HISTORY OF THE BAGUIO CITY FIRST UNITED METHODIST CHURCH
The approval and creation in April 1960 at the General Conference of the Methodist Church in Denver, Colorado, USA of a new Episcopal area of the Methodist Church in the Philippines, gave birth to the mission and establishment of the present Baguio City First United Methodist Church. As with most historical events, the church has her humble roots embedded in great hopes and a futuristic vision of what could and should be done among the people of the Cordilleras to enhance God's kingdom. That work was entrusted into the hands of Bishop Jose L. Valencia who was appointed as the first bishop over the new Episcopal area.
Early history, as recorded by Bishop D. D. Alejandro in his book, From Darkness to Light, mentions that on April 26, 1901, the early missionaries formed an interdenominational body called The Evangelical Union. One of the first tasks of this Union, according to Bishop Alejandro, was to divide the Philippines into areas and to assign each mission the responsibility for evangelization.
A Comity Agreement of 1901, which did not include Baguio City or the Mountain Provinces in the territory assigned to the Methodist missionaries, was signed. This was to minimize duplication of work and to avoid competition among different denominations. In 1950, the old agreement was abrogated and the Methodist began to extend and expand their work beyond the territories assigned to them which included Benguet, Bontoc and the city of Baguio.
It was only in 1960 that the Methodist work was begun in the city of Baguio. The Rev. Silverio J. R. Ignacio, Northwest Philippines Annual Conference missionary secretary, was commissioned to do the pioneering evangelistic work. He arrived on April 1960 and with the help of the Rev. Byron W. Clark, an American Missionary residing in Baguio, spent two days of visitation, evangelism and getting acquainted with the people of Methodist background. Recorded in his diary are the following names: Mr. and Mrs. Canuto Ramos, Telesforo Olimpo, Alejandrino Valera, Juan Valbuena, Miss Nida Soria, Mrs. Luzviminda Ignacio, Ernesto Mangaoang, Mrs. Telesfora Lolarga and Mrs. Solis, who eventually became the initial members of the newly established church.
  
Bishop Valencia appointed Rev. Ignacio as the pastor of the emerging Methodist congregation. At first, prayer meetings were held in the home of the members. As they met more often, they developed among them a sense of Christian community and an intense desire to have a regular worship service. Since there was no place yet for them to hold their own service, their pastor invited them to attend with him the United Church of Christ.
Later, Rev. Clark and Mr. Canuto Ramos rented the city's Labor Hall (now a part of the University of Cordilleras) and the first regular worship was held. Twelve persons came to attend the service: four missionaries and eight Filipinos. Their offering that first Sunday was P6.70. The prohibitive rental, however, led the members to look for another place of worship. When the Rev. and Mrs. Curran Spottswood learned of their predicament, they offered their vacation home as a temporary place of worship. When the Spottswoods left, the little congregation moved to the house of Mrs. Telesfora Lolarga at No. 16 M. Roxas Street, Brookside.
The first Quarterly Conference of the organized congregation was held at the Lolarga's residence on July 30, 1961 presided over by Rev. Gaudencio F. Bombarda, District Superintendent of Pangasinan East District. Present in this conference were Bishop Jose L. Valencia, Rev. Byron Clark, Mrs. Manuela L. Valencia, Mrs. Mildred Clark, Mr. and Mrs. Alejandrino Valera, Mrs. Telesfora Lolarga, Mr. and Mrs. Telesforo Olimpo, Mrs. Lucia Valbuena, Mr. Delfin Lardizabal, Miss Nida Soria and Mr. and Mrs. Gemeniano Tabingo.
It was announced at that conference that a 1, 000 square meter lot was purchased for the site of the Methodist Headquarters of the Baguio Episcopal Area and the Baguio City First Methodist Church building. It was a day of rejoicing in the house of Mrs. Lolarga. The local congregation was recognized by the Northwest Philippines annual conference on February 23, 1962 upon recommendation from the Pangasinan East District. The Rev. Juan B. Cabanting was the first pastor and Miss Martina Carino served as the first deaconess.
The church grew in membership and needed a bigger place to gather for worship so a Quenset Hut was erected on the newly purchased lot on Marcos Highway, opposite the Baguio General hospital. The congregation moved into this little chapel with a seating capacity of one hundred and twenty worshippers.
Construction of a P22, 000 church parsonage started in February 23, 1966 under the pastoral leadership of Rev. Keith Briggs and was continued by the Rev. Byron Clark. The parsonage was completed and ready for occupancy in June 1966. Rev. and Mrs. Jerald Grabber were the first workers appointed by the Bishop to occupy the new parsonage.
The congregation continued to grow and the chapel could hardly accommodate all the Sunday worshippers. Baguio City, a tourist resort and educational center, had visitors, students and transients as worshippers. There were occasions when regular worshippers had to give their seats to visitors. It became obvious that there was a need to build a new and bigger sanctuary. Plans and designs then of the proposed new building were presented to the Administrative Council and Board of Trustees chaired by Col. Expedito Diaz. The estimated cost of the project building was P500, 000. 00.
At that time, this was considered a very ambitious project and with just a very meager fund on hand, it seemed impossible to accomplish. But the local church leaders church leaders had great faith and committed the matter to God. An intensive campaign for funds here and abroad was launched with Mrs. Socorro M. Granadosin, wife of Bishop Paul Locke A. Granadosin of the Baguio Episcopal Area, leading the campaign.
Bishop Granadosin had been assigned as bishop of the Baguio Episcopal Area in 1968. He succeeded Bishop Jose L. Valencia who, at that time, had reached retirement age.
In 1980, construction work on the new church building began. This was the last year of assignment to the church for the Rev. Anacleto Guerrero. He was succeeded by the Rev. Jaime M. Balgos, who took the leadership in the building construction. The construction went on and during the Christmas season of 1982, with the building near completion, the congregation moved in. The altar was not yet finished and the floor was roughly cemented with some scaffoldings not yet removed.
The same year Rev. Balgos was transferred and the Rev. Noe Valderama became the pastor. Under his pastoral leadership the building construction continued and was almost finished. A beautiful altar, a pulpit and lectern designed by the Honorable Jacobo Clave, assistant executive secretary to President Ferdinand Marcos, and twenty-eight new pews made of narra were presented. In 1985, Rev. Valderama was transferred and the Rev. Isagani A. Curameng succeeded him.
All that was left then to be done in the building were the finishings. This was all done under the able supervision of Mrs. Granadosin, chairman of the building committee. The new beautiful church was dedicated TO THE GLORY OF GOD during the anniversary celebration in November 26, 1989. the dedication of the new church was officiated by Bishop Emerito P. Nacpil of the Manila Episcopal Area, Bishop Jose Gamboa of the Davao Episcopal Area and Bishop Paul L. A. Granadosin of the Baguio Episcopal Area.
Bishop Granadosin said during the dedication rites, "As we dedicate this building to the Glory of God, it would be most fitting if we include our act of full commitment of life and resources as Christian stewards to Jesus Christ who calls us to His mission. This beautiful edifice will then symbolize our faith and trust we have in God the Almighty, whose Holy Spirit continues to abide in us and we in Him."
In 1992 the Rev. Clemente Bang-asan came to serve the church for a second time. He and his wife, Mrs. Violeta Bang-asan, deaconess had served the church earlier from 1971 to 1973.
Bishop Emerito P. Nacpil also took the position as a temporary bishop over the Baguio Episcopal Area for two years since there had been no election at the Central Conference. Bishop Granadosin, after 24 years of faithful service, was retiring.
In 1994, Dr. Daniel C. Arichea, Jr. was elected the new bishop of the Baguio area by the Central Conference. In 1995, Baguio First United Methodist Church adopted a vision and mission to evangelize the Cordilleras. The church laid out an aggressive PACT (Plant Additional Churches Together) strategy to bring the Gospel to the Cordillera people. This was lead by the Rev. Clemente Bang-asan and the church officers.
To date, the church has established the Philex Mines United Methodist Chruch, the Kias Yak Dai United Methodist Church (Kias, Baguio City) and the White Stone Memorial United Methodist Church of Calot, Sablan, Benguet. The latter two were established during the mid-90's in partnership with our Korean brothers and sisters. More recently, the United Methodist church, Williamsburg, Virginia USA generously support our church planting program, the Medical/Dental Outreach program and Hospital Ministry. The Ruth Day Care Learning Center, which was originally established by the Korean Missionaries in partnership with the Barangay and the Department of Social Welfare and Development, located in our Methodist Mission Center, is now under church supervision.
In late 1998 a new mission point was opened in Boklaoan, Kapangan utilizing the integrated area development concept. The focus of this concept is not only spiritual but socio-economic, establishing livelihood projects. The church is now concentrating on this one-mission.
The four storey building of the Christian Mission center started in June 1992. this was a joint project of the Missionaries headed by Rev. Dr. Kim Kwang Duk and the Baguio City First United Methodist Church. This building, dedicated today for the Glory of God, now houses the Pastoral Ministry Team, the Ruth Day Care Center, the Faith Student Center, the 5 year Saranay Methodist Multi-Purpose Cooperative and the Korean ministries. It is now appropriately named the Methodist Mission Center.
In 2005, a new vision was born to evangelize further the people of the Cordilleras, the VISION 20/20. The vision has 7 pillar: establishment of 20 local churches by the year 2020 (including a student church), membership development and faith strengthening, member's education and involvement in social ministries, Christian perfection, involvement in ecumenical and interreligious affairs, human resources and asset development, and, worker's recruitment and development.
God's grace continues to pour over us and we thank God for the committed pastors and dedicated lay people of faith, wisdom, and vision whom He has called to work in His vineyard. |
