(Eagle News) – A member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba in Canada thanked the Iglesia Ni Cristo (Church Of Christ) for its worldwide efforts in humanitarian service before her colleagues in a speech Thursday (Oct. 25) at Canada’s legislative assembly.
Cindy Lamoureaux, the elected member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba for the constituency of Burrows, said she had personally witnessed how the INC’s various socio-civic and humanitarian work had extended help to people from various walks of life.
Speaking at the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba on Thursday afternoon, Oct. 25, Lamoureaux said that the Iglesia Ni Cristo deserves the appreciation of the assembly for the help that the Church had extended to the people of Manitoba in Canada.
“Madame Speaker, it is organizations like INC and individuals like the nine who have joined us here today, that are an embodiment of hope,” she said addressing the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba, Myrna Driedger.
“They work to serve others, and I was hoping that today my colleagues would join me in showing appreciation to INC’s service to our province,” the legislative member representing Burrows community in Manitoba, Canada said in her address to the assembly.
Lamoureaux, at the start of her speech, also spoke about the global scope of the Church’s efforts to help people.
“Today I want to speak about an organization that is so huge that they are established in 147 countries, including here in Canada. The Iglesia Ni Cristo (INC) is a committed group of individuals who have decided to fulfill their pledge in extending help, through aid and services, promoting education, socio-economic well-being, environmental awareness and health improvement,” Lamoreaux said speaking on Thursday, Oct. 25 in Canada before her fellow legislative members in Manitoba.
“They (the INC members) do this through partnering up with local governments, community establishments, aid for humanity programs and through Christian Family Organizations of the Church of Christ,” she said.
-INC Worldwide Walk to Fight Poverty-
Lamoreaux said she had also participated in the INC Worldwide Walk to Fight Poverty last May and various Lingap sa Mamamayan or Aid for Humanity projects of the Church.
She recounted how she and another colleague of hers from Keewatinook “have had the honor to participate in INC’s events” over the last couple of years.
“I’d like to tell you about a few of these events — the first being, the World Wide walk to fight poverty. This event occurred simultaneously in 44 countries, across 18 times zones on May 5th,” said the Canadian legislator in her speech before the assembly.
She recalled that 1,140 Manitobans joined the INC Worldwide walk venue in Canada “which happened right here on our legislative grounds.”
The INC Worldwide Walk aimed to extend help to people in Africa. To date, the INC had already established two eco-farming communities in Africa, namely in Ladybrand and in Petrusburg in South Africa which provides not only food, but livelihood to hundreds of people there.
-Recent efforts of INC to help Manitoba cited-
“More recently, last month on September 28th, INC held an event in the north end of our city where over 3000 care packages were handed out to nearby residents, clients of local shelters and those who may be homeless. There was also live entertainment and hot meals being served,” she recounted.
Lamoreaux said that the INC deserve the appreciation of the province of Manitoba, recalling the care that the Church members had provided “across Manitoba.”
She cited the recent help done by the INC members in the Canada-wide blood donation drive “when there was a shortage for blood donations this past summer.”
“When there was need for the evacuees of Garden Hill and St. Theresa Point during last year’s forest fire, they (INC members) fed Manitobans who were arriving by air from affected areas,” Lamoreaux added.
