THE congregation of the Central United Methodist Church (CUMC) is celebrating its 123rd founding anniversary this month of March. It is the first Protestant church in the Philippines, located along TM Kalaw Street, Ermita, Manila, established on Mar. 5, 1899 during the American occupation. It was originally named the Central Methodist Episcopal Church and was referred to as the American Church or the first English-speaking Church in the Philippines.
Looking back on its beginnings, the first Methodist chapel was made of wood and was completed on Dec. 23, 1901 where future US president William Howard Taft used to attend worship services during his assignment as a governor-general of the Philippines. When World War 2 ended in 1945, CUMC was severely damaged and rendered unusable. In 1949, it was rebuilt with the same design of a cathedral by architect Juan Arellano in its original site along TM Kalaw Street.
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