Inspiring Lives: A Lifelong Commitment

IN THIS DAY and age, it is heartwarming to see brethren still discharging the multifarious tasks and responsibilities of their office for 40 long years despite the onset of age-related infirmities. A record of this quality of service is truly worthy of recognition and an inspiration for those appointed to serve. Such is the case of the life of Brother Antonio P. Abrigo, the head deacon in the local congregation of San Jose in the ecclesiastical district of Northern California.

Brother Antonio was entrusted with the office of head deacon in 1965 in the local congregation of his native town of Tayabas, Quezon, when he was still in the Philippines. After seven years, he migrated with his family to the United States of America on a Professional Preference visa as accountant. He continued serving as one of the head deacons in the local congregation of San Francisco until 1978, when he and his family moved to the local congregation of Redwood City, where he also continued serving in that position.

In 1980, they transferred to the local congregation of San Jose, where Brother Antonio became the head deacon, a duty he continues to perform up to the present. His faithful and dedicated services span 40 years , from a small congregation in the Philippines at the young age of 28 to one of the biggest congregations outside of this native country. Praises be to the Almighty God!

Receiving The Faith

Brother Antonio was born on April 20, 1937, in the town of Tayabas in Quezon, Philippines. He was baptized into the Church of Christ in July 1957. Even before he joined the Church, Brother Antonio had already been witnessing public debates between ministers of the Church of Christ and other religions. Occasionally, he also attended the worship services while a student in Manila in the company of an elder sister, who was already a member of the Church then.

Imperceptibly, the seeds of faith were being sown in his heart. The decision to join the Church came when, in one of the worship services he attended, the officiating minister , the late Brother Mariano Gorgonio, pointed out how some people believe that the members of the Church of Christ would be saved yet refuse to join the Church.

Brother Gorgonio voiced his pity for such people, saying that they would only find themselves in the company of those who would end up in the lake of fire on Judgment Day. Brother Antonio felt like he was being alluded to, which bothered him greatly. So, he decided to seek the minister after the worship service and asked that be given instruction in biblical doctrines. With the support and encouragement of the president of the youth organization at that time, Brother Dante Manuel, who always accompanied him to the Bible studies, Brother Antonio eventually completed his lessons and was baptized at the house of worship in Baclaran, Pasay City.

Of Dedication And Commitment

Brother Antonio since then has held various offices in the Church, which further deepened his faith, molded him in Christian doctrines and discipline, and prepared him for the great and varied tasks of a head deacon. Starting simultaneously as a Children's Worship Service(CWS) officer, a secretary for the congregation, and a choir member at the local congregation of Washington in Manila, where he was first registered, he capped his youth days as president of the youth organization in the Church in 1962 when he returned to his native town of Tayabas after his graduation from college.

It was while he was the youth organization president in 1964 that the office of head deacon was first mentioned to him by the district minister at that time, Brother Eugenio Cortez. Obviously sensing the leadership qualities in Brother Antonio, aside from being humble and submissive to the Church Administration, the district minister had been eyeing him for the office and just waiting for him to get married.

On June 8, 1965, Brother Antonio tied the knot with his sweetheart, Sister Lydia. After getting married, he was immediately named president of the Buklod, the organization of married members of the Church, while serving as CWS teacher and finance officer, positions he held until his elevation to the office of first head deacon five months later in November 1965.

Brother Antonio graduated with the degree, Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, major in Accounting from the University of the East in Manila in April 1961. As a licensed accountant, he served as a part-time instructor and internal auditor at the Luzonian University and a full time administrative officer at the law office of Congressman Manuel S. Enverga and at the Lucena Development Company in the Philippines. But even though Brother Antonio handled these positions of great responsibility in the private sector with diligence and dedication, he attended to his duties and responsibilities as head deacon, which he considered foremost in his list of priorities.

As a professional, the desire to seek better opportunities abroad was a constant and irresistible reality. Early on, he applied for a Professional Preference visa with the American Embassy in Manila. While waiting for the approval of his application, he received two employment offers, one in Japan and the other in Chicago, Illinois, USA. But on the advice he sought from the Church Administration, he declined both offers because there were no local congregations of the Church in either place at that time. When his application at the American Embassy was finally up for consideration, he pursued it and eventually moved with his family on January 13, 1973 to San Francisco, California where he was subsequently appointed as fifth head deacon.

While in San Francisco, Brother Antonio was employed as an accounting technician at the San Francisco State University. After he and his family transferred to Redwood City in 1977, he held a similar position at Stanford University and was also appointed as fifth head deacon in the Redwood City Congregation until they moved to San Jose in 1979.

At that time, the local congregation of San Jose was still in its infancy, having been established only in January 1977. Brother Antonio was immediately appointed as the first head deacon, an office he has held with dignity and dedication up to the present. He was employed as an accountant at AT&T for seven years and at San Jose State University for 12 years until his retirement in 1999,

Leading By Example

During all the time , he and his beloved wife raised their children in an environment of Christian values and filial love, showing by their example the importance of good education and the value of holding an office in the Church. The results are remarkable.

Their three children pursued college degrees with keen interest and diligence, which prepared them well for their present jobs and for their calling in the Church. Their eldest son, Samuel, is a deacon and a finance officer married to Sister Maria Celia Lapeña, who is a deaconess and also a finance officer. Their daughter, Analy, is a senior choir member married to Brother Mark Uyemoto. Their youngest son, David, and his wife Sister Eva Sheila Manglicmot are senior choir members. Sister Lydia herself holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Elementary Education and is a deaconess and an officer in the Committee on Edification.

God Provides

The rigors of work and the stress and strain from heavy responsibilities eventually took their toll on the health of Brother Antonio.

In January 1996, he underwent a quadruple by-pass, but with God's unfailing help and mercy, he recovered fast. After just a few months, he was back on his feet performing his duty as head deacon.

The residual effects of the heart surgery and the attendant limitations of advanced age have neither deterred nor hindered him from attending to the manifold tasks and responsibilities of his duty.

At first head deacon, Brother Antonio assists the resident minister in the overall administration of the congregation, conducts meetings and caucuses, finds solution to problems, gives assignments to other officers, and serves as adviser of the choir and the children's worship service.

What keeps him going even with his present physical condition? He responds, "My complete trust in God and His supreme power over all creation that he will always provide all good things to his chosen people in these last days".

Brother Antonio recalls with a sigh of sentimentality that, when the last messenger of God, Brother Felix Y. Manalo, passed away, he made a vow to God that "whenever trials, persecutions, and hardships come my way, whatever happens to my life and wherever I am , I will be faithful to God, to our Lord Jesus Christ, to the Church, and to the Church Administration"- a lifelong commitment, and no less an inspiring thought to all!

In the same vein, his advice to his fellow officers in the Church is to "love and treasure your calling for it is the greatest gift from God. Be faithful and true to God, to our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the Church Administration for this will usher you to salvation and eternal life".