Take a Break
As I write this, the summer sun is blazing, reminding me that the seeds sown by One Voice Magazine early this year will bloom soon. The first quarter of 2025 saw us plowing our ground in various little ways. For example, two of us from the team went to Bohol where we took part in the fundraising concert, “Take a Break,” initiated by Sidlak Hesus and Ignitr Band. Worship bands from churches in Trinidad and nearby municipalities in Bohol came together for a dual purpose: to lift up the name of Jesus through powerful praise and worship, and to raise funds for the orphanage Village of Hope and the construction of the church building of Grace Point Ministry. “Take a Break” was held at the Trinidad Cultural Center on March 21, 2025, a few weeks after churches assembled together in Trinidad, Bohol, for a Bible parade.
Bigger than Politics
Such gatherings of unity like “Take a Break” are needed in the Body of Christ, considering the political upheavals of the nation. I personally saw the concert as a brief break from the hullabaloo on social media, where people were clashing online in the name of justice and respect—whether for one political camp or the other.
What many of us in One Voice did was to sort out our feelings regarding the news at hand. The question of “Who is right?” or the leanings toward “PBBM or Duterte” soon faded into: Can we give up our rights to a political stand or a political belief if this were to preserve the unity in the Body of Christ? This was a question asked in one of the intercession nights I attended at Jesus Revolution Now (JREV), and it is a question worth repeating.
This question does NOT imply that we must agree with everyone just to preserve unity. There still is a right and wrong, especially when we use the Bible as a standard or plumbline for justice and righteousness. But when everyone believes they are right, and we fight against each other because of it, then the Church will end up with political beliefs dividing us into angry factions. This is contrary to the heart of Jesus for unity where He prays to the Father in John 17:22-23, “I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one—I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.”
The Church is supposed to impact the nation—to shine a light in the dark. We intercede for the nation. We love the nation. We influence the nation with our words and actions. If the Church is divided, then the nation is divided. More than ever, there is a need for us to listen to each other with compassion, heeding the words of the Apostle Paul in Romans 12:10: “Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves.”
Honoring one another above yourselves—easier said than done, I know. But it can happen if we allow humility to take its course. This may mean giving people their space to believe in something we don’t and being okay with it because we respect them and love them.
If there is one Person who can truly unite us, it is Jesus, our Prince of Peace, who said, “And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself” (John 12:32).
Honoring Our Roots
At the end of this year, we will release another magazine issue with the theme “Honoring Our Roots.” We will continue highlighting our “root people” or our tribespeople, the first ones whose feet touched the Philippines and whose fingers vibrated with the wild summons of tending to our precious land. We will feature those who call the Cordilleras their home, digging into the soil of family and what it means to champion generational legacy.
Team members from One Voice Magazine will be in Benguet and will join Mt. Zion Sides of the North City Church in Baguio for an outreach we call Dagiti Ramut or “These Roots.” Mt. Zion Sides of the North City Church has been ministering to Benguet, Mt. Province, and Ifugao tribes, among others. Two communities that they reach out to are located in Asin Road, San Luis Village and in Alapang, La Trinidad. These two communities will be the team’s focus as we deepen our understanding of honoring our roots. We will also use our time to impart Biblical values to them through storytelling.
It is always a joy when members of One Voice Magazine step out and live the stories we write.
One Voice Magazine and School of Tomorrow®, Philippines
One of the ways One Voice Magazine plowed our ground early this year was to seal a partnership with School of Tomorrow®, Philippines (SOT®P). Personally, I find this special because I am a graduate of the SOT® system. Having this partnership between One Voice Magazine and SOT®P makes me go “back to my roots.”
We are opening a writing contest to all the schools registered with School of Tomorrow®, Philippines. Our website contains information about this. If you have trouble accessing the information, you can go directly to this link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdqOclIsSnuUUSW8Z3QhOavPoSs8XsyOV35-6NchLpu05K9NA/viewform
Suffice it to say that this year’s print issue will contain a new section called “Young Voice.” This is to accommodate the testimonies of students whose voices ring with the destiny and purpose of their generation.
Gardening with the Lord
As we move forward, please keep One Voice Magazine in prayer. It is always a privilege to “garden” with the Lord, plowing ground and sowing seeds in the form of words and actions and expecting a harvest. It can be challenging at times, but there is always deep joy when we do Kingdom work.
If you have been blessed by One Voice Magazine, do send us a message on Facebook! We can use all the encouragement we can get! And who knows? Your words may be the cool, refreshing drizzle we need right now as we continue tending the garden.
One with you in this journey called life,
Janina Marie Rivera
Janina Marie Rivera is the author of the book, A Night Bird Sings of Blindness and Fear and has co-authored the devotional, Dawns, published by OMF Literature. She is a contributing poet in the books Joyful Light and Whitmanthology: on Loss and Grief by Various Authors. She is the Editor-in-Chief of One Voice Magazine.
