Navigation Back Search
Search

Overseas Filipino workers celebrate faith in a faraway land

By Larren Jo Basillo and UAE Media Team
Feb. 19, 2026 | ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates (UMC TV)

Filipino United Methodists living in the United Arab Emirates gather in Abu Dhabi for an annual meeting and celebration that included special choir performances and worship. Video by Larren Jo Basillo and the UAE Media team.

Overseas Filipino workers and migrants gathered to celebrate the founding The United Methodist Church in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates. The celebration marked nearly two decades of faith in a faraway land. Hope, resilience and spiritual renewal were the highlights of worship, reflecting the role of the church as a community that commits in continuing the mission of Christ.

This video was produced by Larren Jo Basillo, Jhoanna Kylle Ragasa, John Leo Sarmiento and the UAE Media Team.

Watch video

News media contact: Julie Dwyer at newsdesk@umnews.org. To read more United Methodist news, subscribe to the free UM News Digest.

Related Tags

Sign up for our newsletter!

Subscribe Now
Social Concerns
Filipino United Methodists in the Davao Episcopal Area participated in a four-day United Methodist Board of Global Ministries EarthKeepers training on climate change and environmental conservation. Image from video by Touch Barrientos, Kyla Ragasa, DEA Communications, and Matthan Bang-Asan.

EarthKeepers promote creation care in the Philippines
Filipino United Methodists commit to leading environmental initiatives in their local churches following training by the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries.
Social Concerns
(From left) United Methodist Deaconess Rubylin G. Litao, Nay Llore Pasco, a leader of the Rise Up for Life and for Rights network, and lawyer Krissi Conti, International Criminal Court-accredited assistant to the counsel of the victims’ families, hold a banner with the faces of victims at a rally in the International Criminal Court at The Hague in the Netherlands on Feb. 25. Photo courtesy of Rubylin Litao.

United Methodists denounce attacks on deaconess, drug war victims
A church commission has condemned the spread of AI-manipulated images and disinformation targeting people seeking justice for victims in the Philippine drug war.
Mission and Ministry
Screen shot from video by Kyla Ragasa and Matthan Bang-asan

Baguio Episcopal Area equips faith leaders
The Baguio Episcopal Area of the Philippines Regional Conference held a three-day 2026 BEA Convocation with the theme “Bagnos iti Panagdaliasat,” meaning guide to the journey.

United Methodist Communications is an agency of The United Methodist Church

©2026 United Methodist Communications. All Rights Reserved