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Planting Churches in Unlikely Places
By Archbishop John Stephens
On August 1, a group of eight delegates from our diocese arrived in Manila ready to make connections and renew acquaintances. We were warned, prior to landing, that this was the rainy season in the Philippines, and it certainly was! We had rain on each of the next ten days, but it did not dampen our spirits or squelch our enthusiasm. We were all keen to learn more about the growing and developing Episcopal Church in the Philippines, part of our Anglican Communion.
From Manila we made our way to Bontoc, the see city of the Episcopal Diocese of Northern Philippines (EDNP). We heard many stories about the growth happening in various ways in the diocese. Specifically, we heard about the growing number of churches, of ministries in rural settings, Bible Studies being offered, money being shared to help with the building of new church buildings, and the number of seminary students preparing for ordained ministry.
On August 8, despite the difficult weather of a typhoon in the area, we headed to a small, rural parish where the newly built church in Betwagan was to be consecrated. We had to drive from Bontoc to a parking area and then set out on foot to walk beside the river to get to the community. This was a church that had started out three years prior with a few people in a small residence.
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