Church of Christ comes to city
International faith with origins in the Philippines makes trek North
Robin Grant
Northern News Services
Friday, January 6, 2017
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
Since moving to Yellowknife over a year ago, Zerline Rodriguez hasn't been able to practice her faith because her church did not offer a minister and location to worship in the city.
The Church of Christ held an inauguration in the city in late November. Front row, from left, are Geo Aggelos Rodriguez, Zerline Rodriguez, Geoffrey Rodriguez, Brother Ramil Mangiral and Yeddah Geann Rodriguez. In the back row, from left, are Ruth Jimenez, Louella Mangiral and Gemma Malonzo. - photo courtesy of Zerline Rodriguez |
But in late November, members of Church of Christ congregations in Alberta, Saskatchewan and British Columbia travelled to Yellowknife for the church's historic inauguration in the Northwest Territories.
On Dec. 11, Brother Ramil H. Macaspac, an evangelical minister from Edmonton, came to Yellowknife to officiate a year-end Thanksgiving worship service.
Macaspac said he is travelling to Yellowknife once a month to officiate the services. The monthly visits are also an opportunity for pastoral visits, counselling and prayer with the Yellowknife congregation, he said.
"Whenever I am not around, they hold their respective worship service through the DVDs sent to them or by video streaming," he stated via e-mail from Edmonton.
Rodriguez couldn't be happier about the development.
"We are now experiencing what we have been wanting for a long time," she said. "We now have the privilege of praising God again and practicing our religion even in this very far off place in Canada. This is very spiritually uplifting to us."
Rodriguez said before this, she and her husband would have to trek to Edmonton or Calgary to attend a worship service.
"This has been our dream since we came here," she continued. "It was very emotional for us. A lot of us felt again the presence of God in our lives, because coming here from the Philippines, we don't have our families, and our faith is what really keeps us going ... you feel lost and you're in a foreign country, you are starting all over again. Having that connection with a church makes us feel so much stronger and makes us feel more inspired."
The Church of Christ, which is also known as Iglesia Ni Cristo, is an international Christian church that originated in the Philippines. According to a booklet published by the church, it is not a denomination or sect. It is neither affiliated to any federation or religious bodies nor itself an assembly of smaller churches or religious organizations.
Although the Yellowknife congregation only has eight members so far, Macaspac said people who don't currently live in Yellowknife are considering moving here because they can now attend worship services in the city.
The prospect of more people coming to Yellowknife is something Rodriguez finds exciting.
"Our faith is really very important to us, so some of them knowing that there is a worship service here, they have now opened that door," she said. "At least now, they are able to practice their religion and that has been a hindrance to everyone who would like to come here."
She said members of her family have been hesitant to move to the city for this reason and are now reconsidering.
The Iglesia Ni Cristo has an international membership of 128 racial and ethnic backgrounds.
It maintains nearly 6,000 congregations and missions grouped into 135 ecclesiastical districts in about 100 countries and territories across the world, according to the Iglesia Ni Cristo booklet.
