against you and cast your law behind their backs and killed your prophets, who had warned them in order to turn them back to you, and they committed great blasphemies. 27 Therefore you gave them into the hands of their enemies, who made them suffer. Then in the time of their suffering they cried out to you, and you heard them from heaven, and according to your great mercies you gave them saviors who saved them from the hands of their enemies. Nehemiah 9:26-27

During the time of Prophet Nehemiah, the entire people of Israel gathered to confess their sins and the crimes of their forefathers. The Israelites stood in their place and read from the book of the Lord’s law as they confessed and honored the Lord their God.

As the national assembly continues, Ezra recounts how the Lord liberates the people, beginning with their exodus experience and ending with the sins they have done. God continues to show kindness to the people of Israel, despite their recurrent rebellion. It is clearly stated that they were disobedient, rebellious, blaspheming, and, worst of all, killing the prophets who had warned them to return to the Lord.

What is happening now is almost identical to what Prophet Nehemiah experienced. The attacks on our church workers, including Rev. Jay Sichon and all those committed to their prophetic witness, are an act of abandonment of God’s mission—God, who created the heavens and the earth, who saw the distress of the Israelites while they were captives and heard their cry at the Red Sea.

When Ezra said that those who disobeyed and rebelled against God’s will were the ones who killed the prophets, it was like the recent posts made by an enemy deceiving everyone about our mission and commitment to the God who is great, mighty, and awesome. The risks they are now putting on our shoulders are reason enough not to listen to these individuals.

The perpetrators of these atrocities are those who have failed to do what the Lord expects of us—act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with your God (Micah 6:8). Putting our church personnel in danger through unfounded charges puts our entire churches atrisk. They are tearing apart our togetherness and integrity. As a result, it is our solid witness as a church to defend our church workers, who are selflessly serving the least, last, and lost in the community, as they act as the prophet in our time.

This red-tagging on Rev. Jay Sichon and other church workers is a proof that they are faithfully carrying-out God’s prophetic ministry. This is why we need to take a stand against these attacks which endanger our churches and church workers in their local church assignments. We strongly condemn these attacks on Rev. Jay Sichon and our other church workers.

In our Lord’s infinite kindness, let us continue to pray for church unity and strength for today’s prophets. Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might (Ephesians 6:10).

Reference:

CL. RENJELYN MENTAL
UCWO President, SCSDC

REV. AMY O. RAFALEZ
Conference Minister, SCSDC