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By Ruelle Alberto

BERLIN, Germany – IT TAKES some migrants here three rides to the Holy Ghost Church wake up their Filipino spirit.

One of them is 65 year-old Filipina Ludivina Kielgas, who tugs at her coat during the 15-minute wait for her first ride, a bus.

She glances at the direction of the nearby Catholic church, which grew smaller as her bus pulled toward the train station.

From there, another train would take her to the southern side of Berlin (Lankwitz) to the Heilig Geist Kirche (Holy Ghost Church) in the West-end district.

She nevertheless prefers the half-hour travel every Sunday than the five-minute walk to a church near her home.

For Keilgas, there is a big difference in attending the mass in the much farther church, since there are more Filipinos in Holy Ghost.

“Nakakataba ng puso pag nakapunta ka, kaya kahit malayo eh talagang nag-e-effort ako na pumunta [It’s heart-warming to be there, it’s worth the trip.],” said Kielgas whose stay in Germany has spanned over two decades since working here in the late seventies. She’s married to a German national.

Just as how religion has played a role in the life of most Filipinos in the predominantly Catholic Philippines since the olden days, this value is also weaving its magic in the predominantly protestant city.

Berlin has an estimated 3.4 million inhabitants of which 872 are Filipinos as of end-2008, statistics from the German Federal Republic says.

Most of them are in the medical sector or work as support staff to many embassies in Berlin. With such a small number, it is natural for them to feel marginalized and lead them to find association in a group where they can find a sense of family.

Filipinos in Berlin found this through religion, symbolized by Heilig Geist Kirche.

Fondly called Bayernallee by parishioners, the Holy Ghost parish started with the wish of a group of women to have a Filipino-officiated church in Berlin.

A Berlin-based Filipino Pink Sister nun and a local priest delegated the task of establishing the church to the Missionary of the Divine Word that has been running Bayernallee since 1982.

But time brings with it change, and soon the church, which was initially established to address spiritual needs of churchgoers alone, has formed an organizational network that sought to address the parishioners’ temporal needs.

On a typical day, people would come to Bayernallee for the regular Sunday service, held in German, English, and Filipino languages.

Beginnings
BAYERNALLEE community leader Toss Libunao said that in a typical Sunday service, attendees would be estimated at a hundred or so, but would soon swell at times of religious importance like Christmas.

Libunao, whose stay in Berlin would now run to a decade, says the deeply embedded value of religion is one thing that kept Filipinos like him to go to church.

“I think it’s because Filipinos are generally religious, so when we go to one place, we first look for the church,” he said.

Working as a driver for the Jamaican embassy, Libunao first arrived in Berlin in early 2000 when the embassy transferred from Bonn, which was then the transitional capital of the unified German Federal Republic. Prior to the re-unification of East and West Germany, Bonn was also temporary capital of the Allied-occupied Germany.

And now nearly ten years and counting, Libunao has continued to be visible in the church activities.

But compared to how church activities are defined in a regular church service, the Sunday service in Bayernallee also highlights the Filipino sense of community at its best.

After the mass, people do not simply go straight home but stay for an hour or two to join a small gathering where food is served, while others catch up with friends who may not have attended the service a week ago or so.

“Before, it was just an informal arrangement among us to bring the food that we can eat after the mass But it has now become a tradition,” noted Julie Schulz who was among those who petitioned the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Manila (RCAM) for a Filipino priest that will hold service in Berlin.

In some occasion where a big celebration is being observed in city or the whole of Germany, the parish under would hold a complimentary activity which parishioners excitedly participate in.

“This is the chance for you to be your kababayans [compatriots], so we really take time to join,” said Tess Geralve, another parishioner and member of the religious group Couples for Christ (CFC).

“In my case, I found this place to have a Filipino community which we do not have in Bonn,” said Libunao.
Libunao added he hasn’t found something similar in Bonn.

“Dun simba-simba lang kami, may Catholic Church din dun, pero pagkatapos uwi kami. Hindi mo makikita itong nagkakasama pagkatapos ng misa [There we only attend mass and then go home. You can’t see anything like this where people get together after the service],” he said noting the comaraderie created by the weekly get together.

“Parang isang pamilya lang [It’s like one family],” he added.

Advocacy
MORE than a simple community, Bayernalle has also served to be a center of advocacy for the welfare of overseas Filipinos.

“Mahirap paghiwalayin ang religion at social life [It’s hard to separate religion from social life],” said Fr. Adonis Narcelles arguing that the church is also a community of people.

Based on the list of the Philippine Embassy, registered Filipino groups in Berlin run around 20, most of them affiliated with Bayernalle; but not all of them religious-oriented.

Fr. Narcelles said this non-religious group serves as the arm of the church in its role of looking after the welfare of its parishioners.

These groups hold activities promoting the Filipino culture and welfare, usually at the four-storey compound of Bayernallee.

In a particular project, Bayernallee provides the venue to promote and introduce Filipino customs and language to third generation Filipino-Germans, as well as German nationals who want to learn the Filipino language.

Seminars on new laws affecting migrants and other fora are also held in Bayernallee.

“Hindi lang naman kasi sa loob ng chapel ang papel ng simbahan [The Church’s role isn’t confined inside the chapel.],” Narcelles said.

Narcelles said that through the years, Bayernallee has served as a link for Filipinos to come together, especially for those who are distressed.

One particular incident, Narcelles recalls was when he found two Filipino women waiting for him outside the church.

“They said they ran away from their employers and came to Bayernallee seeking help,” he added.

The Filipino women had since found new jobs and have continued to stay in Berlin.

Narcelles pegs the “actual” number of Filipinos in Berlin at 2,000, more than double the official estimate by Germany.

Narcelles expressed belief that while some Filipinos may not admit they are undocumented, they interact openly with compatriots at Bayernallee.

With over 25 years of existence tucked under its belt, the community continues to animate the spirit of Filipinos here.

It only takes three rides.