PVGC: Never Ever Forget (Part 1)

(Note: PVGC is Pilar Village Gospel Church, my family’s home church. This “historical” article was written for Pathway, the official newsletter of the church—now online.) 

 “. . . Be careful never to forget what you yourself have seen. Do not let these memories escape from your mind as long as you live! And be sure to pass them on to your children and grandchildren.” (Deuteronomy 4:9) 

Now nearing the age of Methuselah, I seem to be the go-to person at PVGC when it comes remembering the church’s history, But as I am not a historian—one that records exact dates and cold facts—I narrate what has been stored in my heart for 44 continuous years (2 years after PVGC’s birth), like treasures that only memory loss or death, whichever comes first, can steal.  

Call this narrative, then, a stream of consciousness voice. 

My second son was newly born when we moved to Pilar Village. The first thing we did on our first Sunday was to look for a church. What we found was a bodega spilling over with so many people, seated like sardines in makeshift pews. 

The next Sunday, I was shocked to see the bodega almost empty. There were less than a dozen people inside. The message was delivered not by the bombastic pastor the previous Sunday, but by a white-haired pastor who said the benediction in Spanish—Pastor Severino Santos+.   

There was no word about where the throng of people went, but the very next week, the few women who were in church visited our home that was still brimming with stacks of unpacked cartons.  

The visit: women's group with me and son #2

Upon seeing my piano, they chorused, “Oh, answered prayers. Now we have a church pianist!” 

We later found out that the members who left put up a UCCP church and those left behind were CAMACOP members. I belonged to two generations of UCCP members and had never heard of CAMACOP, but I felt that this was now my home church—God’s appointed place of worship where I could serve in every way I could  and where our children would grow up in the Lord.  

The birth of PVGC 

PVGC began as a small home Bible Study Group among homeowners, led by a pastor sent by CAMACOP: Pastor Francisco Franco+. A member of the group, Arch. Ephraim Santos+, offered the Pilar Village bodega, storage of construction materials, to be their place of worship. 

The lowly bodega finally had a name

It was lowly, but it was granted by the government the wide open space that allowed many possibilities. Quickly, worshipers came to honor God Sunday after Sunday—up until that Sunday two years later when majority of the people went pffft.  

The crisis worsened when Pastor Franco was suddenly called home by the Lord. CAMACOP assigned Pastor Apolonio Domingo to the rescue. But another tragedy struck: Pastor Domingo was called home, too. 

CAMACOP quickly sent a young, single, and a healthy pastor—not likely to be called home soon—to take the place of the first two. He stayed for five years. His name? Pastor Joe Dalino. 

Pastor Joe with my son #1 (left) and son #2 

(Part 2 will be uploaded four days from today, this blogsite's rhythm or frequency)