Our Story: A Journey of Faith and Harmony
Our Beginnings
Established in November 2023, during the 101st anniversary of the Caloocan Center Church, the Deo Gloria choir was founded by a small group of passionate youths. The name, Deo Gloria, is a Latin phrase meaning "Glory to God." It signifies that every song, every note, and every performance is dedicated to the ultimate purpose of bringing honor and praise to God. This core principle guides the choir in all its endeavors.
What began as a local initiative has since grown to include talented young individuals from various youth across the Caloocan-Malabon district. Though still in its early stages, the choir's commitment to ministry through music is unwavering. They are actively sharing their message at different churches, local conferences, and institutional events.
A Journey of Faith
The members of Deo Gloria are more than just singers; they are a testament to God's purpose for their lives. Through every melody and harmony, the choir's mission is to not only share their musical talents but to reveal His character and boundless love to all who listen.
A Personal Perspective
Naimbag nga aldaw kadakayo amin kakabsat! Tama po ba? Good afternoon po sainyong lahat!
My part is to share a little background of how we started and how our choir in Manila got to have Sir Karl as our conductor. I was 7 years old when I started joining a choir in Palawan that made me love music. Moving from one place to another was normal for us as my parents work in Adventist institutions.
I was about to enter Junior High School when we moved here in Pangasinan at Northern Luzon Adventist College. There, I joined "the Prymbassadors" under the leadership of Sir Karl Rheinhart Gonzales. He was my conductor and friend until I graduated college.
Eventually, I moved to Metro Manila for my career. My spiritual life was affected as I focused on earning money, until I found a church with active young people. They asked me to join their youth choir—no strict rules, no pressure, just singing and praising the Lord.
Inviting Sir Karl
CJ, our choir president, was eager to have a formal choir. I thought of inviting Sir Karl, though I was hesitant. I knew his strict style—shouting, correcting, pressure—and my church members seemed so gentle. Also, the 4-hour travel was a concern.
I jokingly asked him, and after a lot of arguments and meetings, we pushed through. So many people wanted to support us even before we started, including our head elder and his family.
The First Practice
The first practice with Sir Karl was hard. Everyone was "nangangapa" as most had no experience in formal training. Even Sir Karl had to adjust to being gentle with us. I thought it would be the first and last practice, but everyone wanted to continue. Our choir became a channel for the youth to do ministry.
We chose the name "Deo Gloria" to suit our purpose: to give glory to God alone.
Moving Forward
We accepted our first appointment during last years CLC wide praise program in CLAA, Pampanga. that exposure brought us to a lot of invites and appointments, we were only starting but we are so blessed to be invited to a big event at PICC during the project 3 Lee Venden Crusade. And, last May 11, we had our first ever concert at our own Caloocan Center Church.
We are still on progress, and we still have a lot to improve, but Today, we are so grateful to have our first Concert outside our church. Agyaman kami kadakayo amin for inviting us to sing and give glory to our God here in Pangasinan where our conductor resides.
The Deo Gloria of Caloocan Center Church