UMCOR supports tree-planting project in Philippines

By Jhoanna Ragasa
Oct. 22, 2025 | ELVITA, Philippines (UMC TV)

Volunteers prepare trees for planting as part of a reforestation project on the island of Palawan in the Philippines. The flood relief project is sponsored by UMCOR and the Manila Episcopal Area. Jhoanna Ragasa reports.

United Methodists are planting native trees in a flood-prone area on the island of Palawan. The reforestation project is a joint venture between the United Methodist Committee on Relief and the Manila Episcopal Area. Bread of Life United Methodist Church in the area has flooded several times in the past, and residents hope the tree planting will result in a long-term solution. Jhoanna Ragasa, Cedric Sagun and John Rey Velasco report from the Philippines, with photos by Cheryl Regnim and Jerry Dumaya.

Watch video

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

Sign up for our newsletter!

Subscribe Now

Mission and Ministry

Filipino United Methodists living in the United Arab Emirates gather in Dubai for an annual meeting and celebration that included special choir performances and worship. Screenshot from video by the UAE Media Team.

Filipino United Methodists celebrate mission in Middle East

Philippines Regional Conference bishops join church members working abroad in the United Arab Emirates for a time of fellowship and spiritual renewal.

Mission and Ministry

Sister Confianza, a member of the Amigas del Señor (Women Friends of the Lord) Monastery in Limón, Honduras, rides her bike through the village alongside a neighbor. Originally from the United States, Sister Confianza founded the monastery with another woman in 2006. Photo by Paul Jeffrey, UM News.

2025: The year in photos

United Methodists around the world are living into the denomination’s new vision to "love boldly, serve joyfully, and lead courageously in local communities and worldwide connections.” UM News, the denomination's official news service, documented a year in the life of United Methodism worldwide.

Bishops

Retired Bishop José Gamboa Jr. served as the first resident bishop of the Davao Episcopal Area in the southern Philippines. He died Dec. 22 at age 97. Photo courtesy of Union Theological Seminary Philippines.

Bishop Gamboa remembered as humble shepherd

e educator and trailblazing United Methodist leader pioneered mission in the Philippines’ Davao Episcopal Area. Gamboa died Dec. 22 at age 97.

Related Tags

Sign up for our newsletter!