REPORT
Ecumenical Sunday and Republic Day 2021
Ecumenical Sunday was observed on the 24th of January, during both our
Worship Services. Being the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, our Pulpit
Guests at both the Services were priests from the Roman Catholic Church.
The Pulpit Guest for the 8 am Kannada Service was Rev. Fr. Francis Xavier
Joseph, Regional Director, Commission for Bible and Catechetics, Karnataka
Region.
The Pulpit Guest for the 9.30 am English Service was Rev. Fr. Dr. Joseph P.
Titus, from St. Peter's Pontifical Institute, Bangalore.
What impressed them most and much appreciated was our openness in inviting
them to our church and their participation.
We were also privileged to have had two distinguished guests worshiping with us
that morning, and they brought greetings from their respective Organisations:
Dr. Marina Behera: Originally from Mizoram, a member of the Presbyterian
Church of Mizoram. She has served as a Faculty at the United Theological
College, and as a professor of Ecumenical Missiology at the Ecumenical
Institute, Bossey, a program of the World Council of Churches. Presently, she is
serving as a Research Tutor and as the MPhil Stage Leader at the Oxford Centre
for Mission Studies, Oxford, UK.
Mr. Pericho Prabhu, PRO, All Karnataka United Christian Forum for Human
Rights, and Joint Secretary, Ecumenism Commission of Archdiocese of
Bangalore.
Their participation brought in the element of ecumenism into our worship.
REPORT
Republic Day 2021
The day was celebrated with solemnity. It began with the Worship Service in the
church, remembering and praying for our Nation and our Leaders. The text for
the message delivered by our Presbyter, Rev. Dr. Dexter S. Maben, was from
the Song of Solomon 2:12-15. In his message, he brought out the importance of
Voices and Faces, which are important as we celebrate the sovereignty of our
nation and the values of justice, peace and liberty enshrined in our Constitution.
This was followed by the hoisting of the National Flag and the singing of the
National Anthem.
Guests of Honour were our own church members, Col. Ritesh Singh and his
wife, Mrs. Sharon Singh. Col. Singh is from Kalimpong in Darjeeling and was
commissioned from the Indian Military Academy in the year 1998. He has
served in several important Operations along the Line of Control, and has been
conferred with the Army Commendation Card and the Chief of Army Staff
Commendation Card. He has been actively involved in peaceful resolution of
Border issues and has participated in delegations to China and Bangladesh.
Col. Singh is presently posted as Director Recruiting at the Headquarters
Recruiting Zone at Bangalore.
It was indeed a proud moment for us as Col. Singh hoisted our National Flag. In
his brief address, he shared his experience as a solider, and the qualities that are important to be a soldier - Obedience, Integrity, Sacrifice and Servant-leadership. He said that the 'Salute' of a solider too is meaningful - the open palm
indicating that he comes empty-handed and in peace. Finally, he concluded his
address by saying that we are all soldiers - 'Soldiers of Christ'; and these
qualities of obedience, integrity, sacrifice and servant-leadership are important
and applicable to us as His soldiers.
Avery apt message indeed!
CFE - Care For the Elderly
At last, we were able to have the face to face fellowship in the church campus
led by our beloved Presbyter, Rev. Dr. Dexter S. Maben - after a year of COVID-19 related restrictions. We also had the privilege of Rev. Alwin J. Maben
(Pastoral Charge - Trinity United Church, Coronation, Alberta, CANADA),
delivering the message on "One Family in Christ" on 11th February 2021, as part
of the CFE Followership Happy Hour. We had 30 plus participants and the key
message dwelt was on "What's it being 'One' in a Christian Context", and what is
"Family" in the church context, and through this One Family be rooted in Christ
to build an inclusive community of believers.
It was also a time of sharing the experiences of "The Youth Fellowship" of the
1970s, and members brought in their happy memories and how the Youth
Fellowship shaped their career, family and life.
Fellowship ended with a cake cutting remembering the birthdays of the elders
who celebrated their birthdays in January and February 2021. A vegetarian
meal was served to the participants.
We praise and thank our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ for providing this
opportunity to worship and fellowship.
January Fellowship:
We had the privilege of having Mr. Saji Abraham in the online January 2021 CFE
Fellowship delivering the message on "Unity in Diversity". He brought in a very
thoughtful message of Unity in Diversity from a Biblical context, taking into
consideration the mixed language backgrounds of St. Andrew's members. Mr.
Saji Abraham is a very famous speaker hailing from Kerala (Settled in
Coimbatore), and we hope to have him again in the year 2021.
We thank our beloved Presbyter, Rev. Dr. Dexter S. Maben for continuing to
provide the much-needed leadership and direction to this fellowship.
Mr. David Soans
Convener, Care for Elderly
Wings and Ministries of the church
ST. ANDREW'S SCHOOL
Please use the below account details.
Thanking you again for all your support!
Rev. Dr. Dexter S Maben
Presbyter-in-Charge, St. Andrew's Church
