PAG-ASA, Kapalong, Davao del Norte — There was a time when founding anniversaries at
UCCP Pag-asa were remembered for overflowing tables. Families would gather after worship around generous platters prepared from abundant harvests, celebrating not only another year of God’s faithfulness but also the blessings the land had provided.
Those celebrations have inevitably changed.
The banana plantations that once sustained many families in Barangay Pag-asa have been severely affected by Panama disease, leaving livelihoods uncertain and making lavish celebrations increasingly difficult. Yet this year’s anniversary proved that generosity is not measured by the size of a feast.
Instead of grand banquets, the church invested in something equally nourishing — a day of service featuring a medical mission, free physician consultations, medicine distribution,
community feeding, wellness activities, a fun walk, motorcade, and “Zumbalangin,” a unique blend of Zumba and communal prayer.
As UCCP Pag-asa marked its 69th Founding Anniversary, the celebration reflected not only the congregation’s enduring faith but also its continuing commitment to the wider community.
Shortly after sunrise, church grounds that once bustled with preparations for communal feasts instead filled with residents lining up for health consultations, volunteers arranging medicines, children waiting for feeding activities, and members welcoming visitors from neighboring communities. The celebration looked different from years past, but its purpose remained the same — to gather people together in faith.
Leading the preparations was Elsa Calapotoc-Cudis, president of UCCP Pag-asa, together
with church officers and volunteers who spent weeks coordinating with healthcare professionals, local government agencies, donors and members to make the celebration possible.
For Calapotoc-Cudis, the anniversary was never about staging the biggest celebration. It was about preserving a legacy entrusted by generations before her — one that continues to express faith not only through worship but through acts of service.
“The church is family,” she said. “When we honor the church, we honor the generations of families who built it before us. Serving one another is how we keep that legacy alive.”
Many of the families who call UCCP Pag-asa home are descendants of Ilocano migrants who settled in Kapalong generations ago. They built not only homes and livelihoods, but also a congregation that became the spiritual heart of Barangay Pag-asa. Today, their children and grandchildren continue carrying that legacy — not simply by preserving a church building, but by nurturing a community that values compassion, volunteerism and service.
Rather than scaling back because resources were limited, members found new ways to serve.
Volunteers welcomed patients, registered participants, prepared meals, distributed medicines, coordinated activities and ensured every visitor felt seen and cared for. Even amid uncertainty, the congregation demonstrated that generosity is measured not by abundance, but by the willingness to give.
A highlight of the anniversary was the medical mission led by Dr. Philip Jhon D. Calapotoc, who provided free consultations alongside volunteer nurses Gelyn L. Calapotoc, RN, Juliet C. Rarama, RN, and Chlizly Noween Cudis, RN, USRN, with assistance from Edna Supnet and Emmanuel Gabriel Hiso. Their dedication allowed dozens of residents to receive free consultations and medicines, and they were later recognized with Certificates of Appreciation during the anniversary program.
The church also acknowledged an anonymous benefactor whose generosity made the celebration even more meaningful through two rounds of gift-giving for children and a ₱10,000 cash donation for medicines, allowing more residents to benefit from the medical mission.
Additional medicines were facilitated through Lhorlyn Hiso, while the Kapalong Municipal Police Station, under the leadership of Chief of Police PMAJ Bryle F. Patalinghug, supported the community feeding activity through its “Arrozcaldo on Wheels ni TSIP” program as part of the 31st Police Community Relations Month Celebration. Barangay Pag-asa, led by Barangay Captain Ricky Maymay, also assisted by permitting the fun walk and motorcade and providing equipment that helped make the event possible.
In her message of gratitude, Calapotoc-Cudis thanked every volunteer, healthcare worker, sponsor, donor, local official, and church member whose generosity contributed to the success of the celebration.
As someone who grew up in this church, watching the anniversary unfold reminded me why UCCP Pag-asa has remained an important part of this community for nearly seven decades.
The buildings may look familiar, but it is the people — their quiet acts of generosity, shared labor and enduring faith — that continue to define the congregation.
Looking around the gathering, I realized that perhaps this is what anniversaries are truly meant to celebrate — not merely the passing of another year, but the enduring spirit of a community that continues to choose generosity over scarcity, service over comfort, and hope over discouragement.
The tables may no longer be as full as they once were, but the hearts behind the celebration remain just as generous. Nearly seven decades after Ilocano migrants first established UCCP Pag-asa, the church continues to live out the faith they planted — not only inside its sanctuary, but wherever there are neighbors to serve. In a community where harvests have changed, hope still gathers.
