Pampanga, Philippines – Africa and Papua New Guinea both take a
spot in the Members Church of God International’s (MCGI) history
as they presented their songs of thanksgiving before the entire
congregation for the first time ever.

July 5 marked the first day of the Pasalamat ng Buong Kapatiran
(Thanksgiving of the Whole Congregation) of the MCGI – a quarterly
thanksgiving event held in the Ang Dating Daan (The Old Path)
Convention Center in Apalit, Pampanga and participated by more
than 200 monitoring centers worldwide.

The day took off with the offertory of songs of thanksgiving from
the different regions of the world in which the congregants beheld
and cheered their brothers and sisters from Africa and Papua New
Guinea as they presented their song and dance numbers before the
whole congregation. Being recently baptized, it was the first time
for these brethren to experience such a two-day event.

Started by a minister of the church, the topic of the day was,
“Why it is a lack of faith in God to ask for daily bread and
clothing according to the Bible,” wowed the congregation as Bro.
Soriano and Bro. Razon showed them the Biblical reasons behind it.

Before the gathering ended at around 11 in the evening, Bro. Eli
serenaded the congregation with songs like “Fly Me to the Moon”
and “I Left My Heart in San Francisco.” Bro. Eli explained that
just as the songs have introductions and that their main parts are
better than them, he surprised the already satisfied brethren when
he said that what he taught them was just the introduction.

As a teaser, Bro. Eli announced and gave a few insights on the
topic for the next day – Why the first people of God did not
understand the resurrection of the dead, the work after death, and
the end of the times according to the Bible. In response, the
venue was rocked with shouts of glee and enthusiasm. Words by Jay Arellano