History Nook
Ellinwood During the War
With the return of the American forces to the Philippines, Manila was heavily bombed. Miraculously the Ellinwood Church building escaped the worst of the battle of Manila. After the Japanese were driven out of the city, the Rev. Hugh Bousman assumed full pastoral responsibilities of the Ellinwood congregation until he helft on furlough in March 1946. From March until May 1946, the Rev. Alexander Christie, treasurer of the Presbyterian Mission served as interim pastor. (The Ellinwooder, August 26, 2007)
Growth of a City Church
The immediate post-war period presented Ellinwood with the task of ministering to a wide spectrum of human need. There was the continuing congregation which had remained fiathful to Ellinwood during the war years. There was the large number of American G.I.'s who had occupied Manila. There were the former American residents of Manila, who, with the destruction of Union Church, began attending Ellinwood. There were many Chinese who turned to Ellinwood for Christian fellowship.
As Manila began to rebuild, migrants began to flood in from the provinces. Many were returning to resume their education where they had left off. Quite a number were new students looking to build a new independent Philippines. A great many of the migrants were rural people whose lives had been disrupted by the war, who now sought to make new beginnings in the city. People came from many places. Ellinwood, whch had been composed of people from the Tragalog-speaking areas, now became a church representing all regions. People from the Engangelical churches in the Ilocos provinces and from the Bocil region entered the Ellinwood fellowship. Yough people from the Visayas, who had graduated from Silliman and from Central Philippines University, came to regard Ellinwood as their second home. Ellinwood began to grow into a fellowship of all peoples. (The Ellinwooder, Sept 2, 2007)
Along with this changing membership, in May 1948, Ellinwood Malate Church, as a member of the United Evangelical Church in the Philippines, became one of the major congregations in the newly organized United Church of Christ in the Philippines. The organizing churches of this new union included the United Evangelical Church of the Philippines (formed in 1929 by the Presbyterian, Congregational and United Brethren churches); the Evangelical Church (created in 1944 during the Japanese occupation); and the Philippine Methodist Church. Formal ceremonies for establishing the United Church of Christ took place in the sanctuary of Ellinwood Malate Church on May 25th, 1948. By this action Ellinwood Church joined itself both practically and symbolically to the continuing quest for an ecumenical church. (The Ellinwooder, Sept 9, 2007)
Outreach of Ellinwood
As the migration to Manila after WW II increased, the popultation of the city rose rapidly. The population of metropolitan Manila doubled from 1.3 million in 1947 to 2.6 million in 1967. Ellinwood Church also grew under the impact of the migration. With the great number of people in the city, Ellinwood needed an organizational approach to cope with the new challenge. In the period of the late 40's and early 50's many Ellinwood laymen were mobilized for evangelism and stewardship. A campaign of visitation evangelism spearheaded by twenty-six laymen brought 143 new members into Ellinwood Church on Easter Sunday in 1949. The membership of Ellinwood Church rose from 300 in 1946 to 580 in 1949, to 1,000 in 1953. Along with this growth in membership, there was a concrete effort to increase the sense of stewardship among the members. With his arrival in 1946, Eugene Hessel instituted the "every member canvass" as a means of developing systematic giving to the programs of Ellinwood Church.
One of the areas of ministry which had grown in the post-war period was the Social Service program. Faced by the misery the war had left and the increasing problems caused by growing migration, Ellinwood intensified its ministry in meeting social needs. the Social Service Committee headed by Dr. Jose M. Reyes, Jr. began in 1946 by providing material and medical assistance to rehabilitate destitute families. Many young students from Union Theological Seminary received their first practical experience in meeting social problems through the Social Service program Ellinwood Church. Eventually a social worker was added to the staff to provide a more professional approach to the program. (The Ellinwooder, Sept 23, 2007)
Greater Ellinwood
In he next decade from 1957 to 1967, the Ellinwood Church discovered its vocation as a city church
-From the historical accounts written by the
Rev. Richard P. Poethig
"60 Years Mission in Manila" - 1967
