This is our second Sunday here. Yesterday was one of the warmest days we have had. Then mid afternoon it rained and the temperature dropped. This morning it was below 20C, the coolest it has been and more like what we will expect when we go up to Asibanglan in a few days. Today Christy and her family chose the 9:30 AM mass at the Cathedral and we will join them again. Services are scheduled every Sunday for 6 AM, 7 AM, 8AM, 9:30 AM and 4 PM. Although Ginny and I have grown up in another church tradition, I like to worship with the Catholic community here. That is by far the largest Christian community and under the leadership of the Bishop (see post #8) the worship here is alive and meaningful. I like to see how God is at work, building his Kingdom through the various communities of his people. The Cathedral has been built since the time we lived in Kalinga. It is quite large, accommodating at least 600 people. The builders used a tasteful mix of local materials, especially the beautiful hardwoods from the surrounding mountains. The stained glass windows are beautiful. The large windows at the front depict the coming of the Holy Spirit and the triumphal return of Christ. Along the sides are beautiful windows depicting the daily life of the Kalinga people wearing their colourful traditional dress. Higher up on the sides are various scenes representing the worshiping community in discipleship, family life, science and academia, reconciliation, and social welfare. On the opposite side the stations of the cross are carved on each pillar in local mahogany. The cathedral was packed today. The emphasis was on youth and what was very evident was that the population here is so much younger than in our country. The youth are particularly prevalent here because Tabuk is the place where most Kalinga young people come for college. The choir leading the worship today was mostly young people from the Kalinga National High School. At the last minute Eduardo’s men’s choir (Men without Borders – not sure I like that name) was asked to join with them. Like many of our churches in Canada, they sing with guitar accompaniment and the lyrics projected on a screen at the front. As this service was in Ilocano (the major Philippine language which most people in the north have in common) we did not know many of the songs and I could not understand everything. At other times when I have joined in the English service they have used many of the same songs we sing in Canada. Kalinga’s love music and in some of the songs at church today their native melodies were used. Like Catholic (and other) churches around the world, they follow the lectionary in the scriptures used. Today’s gospel reading was from Matthew where Jesus says that to enter the Kingdom we must become like little children and in the sermon the pastor explained what that meant for us today.
Yesterday morning I met with the Lubuagan Kalinga translation team again. This time the computer tools and the internet connection all worked flawlessly and we were able to end the week with a good experience. One of the translators had to leave early as he pastors a small Alliance Church in Lubuagan. Many Kalingas who leave the Catholic church choose the Alliance. I would say that Bible translation has contributed a lot the establishment and growth of Alliance churches in many native communities throughout the Philippines. Tabuk has quite a selection of other protestant churches as well. Tomorrow the SIL Director from Manila and one of the leaders of the Translators Association of the Philippines (TAP) and all the translators working in the “Kalinga Cluster” will come for a meeting scheduled on Tuesday. TAP is the national organization which SIL fostered over many years through intensive training and support. I was involved in the early stages when I was the SIL Director. We specifically asked for a national translator to be assigned to the Limos Kalinga project when I was asked to take on a Director assignment. Now all of the Kalinga translators serve with TAP. The meeting on Tuesday is important to the building of the “Kalinga Cluster” into a strong team of translators working in the remaining projects.
This morning Beverly, Christy and Syrine’s other sister, arrived with her husband and one year old daughter, Xyrielle from Baguio, a city on the western side of the mountains. They had travelled all night by bus and were quite tired when they arrived. Little Xyrielle really needs sleep and is still shy of all the new people wanting to hold her. The house is getting fuller, but as I have said before, there is always room for more in this culture and Christy does not seem to get up tight in her hospitality.
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