The
Iglesia ni Cristo (INC) will mark its 95th founding anniversary in the Philippines on
July 27, 2009. Aside from the annual thanksgiving services that will be held today in its many houses of worship all over the country, the INC is also set to conduct on Monday grand religious assemblies in 14 huge venues across the nation.
Huge crowds are expected to come to the said event, as INC delegates and supporters from neighboring towns and provinces are set to join in the celebration of the “Iglesia Ni Cristo Day”. Malacañang has earlier declared that day, July 27, as a special national working holiday pursuant to
Republic Act 9645 enacted laast July 12, which decrees the observance of INC’s foundation day as national holiday.
Traffic advisories have also been issued by local authorities to avoid possible congestion of public roads on that day, especially from afternoon to evening.
“Iglesia Ni Cristo Day” celebrations will be held simultaneously with the gatherings in the following areas: In Metro Manila,
Araneta Coliseum (Cubao, Quezon City) and
Rizal Memorial Sports Complex (Malate, Manila); In the rest of Luzon, the
Quirino Stadium (Bantay, Ilocos Sur), the
Central Intergrated Terminal (Santiago City, Isabela), the
Narciso Ramos Sports Center (Lingayen, Pangasinan),
Villa Del Sol Subdivision-Olongapo-Gapan Road (San Fernando, Pampanga), the
Ashton Field Subdivision grounds (Calamba City, Laguna), and the
Bicol University Sports Complex and Commencement grounds (Legaspi City, Albay).
In the Visayas, the
Panaad Stadium (Bacolod) and in
Cebu City Sports Center (Cebu City) will be the center of a huge gathering; And in Mindanao, the
Ipil sports Complex (Zamboanga Sibugay), the
Davao Agro-Industrial Football Field (Davao), the
General Santos City Oval Plaza (Cotabato), and the
Butuan City Sports Complex (Agusan del Norte).
CITY OF SAN FERNANDO --- An estimated 500,000 well-wishers and guests are expected to congregate at Villa Del Sol this city, along the stretch of Olongapo-San Fernando-Gapan road, in celebration of the Iglesia Ni Cristo’s 95th Founding Anniversary on July 27. Relative to this, local government officials in Angeles City, Mabalacat town and this city have declared a non-working holiday on July 27 to give due respect and honor to the anniversary celebration of the members of the Church. Fer Caylao, city administrator, said it July 27 will be a non-working holiday for government employees and there will also be no school classes on that day. However, it will be a working holiday for banking institutions, while private businesses have the option to observe the holiday or not. Caylao said on Friday, the city government, the traffic law enforcers and the Philippine National Police (PNP) would conduct a dry run of their rerouting plans and security measures to avoid any untoward incidents. Reports have it that the Church administration through its thousands of members is also doing all the necessary preparations to ensure the success of the celebration, which include program preparation, transportation and readiness of all Church congregations, first aid and security for peace and orderliness in the said venue. This developed as all Church locales and congregations are now doing simultaneous and daily devotional prayers to ask the Almighty for His divine intervention in ensuring the success of the said founding anniversary celebration. Inspired by the promises made by God to his people in these last days, the Iglesia Ni Cristo has gone a long way since its emergence in the Philippines 95 years ago. Concurrent with the beginning of World War I, Brother Felix Ysagun Manalo, the Church’s last messenger, officially registered the Church of Christ with the Philippine government on July 27, 1914. For the members of the Church, they firmly believe that the year 1914 was not just a period in the annals of man’s history but as the time for the fulfilment of God’s plan for the salvation of man in these last days. The year 1914 was the time when Brother Felix started to preach the words of God which resulted to the re-emergence of the Church of Christ. At first, he has succeeded in winning into the Church of Christ a handful of faithful converts, then, he began to form a small group of Church followers. Despite the innumerable odds and trying difficulties along the way, Brother Felix bravely continued his mission. Before his demise in 1963, the Iglesia Ni Cristo was already a nationwide organization and had congregations in almost all provinces and major cities of the country. With the election of Brother Eraño G. Manalo, known to members as “Ka Erdy” to administer the Church as Executive Minister upon the demise of Brother Felix, the Church of Christ has reached the glorious stature. The concrete proof of the success of the Church under the supervision of Ka Erdy was the unabated construction of magnificent houses of worship that serve as Phillipines’ distinct landmarks and even abroad, the unprecedented expansion of the Church beyond Philippine shore, unhindered by global economic downturn. The Church has also made its present in the West – believed to be the fulfillment of biblical prophecies – in 1968 with the establishment of the local congregations in Hawaii and California. The Church has spanned the globe, reaching 90 countries and territories in six continents, with a membership consisting of 104 different nationalities. In 1994, Ka Erdy has led the establishment of local congregations of the Church of Christ in Rome; in Jerusalem in 1996 and in Greece in 1997. For the Church, these remarkable accomplishments are works of God through the dynamic and inspired leadership of Ka Erdy. c Source:
http://pinoyworld.org/2009/07/22/big-crowds-to-gather-on-%E2%80%98iglesia-ni-cristo-day%E2%80%99-on-july-27/
http://www.nursebitz.com/2009/07/iglesia-ni-cristo-95th-anniversary-l.html
