Filipino church leaders in Winnipeg are offering prayers, support, and practical help following a deadly car attack at a Filipino street festival in Vancouver over the weekend.
Pastor Junie Josue, senior pastor of International Worship Centre — which has multiple locations in Winnipeg, western Manitoba, and Saskatchewan — says his congregation was deeply affected by the tragedy.
"People were shocked. It was definitely something that was difficult to process to begin with," Josue said. "Just offering prayers and support as we could. And, of course, the encouragement we've received from different communities has been helpful."
Josue says Winnipeg Mayor Scott Gillingham personally called him to offer condolences and encouragement. The church held a time of prayer during Sunday services.
"We prayed as a congregation. It was definitely a very, very sad moment for us as a church to be praying for what happened there," Josue said. "We're still processing everything and we're still trying to find means and ways to connect with the community in Vancouver."
Josue says he has reached out to ministry leaders in Vancouver to see how International Worship Centre can assist in the aftermath of the attack.
When asked how Christians should respond to evil events like this, Josue said it's important to draw near to God and seek His presence.
"For me, honestly, it's more of really drawing near to God and just pouring out my heart," he said. "Hopefully I receive something from Him that can help stop an evil thing like this from happening again. And of course, God's Spirit to move in the hearts and minds of people."
Josue says he believes the Church historically shines during moments of crisis.
"The wider Church is at its best in moments of crisis. Whether it's a crisis in the church or outside the church or the community, we're at our best when we move into the direction of being healers and encouragers and people that God can use to touch lives," he said. "That's when miracles happen. That's when great things transpire. This could be a defining moment for the Church, to move into the direction of being the vessels that God wants us to be."
Filipino Inter-Church Fellowship also responding
Pastor John Ramos, who serves at Redeemer Gospel Church in Winnipeg and as Vice President of the Filipino Inter-Church Fellowship of Winnipeg (FICFW), says the pain is being felt across Manitoba’s Filipino churches.
"Everyone is still in shock and everyone is still grieving," Ramos said. "The Filipino community is very tightly knit. We're one very big family. So there's at least one or two families in every congregation who are affected by this."
He says many congregants have relatives or family friends who were among the victims.
Beyond prayer, Ramos is encouraging people to support the victims in tangible ways, including contributing to verified GoFundMe campaigns and donating blood.
"Filipinos and people of Asian descent should consider donating blood," Ramos said. "Some people have rare blood types that fall outside of ABO groups. For Filipino and Pacific Islanders, those rare types include Jka negative, Jkb negative (JK3 negative)."
When asked about the difficult question of where God is in the midst of such tragedies, Ramos said it is during times of sorrow that God's presence is most needed.
"Now is a time of mourning and grief. Now is a time we truly need God's presence above everything else," he said. "If there's anyone who can take our rant or complaint or lament, it's our Father."
He emphasized that God's role as a loving Father invites people to bring their full emotions to Him — even anger, sadness, or confusion.
"We come from a culture of not being allowed to be angry at God or sad at God," Ramos said. "But what I want people to know is if anyone can take all that anger, it's God himself as Father."
Ramos says that the entire Filipino community in Canada is grieving, whether or not they are personally connected to the victims.
"In my church, one of our congregant's daughters works in Vancouver; her co-worker's mom had just come to visit and was one of the victims killed," he said. "And so, we're all affected. Maybe not personally, but at the very least, we're all humans. It hurts."
Ramos also thanked the wider Church in Winnipeg and Manitoba for their messages of support.
"We've received so many messages of condolences and prayers. The Filipino community appreciates them all."