Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Taiwan congregation's generosity builds churches in Philippines, Tanzania


From Episcopal Life Online-

When parishioners at St. James' Episcopal Church in Taichung, Taiwan heard about a group of Filipinos holding services under a mango tree, they were inspired to raise funds so that the community could worship in a building of its own.
That was in 1998 and the congregation's generosity saw the dedication of Christ the King in Sandeline, Diocese of the Central Philippines, the following year. But that was only the beginning. Eleven years later, St. James has funded the construction of 10 churches in the Philippines and one in Central Tanganyika, Tanzania.

The congregation at Christ the King are Igorot, an ethnic group from the Cordillera region on the Philippines island of Luzon that had moved from the mountainous provinces looking for land and work.

"The thought of that small Christian community worshiping week after week under a mango tree moved me to want to help them," said the Rev. Charles C. T. Chen, former rector of St. James' Church.

The congregation at St. James raised $6000 to build the church and a further $3,000 to connect a permanent water supply to serve the whole community.

Formerly a Spanish colony, the Philippines was predominantly Roman Catholic until Americans colonized the country in 1898 and Anglican missionary work began in the north and among Muslim populations in the south. Four Anglican dioceses were established by 1971 and the Episcopal Church in the Philippines became an autonomous province in 1990.

More here

http://www.episcopalchurch.org/81799_113377_ENG_HTM.htm

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