MALAYBALAY CITY (MindaNews/ 15 Aug) – Thirteen priests from the Diocese of Malaybalay are staging a 29-city concert tour in Canada and the United States starting later this month to October to raise funds to pay for the construction of the three-storey Diocesan Pastoral Center.
The group, dubbed “Paring Bukidnon,” will start their six-city Canadian tour in Vancouver on August 22 to Hamilton on September 1. The 23-city US tour will kick off on September 6 at the Philippine Consulate in New York to October 8 in Seattle.
The tours are dubbed “concert of faith and prayer.”
The diocese is raising approximately P10 million to pay the remaining cost of the building that would serve as center for its various apostolate works.
According the Church-run Ang Bandilyo, the diocese will raise half of the amount from pledges generated from local concerts in Bukidnon and Cagayan de Oro. The diocese launched its Project 555 to raise P5 million from local donors.
So far, the diocese raised P3.62 million from local concerts, where Bishop Jose Cabantan joined some of them.
The last local concert was held yesterday (August 14) in Talakag, completing a 10-parish local tour.
The diocese will raise the other P5 million from the concerts abroad.
Aside from religious songs, included in the repertoire are Bukidnon folk songs, including “Bukidnon My Home.”
According to their tentative schedule, the priests will perform in Vancouver (Aug. 22), Our Lady of Mercy in Vancouver (Aug. 24), Richmond, Vancouver (Aug. 25), Mississauga (Aug. 30), Cardinal Carter Academy in Toronto (Aug. 31), and Hamilton (Sept. 1).
In the US, they will perform in Philippine Consulate in New York (Sept. 6), San Sebastian Church, New York (Sept. 7), Blue Army Shrine, New York (Sept. 8), San Sebastian Church, Philadelphia (Sept. 10), Immaculate Conception, South Jersey (Sept. 12), St. Brigid Church, Michigan (Sept. 14), Immaculate Conception Church, Michigan (Sept. 16), Chicago (Sept. 18), El Dorado Hills Sacramento (Sept. 19), Our Lady of Lourdes, Colusa (Sept. 20), ELK Groove Sta. Maria Goretti, Sacramento (Sept. 21), Reno, Nevada (Sept. 22), Stockton (Sept. 24), Oakland (Sept. 25), Deli City or San Jose (Sept. 27), San Ramon (Sept. 28), Los Angeles (Sept. 29), Orange County (Sept. 30), National City, san Diego (Oct. 4), Mira Mesa, San Diego (Oct. 5), Bremerton (Oct. 7), and Seattle (October 8). (Walter I. Balane/MindaNews)
