DWTX from Anaheim – During the Wednesday morning Eucharist that drew an estimated 3,000 people to the Anaheim Convention Center, Episcopalians got their first experience of worshipping together at the 76th General Convention. While the congregation will hear from a variety of preachers during the daily Eucharists, this opening ceremony was the province of Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori.
A portion of the service was devoted to recognition of the journey of The Episcopal Church in the Philippines, which became financially independent in 2008. The church had been planted there in 1898 with services held by chaplains of the occupying U. S. Army. “The miracle of life happens even in war,” said Jefferts Schori, “and it happens despite colonial structures.”
In 1901 General Convention established the Missionary District of the Philippines and elected Charles Henry Brent as bishop. Fortunately for the church, Brent chose to take the gospel to the indigenous peoples rather than “founding an altar against an altar” in the cities. In 1937, the church became a diocese, and by 1971 there were three dioceses, each with an indigenous bishop. In 1990 the church became an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion, gaining financial independence in 2008.
At the Wednesday Eucharist, the Rt. Rev. Edward Pacaya Malecdan, the Prime Bishop of the Episcopal Church in the Philippines, presented Jefferts Schori with a gift as a token of friendship and solidarity with The Episcopal Church.
In her sermon, Jefferts Schori held up the Philippines church as an example of what “a healthy and life-sustaining heart looks like.” The church’s mission, said Jefferts Schori, is to offer “heart transplants to the languishing.” The heart of The Episcopal Church, said the presiding bishop, “is mission, domestic and foreign mission, in partnership with anyone who shares that passion.”