THE congregation at St Albans Uniting Church recently celebrated 25 years of worship with a special service on 26 February.
Back in February 1992, six Filipino families gathered at the Brooklyn Uniting Church in Altona.
This later became the first Filipino Uniting Church congregation in Australia.
The Filipino Uniting Church joined the congregation at St Albans in 2000 to form what is now the St Albans Uniting Church (SAUCA).
During the celebration service, the congregation honoured the ministry of Rev Rex Fisher, who played an instrumental support role during the early days of the Filipino fellowship.
The congregation also recognised the six families who helped establish the original Filipino ministry and bestowed a posthumous award to the late Cristina McDonald for her contribution to the church playground.
St Albans church member N Elaine Valenzuela-Jimenez said the congregation has grown from humble beginnings into a vibrant community that embraces people from different cultural backgrounds.
“Sisters and brothers from the Pacific Islands; Malaysian, Africans and Vietnamese in the Uniting Church started joining the growing SAUCA congregation to be what it is today – a multicultural church,” Ms Valenzuela-Jimenez said.
Sunday services are conducted in English and Vietnamese with Tagalog (Filipino) services held every second Sunday.
The congregation also has a thriving youth group that plays music during worship every Sunday.
“It is a church that has nurtured me to strengthen my faith in the midst of trials and persecutions, to be able to live a life worthy of His calling and to become an instrument of peace, love and unity in our community,” Ms Valenzuela-Jimenez said.
St Albans Uniting Church farewelled Rev James S Murray last year following more than five years of ministry at the congregation. Since then, a number of temporary ministers have filled in every Sunday. The congregation will begin a new chapter when their new minister, Rev Feke Kamitoni, commences his placement in April.
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