Bishop James Boliget Leads EDCP Clergy Pilgrimage to St. James’ Church, Taichung: April 25-26, 2026 ❤️

The wild boar was ready ~ and it smelled wonderful! It was roasting on a spit outside St. James’ Church, Taichung, all ready for our visitors from the Episcopal Diocese of Central Philippines (EDCP) as they arrived on Saturday, April 25, 2026. As soon as they’d been welcomed and had a short tour, we all sang Happy Birthday to Bishop James Boliget – what a birthday for him to remember! Many of the men then headed out to try the delicious wild boar meat cooked by the Bunun Tribe, from Nantou, central Taiwan, while the women gathered around the stall selling massage oils and handmade soap. The occasion was the St. James’ Kindergarten annual charity bazaar, and we were all so happy when the EDCP visitors expressed their willingness to visit the bazaar before heading off on a day of sightseeing at Sun Moon Lake!

Only a month ago, in mid-March 2026, Bishop James Boliget of EDCP got in touch to say that he was leading a group of 22 clergy and their families from his diocese on a pilgrimage tour of Taiwan, and they would like to worship at ‘St. James’ Cathedral’ on Sunday, April 26. I asked him to clarify whether he meant St. John’s Cathedral, Taipei or St. James’ Church, Taichung, and of course, he meant St. James, with the opportunity to meet the Rector Emeritus, Rev. Charles C. T. Chen. What excitement there was at St. James when everyone heard this news! Rev. Lily Chang, rector, and Ms. Luanne Chiu, kindergarten supervisor and Charles’ daughter-in-law, organized an amazing weekend, with the full support of all clergy, church members, kindergarten teachers and the whole community. The Bishop of Taiwan, Bishop Lennon Yuan-Rung Chang was invited to attend, but he had already arranged to be at St. Mark’s Church, Pingtung for their St. Mark’s Day celebrations, instead he kindly sent each of the EDCP visitors an artillery shell cross as a gift. Thanks to Charles and everyone at St. James, I was invited to join the weekend’s events, and I also took with me the Rev. Dr. Judith Odhiambo, from the Diocese of Eldoret, Kenya, who is visiting Taipei for six months research; this was her first visit to St. James’ Church. The dean of St. John’s Cathedral, Taipei, Dean Philip Lin, as former rector of St. James, was also there with his family on Saturday. And of course, Rev. Charles Chen and MaryJo, now both aged 90, were fully present throughout the whole weekend, full of excitement!

The whole reason for the EDCP visit to Taiwan was that through the vision and enthusiasm of Rev. Charles Chen, in the years between 1999-2012, St. James’ Church raised the money to build 12 churches in EDCP. There have been seven visits by St. James’ clergy and church members to EDCP since 1999, and some of us have been multiple times. Charles has been on six of those visits, me too. Each time we went, it was to visit the EDCP churches that St. James had raised the money to build, and each time, Charles was inspired to keep going and raise more money to build more churches. In 2007, Bishop Dixie Taclobao came from EDCP to St. James’ Church for the opening of the new Education Building, inspiring St. James to continue on raising money. But never before in all that time has there been an opportunity for a whole group from EDCP to come to visit St. James’ Church. Until now, that is. What a wonderful surprise for us all. Thanks be to God!

From April 24-27, 2026, Bishop James Boliget led an EDCP group of 22 people, 16 clergy (8 men and 8 women, including one clergy couple) and 6 lay people (3 lay leaders and 3 family members) to Taiwan. It was so wonderful to meet EDCP clergy who are now in charge of the churches built by St. James, and to hear from them, and even more so, to meet up again with some of the EDCP clergy who we have known since we first started visiting the Philippines in 1999. The list includes Rev. Rommel Adeban, Rev. Ned Mapangdol and his wife Rev. Gloria Mapangdol from St. Andrew’s Seminary, and especially Bishop James Boliget himself. In one of the earliest group photos, taken in 2003 on our EDCP visit to St. Mark’s Church, San Jose, there is a very young Rev. James Boliget in the back row (second left) ~ and my, don’t we all look young?!

Bishop James Boliget appears in many of our photos over the years, more recently when he welcomed us to visit the cathedral in Manila, where he served as dean from 2008 onwards. Here he is with our Dean Philip Lin in 2019 (left photo) and now (right)!

The main visit for the EDCP group to St. James’ Church was on Sunday, April 26, when Bishop James preached at both church services at 9:30 am and 10:45 am. In his sermon, for Good Shepherd Sunday, he said to the St. James’ congregation, “This congregation went beyond by being shepherd not only to this community but went through other towns and villages, including Central Philippines. You became a people that responded to God’s call to be shepherds to each other and to the world. You were a people who lived out your baptismal vows. What made you distinct was not only on how you care for those who come to worship here but, how you moved outside from your comfort zone, as people who care for those who are not part of this fellowship of love and prayer.”

The rest of the EDCP group visited the St. James’ Butterfly Garden and attended the second service. This was all followed by a wonderful lunch for everyone at a nearby Japanese restaurant, hosted by St. James’ Kindergarten. In honour of their visit, the 10:45 am Chinese service became a combined English and Chinese service, during which the EDCP group sang two anthems, and there was a time of sharing, when we watched their 4-minute video (to which the St. James team had added Chinese subtitles, posted above) about the partnership between EDCP and St. James. Well worth watching!

There were also gift presentations, and Rev. Charles Chen gave a very lively and moving speech, translated by Professor Annie Tsai, and he also presented Bishop James with a donation towards EDCP seminarians’ training.

In his speech, Charles said, “The successive bishops of the Central Diocese of the Philippines have truly been prophets in name and reality, possessing prophetic foresight! I remember when this servant of the Lord retired, the Vestry of St. James’ Church wanted to give me a title. In their discussion, they considered titles such as “Consulting Pastor” or “Honorary Pastor,” but these names were not quite in line with the traditional structure of the Anglican Church. In fact, the bishop of the Central Diocese of the Philippines at that time, Bishop Dixie, had already addressed me in his correspondence as “Rector Emeritus,” which in Chinese is translated as “Honorary Rector.” Thus, this appropriate title of “Rector Emeritus” has been used until now.

During this visit, Bishop Boliget referred to our church as St. James’ Cathedral. Although this was spoken as a compliment, I believe Bishop Boliget truly has foresight, because although St. James is now a small parish, in not many years, we will become the cathedral of the Central Taiwan Diocese! Please wait and see. The prophecy of a prophet will surely be fulfilled!

Another thing that deeply moved us is that Bishop Boliget said this visiting group came especially to make a pilgrimage to St. James Cathedral. This truly surprised us! Our small parish is really not worthy of being a place of pilgrimage! Although in the past 28 years (1998–2012), over 14 years, with the Lord’s help, we supported the Central Diocese of the Philippines in building 12 small churches, we are still unworthy servants of the Lord, only willing to be used by Him and to do what we ought to do. At the same time, we acted out of gratitude, striving to turn love into action! Because about more than 50 years ago, our St. James Church had nothing at all. However, through the generous support of Christ Church, Greenville from the Upper South Carolina Diocese in the United States, and the United Thank Offering (UTO), we were able to establish St. James’ Church and De-ming Building. In the past, we had nothing, but now we have everything. The Lord’s grace is exceedingly abundant and rich. How could we not share what we now have with others?”

A great and memorable speech, thank you Charles!

To rewind a little, the official story of the mission partnership between EDCP and St. James’ Church, Taichung, is as follows:

“‘It all started with a mango tree!’ ‘A group of Episcopalians in a remote area of the Diocese of Central Philippines have no church building of their own, so they are worshiping under a mango tree’. When Bishop Manuel Lumpias wrote similar words in a letter in 1998 to the then Bishop of Taiwan, John C. T. Chien, he had no idea of what the result would be 12 years later. Bishop Chien handed the letter to one of his senior clergy, the Rev. Charles C. T. Chen, then rector of St. James’ Episcopal Church, Taichung. Charles remembers the letter and the way it touched his heart. ‘The thought of that small Christian community worshiping week after week under a mango tree moved me to want to help them”, he says.

The people were Igorot people, originally headhunters, who had moved from the mountainous provinces of the northern Philippines looking for land and work, and had settled in Nueva Ecija, Diocese of Central Philippines. Within a short time, St. James’ Church had raised the money to build them a church. The cost? Only US$ 6,000! The people of St. James also discovered that the community had no water supply, so they raised an extra $3,000 to put in a permanent water supply to help the whole community. That first church, Christ the King, Sandeline, was dedicated on July 27, 1999. But that was only the beginning! Now there are a total of 12 churches in the Diocese of Central Philippines constructed with money raised by St. James’ Church. Thank God that the seed sown has indeed produced much fruit!”

That opening line, ‘It all started with a mango tree’ has become so synonymous with the story of the mission partnership that developed over the years between St. James’ Church and EDCP that it is interesting to discover, deeply embedded in the files in St. James’ Church office, that the original letter from Bishop Manuel Lumpias does not specifically mention a mango tree, just trees in general. Also, I notice that the letter in St. James’ files is dated 16 March 1992, not 1998 – Bishop Lumpias was EDCP bishop from 1978-1996, so this 1992 date is probably correct.

The letter starts as follows:

Dear Bishop Chien:

Greetings from Manila for a fruitful and meaningful Lent and a glorious and blessed Easter!

The Episcopal Diocese of Central Philippines is the smallest diocese, in terms of members and congregations, in the Episcopal Church in the Philippines (ECP), yet its expansion area is the largest. The diocese is situated within the so-called “mainstream” society of the country which offers varied and unnumbered opportunities for the church to proclaim the word of God. We are now fast expanding into the rural areas where hunger for the Good News is very great.

The diocese is also the most self-reliant in the ECP in terms of meeting its operational expenses. The call to share the Gospel however requires capital expenditure which the diocese is directly lacking. Such expenditures cover the construction of multi-purpose buildings which serve as the nerve centers of the congregation and community. The multi-purpose buildings act as the venue for worship services, trainings and seminars, meetings and other varied community services.

We are encountering great difficulty in raising funds for our multi-purpose buildings. The congregations are raising money on their own but with the economic situation in the Philippines, each member can only give so much of his money. As a result, many of our congregations worship in what we call “house churches”. Some worship under the shade of the trees, which is uncomfortable especially during the rainy season. Despite this, we continue to nurture our members and reach out to the unreached. What we therefore have in great abundance are the people themselves – their talents and gifts which we try our very best to put to good use.

A small chapel which can accommodate 50-100 people costs around $9,000.00 while one which can accommodate 150-200 people costs $17,500.00.

I am therefore appealing to you as a friend and colleague to help us in our calling to proclaim the Gospel to our people. Specifically, I am prayerfully requesting for contributions towards the building of our multi-purpose buildings. Your valuable assistance will not be measured in the amount which you contribute but in the spirit of partnership which will obtain between your diocese and mine.”

There have been other letters from EDCP bishops addressed to Rev. Charles Chen since then that have specifically mentioned mango trees, though neem trees are also important! We can surmise that it was this letter, sent from Bishop Lumpias to Bishop Chien, and then handed to Rev. Charles C. T. Chen, that planted the seed that would lead to a partnership in mission that resulted in the construction of 12 churches in EDCP (photos of Bishop Lumpias below).

Rev. Charles C. T. Chen was born in 1935, and as a young man was determined to go into business as a merchant, but was dissuaded from entering business by his sister-in-law. After becoming a Christian, he felt called to go to seminary and dedicate his life to serving as a priest in the Taiwan Episcopal Church. In 1986, at the age of 51, he moved with his wife, MaryJo (see photos below, taken in the Philippines) and their three children to St. James’ Church, Taichung, and from then onwards used his business skills well in developing St. James’ Church and Kindergarten, and in the partnership with the Philippines. Recalling the history of St. James’ Church, he notes that in 1971 a donation of US$ 30,000 from Christ Church, Greenville, Diocese of Upper South Carolina (USC), USA, matched by an equal amount raised by church members, enabled St. James’ Church to be built. It was one of many missions started by Christ Church, USC, under their then rector, Fr. Tom Carson (1964-1979) which continue today to bear fruit for God’s Kingdom throughout the world.

Starting small, this original donation from Christ Church was the seed, the beginning of St. James’ Church. In 1976, in response to the needs of a growing church kindergarten, the De-Ming Building was constructed at St. James, this time with a large donation from the United Thank Offering (UTO). As retired missionary Rev. Peyton Craighill said, “At the time, the Diocese of Taiwan had a very active companion relationship with the Diocese of USC. It was one of the best, if not the best, in the Episcopal Church. Without the work of the USC (and also the UTO) on a number of parish projects, I don’t think we would have gotten our diocese off the ground.”

Today there are five large buildings on the St. James’ Church compound, housing Chinese and English congregations, a thriving kindergarten, community service center, counseling center and Language Institute. God has indeed poured out his blessing. These days, Charles and his wife, MaryJo live nearby with their son, Samuel, Luanne and family, actively retired and continuing to help at St James’ Church as invited by Rev. Lily Chang. Charles’ enthusiasm and energy remain high, so this visit from Bishop James Boliget and EDCP was a major highlight, and they fully participated in every way! (Photos of St. James’ Church and the surrounding area, taken this weekend).

There is no doubt that Rev. Charles Chen is a man of vision, with the gift of sharing his vision with others, and inspiring them to join him in giving to a good cause. Four of the churches constructed in the Philippines have been collective church efforts, the others have been donated by church members, all anonymously. One couple, who had started their lives in poverty, through hard work over many years, was able to generously donate the money to build five churches. One of the churches is named ‘Holy Carpenter Church’ in honour of the husband’s work as a carpenter. Another lady, herself living in rented accommodation, had always dreamed of building a church in Taiwan, but the costs were prohibitive. Instead, her dream came true through her donation of money to build three churches in the Philippines. One of these, Christ the Lord Church, had had its original church building washed away by rising sea-levels, so not only did they have no church, they also had no land. Through her own sacrifice of personal comfort and security, this lady was able to both buy the building lot and build the church. Such is the sacrifice that church members of St. James have been willing to make in order to help those less fortunate than themselves. (Christ the Lord, Holy Innocents & St. Mark’s Church photos below).

As the years went by, the costs of church construction increased, from an original US$ 6,000; by 2009, inflation had driven the cost of a church up to nearer US$ 30,000 (over lunch on Sunday, the EDCP clergy calculated that nowadays the cost of a church would be about US$ 50,000). In that year, St. James raised the money to build what we thought was to be the final church, Divine Grace Church, in Palawan, so named in recognition of the grace that God has given to enable this project to be completed. In February 2010, Bishop David Lai and his wife, Lily, together with Rev. Charles Chen and his wife, MaryJo, and I, traveled to the Philippines for a Thanksgiving Service in celebration for the 12 years of mission partnership. Representatives from each of the churches built by St. James gathered in celebration at Holy Carpenter Church, Labrador, Nueva Ecija (see photos below).

After that Thanksgiving Service in February 2010, the Rev. Charles C. T. Chen and St. James’ Church thought that the whole project was completed. That was not to be the case however! At the back of Charles’ mind was the thought that he had not fulfilled his promise to the people of St. Gregory’s Church, Metro Manila – to raise the money to build a new church for them. On earlier visits to Manila over the years, Rev. Charles Chen and our groups had been to visit St. Gregory’s Church at least twice. The church did not have their own building; in fact, they shared a rundown church building owned by the local community, in an extremely poor state of disrepair (see photos below).

The church members had appealed to the bishop, and Bishop Dixie Taclobao had recommended it as the ninth church for St. James’ building project. Rev. Charles Chen visited a diocese-owned building lot nearby on which they proposed building the new church, and he agreed to raise the money for this as the ninth church. The money was raised and transferred, but then the problems really started. When the builders arrived to start the construction work, people appeared at the site saying that this was not church land, but their land; it was they who owned the plot, so the church could not build there. It turned out that there were at least three other people who had title deeds to that plot of land! All construction of course had to stop. After months of wrangling with all the people who claimed to own the land and with the courts, it was clear that this plot was not going to be available in the near future. After waiting for a considerable length of time, Bishop Dixie decided this problem could not be resolved and that the remaining funds should be redirected – divided into two and used to build 2 wooden churches for the indigenous people in the mountains. Rev. Charles Chen agreed, and this was done.

Rev. Charles C. T. Chen could not rest however! At the back of his mind was still the feeling that he had let down the people of St. Gregory’s Church. Understandably they were disappointed and sad at the decision to use the remaining money to build two smaller churches instead. They were still left with that rundown church building being leased from the community. After much prayer, Rev. Charles C. T. Chen started to discuss with the people of St. James’ Church about the possibility of both buying a completely new plot of land and building a new church for the people of St. Gregory’s. One of the church members at St. James offered to fund the purchase of a new plot of land. Another church member, Ms. Hui-Lan Hsu, an old friend of St. James, was an artist who offered to hold an exhibition of her paintings (see photos below) and to donate the money to build the new church. In 2003, her husband Mr. Yang Song-Hui, had been killed trying to escape a fire at the top of a high-rise building, he had held back to let everyone go first, and as the last one, he fell to his death. He was only in his 30’s, and he left his wife and two young sons. The Chinese characters for his name, Song-Hui, are those used in the English name, ‘Gregory’, and his wife, Hui-Lan was keen to raise the money in memory of her beloved husband. What more beautiful memorial than a church bearing her husband’s name and built with money raised by selling her own paintings?

Not wanting to repeat the same mistakes as last time regarding the title deeds of the new plot of land, the process of acquiring a new plot of land in urban Metro Manila for the new St Gregory’s Church took many months, followed by the application for a building permit. The building was constructed on two floors, with the worship space on the ground floor, and a meeting room above. Finally, in November 2012, Rev. Charles Chen and a group from St. James, including Ms. Hui-Lan Hsu, were able to travel to Manila for the consecration of St. Gregory’s Church. Praise God, for the fulfillment of a great and wonderful vision!

The 12 EDCP churches built with money raised by St. James’ Church, Taichung, Taiwan:

1. Christ the King Episcopal Church, Sandeline, Nueva Ecija – July 27, 1999
2. St. David of Wales Episcopal Church, Palale, Nueva Ecija – December 7, 2002
3. St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, San Jose, Nueva Ecija – December 8, 2002
4. St. Paul Episcopal Church, Dona Josefa, Nueva Ecija – 2004
5. Holy Innocents Episcopal Church, Cavite – February 2005
6. St. James Episcopal Church, San Ysiro – February 12, 2006
7. Christ the Lord Episcopal Church, Lemery, Batangas – February 13, 2006
8. Holy Carpenter Church, Villa Labrador – November 2009.
9. Epiphany Episcopal Church, Occidental Mindoro – June 23, 2010
10. Ascension Episcopal Church, Bulay, Tanay, Rizal – August 21, 2010
11. Divine Grace Episcopal Church, Palawan – December 19, 2010
12. St. Gregory’s Church, Cogeo, Metro Manila – November 10, 2012

In 2010, the partnership broadened out to include other visits and projects. After the Thanksgiving Service at Holy Carpenter Church, the St. James’ group had visited St. Stephen’s High School, Manila, where Principal Judy Tan invited Bishop David Lai to send a Chinese youth mission team to St. Stephen’s School. This visit took place from July 26 to August 3, 2011, led by Rev. Richard Lee and Rev. Simon Tsou, with nine youth and two other leaders (see photo below). They held classes in Mandarin Chinese for the teachers and parents of St. Stephen’s High School and evangelistic meetings for over 500 children in the school and in the local community.

In September 2013, St. James’ Church welcomed Lynn Baguiwet, EDCP Finance Officer (below left) for a two-week visit, followed in the summer of 2015, by Rev. Joel del Rosario (below right), who came for a two-month visit, serving in St. James’ English service.

In March 2019, in joyful thanksgiving for the ministry of Bishop Dixie Taclobao as he retired, Rev. Charles Chen, MaryJo, Rev. Lily Chang and I visited Manila for the installation of Bishop Rex Reyes, as the new bishop in succession to Bishop Dixie.

Then in April 2026, came this huge and wonderful surprise, when Bishop James Boliget, who had succeeded Bishop Rex in 2024, brought a group of 22 clergy and their family members on a pilgrimage to St. James’ Church, Taichung, especially to meet Rev. Charles Chen and St James Church members, and to give thanks for this partnership in mission over the years. What a great time we all had! Thanks to Bishop James Boliget and all the EDCP visitors, for bringing your love and joy ~ your pilgrimage visit has brought our partnership in mission almost full circle, and we are grateful to God.

None of this could have been possible without God’s grace and love, as well as the support of the diocesan bishops, both past and present. In Taiwan, the late Bishop John C. T. Chien (Bishop of Taiwan from 1988-2001), then Bishop David J. H. Lai (2001-2020) and now Bishop Lennon Y. R. Chang (2020-) continue their support, while in EDCP, the late Bishop Manuel Lumpias (1978-1996), Bishop Benjamin Botengan (1996-2003), Bishop Dixie Taclobao (2003-2019), Bishop Rex Reyes Jr (2019-2024), and now Bishop James Boliget (2024-) have all seen the blessings of God on this partnership. As Bishop Dixie said, “From building the original church at Sandeline, the circle of friendship and partnership for God’s mission grew broader, and we thank and praise God for all the churches constructed. May His indwelling Spirit continue to sustain our zeal as participants in His mission, and enable us to see this partnership as part of our adventure for God in the midst of today’s challenging crises.” Praise be to Almighty God!