CNI Reaffirms Its Commitment for Safeguarding Minority Rights
It
was reaffirmed once more by the youth of Church of North India when a
group of 37 youth from different Dioceses came together at DISHA Centre,
Kalimpong from 17th to 20th October 2006, that human rights are not given
to a person by any person, religion, governments, howsoever powerful might
be; every human being is born with it. As a church, it is imperative on
our part to safeguard the human rights from being violated.
Delivering
the Keynote Address Rev. Dr. Enos Das Pradhan, General Secretary of Church
of North India Synod and the Chairman of Commission for National Polity
and Governance, National Council of Churches in India exclaimed the
importance of safeguarding minority rights, particularly of Christian
communities, considering the facts that Religious Freedom Acts are being
amended and secular fabric of India is being fragmented by
fundamentalists. He cited the example of Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya
Pradesh, Chhatishgarh, Orissa and Tamilnadu where targeted violence and
attack against Christians are rampant and challenged the delegates to
stand against all odds to protect the life and dignity of individuals
upholding their rights to religions.
Welcoming
the delegates, Mr. Navaratna Pradhan, Principal of SUMI and Secretary of
DISHA Centre, Kalimpong, Diocese of Eastern Himalaya greeted the delegates
while the local pastors and youth offered khaddas (traditional scarf) to
each delegate. Bishop Naresh Ambala delivered the Inaugural Address and
challenged the delegates to lead a life pleasing and acceptable to God so
that all of us can be empowered by the Holy Spirit to protect the rights
of our fellow brothers and sisters.
In
line with the thoughts shared by Rev. Pradhan, Mr. Sudipta Singh, Director
of Programmes, Church of North India Synod facilitated a process of
identifying issues of human rights violations in the local context from
which the delegates belonged. Mr. Singh highlighted some of the instances
found in the Bible in relation to protection of human rights as a Biblical
mandate and integrated his thoughts with the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights. Referring to Indian Constitution, he challenged the
delegates to understand ways and means, both legal and practical aspects
to protect the minority rights as human rights.
Mr.
Bibhudutta Das, an advocate in Orissa High Court, conducted workshops in
which he helped the delegates to understand provisions enumerated in the
constitution of India for safeguarding human rights and also minority
rights. In nutshell he taught the participants about how to file an FIR
and PIL and also explained how the church can engage itself in the work of
advocacy.
Mr.
Philip Peacock, a theologian and human rights activist, lecturer in
Bishop’s College, Kolkata dealt with the theological perspective of
minority rights through contextual Bible Studies on Justice, Peace and
Integration of whole Creation. He stressed on inter-faith dialogue as a
means of minority and human rights protection in a multi-religious country
like India. The plenary was facilitated by Mr. Philip Peacock, Mr. Kasta
Dip and Mr. Suman Biswas. Creative presentations on minority rights were
made by representing Dioceses delineating with recent case studies which
was later on conventionalized as the Statement of the Programme.
Church
to focus on harnessing Gender Justice through awareness
A four days training programme on the theme, “Role of the Church
in Harnessing Gender Justice” was organized by the Church of North
India-Synodical Women’s Fellowship for Christian Service at the CHPD
Centre in Nagpur from 20-23 October, 2006. A group of 23 women from 11
Dioceses from the Church of North India took part in this training
programme. The training programme included morning worships being
conducted in a creative way by the participants, group works and
discussions, group presentations, individual exercises, role plays,
interactive sessions through which real life instances came out of many
inhibitions and finally summing up with an Action Plan for Starting a New
Beginning. Mercy Kappen and Latha Paul from VISTHAR, Bangalore were the
resource persons for this training programme.
Mission
and Evangelism: A Biblical Mandate
A Mission Seminar was organized at the CHPD, Nagpur by the
Christian Life and Evangelism Committee (CLEC) of Church of North India
Synod from 26th to 29th September 2006. A group of 45 people including
Bishops, Lay people, women and youth came to reaffirm that Mission is
always to meet the situational need of a particular geographical area.
Welcoming the delegates, Bishop B. R. Tiwade, President of CLEC, CNI said
that when we talk about our mission engagement, we should design our
mission strategies according to the context in which each of us live and
witness Christ through our services.
In his keynote address Rev. Dr. Enos Das Pradhan, General Secretary
of Church of North India Synod, stressed on the need of ‘Revisiting
Evangelism as the Mission of the Church in today’s Context’. We can
never generalize the issues which draw our attention in India. What is
issue for a particular region may be a privilege for another region. That
is the dichotomy and irony of life in a pluralistic country like ours.
Thus, our mission engagement requires us to address many concerns. In
India, we have many mission organizations engaged in various mission
fields. Each of us has our own style of working which at times causes us
to look down upon others. But we should not forget the fact that though we
are working differently on different concerns our ultimate goal is to
establish the kingdom of God wherever we live through our work.
The Seminar focused on thematic presentations on “As Father has
sent me, so I send you” (John 20:21) which was led by Rev. Dr. F
Hrangkhuma, Professor in SAIAS, Bangalore; Gujarat Missionary Movement by
Mr. Samson Rajwadi, Coordinator, GMM & Director ICT; Evangelism and
Church Planting by Rev. Israel Devdass, FMPB Field Secretary; United to
Witness: Churches and Missionary Organizations by Rev. DB Kulothungan,
General Secretary, MVM, Nagpur; Mission of the Church in Historical and
Theological Perspective by Mr. P. K. Zachariah, Director of Christian Life
& Evangelism, CNI; Prayer and Evangelism in South Korean Church by
Rev. Dr. C. S. Kim, Chairman, IGM; Prayer and Church Planting by Mr.
Patrick Joshua, Prayer Facilitator, National Prayer Network; Mumbai
Diocesan Missionary Movement by Dr. Usha V. Ubale; Korean Church Growth by
Dr. Cho Beon Yeon, Professor, UBS; Mission and Evangelism in Church of
South India by Rev. T. Augustine, Director of Mission and Evangelism, CSI;
Holistic Mission in CNI by Mr. Sudipta Singh, Director of Programmes, CNI;
Evangelism Explosion by Mr. George Mani, National Director of EEI; and
finally “Towards the Mission Conference 2008 & Beyond” by Rev. Dr.
Enos Das Pradhan, General Secretary, Church of North India Synod.
Night Shelter for Street Children Inaugurated
It
was a delight to watch sixty street children perform, to
see the light in their eyes and the glow of happiness on
their face when UMANG a project undertaken by CNI-SSI to
cater to the need of a night shelter for street children
in Nagpur was inaugurated by Mr. K R P Kosala, Treasurer
of Church of North India Synod and CNI-SSI on 13th
October 2006 at CNI-SSI premises at Nagpur. The children
who have been brought to UMANG have seen and suffered
the brutalities of living on a street. Now that they
have come to UMANG, their rights to shelter, food,
education as well as protection from abuse and
exploitation would now be taken care by UMANG.
Present on the occasion, Bishop Paul Dupare, Bishop C.
K. Das, Bishop P C Singh, Mr. Sudipta Singh and Mr.
Parate (Deputy Collector of Nagpur) congratulated the
CNI-SSI for this wonderful project to minister to
children particularly those of the streets and
pavements. Mr. Sudipta Singh reiterating the core belief
of CNI that all children have the right to shelter, food
and decent livelihood, commended the initiative of CNI-SSI
and emphasized the fact that it is imperative on the
part of government as well as the NGOs to device plans
of rehabilitation for these children.
Children have equal rights and responsibilities like all
other citizens. Therefore, every Indian should dream of
an India in which every child has a roof over his head,
an India in which no child goes hungry, an India where
every child can go to school, an India which will ensure
that all children have the opportunity to learn, to
play, to be healthy and to live a life of dignity and
self-respect. UMANG will address the root causes of
street children and not just their superficial
manifestations. We request the recipients of this e-news
to fulfill the UMANG (desire) of the street children.
Bringing Smiles Back to the
Children through New School Buildings
There were sounds of laughter, sight of
happy faces, smiles of joy, as children jumped around
with excitement and zeal and organized themselves for
the inauguration programme of four permanent schools in
Car Nicobar. To them it was not just an event, not just
a function, but in their own words, “We are all so
happy today, because now we have our own schools, a
place of our own.”, says Celina even as one of their
teachers adds, “A proper school building means better
space for children, and also a safe place where children
spend maximum hours of their day besides their home. We
are indeed happy to get back to normal school life.”
The Church of North India as a part of its intervention
in the tsunami affected Andaman and Nicobar islands is
constructing sixteen schools in Nicobar District on
behalf of the Department of Education, Andaman and
Nicobar Administration and in partnership with the
Episcopal Releif and Development, USA and the Uniting
Church in Australia. The first four schools namely
Government Primary School Kimyus, Government Primary
School Kinyuka, Government Secondary School Mus and
Government Senior Secondary School Big Lapathy were
inaugurated by The Rt. Rev. P. S. P Raju, President,
Disaster Management Committee, Church of North India and
Bishop of the Diocese of Calcutta on 22nd July, 2006 in
the presence of Mr. Uddipta Ray, Secretary, Education, A
& N Administration, Ms.Ankita Mishra, Deputy
Commissioner, Nicobar, Mr. Rajkumar, Director, Education
and Mr. Sudipta Singh, Secretary, Disaster Management
Committee, Church of North India, Director Programmes,
CNI and several other dignitaries and over hundreds of
children and community people.
In his Inaugural Address, The Rt. Rev. P. S. P Raju
re-affirmed CNIs commitment in investing in the
development of children that has a long term impact,
specially in a post disaster situation when the
well-being and the education of children gets affected.
He thanked the Department of Education for their faith
in CNI, even amidst adverse situations though Tsunami
got newer challenges, but together it has been possible.
Mr. Uddipta Ray, while delivering his speech thanked CNI
and the community for taking up this gigantic task. He
added that these four school building are the first
permanent structures for the people of Car Nicobar.
While thanking CNI for their contribution to the
community and for joining hands with the Department of
Education, he said that even though several NGOs
approached to take up this task, we invited CNI
considering not only their capability, commitment and
credibility but also for the dynamic leadership and for
their strong presence and excellent relationship with
the community and its organizations. Today as we see the
fruits of the work, we are happy that our faith and
trust in CNI has borne excellent results even amidst
challenges of lack of support in terms of
infrastructure, transportation, labour, etc. in these
islands.
Ms. Ankita Mishra, in her address thanked CNI, for their
commitment in their work, not only in the construction
of schools but in all areas of interventions in the
community specially for the cause of children. She
re-affirmed the support of the Administration to CNI for
the well-being of the community.
Mr. Raj Kumar congratulated CNI for accomplishing such a
colossal task. He added that CNI has tremendous
experience in the field of education and has made
remarkable contribution in the country, the same essence
is seen even in its reconstruction process thorugh
remarkable contribution to the children in particular
and the community at large by strengthening the arms of
the Department of Education, A & N Administration with
this partnership as a beginning. He also requested the
CNI authorities to strengthen the partnership in the
area of quality enhancement of education through
training of teachers and alternative education of
children.
While proposing the Vote of Thanks, Mr. Sudipta Singh
thanked the Department of Education and the A & N
Administration for their faith in CNI and for their
continuous support even in difficult situations, the
community and the Tribal Council for their commitment
and co-operation at all times, Episcopal Relief and
Development, USA and the Uniting Church in Australia for
their generous contribution for the cause, for their
solidarity and continuous support in terms of
encouragement, patience and prayer and for being
sojourners with us in restoring lives towards normalcy
of the tsunami affected people in Andaman and Nicobar
islands.
Mr. Ranjit Singh, Assistant Commissioner, Mr. Bundela,
Superintendent of Police, Mr. Thomas Philip, Secretary,
Tribal Council, Mr. Apolos Christtopher, Diocesan
Secretary, Mr. Wilson Amos, Managing Director EHL were
also present prominently during the inauguration of the
schools.
Training on Website Designing..
Retired Pastors of the
Jabalpur Diocese Honored and Felicitated by Youth
The Annual Youth Festival of Jabalpur Dioceses
organized at Suman Niketan, Pendra Road, Chhatishgarh from 23rd
to 25th October 2006 created history and left a legacy of its
kind when, in a noble gesture, the young people of the Diocese honored
their retired pastors by presenting them with a gift cheque, a shawl and a
certificate (signed by The Rt. Rev. Dr. P. C. Singh (Diocesan Bishop),
Mrs. Ingrid Macloud (Member of Legislative Assembly), Mr. Kasta Dip
(Coordinator, Youth Concerns, Church of North India Synod) and the office
Bearers of Diocesan Youth Fellowship) for their valuable services, faith,
dedication and love towards the Diocese and their congregation.
During the felicitation the Rt. Rev. Dr. P. C.
Singh, Bishop of Jabalpur Diocese, CNI announced that the pension of Rs.
500/- p.m. being given to the retired pastors will now be increased to Rs.
1000/- p.m. This kind and generous gesture of the Rt. Rev. Dr. P. C. Singh
was welcomed and there was a loud applause from the members present at the
felicitation programme.
Youth Festival 2006 brings Diocese Youth
under one umbrella
The three day long Youth Festival-2006 was
held at Purulia Leprosy Mission from 5 October to 7 October, 2006. The
festival was inaugurated by The Rt. Rev. Naresh Ambala, Bishop of Eastern
Himalayan Diocese. Other dignitaries included Mrs. Ruth Maxy Gray and Rev.
David Yeo Paulton from U.K., The Rt. Rev. Probal Kanto Dutta, Bishop and
Sub-Divisional officer, Purulia Sadar. The inaugural function was much
colorful with spell-binding dances performed by our youths from Purulia
and Raniganj pastorates. The participants were divided into six groups,
viz, Red, Yellow, Black, Green, and White, and each group was assigned
morning and evening devotion as per schedule.
The 6th October, 2006 started with
lovely morning devotion by the Yellow group followed by a workshop
conducted by Mrs. Ruth Maxy Gray. She spoke about the feeling of the
Virgin Mary when she heard that she would have Jesus in her womb. After
this session, Mr. David Paulton conducted a workshop on Psalm 23 through
colorful prayers. He asked the youth groups to pen down their feelings
about the verse. In the afternoon, cultural programme started where debate
on “whether agriculture land should be acquired for industry” became live
and exciting. An extempore lecture on a given topic also brought to light
hidden talents of our youths. On 7 October, the morning started with
devotion followed by a session taken by Mrs. Ruth Maxy Gray. She showed a
short film on Martin Luther King, George Mcleod and Andrew Marson who
inspired the youths to be missionary.
Mr. Pratim Roba and Mr. Samuel Singh had a
session on “Youth in present context in India.” A massive rally of youths
came out of the Leprosy Mission ground and walked through the Purulia
town. Thereafter a revival meeting, conducted by Rev. J. Basumata spoke on
“Prayer and fear of God.” The ground in the Leprosy Mission was full with
devotees. The closing sermon was delivered by the Rt. Rev. Probal Kanto
Dutta, Bishop of the Diocese of Durgapur.
The closing ceremony witnessed exuberance of
the youths who celebrated till late at night through various dance
programmes. They bade farewell to each other with the hope that they would
meet again next year.
Youth Camp of Chandigarh Diocese Held
Annual Youth Camp is a regular programme
organized by the Diocese of Chandigarh for its young people to make them
aware about many issues that affect their spiritual and social lives.
This year the Camp was attended by 200 youth from different congregations
of the Diocese which was organized at Henderson Jubilee Senior Secondary
School, Kharar from 16th to 18th June 2006 under the
theme “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of our knowledge”.
The Most Rev. Joel V. Mal, Moderator of CNI
and the Bishop of the Diocese inaugurated the Camp and called upon the
young people to fear God in all that they do and gain knowledge for better
perspective in life. Other sessions were facilitated by Rev. Rogers, Rev.
Denzal Peoples and Ms. Shazia Yunas. The Camp also witnessed talent hunts
and games and thus certificates of participation and achievement was given
away by the Chief Guests, Mr. Augustine George and Mr. Anil Ghazan,
Chairman and member of Finance Committee and Synod Court, in the Closing
Ceremony.
Diocesan Sunday School Camp Held
The Diocese of Chandigarh had organized a
Sunday School Camp under the theme “Children, obey your parents in
everything, for this pleases the Lord” (Colossians 3:20), at Diocesan
Campus Ludhiana from 2nd to 4th June 2006 which was
attended by 500 children from different pastorates of the Diocese.
Mrs. Zanobia Mal inaugurated the Camp and
encouraged the children to please God by being obedient to their parents,
teachers and elders. Rev. Philip Rakesh, Mrs. Silvia Bhatti and Mrs.
Veena Barket were the other facilitators for the Camp. Biblical
Antakshyari, Talent Hunts, Singing and Games marked an important part of
learning to obey God and to live in submission. Mrs. Hanna Malaki, the
Principal of St. Thomas Senior Secondary School, Ludhiana graced the
Closing Ceremony and distributed the prizes to the outstanding children.
Durgapur Diocese Observes National
Children’s Day
As per the UNESCO report Bengal has the
highest number of out-of-school children despite a 93 percent enrolment
rate claimed by the government. It also has the highest number of
scheduled tribe children out of school. UNESCO also reports that early
childhood care and education for those below 6 years do not come under the
fundamental right to education guaranteed for children in the 6-14 age
groups. To overcome this very serious problem Pundit Jawaharlal Nehru who
loved the children very much about four decades ago started celebrating
his birthday as children’s Day on 14th November every year.
Diocesan Women Fellowship for Christian
Services also celebrated Children’s day on 14th November with the children
of Child Study and Development Center.
The ceremony started with a short prayer by
Rev. Sumanto Naru and Dr. S.C. Singh, the Rector addressed the children.
The children sang songs, performed dances, dramas and celebrated this day.
The Diocesan Women Fellowship for Christian Services presented the
students with colorful drawings books, dictionaries, General Knowledge
books, Grammar books and Activities books. They also presented warm
clothes since winter is near by. The children were overwhelmed getting the
said items and thanked everyone who donated and prayed for them. The
parents and guardians of the children were also invited and they were very
happy to see their children performing. The parents were surprised to see
the hidden talents of their children and thanked Diocesan Women Fellowship
for Christian Services for giving such exposures. Some of the parents of
these children said that “Durgapur Child Study and Development Center has
been a real good platform for our children’s growth”. The parents further
said that “we could see an overall growth taking shape in the lives of our
children”. There parents are mostly domestic workers and migrant people
who have come to Durgapur for want of Jobs.
