Dap-ay ecumenical cross

Kilong Catholic Mission Youth Ministry (KCMYM) president Cliford Soria has introduced the celebration on Nov. 30, at the Kiltepan dap-ay.
Kiltepan stands for barangays Kilong, Tetep-an Norte, Tetep-an Sur, and Antadao. They are the four eastern barangays of Sagada.
Nov. 30 is a significant day since it is a holiday to recall a national hero, Andres Bonifacio. It is also the feast of St. Andrew, one of the apostles of Jesus, a hero of faith.
Nov. 30 is first Monday of Advent, the New Year of the Church calendar.
It is a beautiful day that marks another religious and spiritual aspect of our history especially among us here in Kiltepan and among church leaders. As we culminate the Year of Indigenous Peoples, the Year of Ecumenism, and the Year of Interreligious Dialogue, we conclude it with this event blessed by the Ultimate Author of beauty, unity, faith, life, and friendship.
We were gathered to join our prayers as Bishop Valentin Dimoc blessed the facet of material culture, the dap-ay and the sign of unity among churches, the “ecumenical cross.”
The rain, the wind, and the cold did not stop us celebrate in the midst of the pandemic. We thank each one for coming and we encourage each one to spread positivity through our different ways of doing creativity.
It is so lovely and inspirational to witness government officials, elders, and church leaders coming together to celebrate and to pray.
As the gospel narrates “How good and wonderful it is for brethren to live as one.” And your Son prayed profoundly, “That they may be one.”
The Kiltepan dap-ay and ecumenical cross are important elements of the Kiltepan Park. To have these elements be blessed by the Lord as markers to end the Year of Indigenous Peoples and the Year of Ecumenism is deep and rich in meaning.
The dap-ay symbolizes our culture as Igorots and the cross symbolizes our salvation, which Christians share in common. The ecumenical cross was inspired by the Jerusalem cross that has four small crosses and one big cross. The four small crosses symbolize the four gospels and the four eastern barangays and the biggest cross symbolizes Jesus. The five crosses symbolize the five salvific wounds of Jesus and beautifully the five clusters of Sagada namely; eastern Sagada, northern Sagada, central Sagada, southern Sagada, and south central Sagada. Let the culture and faith represented in the park realize the dialogue of faith and culture and the different Christian churches in Sagada to attain a higher good which is peace.
With the continuing providence of God, the Kiltepan Park will be fully completed. It will serve as a sacred place for people to rest their beloved dead coming home from far places for the Holy Mass or prayer service before burial. Since it is a sacred place, utmost respect must be observed. Equally, it is a beautiful place for people to rest and recreate, to ponder and to pray with nature. Any act of desecration on the park is desecration to our culture and faith.
It must be noted well that this beautiful project is a labor of cooperation and selfless service from different people and places. It is a project that displayed positivity through creativity in the midst of the pandemic especially initiated by the KCMYM. The youth are vulnerable sector of the community but if given the best opportunity to be formed, informed, and transformed, they will be the best agents of peace in our country and the most effective agents in nation building. The Kiltepan Park therefore is a living symbol of the youth as hope and agents of social transformation.
This is not just an infrastructure project. It is above all, a project of recreation, bonding, unity, and generosity. We own the project because we are all active participants in the making.
To all who had been sharing their time, treasure, and talent to realize this project that started solely from just a dream, we thank you so much and God bless you more.
Reach me at [email protected] or at 0908-727-6735.