A Ministry of Being With
The Life and Witness of Casilda Hofilena Edrial Luzares
When Casilda Hofilena Edrial Luzares walked into her classroom at Doshisha University in Kyoto, Japan, her students encountered more than an English professor—they met a mentor, a mother, and a witness to God’s boundless grace. For over two decades, this woman from the small Philippine Island of Negros Oriental quietly lived out a theology of presence, shaping hearts and minds not only through lectures, but through a ministry she described simply as “being with.” As a Mission Co-worker with global ministries for over 20 years for our Global partner Doshisha University we would like to remember Dr. Casilda life, legacy, and impact.
At seventeen, she married the Rev. Santiago C. Luzares, a United Church of Christ in the Philippines (UCCP) pastor. Together they raised four daughters—Lucille Lovaire, Eden Rose, June Anne, and Maria Sheila—while serving in ministry. Tragedy struck the Luzares family in 1977 when Santiago was killed in a traffic accident, leaving Casilda a widow at thirty with four young children. Casilda that grief brought her to prayer: “God, surely there is one person in this whole wide world that you can give to help me raise my children.” The answer she was seeking didn’t come through a person, but she states It came through a whisper that it has always been grace, “my grace is sufficient for you.”
Born on September 11, 1945, in the Visayas region of the Philippines, Casilda grew up in a home deeply rooted in faith. Her mother’s family were among the first Protestant converts in their community, while her father’s family remained devoutly Catholic. This interwoven background formed a worldview that was open, empathetic, and unafraid to bridge divides.
Called Beyond Borders
By the early 1980s, Dr. Casilda was a respected academic and Associate Dean at De La Salle University’s College of Liberal Arts—an exceptional role for a Protestant woman in a Catholic institution. Yet she felt a restlessness she could not ignore. “When God calls you,” she once said, “you will hear it—perhaps not immediately, but surely.”
Her call first led her to serve with the United Board for Christian Higher Education in Asia and then to Han Nam University in South Korea. But Japan—the country that would define her ministry—was not in her plans. Her grandparents had been killed by Japanese soldiers during the war. “Japan was never on my radar,” she admitted. “Until I realized this was the only door left open—and perhaps this was where God was leading me.”
In 1989, Dr. Casilda accepted an appointment through the United Church Board for World Ministries (now Global Ministries) to teach at Doshisha University, a Christian institution founded by theologian Joseph Neesima. “I knew how to teach,” she later reflected, “but I did not know how to be a missionary. For this, I had to rely on the leading of the Holy Spirit.”
In 2011 Dr. Casilda visited the National Office, we had the privilege to interview her and would like to remind everyone of her words of wisdom and grace.
A Theology of Presence
For 21 years, Dr. Casilda’s classroom became a sanctuary. She taught English, women’s issues, and biblical studies, weaving together faith, culture, and critical reflection. She also served at Doshisha’s Center for Christian Culture, reaching beyond academia to engage the wider public.
Her home became an extension of her ministry—a haven for students, migrant workers, and fellow Filipinos seeking belonging in a land where they often felt like outsiders.
“Mine was a ministry of being with, rather than one of doing,” she said. “I opened my house to provide opportunities to expand students’ awareness of social and political issues and to exercise self-expression and critical thinking skills.”
Dr. Casilda’s hospitality and empathy embodied the Gospel in daily life. She helped foster spiritual community among Filipino graduate students in Kyoto, offering worship, prayer, and fellowship. “In a land where foreigners find themselves always the stranger,” she wrote, “this was a time to worship in a familiar way, to laugh and eat familiar food—a time of homecoming.”
Her classes often changed lives. One student wrote after completing her Women in the Bible course:
“I stopped practicing Christianity because I thought the Bible was sexist and degrading to women. But in Casilda Luzares’ class, I learned to see the Bible in new light. She helped me find feminism in faith.”
Faith Tested, Faith Renewed
In 2005, after 28 years of widowhood, Casilda married the Rev. Dan Nebres, a retired minister of the United Church of Christ in Hawai‘i. She called his proposal “God’s sense of humor.” While praying on a subway about the decision, she remembered God’s promise—“My grace is sufficient for you”—and suddenly the word “Kairos!” flashed in her mind. “God’s perfect time,” she said.
Shortly after this subway ride Casilda emailed Dan saying, ” “I guess I will marry you. God has just told me.” God had given her a husband to enjoy retirement with, sadly the length of that time was not to be expected.
They retired to Bohol in the Philippines, hoping to continue serving through church and education. But soon after, Dan suffered a stroke and passed away. “This was not the scenario we planned,” she wrote. “I am still trying to listen to what God is saying to me this time around. Still listening.”
Even in loss, her faith remained unshaken. Her life verse, “Be still, and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10), became both prayer and testimony—a quiet confidence in God’s presence through every season.
A Legacy that Lives On
Dr. Casilda retired from Doshisha University in 2011 after 21 years of service, yet her influence continues to ripple across continents—from classrooms in Kyoto to churches in the Philippines and to her children and grandchildren in New Jersey, London, and Manila. She taught courses on Women’s Issues and Women in the Bble. She also taught at the university’s Center for Christian Culture. Dr. Casilda soon realized this would be an even greater opportunity for ministry. ” I opened my house to provide opportunities to expand my students’ social networks and their awareness of social and political issues, and to provide a venue for exercising self-expression and critical thinking skills.” This new endeavor paved the way for her to support Filipino graduate students in the Kyoto region.
Students gathered monthly at her home for worship, prayer, Bible study, and fellowship. Their home was a place where students and other Filipino community members could have the freedom to be silly, and to let their guards down, and speak their own language. It was an unique opportunity for a community of people in foreign land to gather together unrestricted with the freedom to be themselves and do things that were customary to their own culture. This principle of fellowship followed them to a Catholic church in Kyoto where they were able to supporte their community by standing with them as “marginalized and stigmatized foreigners living and working in Japan.”
In May 2025, Doshisha University honored her with a memorial service and announced plans for a plaque in her name—a fitting tribute to a woman who built bridges between nations, faiths, and people.
We asked Doshisha University to reflect on what Dr. Casilda meant to the university, faculty, students, and larger community as a whole.
“Dr. Casilda Luzares responded to God’s call to mission service by teaching English at Doshisha University in Japan for more than twenty years. A higher education professional and member of the United Church of Christ in the Philippines, Casilda is remembered in the United Church of Christ in Japan for the impact she made on both the students and wider community surrounding Doshisha, including Filipino students from the various universities in Kyoto.”
Her life reminds us that mission is not always about grand gestures, it’s about people and being with people, and loving people with your whole heart and self. Sometimes it is simply about presence—listening, learning, and walking alongside others in love. Casilda Hofilena Edrial Luzare will be missed, but she is loved and cherished and the echoes of her words and ministry can be felt throughout her legacy— as each one remembers to be in fellowship and community with one another.
As Casilda once prayed for the church in Japan:
“Thank you for walking with us in our daily struggles.
Grant us compassion and the courage to walk with our neighbors in theirs.
Thank you that in your mercy we can look to the future with hope.”
Casilda Hofilena Edrial Luzares lived those words. Through every life she touched, her ministry of being with continues.
Pictures above are images with her children and staff from the University of Doshisha as they honor her in May of 2025.
Sidebar: Remembering Casilda Hofilena Edrial Luzares
Born: September 11, 1945, Negros Oriental, Philippines
Died: July 9, 2024, Philippines
Family: Widow of Rev. Santiago C. Luzares and Rev. Dan Nebres; mother of four daughters, Lucille Lovaire, Eden Rose, June Anne, and Maria Sheila; and grandmother.
Education & Career:
- Associate Dean, De La Salle University, Manila
- Associate Executive for Women’s Concerns, United Board for Christian Higher Education in Asia
- Professor, Doshisha University, Kyoto, Japan (1989–2011)
- Taught English, Women’s Issues, and Biblical Studies
- Served at Doshisha University’s Center for Christian Culture
Mission & Ministry:
- Described her work as “a ministry of being with, rather than one of doing”
- Opened her home to students, migrant workers, and fellow Filipinos
- Fostered spiritual community for Filipino graduate students in Kyoto
- Advocated for women, migrants, and social awareness through education
Faith Reflections:
- Favorite Bible Verse: “Be still, and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10)
- Favorite Hymn: Spirit, spirit of gentleness…
- Key Prayer from 2012 feature article: “Grant us compassion and the courage to walk with our neighbors in theirs. Thank you that in your mercy we can look to the future with hope.”
Legacy:
- Honored in 2024 with a memorial service at Doshisha University
- Plaque dedicated in her honor at Doshisha
- Inspired students and colleagues across continents through faith, education, and mentorship
Article: 2012 Summer: Casilda Luzares, From the Philippines to Japan by Robin Ofner