May They Be One

Over the weekend of 20 – 21 November 2010, the Filipino community in Auckland gathered for three separate Masses.

Bible Society CEO, Francis Burdett, (left) and Bishop Bastes speaking to the Filipino community outside St Mary’s Church, Northcote.

They were held at St Mary’s Church, Northcote, The Church of the Good Shepherd, Balmoral and St Joseph’s Church in Takapuna.

A special guest at each of the Masses was Bishop Arturo Bastes, the Chairman of the Episcopal Commission for the Biblical Apostolate (ECBA) in the Philippines, who was visiting New Zealand to launch the May They Be One Bible campaign.

The campaign is a partnership between the Bible Society in the Philippines and ECBA.Through this campaign, it aims to distribute five million Bibles to poor Filipino families by 2013.

Around 1,200 people attended the three Masses. At the conclusion of each Mass there were opportunities for members of the Filipino community to support the campaign.

This article is from The Word at Work – New Year 2011.