The Iglesia Ni Cristo (INC or Church Of Christ), an international religious organization now established in 158 countries and territories, continues to help communities amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

From the distribution of goods, food, care packages, including face masks, to the establishment of eco-farms to help create job opportunities, the Church continues to extend a helping hand to those in need in the United States and other countries.

After the Aid To Humanity event on May 9 and 10 this year, which saw the donation of essential goods to 525 beneficiaries in the local communities, an INC Giving event for the distribution of 5,000 reusable and washable face masks and other care packages followed on July 22 to 27 to commemorate the Church’s 106th founding anniversary. Both events were held in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area.

The Church, during the July 22 to 27 event, channeled donations to public schools, nursing homes, and elderly facilities, including the United States Postal Services (USPS) office in Fort Washington, Maryland. It benefited at least 688 recipients.

The INC Giving event was done to support the implementation of the mask requirements among states’ residents to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus.

On August 12 to 16, the Church Of Christ marked the first anniversary of the Aid To Humanity US and Canada Tour, with the distribution of 3,000 face masks and 680 care packages filled with groceries, hand sanitizers, and paper towels, in the DMV region (Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia).

Following the shutdowns and complying with the stay-at-home orders issued across the country, Church members continued to practice their faith, promptly shifting to online worship services. All congregational gatherings and activities remain virtual, and individual members continue to observe health restrictions and protocols in public places. They are also active participants in the contact tracing efforts launched by the states’ health departments to help in isolating those infected with the novel coronavirus.

In Shoshoni, Wyoming, in a 163-acre eco-farm developed by the Church, about two grow rooms of mushrooms are harvested per week, providing a source of income to many residents. This site and its counterpart in Scenic, South Dakota, with a capacity for 16 indoor grow rooms, are the first eco-farm projects established by INC in North America.

Aside from these, there are 37 other eco-farms worldwide, which include a 1,255-acre site in Ladybrand, South Africa, under the Felix Y. Manalo Foundation, the charitable arm of the Church Of Christ. According to the Church’s General Auditor, Brother Glicerio B. Santos Jr., these eco-farm projects aim “to give work or livelihood and housing to those in need in different countries.”

The Iglesia Ni Cristo, under the stewardship of its Executive Minister, Brother Eduardo V. Manalo, and through the help and guidance of the Almighty God, is unceasing in its socio-civic projects globally, reaching out to the different sectors of the community, especially the marginalized.

The INC is now established in 158 countries and territories, and its members belong to 147 races and nationalities worldwide. Its members continue to be exhorted to live according to the biblical teachings the Church upholds, which include respect for the law. — Courtesy of INC Public Information Office