March 2017 | Lent Volume XV | Issue 3 | Rs.150 Per Annum LIFE MARCH 2017.pdf · 2018-08-27 ·...

March 2017 | LentMarch 2017 | LentVolume XV | Issue 3 | Rs.150 Per AnnumVolume XV | Issue 3 | Rs.150 Per AnnumMarch 2017 | LentVolume XV | Issue 3 | Rs.150 Per Annum

CSI DIOCESE OF VELLORECSI DIOCESE OF VELLORERETREAT CENTRERETREAT CENTRE

CSI DIOCESE OF VELLORERETREAT CENTRE

CSI DIOCESE OF VELLORERETREAT CENTRE

KOTAIYUR ROAD, YELLAGIRI,

VELLORE DISTRICT

DOUBLE BED ROOM@ Rs.750/- PER DAYDORMITORY @ Rs.150/- PER HEAD, PER DAY CONFERENCE HALL @ Rs.2500/- PER DAYFOOD – PER DAY, PER PERSON @ Rs.300/- NON VEG. �� @ Rs.275/- VEG.

Rt. Rev. Dr. A. RajaveluBishop in Vellore

Rev. H. Sharma Nithiyanandham��Rev. P. Suresh AnandhakumarHon. Secretary �� Interim Treasurer

Mr. Stephenraj JayakumarAdministrator – Retreat Centre

Mr. J. Alpious SunnyManager – CSI Diocesan Office

Contact Nos. 9442453845, 9994337355, 9443037638, 9443965966, 9487232536 0416-2232160 – CSI Diocesan Office, Vellore

04179-245355 – Retreat Centre, Yellagiri

2

| � �March�2017www.csisynod.com 03

EDITOR’S DESK

God has given us grace to enter into the

season of Lent - a season for retrospection,

introspection, prospection, a time to walk

steadfastly towards the cross, to

experience forgiveness and to become a

forgiving community. Forgiveness is a

process wherein the gift of forgiveness is

experienced, appropriated and embodied.

Forgiveness is empowerment to do

'dharma' - justice. During the Lenten

season, the faithful tend to become more

ritualistic, giving importance to fasting,

prayer, abstinence etc. The prophets

inform us that when dharma becomes a

ritual, it loses its essence. When the

people of God perceived that bringing

sacrifices and offerings, indulging in

festivities and celebrating appointed

festivals was dharma, the prophets

reminded them that what God required

of them was not a ritualistic practice of

religion, but doing and practicing justice.

The prophet Isaiah in his chapter 1 calls

the rituals that masked the evil doings of

the community and the injustice that

prevailed in their relationships as sin.

“When you come to appear before me,

who asked this from your hand? Trample

my courts no more; bringing offerings is

futile; incense is an abomination to me.

New moon and Sabbath and calling of

convocation - I cannot endure solemn

assemblies with iniquity. Your new

moons and your appointed festivals my

soul hates; they have become a burden to

me, I am weary of bearing them. When

you stretch out your hands, I will hide my

eyes from you; even though you make

many prayers, I will not listen” (Isa.1:12-

15). The Lenten time is a reminder that

the faithful communities rise above the

ritualistic expressions of religion and

wash themselves and make themselves

clean, by removing all wrong doings,

iniquities and injustice from their midst.

Religious rituals and practices should

become instruments of driving away the

evil, correcting the injustice and

cleansing the evil doers. The religious

rituals should not become a place of

hiding for those who do evil, practice

injustice and propagate violence. When

dharma becomes ritualistic, it loses its

significance of being an instrument of

grace and witness, and the religious

communities lose the sensitivity to

identify, recognize and drive away evil

and injustice from their midst. In such

ritualistic religious communities, the

leaders become the companions of

thieves and run after gifts and love bribes;

there is no defending of the orphan and

the widow's cause does not come before

them (cf. Isa 1:23).

But then, in their condemnation of the

ritualistic religion, the prophets proclaim

the promise of forgiveness: “though your

sins are like scarlet, they shall be like

snow; though they are red like crimson,

they shall become like wool” (Isa.1:18).

Forgiveness is a gift of God, a process

which empowers people of God to learn

to do good, to seek justice, to rescue the

oppressed, to defend the orphan and to

plead for the widow (cf.Isa.1:17). God's

forgiveness will restore wise judges as at

the first and prudent counsellors as at the

beginning and the community shall be

called the community of justice and a

faithful community (cf.Isa.1:26).

Forgiveness is God cleansing his people

from their iniquities and wrong doings

and enabling them to fully involve and

participate in the listening and doing of

God's Word, and empowering them to

do dharma, to do good and seek justice.

Forgiveness is empowerment to walk in

the light of truth. The Johannine

community that we encounter in the first

letter of John thought that it was in the

right path, and there was no sin in the

community. It could not comprehend the

compromises it had entered into. John

exhorts the community to regain and re-

affirm its commitment. It is reflected in

v.8: “If we say that we have no sin, we

Forgiveness – towards practicing dharma

www.csisynod.com04

deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in

us” (1Jn.1:8). John also cautions the

community that if it says that it has not

sinned, it, in fact, makes God a liar.

(cf.1Jn.1:10) Mistaking darkness for light,

falsehood for truth and unrighteousness

for righteousness is sin. When this

happens, the community reaches a point

of b l indness, wherein i t cannot

differentiate between darkness and light,

falsehood and truth, injustice and justice.

The clarity is lost to an extent that the

community tends to accept the falsehood

and injustice and arrogantly asserts it as

the truth. John, through his epistle,

invites the Johannine community for a

clear analysis, informing them that the

analysis should not intimidate, but rather

be a helpful tool to begin a process of self-

discovery. And therefore, he implores the

community to embark on a process of

forgiveness, promising them that “if we

confess our sins, God who is faithful and

just, will forgive us our sins, and cleanse

us from all unrighteousness” (1Jn.1:9).

Forgiveness is a process where God

meets his people and empowers them

with his grace to comprehend the light, to

encounter the truth and to enable them to

practice justice. Knowing and discerning

the difference between darkness and

light, falsehood and truth, injustice and

just ice is forgiveness. Knowing,

understanding, embracing and living in

the light, truth and justice is forgiveness.

For John, Jesus the righteous One, is our

advocate. He is the One who will make us

understand what light, truth and justice

are because he is the light, the truth and

the righteous. Therefore, he is the

atoning sacrifice for our sins; he teaches

us what light, truth, and justice are; and

he enables the community to once again

experience koinonia, the fellowship and

sets, our relationships right with one

another and with God. It is a process of

awakening and enlightenment, wherein

the community confesses the state of its

being before God and re-envisions what

it ought to be. But, it is not an easy,

overnight, painless process. Jesus had to

become the atoning sacrifice. We see on

the cross a confrontation between

darkness and light, falsehood and truth,

injustice and justice. Only in Jesus's self-

offering and self-emptying sacrifice on

the cross; in that betrayal, pain, suffering

and abandonment; the truth, light,

righteousness and justice are revealed.

Forgiveness therefore is an empowerment to

experience truth, light and righteousness in

the midst of our struggles, pain and

suffering; in other words, to encounter and

experience Jesus the crucified, in our day-

to-day life.

Forgiveness is empowerment to get up

and walk. Those who know and practice

dharma, those who are empowered to

walk in light, truth and justice are

enabled to identify the needy and the

weak. They are enabled to bring those

who are marginalised and helpless to

Jesus' presence. The story of four people

carrying a paralytic to Jesus is a story of

spiritual activism and practise of dharma.

They had a deep faith that Jesus' presence

will bring healing and wholeness. They

might have asked for people to make way,

but the crowd did not allow them. Their

determination to practice dharma and

their desire to obtain justice for the

paralytic could overcome all barriers.

When Jesus sees the act of faith of the

four in lowering him from the roof top,

Jesus says “Son, your sins are forgiven”

(Mk.2:5). It was an assurance and a

promise, as forgiveness filled the

paralytic with life.

If we read the narrative of Jesus healing

the paralytic, it is a narration of a few

people attempting to do dharma and

practice justice, attempting to walk in

light, truth and righteousness, and

becoming a movement of forgiveness.

Rightly, the leaders of the community

object; the scribes who were sitting there

listening to the Word questioned in their

hearts, “Why does this fellow speak in

this way?” It is blasphemy! Who can

forgive sins, but God alone?” (Mk.2:7)

For the scribes, justice had to be in line

with their agenda. If Jesus would begin a

movement of forgiveness, they feared for

their own space. They fell back on a very

symptomatic allegation of blasphemy.

But the desire and determination of the

few in the liberating presence of Jesus did

not allow the paralytic to continue in the

state of helplessness and despair. Jesus

commanded him to “stand up, take his

mat and go home” (Mk.2:11). The one who

is helpless and in despair was able to get up;

the weak and the rejected was infused with

vigour, energy and new life leading to an

experience of transformation, not only of

body, but also of getting a new perspective,

a new identity. It was an empowerment

to become a parable of liberation. Those

who witnessed the paralytic getting

healed “were amazed and glorified God,

saying that they had never seen anything

like this” (v.12). Every act and experience

of liberation enables people to see God's

glory. Forgiveness is an experience of

liberation and an amazing walk in the

radiating light of God's glory.

May this Lent help us to experience

God's forgiveness. As we struggle against

the forces of evil, injustice and falsehood,

may we be empowered by the power of

the cross to discern that which is good,

that which is true, that which is just, and

practice dharma.

Rev. Dr. D. Rathnakara Sadananda

General Secretary, CSI

March�2017� �|

www.csisynod.com 05

To all who read this Circular,

mercy and peace!

1. WE HAVE COMMITTED SIN

1.1. God being the creator and we, His

creation, ought to respect and care the

rest of His creation, the flora and the

fauna. The call to 'subdue' in Genesis

1:28, is not a call for human dominion or

exploitation of nature. In Ezekiel 34:4,

God condemns the kings for 'ruling'

(subduing) with force and harshness,

failing to strengthen the weak, to heal the

sick, to bind the injured, to bring back the

strayed, to seek the lost. Therefore, the

call to subdue is not to dominate, but to

care and 'steward' the creation. Failure to

do so is indiscipline to the Creator and

indifference to the creation, and hence it

is sinful.

1.2. God's providential care is for all.

After the flood, God establishes the

Covenant not only with Noah and his

descendants, but also with every living

creature, the birds, the domestic animals,

and every animal of the earth with

(Genesis 9: 9 – 10). Psalm 145: 9, affirms

God's providential care for all that He

had made, saying, “The Lord is good to

all, and His compassion is over all that

He has made. Failure to recognize God's

providential care for all His creation is a

breach of accepting God's sovereignty,

and hence it is sinful.

1.3. God not only feeds His creation, as

it is mentioned in Matthew 6: 26 (Look at

the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap

nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly

Father feeds them.), but also wants us to

participate in His care by sharing our

resources. In the Bible, we see various

decrees by God requiring the people of

Israel to share the resources of the land,

with the poor and strangers, and also

with the wild animals.(Leviticus 25:7).

Failure to share our resources, rather

than accumulating and exploiting is a

LET US PLEDGE FOR A CARBON FAST!!

Moderator’s Lenten Message

| � �March�2017

violation of God's decree, and hence it is

sinful.

2. WE NEED TO REPENT

2.1. Forty days of Lent is often related

to Moses' 40 days on the mountain with

God, the 40-year journey of the Israelites

in the desert, and Jesus' 40-day period of

fasting and temptation. The Church of

South India, joining with the universal

Church, observe from Wednesday,

March 01, 2017 to Saturday, April 15,

2017, as 40 days of Lent, as a time to

reflect on God's purpose for our life as

well as to repent and reorient our lives to

accomplish God's will. Further, during

Lent, through abstaining from certain

habits and fasting, we engage in self-

examination and penitence, preparing

ourselves for Easter, Jesus' victory over

sin and death.

2.2. However, in Isaiah 58: 5 – 7, God

asks, “Is such the fast that I choose, a day to

humble oneself ? Is it to bow down the head

like a bulrush, and to lie in sackcloth and

ashes? Will you call this a fast, a day

acceptable to the LORD? Is not this the fast

that I choose: to loose the bonds of injustice, to

undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the

oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? Is it

not to share your bread with the hungry, and

bring the homeless poor into your house, when

you see the naked, to cover them, and not to

hide yourself from your own kin?” Thus,

God calls us to 'fast' as an active

participation in His mission to establish

justice, which includes eco-justice.

2.3. There is a close linkage between

eco-justice and socio-economic justice

and in order to have a healthy earth

community, we ought to act on

ecological issues connecting with

struggles for socio-economic justice. The

struggle to restore eco-justice is a spiritual

act, expressing a spiritually grounded

moral posture of respect and fairness

toward all creation. It calls for a kind of

development that is not human centered,

rather 'creation centered'. The budgetary

allocations by any government should

take this into account. While it is

appreciable that the Union Budget 2017

has increased nearly 19 per cent in its

b u d g e t a r y a l l o c a t i o n f o r t h e

'Environment Ministry', it seems to have

failed to step up allocations towards

meeting India's commitments on

renewable energy, energy efficiency and

additional carbon sequestration through

the forestry sector. The minuscule nature

of the indirect tax incentives for

renewable energy sector is inadequate in

phasing out the generator sets in India, a

key focus area of the central and state

pollution control boards. The issue of

'carbon emission' too does not seem to be

seriously addressed. The governments

at the centre and state need to remember

www.csisynod.com06 March�2017� �|

that the root word in Greek for 'economics'

and 'ecology' are same vis-à-vis 'oikos'. The

'economics' that ignores 'ecology' is

dangerous to the 'oikos' (household); be it

understood as the 'family of God' or

'Vasudaiva Kutumbakam'.

3. WE OUGHT TO 'CARBON FAST'

3.1. In India, increase in Carbon

emission is result ing in warmer

temperatures and rising sea levels,

having fatal impacts on agriculture,

fishing, community developments,

plants and animals that are important to

our ecosystems and the protection of our

coastline. As per scientific predictions,

by 2070, one human being will have only

two glasses of water to drink per day. By

2035, Ganga, Brahmaputra and Indus

rivers will disappear. In 2016, 330

million people, more than a quarter of

India's population, were hit by drought.

The whole creation has been groaning

for water due to desertification, which is

an irreversible process. Migration of

poor people and wild animals is now

common, and the number of climate

refugees is increasing due to our acts of

climate injustice. In this context of

ecological injustice (SIN) by the human

hands, let us pledge to hold 40 days of

'Carbon Fast' - a call not only to repent

our ecological sins, but also to restore

eco-justice.

3.2. 'Carbon fast' challenges us to look

at our daily actions, to reflect on how

they impact on the environment. It

challenges us to take some small steps,

some of which will reduce our carbon

dioxide output while others will help the

environment for a more sustainable

world. In the process we may come to

rediscover a different relationship with

God, with His Creation and with one

another. Most of the CSI Congregations

belong to the communities that are

vulnerable to Climate Change. We shall

create awareness on 'Climate Justice' at

the congregational level in these

dioceses. Further, we shall re-read the

Bible and reaffirm our faith from the

perspective of Climate Refugees. We can

inspire the congregations to discern

climate justice as an integral part of

churches' public witness today. We hope

that the congregations would be

equipped to involve in saving creations,

whose life and livelihood are under

threat.

3.3. This 'Carbon Fast' shall provide

myriad ways for our congregations to get

involved in enhancing climate justice.

Join the Carbon Fast because you can

change the world a little in 40 days, but

more importantly you could change

yourself a lot! Look back over the year

and how much petrol did we use? How

much did we spend? Reflect on how we

have treated the environment. Commit

ourselves to living simple during Lent,

simple food, less travel and sharing with

others in need. Practice effective waste

management; Reduce, Re-use, Refuse

and Recycle Waste. Plant saplings and

nurture them since trees can directly

remove carbon dioxide and store it as

wood and foliage. Reduce energy used

for light, power and transport and thus,

reduce emissions. Conserve water,

knowing that water is a divine blessing to

be treasured, to be shared with all

creations, to be protected for future

generations. Join in the struggles by

those fighting for life and livelihood,

exploited through ecological injustice.

4. CONCLUSION

“He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and

what does the Lord require of you but to do

justice, and to love kindness, and to walk

humbly with your God?” (Micah 6:8). We

have to build an economy that will support,

not undermine, future generations. It is not

only the responsibility of the respective

union and state governments, but also of

the citizens to engage in efforts to

establish climate justice. As Christians

we should have an extra burden to come

together, pray together and act together

for the world in general, and our nation

in particular, so that we try to solve the

climate crisis. God is calling us to be the

change we long to see. Let us engage in

this spiritual discipline, as one of His

creations, caring the rest of His

creations, trusting that with God, all

things are possible.

Given in Chennai, India, at the Church

of South India Synod Secretariat, on

February 8, 2017, in the First Year of my

ministry as Moderator.

Not to be served, but to serve!

Thomas K. Oommen

Moderator, CSI

(You are encouraged to translate this to your regional language and publish it in your Diocesan journal or in appropriate forums.)

www.csisynod.com 07| � �March�2017

Cross: A Subversive Preferencethat Renews Faith-expression

Rev. D. S. Arun is serving

as the presbyter of the Church

of South India in the South

Kerala Diocese. He has

completed his MTh in

Christian Theology from

G u r u k u l L u t h e r a n

T h e o l o g i c a l S e m i n a r y,

Chennai. Earlier he had

finished his Bachelor of

Divinity from the United

T h e o l o g i c a l C o l l e g e ,

Bangalore. He has authored

books in his mother tongue;

Malayalam.

In the Christian tradition, the cross is the lens

through which God is viewed. The cross is a

paradoxical and complex disclosure of the

divine. Perceiving God merely as the

omnipotent Creator is only a partial

understanding of God. To stand before a

righteous God is impossible unless we know

the cross of Jesus Christ. In Paul's Christology

justification is more often associated with the

cross and death of Jesus Christ (Romans 3:25-

26, 5:9; Galatians 3:10-14; 2 Corinthians

5:21). The resurrection did not cancel the

cross for Paul. It did not relegate it to the

archives, but made it ever present in the

kerygma. For Paul, the Jesus event is the event

of God's eschatological salvation. While

embracing Jesus' whole earthly history, it is

apparent that this history is epitomised in the

cross. Jesus is a person who surrendered to his

Father. The divinity of Jesus is the modality

of this personal relationship with the Father,

which takes place in history and amid the

conflict-ridden reality of history. Jesus is

completely open to God, and a reflection of

all that is authentically human. God became

human in Jesus Christ to disclose the divine

will to be with humanity. God's presence in

Jesus becomes the true definition of humanity

in a way that distress and divinity are

dialectically bound together.

Today human beings are bound in pride-filled

self-centeredness. God alone with irresistible

power can break this bondage. In cross God

destroys egocentricity. Any attempt to negate

creaturely finitude is precisely the

fundamental human sin. In cross pride is put

to death, annihilated, in order that a

resurrection might occur, a faith-life of the

Spirit realised. As Luther commented

Salvation takes place when the obsessive self

is put to death and God performs a

contemporary resurrection. Through the

power of the Spirit, we are raised as new

creations—people who in trust live with God

as the centre of life. Luther emphasises that

this work is God's work and is a free gift

received in faith. We are right with

God—justified—by God's grace through

faith. One's pride-filled ego is annihilated in

preparation for the life centred in God.

Therefore, the goal of the Christian life is

conformity to the Crucified One. Suffering

will be inevitable in the Christian life because

Christians will be in conflict with the world.

Cross exposes and condemns the luxurious

world's lust for self-exaltation.

The church will have relevance only if it

identifies with the one who was crucified.

According to Jürgen Moltmann in the face of

sheer suffering in various levels, the question

need to be raise is “to whom the church is

devoted”. Generally, the questions regarding

the existence of God has been raised amidst

pain and suffering caused by the injustice in

this world. Struggles happened in the human

history shows these truths. Many argued that

in the face of suffering and injustice, it is very

hard to believe in an omnipotent God.

However, Christians have to encounter this

question of suffering and injustice in a critical

manner by the colligating suffering of Christ

and suffering of the world. In fact, if we want

to appraise the depth of suffering of people,

essentially, we need to deconstruct a God

concept that is detached from the worldly

realities. If we search for the real meaning of

the suffering of Christ and its embedded

experience of abandonment by God, it will

prompt us to revisit the very notions about the

being of God. In a traditional manner, we

believe that God may not suffer like creation

in the form of decay, death or sickness. But we


cannot ignore the suffering of love.

Moltmann writes “Anyone who is able to

love is able to suffer because he opens

himself to the sufferings that love brings,

but remains superior to them because of

the power of his love”. God cannot be

indifferent to suffering. Furthermore, in

cross, God participates in suffering. The

cross is nothing less than the suffering of

God. Dietrich Bonhoeffer said, "For me,

the idea that it is really God who suffers

has always been one of the most

persuasive teachings of Christianity. I

believe that God is closer to suffering

than to happiness and that finding God in

this way brings peace and repose and a

strong, courageous heart".

If on the cross Christ expresses the fact

that he has been totally forsaken, this was

not his own special plight but the

common plight of humankind. If we

understand the meaning of the cross, our

sufferings and our hopes not only

asseverate our history but also God's

history. Jesus dies for the cause for which

he strove. Those who suffer innocently

actually joining with the death cry of

Christ, who intercedes for them with his

cross. Jon Sobrino also avows that the

abandonment on the cross is an

expression of his deep solidarity with

human life. In the cross, God depicts

himself as acting against evil. Only the

suffering God is able to help because that

God is a "co-sufferer".George Zachariah

opines "groaning is also a God-talk,

confronted with the experiences of utter

God-forsakenness, the community of

creation re-imagines God inspired by the

surprising encounters of epiphanies at

the most unexpected places... groaning

discerns God differently as a co-sufferer

who laments with them while keeping

their hope alive". Let us discern the

reverberance of God in laments of people

who have been struggling for a

resurrection experience.

Anne E. Carr avers that “Jesus died

because of the way he lived, because of

the pattern of fidelity and commitment

of his life and his liberating message".

Cross calls us to struggle against pain and

against the causes that produce the cross.

There are many feminist readings that

criticise the traditional way of

understanding cross and suffering. Many

a time the imposed suffering became "the

cross to bear". Feminist theologians may

argue that Jesus' life revealed the nature

of love and that love would save us. Jesus'

crucifixion was a consequence of

domination – an oppressive system killed

him to silence him. But we have to

cultivate commitments that take voluntary

suffering to suppress oppressive systems in

this world. We are called to join Jesus in

working to liberate people from all that

diminish life. Christ's suffering on the

cross for us is turned into a suffering with

us, sufferings of all the oppressed and

enslaved in the world. Such a struggle to

f

tt


join with other human beings in the

process of liberation to bring about true

human community is the main thrust in a

Christian thinking. The cross and the

people's experiences are inter-related.

Along with Earnest Kasemann, who

avers about the cross as "the signature of

the one who is risen,” James Cone says

that “the cross places God in the midst of

crucified people, in the midst of people

who are hung, short, burned and

tortured”. The innocent victim, Jesus in

the Roman imperial period and the

victimised people are analogous and

comparable since both of them are

publicly humiliated for the purpose to

subdue a particular community.

For me, historic character of Jesus' death

cannot be denied in any type of

interpretation. Jesus was killed because

of the historic life he led— a life that

voiced for poor and against the

exploitation. Even though we gave

soteriological considerations, the

emphasis should be on the process of

proclaiming the gospel that directs

kingdom of God, at the cost of risking

l i fe. Ignacio Ellacuria bel ieved

“Salvation cannot be made exclusively a

matter of the mystical fruits of the death

of Jesus”. What is salvific should not be

separated from what is historic. There is

no point in uncritically accepting cross as

the means of salvation. There is no

intention to valorizing suffering. By

Christ, event cross became the symbol of

total subversion and infixes vigorous

hope amid all defeat and suffering.

Ultimately the experiences in and around

cross ensure victory for the least. Thus

cross became God's critique of power

with powerless love, snatching victory

out of defeat. The power of the cross is

the power to overcome death.

Faith, here is nothing else, but self-

realization. This self-realization

includes two dimensions (1) sensitivities

about the present stigmatised or

stereotyped situation (2) having realised

the power within to transform, faith is

embodying the audacity to urge for

liberation. Faith is not a static repository

of doctrine but a dynamic on-going

reality of living in the light of Jesus.

Cross t r iggers “protest against

negativities of human existence” (Gerd

Theissen). Cross is capable of identifying

divine bond with the powerless to go

beyond the tragic circle of life, by way of

the cross to the victory on the cross. Only

faith delimitated by imagination can

pursue this truth. One needs a powerful

imagination to see tragedy and beauty,

futility and redemption on the cross. The

Crucified Christ widens the possibilities

of victims to speak out for their purpose

and thereby diminishing all the

traditional notions of messianic

triumphalism. These victims are self-

defining their public— a "different

imagination" of a counter-public.

Even though suffering in itself is not

redemptive, God's presence in Jesus'

solidarity with the oppressed should be

remarked. What is redemptive is the faith

that God snatches victory out of defeat

and life out of death. We need to liberate

cross from the clutches of Christian

traditionalism and from all passivity.

Here salvation is broken spirits being

healed, voiceless people speaking out,

and the marginalised empowered to love

their own distinctiveness. Consequently,

the cross is the burden we must bear in

order to attain freedom and thus cross

becomes a powerful immanent reality.

Cross as the locus of divine revelation is

something disturbing for the powerful.

God on the cross reveals a God who

became a slave in Jesus and thereby

liberated slaves from being determined

by their social condition.


GRACE TO REPENT, FORGIVE & RECONCILE

Rev. Dr. Praveen P.S.

Perumalla is an ordained

minister of Church of South

I n d i a , D i o c e s e o f

Karimnagar. Currently he is

ministering as Telangana

Auxiliary Secretary, Bible

Society of India, located in

Secunderabad, after a long

service in the teaching

ministry.

Lent is a season to remind of the way of the

Lord Jesus; beloved communities of the

Lord to choose the path of repentance,

forgiveness, and reconciliation. This

meditation picks up this theme of Grace to

repent, forgive and reconcile.

Why is it a Grace?

The path of repentance, forgiveness and

reconciliation is not some theoretical

formula to explain and prove for the

intellectual categories. Instead, the path is

always to walk, a movement, therefore, it

requires appropriate choices and decisions to

be made from time to time. The human

propensity is not always in consonance with

the way of Jesus of Nazareth, but mostly

influenced and inclined to the worldly

powers of domination. In the midst of

greater amount of worldly powers prevailing

all around, to choose the way of the Lord is

nothing but the grace of God.

The Biblical paradigm of God's grace to

choose is very enriching and refreshing

amidst increasing domination, deprivation

and market influences. For instance, the path

chosen by our beloved Lord Jesus of

Nazareth is a path of 'servanthood'. “For

even the Son of Man came not to be served

but to serve. And to give his life as a ransom

for many” (Mark 10:45). This image of

servanthood in relation to one another, and

importantly, the image of being a nation is

important to note. This imagination of

servanthood path cannot be equated with a

default among other imaginations. The

dominant imagination of being a leader, a

teacher, a ruler or king need to confine to the

conventions of that time. Having been

influenced by the conventions of the time,

the disciples of Jesus of Nazareth wrongly

understood Jesus as power monger leader,

therefore, prefers to keep prominent,

powerful persons- one on his left and one on

his right side (Mark 10: 35ff, and Matthew

20: 20ff). Peter rebuked Jesus for giving a

new definition for a leader, a teacher and a

king, which does not fit into the popular

notion of the said words (Mark 8:32). On the

cross of Jesus, an inscribed board was nailed

which says "....The Kind of the Jews" (Mark

15: 26).

Like any other person, Jesus of Nazareth

should have had ascribed to the conventions

of the time, which was a creation of the

powerful Roman political realm and Jewish

religious circles. Against the strong tide in

Palestine, Jesus chose to be a leader, a

teacher, and a king 'to serve'. "And he began

to teach them that the Son of Man must

suffer many things and be rejected by the

elders and the chief priests and the scribes

and be killed and after three days rise again"

(Mark 8: 31). Such an ability to imagine, to

choose a way beyond the human creation to

dominate, and choose something that cost,

even one's life is God's grace. Such an

imagination is theologically nurtured by

Isaiah in chapter 52 and 53.

It is God's grace that enabled Jesus to heal

the sick, re-root the discriminated back with

the community in worship and celebration;

God's grace enabled Jesus to read and

proclaim the scriptures in the (Jewish)

religious and secular places, declared them


as the word of God; it is God's grace that

made it possible for Jesus to speak

forgiveness from the cross in the midst of

rampant injustice. In the same vein, for our

times, to perceive and practice repentance,

forgiveness and reconciliation should

necessarily base on God's grace and our

willingness to receive it.

Repentance of Sin

This lent invites one and all, as a Nation and

as a Church, to embrace the path of

Repentance of sin. The word sin is a kind of

Christian jargon to many, as it failed to

explain beyond the confines of morality and

ethics. At the same time, an understanding

of Sin implies an understanding of

community life, a nation-state, its social

systems and social formation. Theologically

speaking, the presence of God within the life

of a community/life of a nation-state is

affirmative and any denial of the same is

explained as sin.

"…(I) will not be a healer; in my house,

there is neither bread nor cloak; you shall

not make me the leader of the people. For

Jerusalem has stumbled, and Judah has

fallen, because their speech and their

deeds are against the LORD, defying his

glorious presence." (Isaiah 3: 7- 8).

It is scriptural to believe that God's

presence is eminent in the life of every

nation and every community. As a

theological community- Christians have

an obligation to discern the presence of

God in every community and in every

nation; enquire the heart and mind of

G o d f o r t h e n a t i o n s ; b e l ove d

communities should walk accordingly in

a pastoral and prophetic spirit calling

people to repent of their sins that deny

God's presence. God's presence is an

affirmation of Justice where bread,

clothing, water, leadership and word of

God is availed by the people.

As God's word is for Jerusalem and Judah,

and for the nations across as narrated in the

Bible, the emerging picture of God in Asia

is portrayed as a suffering God. There is a

growing demand across the nations for

“creating an enemy” image since the end of

cold war. Secular scholarship analysed such

a phenomenon in the name of "Clash of

Civilisations" centred on “Identity markers”

based on religion, where caste can also be

included. The project of creating an

enemy is resembled with yet another

project to kill the enemy and spread

communal hatred ideology; for which

new miss i les, bombs, e tc. , are

manufactured and new forms of the

ideology of hate are manufactured.

Alliances between such project owner

nations are formed at the cost of

labouring masses, Adivasis, Dalits,

women and children in particular, and

marginalised communities at large. In

such growing menace where is God, who

calls us to repent from the sin of making

our fellow brothers and sisters – the homo

sapiens as enemies of homo sapiens?

What are the forces that obstruct

accepting one another and committing

together in serving of one another?

The beloved communities of God take an

opportune season inviting one and all to

repent in religious as well as secular

spaces. Turn religion to cater the secular

and social cause, where God is eminent.

Let us dream to dedicate lenten prayer

services across the nation- a service to

repent for not seeing suffering Jesus

amidst of growing poverty in India,

elsewhere in Asia; a service to repent over

being silence to gender and caste violence

in India; a service to repent for not forging

new alliances and relations to serve the

needy, who are closed behind the bars of

Indian prisons and elsewhere; and service

to promote unity in upholding the

servanthood of Jesus the Christ.

I am aware of the criticism in presenting

sin as national, community-based, which

warrants repentance on national and

community level. Such a criticism has a

tradition of presenting sin as personal for

which, the individual is expected to

practice personal piety. At personal level

piety is not negated and at the same time

dangers of negating community and

national repentance is reminded in this

lent, with a call to repent. Jesus warned

his disciples by saying “(f)or I tell you,

unless your righteousness exceeds that of

the scribes and Pharisees, you will never

enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew

5:20). Pointing to scribes and Pharisees is

not about a person but the particular class

group and particular social formation of

Palestine at the time of Jesus, who stand

hindrance to masses from following Jesus.

A community and nation based repentance

is the way forging unity in the discipleship of

Jesus the Christ.

Forgiveness for Reconciliation

Lenten season reminds us of the

importance of forgiveness and need to

reconcile with God, and with one

another. A few years back in Delhi, it was

informed that few Christians from the

Great Britain organised a prayer meeting

in a Hotel room on forgiveness and

reconciliation. They wanted to ask few

Indian Christian brothers to forgive the

British for colonising India. But, there

was no material dimension to forgiveness

except spiritualizing forgiveness. Nothing

was repaid towards imposed poverty on

India masses by the British. Forgiveness is

not just word whispered but, they are

proclaimed the word of action. For

instance, the tradition of jubilee year is thabout releasing of slaves every 7 year and

importantly send them not empty

handed. “For there will never cease to be

poor in the land. Therefore I command

you, “You shall open wide your hand to


your brother, to the needy and to the poor,

in your land” (Deut. 15: 11). Forgiveness

has to do with counting on erring against

brothers and sisters by the brothers and

sisters in a covenant relationship and

restore such strained relationship because

of debt and slavery.

Forgiveness is a very important theme for

all nation for all times. The beloved

community in Jesus has a vocation to

remind the world leaders, very much

reminded within the body of Christ,

s ign i f i cance o f forg iveness for

reconciliation. Interestingly forgiveness

and reconciliation is a story of healing or

resurrection. Forgiveness in Jesus Christ

is reconciliation with God and with one

another. Such a reconciliation is

beginning of a new life full of joy and

thanksgiving. Let me explain the same

from everyday life experience. Once a

Pastor complained of sleeplessness for

the past few years. After listening to the

Pastor for some time, it was understood

that this man had given some money to an

evangelist and this evangelist is not able to

pay back monthly interest; forget about

the gross amount. After counselling, the

respected pastor called the evangelist and

cancelled all his debts. Since the same

night, the pastor reported that he

experienced peace at home and peaceful

sleep at nights.

It can be inferred from above that

forgiveness is energy which, can bind one

another in a bonding relationship. As

much as keeping in debt is negative

energy, so much is forgiveness a positive

energy. Lent is a season to generate the

positive energy in order to revive life

through healing. The words of Jesus is

always a story of healing- a physical or

transformative. Mark 2:1-12 reports that

Jesus forgave sins of the paralytic and

thereafter, the paralytic received healing

and walked away.

Conclusion

The acts of repentance from sin, as well as

forgiveness for reconciliation, are by the

grace of God, which we receive and

exercise. God helps us to come together to

repent before God and with one another,

and to learn the path of humility from

each other. At the same time, God's grace

teaches us to forgive one another in spite

of temptations to exploit and rob fellow

brothers and sisters; and work towards

new relationships through reconciliation.

Let this lent be a call to experience God's

grace as a nation and as Church of South

India.


Lent: A time of Reflection, Repentance & Renewal

Rev. B. Asha is an ordained

Presbyter of the Church of

South India in the Karnataka

Central Diocese. She has

completed her BD studies from

the Gur uku l Luthe ran

Theological College, Chennai

and is currently serving as the

Assistant Vicar of St. Peter’s

Telugu Church, Bangalore.

Every season in our Liturgical year is a

blessing to us. Even though, each season has

its own significance among which, the season

of lent gives us enormous opportunity for

reflection, repentance & renewal. This season

of lent is unique, because it helps us with the

'spiritual manna' through its meditations,

devotions, fasting, praying and almsgiving.

Furthermore, lent would also helps us to

enter into close communion with Jesus, as we

ponder upon our sinful nature and turn away

from our past sinful lives and to strive towards

a life with Christ. Lent makes us to realize

that we are only fragile and sinful human

beings and we must rely on God's strength.

In this season, some churches will be involved

in added special Lenten Bible studies, prayer

meetings and spiritual retreats are also

increasingly common so that our faith would

be primed for a deeper experience with God.

In other words, this is a time of 'spiritual

festivity' in which we all of us prepare

ourselves to reflect and remember about

Jesus' crucifixion on the cross, the death and

celebration of the Resurrection.

Reflection

This Lenten season is a time of self reflection

of our mind, heart, soul, work and deed,

which are the prime of our day today

activities. The season of lent is not strictly

fasting physically; rather it is a self reflection

of one's own life and faith journey. We look at

the mirror to observe our physical appearance

& beauty through that we could sense our

outward looks. Likewise, during the Lenten

season, we ought to look at ourselves and find

out the inequities. But, self reflection

sometimes would be difficult for us, because

we are curious to identify mistakes from

others than to reflect upon ourselves.

In the computers, laptops and mobile phones

are required of its antivirus to delete the virus

affected in the electronic gadgets. Similarly,

constantly we should aware and search for the

virus found in our lives and God's forgiveness

to delete our viruses such as egoistic nature,

envy, self pride etc. Moreover, each day we

are surrounded by things that compete for our

affections, when we say "no" to the

distractions of the world, some of the evil

thoughts convince us to get attracted to it.

Therefore, this is the right time to overcome

from all those distractions by the power of

word of God for that we need to have

qualities such as:

Reflection on Self Awareness

Christian life is constantly being aware of our

relationship with God. Some of the Aglican

churches still follow the tradition to put ashes

on the forehead to the members from the

priest on the day of Ash Wednesday. It

signifies us that “Remember we are dust and

to dust we shall return.” This connotes that,

we are a mere mortal but created in the image

of God. Being aware of our state of sinful

acts, we need to constantly aware to discipline

ourselves in our faith journey.

Reflection on Spiritual Discipline

Throughout the year, often our routine

activities are not being guided by the way we

think, due to undisciplined life style. But, the

season of lent gives us an opportunity to

discipline ourselves meaningfully to realise

our d rawbacks and reco l l ec t our

shortcomings and strive for the repentance.

For that, we need to be more faithful and

diligent in listening and meditating upon the

Word of God, to spend more time in prayer,

fasting and abstain from evil thinking is very

crucial to our spiritual discipline. In this fast

moving world knowingly and intentionally

we follow the life style. Does our life style


reflect the values Christ lived and taught?

Adding a Lenten discipline would really

enrich our faith journey to reflect and

repent meaningfully.

Repentance

What does it mean to truly repent? The

Greek word for repentance that is used in

the Gospel is 'metanoia', which literally

means “to change of mind” necessarily

entails a profound interior conversation,

in which we firmly turn from worldly

darkness, and embrace a new way of life

as God's children. It means a change of

attitude; any one confronting God has to

undergo this transformation. Otherwise,

there is no repentance. Our prime concern

should be that we change our life first and

strive to create such change in the life of

others. Biblically God's servant, John the

Baptist preached the “Gospel of

repentance” and warned that unless they

bear the fruits of repentance, the

forgiveness of sins would be difficult

(Mark 1: 4)

The effort to repent is a sign of our

involvement to the experience of Christ

who fasted in the desert for 40 days in the

wilderness. Jesus has been inviting us to

live our faith constantly through

repentance, e.i. to express our attitude of

repentance during the Lent. Hence, we

should be willing to leave behind our

tendency toward sin; only focusing and

trusting our lives on Jesus Christ. If at all

there is a great joy in the spiritual world, it

will be due to the repentance of a sinner.

(Luke 15:7) Some people think that

repentance reveals human weakness, our

failure or mistakes but this is not true. The

first sermon Jesus preached was to

“repent and believe in the gospel”. (

MK1:15) As we enter with the attitude of

repentance in the season of lent, let us

strive for fervent repentance through that

we could conform ourselves with the will

of God. Repentance may also sometimes

engage us to regret or sorrow over having

lived our lives under the bondage of sin, to

achieve that we need to repent on:

Repentance on self-centredness

The postmodernism of our times has

brought tremendous changes in our

culture, tradition and practice. Each

Individuals position towards their

neighbour is being measured through

property, monthly income, position in

society etc., this shows that, the attitude

of pride and position have been playing a

significant role in our society. Moreover,

in real life experience people find

themselves more in a state of isolation,

distrust and hostility in a state of

isolation. Lent is especially a time for

consciously analysing our wicked ways,

thoughts, feelings, priorities and habits

that are not immediately apparent, and

are all displeasing to God. Let us repent

dedicatedly to move f rom se l f

centeredness and strived to reach the goal

of others centeredness. Let us see the

'Image of God' in others and repent for

our shortcomings.


Repentance on Self Discontentment

Modernized way of living encourages us

to be greedy and consumerist in nature to

update new gadgets, clothes, and

cosmetics etc. This creates a mode of

happiness, satisfaction, pleasure for some

young people who would like to lead their

modern way of living, for others, who are

under privileged, it creates the way of

discontentment. Though, it's a tough to

say yes or no in response to particular

challenges and temptations, but in the

lent, this process may entail “turning

from sin,” from specific behaviours and

actions. As Christians, to “practice”

contentment is the essential to progress

and enrich as children of God.

Renewing

Striving for the right relationship with

God and fellow human beings is the

process of renewing life. Renewing is a

process; it's not a one time achievement.

If anyone realises that he or she has not

lived, how God wanted them to live. The

season of Lent is the right time to reflect

on each ones works and deeds and to

repent on the sinful acts, and then the

process of renewal would take place. The

act of renewal reminds us of our

commitment to God and our desire to

thirst for God's presence throughout our.

Furthermore, we need to affirm that God

is the true author of our process of

renewing life. Many a times we cannot

stop certain thoughts entering our mind,

but through word of God we need to

overcome as Paul rightly writes in

Philippians 4:9 “A renewed mind should

lead to changed behaviour”. To achieve

such changes in life, we need to be with

Christ who is giver of all wisdom and

knowledge and leads us to the right path.

Our responsibility to renew our mind

should get rid of gossips, envy,

selfishness, self pride and to put on

patience, compassion and love towards

one another and to follow discipline are

very important.

Renewal in Self discipline

Self discipline in our thoughts is a critical

element of renewing our minds. Many

people have been struggling with

temptations, bitterness, depression, fear,

hopelessness, frustrations, problems.

God is able to renew and restore all our

situations, days and years that have been

lost to the effects of sin. (Joel 2:25). Not

only God can renew a life and redeem its

past, but God can also redeem our future.

We needn't to be afraid of challenges

ahead of us; our powerful prayers are with

us that we can trust in God's sovereignty

over new. There will be a new blessings,

new trials, new failures, and new

victories, but God's goodness will guard

them all.

Renewal with a purpose

Firstly, we must accept the purpose for

renewing our mind and we need to get rid

of our sinful and negative attitudes,

critical ways of our selfish thoughts. As

we begin this year Lent, let us renew

ourselves with a purpose committing to

hope for God's strength which has the

power to transform our lives. God has

been passionate to grant new identities,

and renewed mercies. So, rather than

thinking the start of this year lent as a

routine task, let us look every year lent is

unique and significant to renew our lives.


Scott Christian College

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The Scott Christian College in Nagercoil,

which i s one of the pres t ig ious

educational institutions of CSI under the

Kanyakumari Diocese, celebrated the

125th year with a major public meeting.

In this meeting, which was held in the

college premises on the 13th February

2017, Mr. P. J. Kurian, Deputy Chairman

of Rajya Sabha, laid the foundation stone

for Scott Museum. A former student of

the college and Union Minister of State for

Road Transport, Mr Pon Radhakrishnan

also addressed the gathering.

In the meeting presided over by Rt. Rev.

G. Devakadasham, the bishop in the

Kanyakumari Diocese, Most Rev.

Thomas K. Oommen, the Moderator of

the Church of South India gave the

speech of blessings. The correspondent

of the College and the Hon. Treasurer of

the Church of South India Synod, Adv.

Robert Bruce welcomed the gathering.

Principal Prof. Dr. M. Edwin Gnanadhas

read out the achievements of the college.

The Scott Christian College was elevated

to a second-grade college in 1893

affiliated to the University of Madras

with twelve students under Rev Dr James

Duthie as the first Principal. When the

University of Travancore was established

in 1938 the Scott Christian College was

admitted to its privileges. By 1943 the

number of students in the College had

increased to nearly 300 including about

20 women. The year 1950 saw the

introduction of Degree courses at Scott

Christian. The first majors introduced

were Mathematics and History, and this

was followed by Chemistry (1952),

Economics (1954), Physics (1954),

Zoology (1956) and B.Sc. Botany (1966).

The college was affiliated to the Madurai

University in 1966. In 1967 the Scott

Christian College celebrated its 75th

Anniversary as the Platinum Jubilee.

Feeling the space constraints to its

growth, the Degree Classes were shifted

to the present New Campus during 1970-

1971. The College progressively introduced

new courses for the undergraduates. The

commencing of post-graduate courses in

1971 was a significant landmark in the

history of this College and now there are

twelve postgraduate courses in arts,

science and commerce subjects.

Pre-doctoral (M.Phil) courses were

gradually introduced: Zoology (1984),

Botany (1986) and Economics (1986) are

aided courses and Commerce (1991),

Tamil (1996), Physics (1996), English

(2001), Chemistry (2006), History (2006)

and Mathematics (2006) were started as

self-financed courses. In 1989 the

Manonmaniam Sundaranar University,

Tirunelveli recognised Scott Christian as

a Research Centre for Economics. Then

research centres of Zoology (1996),

Tamil (1998), Botany (1999), Commerce

(2000), English (2003), Chemistry

(2004), History (2008), Physics (2010)

and Mathematics (2011) were recognised.

The Status of Autonomy was conferred

on Scott Christian College, in April 2005,

the first-ever autonomous college in

Kanyakumari District. After the NAAC

peer team visit in April 2009, College was

awarded 'A' the highest grade. The Ida

Marsden Women's Hostel was extended

with accommodation for 500 students in

2009. The UGC has constituted an

Expert Committee to evaluate the

performance and academic attainments

for the Extension of Autonomous Status

in 2012.

This college is administered by the

Church of South India, Kanyakumari

Diocese, and has an elected Governing

Board. The motto of the College is “The

truth shall make you free”.

Edwin Gnanadhass

Principal, Scott Christian College

Scott Christian College Celebrates th125 Year of Missional Service in

Education

Kanyakumari Diocese


A three days Training of Trainers (TOT)

was held at the Church of South India-

Board of Child Care(CSI-BCC) campus

in Bangalore, for one representative from

each of the 20 Dioceses of Church of

South India along with the Programme

Executives from 15th to 17th February

2017, at Bangalore. It was organised by

CSIBCC and facilitated by KNH South

India CPP National Facilitators Team.

The main objectives of the programme

were as follows:

Ÿ To enable participants to have the

adequate understanding of child

rights, legal framework on child rights

and child protection.

Ÿ To enhance participants understanding

about different types of child abuse and

the need for appropriate strategies of

prevention.

Ÿ To enable participants to realise the

need to involve children in the

i m p l e m e n t a t i o n o f t h e c h i l d

protection policy.

Ÿ To familiarise participants on the

existing CSIBCC-CPP and capacitate

them to train their fellow staff team

members and evolve an action plan to

implement CSIBCC-CPP at the

project levelŸ

Day 1

On the first day of the programme, after

completing the registration, the 27

registered participants joined the

CSIBCC staff for a time of devotion and

submission of the course in the hands of

our Lord Almighty. The Director of

CSIBCC, Mr.Anil Kumar Charles led the

devot ion wi th Parab le o f Good

Samaritan thus emphasising on the

responsibility of the staff in providing

care for the children and claiming of their

rights to heavenly inheritance by the

children. Thereafter, a brief introduction

was held, wherein Mr. Anil Charles gave

an introduction about the 3 days training

programme. And then introduced and

welcomed the Facilitators team. The

participants introduced themselves.

The programme thus started with a card

provided to all the participants asking

them to write their expectation from the

three days programme. The participants

were actively involved and presented the

same to everyone. Facilitator's team

introduced the programme objectives of

ToT and programme schedule for 3 days.

The group discussed the concept of

Learning- dealt by Mr. Thomas Jeyaraj.

Learning as knowing the unknown. The

role of Attitudes-values-Learning was

discussed. An interesting story telling

exercise on Values was given during the

session. After our lunch, Mr. Thomas

Jeyaraj had the next session about

understanding child rights. In that Human

rights, child rights and orientation of

UNCRC were discussed.

The groups were asked to write their

wants and needs. The session was lively

and the facilitator made everyone to share

his/her thoughts. More of activity and

group work Methodology were followed.

Mr. Thomas took us to the next session on

Legal Framework on Child rights. A legal

perspective on child rights and child

protection. It comprises of International

and National law. How can the law

protect the children and in what ways? He

also shared the experience on how the

Indian legal framework works in the

protect ion of chi ldren. National

commissions and child protection

Mechanism in India were also dealt with

in detail.

Mrs.Jency addressed the main issues of

Child Abuse, types of abuse and

definitions. This was through Alligator

story telling format. The participants

involved actively and responded to her

questions. She divided the working

groups and asked the participants who is

the most to be blamed in the story?

End of the day there was a documentary

film, which depicted the story of a

daughter who is abused by her own father.

After that, the participants moved to have

their Dinner.

Day 2

The day started with Devotion led by

Ms.Sowmini and Mr.Surya Prakash.

Soon after that, there was a Recap

session, which went up to 5:00 pm in the

Training of Trainers(ToT) on Child Protection Policy for

CSI-BCC Resource Team

CSI BCC


evening. During the mid-morning break,

we had the photo session.

Mr. Sathish Samuel led the recap session,

each group were given topics and was

asked to demonstrate. As the first and

second group did the recap Ms.Sowmini

and team started with the recap session of

the previous days learning. The group

used methodologies like flash cards, Ppt

and a role-play.

After this demonstration, all the other

group were asked for feedback so that it

will make the group as well as the

individual to grow.

The third group presented their topic

through a skit to show how rights are

denied to children. The topic given to

them was understanding child rights. The

group used flash cards, white board and a

small skit.

After lunchtime, the energizer team

conducted cool games to make ourselves

relaxed. The four th team gave a

presentation on Legal perspective on

child rights and child protection. They

used Lecture method and made everyone

to share one Law pertaining to child

rights.

The fifth group came up with the topic

Child Abuse. All the members of the

group participated and they used

methodologies like role-playing and used

the white board.

After a l l the g roup presentat ion

Mrs.Jency gave a Ppt on “Identifying

Risk of child Abuse” Also she explained

about preventive strategies and case

Management system.

Then the Programme Executives were

requested by the facilitator, Mr.S.Thomas

Jeyaraj to share a few words on the days

learning.

At the end of the day, there was a group

activity, which was presented in the form of

Information Educational Communication

(IEC) material on the next day.

Day 3

The day's programme started with a

devot ion led by Mrs. Shiny and

Mr.Roosvelt. The day started with the group

activity, which was assigned to each group

individually. After all the presentation there

was self-evaluation session. Each group

expressed their thoughts. The next session

was on Implementation of CPP with

children. In that small group discussions on

inclusion/exclusion scenarios and

examples were drawn from the participants.

Group exercise on body map, which

reflects the Body of ideal facilitator, was

done. After our lunch, the next session was

on how to organise training on child

protection.

Some of the opinion from the participants

was to create a child protection committee.

An action plan was explained clearly how

to go about with the training at the project

level. During the end of the session, all the

participants were asked to share their

experience on the three days programme,

what they take back home and what they

want to leave back here. The participants

felt the whole programme was very useful

in bringing up a change in the minds of

people and some said they are going to

take back home the confidence to

facilitate the other staff in the respective

projects of the Diocese.

Mr. Anil Kumar Charles, after listening to

the feedback from the participants,

thanked everyone. The Staff of CSI BCC

felicitated the resource persons, Mr.

Thomas Jeyaraj , Mrs. Jency and

Mr.Sathish Samuel.

Anil Charles

Director, CSIBCC


th On 8 morning a team consisting of

Ms. Kathrin Lehrbach, Co-ordinator

EYVP/EMS, Rev. Solomon Paul,

Director CSI Department of Youth, CSI

Synod, Mr. Anil Charles Director,

CSI-BCC and Ms. Sowmini , Programme

Executive , CSI BCC started their journey

from Bangalore and reached Udupi.

Visit to Asha Nilaya (Project No 20069)

Udupi, Karnataka Southern Diocese.

The team visited Asha Nilaya School and

Vocational Rehabilitation Centre for

Mentally Challenged (Project No 20069)

Udupi. It is a KNH supported project.

The guests were welcomed by school

children with band and march-past.

There are 95 children in the project of

which 55 children are under KNH

sponsorship. There are 22 staffs working

in this project as Child care workers,

special educators, care takers and cooks.

The Staff and children welcomed the

guests along with Mr. Reginald Soans

Project Co ordinator of KSD.

Some of the important Highlights

during visit

The staff team has arranged a felicitation

function and also a visit to the entire

project area.

During the visit, we were reminded that

this project received a “State Award” of

Karnataka for the excellent services

rendered to the intellectually challenged

children.

Ms. Kathrin Lehrbach: She said that

children are gifted children and they are

special in every way gifted with best

talents. She appreciated the staff for their

commitment and determination and said

they are the best parents in taking care of

these children with patience.

Mr. Anil Charles congratulated the

children and staff for receiving Award for

the Project and appreciated the staff and

children for their talented gifts and in

taking care of the children well.

Rev. Solomon Paul appreciated all the

staff in the project and the services they

are rendering in the project.

The speech and physiotherapy support

and assistance is been offered by the

interns of Manipal Institute twice in a

week to these children on regular basis.

These children are taught phenyol

making, gardening, book binding, paper

bag making, cow rearing, and other

flower handicrafts.

It is appreciated that the children have

displayed the craft work beautifully in the

handicraft room.

Children participate in extracurricular

activities and are taught spiritual songs,

yoga, dance, and computer. Educational

Film shows are also screened for the

benefit of the children.

We thank the local management

committee diocese and the project for ,

the i r suppor t , co opera t ion and

hospitality extended to us during the visit.

Visit to CSI Boys Boarding Home,

Udupi, Karnataka Southern Diocese

In the evening the team visited EMS

supported Project CSI Boys Boarding

Home (Project No 4016), Udupi. This

project is catering to the needs of 50

residential children.

The project staff has arranged a function

and children welcomed us playing

amazing spiritual songs. Children have

learnt different musical instruments and

the child care worker encourages the

children to learn and enhance their talents

which are appreciated.

Important Highlights during visit:

While greeting children Ms. Kathrin said

that she was very happy listening to the

songs and music and seeing children with

good talents and gifted with music. She

offered greetings from EMS, Germany;

she conveyed her good wishes to children

and advised them to concentrate on

education.

Mr. Anil Charles, Director CSIBCC, has

conveyed his greetings, appreciations and

wished them all the best.

Rev. Solomon Paul, Director CSI

Department of youth, conveyed his greetings

Brief report on the visit of EMS/EYVP coordinator from

th th8 Feb to 11 Feb 2017

EMS Liaison Office


and shared two moral and value based

stories with the children and encouraged

them to grow in the spiritual life.

A fellowship dinner was arranged for all

which was sponsored by a local like

minded family.

Visit to CSI Bethania Students Home,

Kannur, Malabar Dioceseth On the 09 Feb 2017 we started from

Udupi and reached Kannur. We visited

CSI Bethania Students Home, (Project No

4014) Kannur, Kerala. This project is

supported by EMS Germany and is

catering to the needs of 25 residential

children.

After the warm welcome and lunch, we

had a meeting with warden and other

staff of the project. Ms. Kathrin

Lehrbach shared few important points

with Mrs. Pushpa, In charge of the

project and learned about Ms. Jamima

who is there as EMS Volunteer and her

involvement with the children in the

project.

In the evening children performed dances

for both secular and spiritual songs.

We thank the Bishop of Malabar Diocese,

the Project Co ordinator and Local

management committee for extending

hospitality, co operation and support while

visiting the project.

CSI Hardwicke Boys Boarding Home &

CSI Wesley Girls Boarding Home,

Mysore, Karnataka Southern DiocesethOn the 10 Feb we started from Kannur to

Mysore and reached Mysore. After lunch

Ms. Kathrin Lehrbach and Ms. Sowmini

(Programme Executive) visited the

project Hardwicke Boys Boarding Home

(Project No 20054), Mysore. Ms. Kathrin

Lehrbach had wonderful chance to

interact with Mr. Devarathana, in-charge

child care worker, and could discussed

about the challenges faced during the

volunteers' stay in the project. Later

Mr. Anil Charles, Director CSI BCC and

Rev Solomon Paul joined the team and

had a overview of all the developmental

work of the project and appreciated the

staff.

The team also visited the CSI Wesely

Girls Boarding Home (Project No

20056), Mysore and appreciated the

progress of the Project and also

appreciated the staff for taking care of the

children with care. They appreciated

especially the cook and helper for

providing nutritious food for the children

and taking care of them well. Overall

infrastructure and activities programmes

developmental work done in the project

was appreciated.

In the evening both the projects have

arranged a programme in Hardwicke

Boys Boarding Home, Mysore. Rev.

Sujathamma, Vice President, Rev.

William Clary, Diocesan Secretary and

Rev Gurushanth, Area Chairmen, Ms.

Kathrin, Mr. Anil Charles, Rev. Solomon

Paul, Ms.Sowmini, Mr. Devarathana,

Child Care Worker, Hardwicke Boys

boarding Boys Home and Mrs. Geetha

Srinivas, Child Care Worker, CSI Wesley

Girls Boarding Home, were present in

this program.

The Programme started with opening

prayer by Rev. Sujathamma. Rev William

Clary, Diocesan Secretary introduced

and greeted the guests. The guests shared

their experiences and gave some advices

to the children to become a successful in

life. All the guests were felicitated during

the program

Important Highlights of the Programme:

Ms. Kathrin was happy to see children and

the development in the Project. She also

brought greetings from EMS. She

appreciated the staff for their commitment

and determination in taking care of the

children and providing all needs to the

children.

Mr. Anil Charles shared some important

elements for the growth of the children.

He mentioned to follow the discipline and

walk with truth and follow Jesus as a good

example. He encouraged the children to

develop good habits of Head, Heart,

Hand and Legs to do well.

Rev. Solomon Paul shared about a

beautiful story about the potter and clay

and how the children can shape their life .

Children performed a cultural dance both

from girls and boys boarding home.

And we thank the Bishop, Project

coordinator, staff and children for

extending their co operation and support.

Vote of thanks was offered by Mrs. Geetha

and closing prayer and benediction was

offered Rev.Solomon Paul.

Visit to Mysore, Srirangapatnam

A local tour was arranged for Ms. Kathrin

and Ms. Sowmini. They have visited

some important and historical places and

returned to Bangalore on Saturday the th11 night.

Altogether, this visit of EMS Coordinator

was useful to us in terms of learning and

sharing experiences about EYVP and

future endeavors.

E. Anil Kumar Charles

Director, CSIBCC

Rev. Solomon Paul

Director, Youth Dept


www.csisynod.com26

CSI Synod Dept. of Pastoral Concerns

A One day Pre-Lent Retreat for the clergy

of CSI Karnataka Northern Diocese was

jointly organized by Pastoral Aid

Department, CSI Synod and Karnataka

thNorthern Diocese on 24 February 2017

on the theme - Cross: A Call to

Repentance and Reconciliation.

Around 60 pastors of the Diocese have

attended the Retreat.After the formal

welcome by the Diocesan Secretary Dr.

Immanuel Malekar, the retreat was

inaugurated by Rt. Rev. Ravi Kumar

Niranjan, the Bishop in Karnataka

Northern Diocese. He exhorted the

pastors to prepare themselves for the forth

coming Lenten season and gave a call

to make use of the inputs from the

retreat shared by the resource persons

and thereby make this year's Lenten

special, and a more meaningful one.

In the first session, Rev. K. James Cecil

Victor, Director, Department of Pastoral

Concerns, Synod, shared valuable

insights on the theme. He gave a clarion

call to all pastors to focus on the Synod's

proposal for Carbon Fast during the Lent

and gave some practical suggestions to

reduce carbon whereby we join the global

movement of protecting our world from

the environmental hazards. The second

session was led by Rev. Dr. Dexter

Maben, Professor a t the Uni ted

Theological College, Bangalore. He

emphasized on a walk to repent, walk to

resist and walk to reconcile. His remark

“Every station of Jesus' walk towards

the Calvary is the walk of resistance”

is worth recalling.

Rev.Mrs. Hannah Niranjan, the Bishop

Amma of the Diocese led the pastors in

the group discussion during the Post

Lunch Session, wherein all the

members of group were given time to

think about and present the possible

activities, programmes in the church

which would translate the call of the CSI

Synod for “Carbon Fast”. She also

shared her thrilling experience of her

visit to the Holy Land and how it has

been a life-changing experience.

There was also a time for the Diocesan

Auditor to share the concerns pertaining

to the Financial Management and

Compliances. He emphasized on the

impor tance of t ransparency and

accountability of every single unit.

Pas tors could ask ques t ions ge t

clarifications from him. In the closing

session, Rt. Rev. Ravi Kumar Niranjan,

Bishop in Karnataka Northern Diocese

expressed gratefulness to the Officers of

the Synod, Chair Person of the Pastoral

AID Department and the Director of the

Pastoral Concerns, Synod for facilitating

the Pastors' Pre- Lent Retreat in KND

for the first time in the Diocese. The

feedback sheet collected at the end of the

retreat was an eye opener where , many

pastors opined that the retreat gave

them a new perspective toward the lent

and has helped them to prepare adequately

for the Lenten season.

Rev. Samuel Calvin, Associate Treasurer,

KND, drew curtain on the One Day

Retreat with a vote of thanks. Mr. Anand

Sadaguna Paul, Treasurer, KND, Rev.

Daniel Honnaykar, Associate Secretary

of Diocese of KND and other office

bearers were also part of this memorable

and thought provoking retreat.

Dr. Immanuel Malekar

Hon. Secretary, KND

&

Rev. K. James Cecil Victor

Director, Pastoral Concerns

Pre- Lenten Retreat

for the Pastors of

Karnataka Northern Diocese

March�2017� �|

www.csisynod.com 27

The Rt. Rev. S Jeyapaul David, the former Bishop in Tirunelveli Diocese of the Church of South India (1999 to 2009) passed away today (February 8, 2017) morning in Tirunelveli.

He was born on the 11th of August 1944. After his B. D. from Serampore College,

he continued further studies in Theology at St. John’s college in Nottingham where he has undergone an intensive training in Counselling. He was ordained as Presbyter on March 30, 1969, at St. Patrick’s Church in Tuticorin. He had 31 years of experience in pastoral ministry in which he worked in rural and industrial a r e a s. N ew c o n g r e g a t i o n s we r e established as the result of his strenuous work as a priest. He wrote a book on Counselling meant for the newly married couples and wrote a commentary on the letter to the Romans (Tamil). He was the edi tor o f the Indian Jour nal o f Missiology “Planters”. In his long and blessed ministry, he has notably served as Organizing Secretary of National Missionary Society (1982 – 1985), General Secretary of Indian Missionary Society (1990 – 1992), and Professor at Yavatmal College for Leadership Training (1994 – 1997). Rt. Rev. S. Jeyapaul David was consecrated Bishop in Tirunelveli on November 21, 1999, at

Holy Trinity Cathedral, Palayamkottai. He was well- known for his visions as the bishop in his diocese as well as an ecumenical leader. He was the President of National Council of Churches in India in the quadrennial 2004 – 2008.

The officials of the Church of South India Synod, Most Rev. Thomas K. Oommen; the Moderator, Rt. Rev. Dr. V. Prasada Rao; the Deputy Moderator, Rev. Dr. Daniel Rathnakara Sadananda; the General Secretary, and Adv. Robert Bruce; the Treasurer expressed the grief on the sad demise of the Bishop. They have recalled the devoted life, diligent leadership, and the tireless ministry by the Bishop which he had taken up for the glory of God. They conveyed the heartfelt condolences to the bereaved family: Mrs. Violet Jayapaul and their children Ms. Joyce Reginald, Ms. Newin Bhaskar, Ms. Patricia and Mr. Justin.

Rt. Rev. S. Jeyapaul David, Former Bishop in the CSI Tirunelveli Diocese, passes away

Obituary

The Christian Conference of Asia (CCA) invites applications for the annual training of Young Ambassadors of Peace in Asia (YAPA) 2017.

The YAPA 2017 program will be held from 28 May 2017 to 3 June 2017 at Payap University in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Initiated by the CCA, the YAPA program’s main aim is to train a new generation of young peace activists and nurture their role in respective societies as peace builders.

The week-long YAPA training focuses on

intercultural and interfaith learning as a base for addressing topics, such as conflict transformation and peace building. It emphasises the links between intercultural and interfaith dialogue, human rights and conflict transformation as key elements in long-term sustainable peace processes, while exploring and developing the participants’ knowledge, skills, attitudes and values.

The eligibility criteria for applicants is between 20-30 years of age; the ability to use the English language independently in both written and oral communication;

and be motivated to apply the YAPA values and approaches for peace building in their home countries.

The deadline for submitting applications is April 10, 2017. More details about the YAPA program and a background paper can be obtained upon request.

For more details please do visit the following link:http://cca.org.hk/home/news-and-events/cca-invites-applications-for-young-ambassadors-of-peace-in-asia-training-2017/

CCA invites applications for Young Ambassadors of Peace in Asia Training – 2017

CCA

| � �March�2017

Angelic Hymns - Choir Fest 2017, was

he ld in CSI Immanue l Church ,

Broadway, Ernakulam, Diocese of ndCochin on 22 January 2017. It was

started to encourage the members of the

choir and the congregation to use their

talents for the Glory of God which

eventually enable them to worship Him in

Spirit and truth. Nineteen Churches

(Malayalam & Tamil) participated in this

choir fest from various parts of the

Diocese of Cochin.

The welcome speech was delivered by

Rev. Pradeep George (Asst. Vicar, CSI

Immanuel Church) , the General

Convenor of the programme. It was

followed by the traditional lighting of the

lamp by Rt. Rev. B. N. Fenn, to mark the

inauguration of the choir fest followed by

the inaugural address of Thirumeni. This

was followed by felicitations by Rev. P. J.

Jacob, Treasurer (Diocese of Cochin),

Rev. Jacob John, Clergy Secretary

(Diocese of Cochin), Mr. Abraham

Simon, Lay Secretary(Diocese of

Cochin), Mrs. Sakhi Mary Fenn,

President, Women's Fellowship (Diocese

of Cochin) and Mr. Babu Abraham,

Secretary, CSI Immanuel Church,

Ernakulam. The inaugural session

concluded with vote of thanks by Mr. Jibu

Jose, Programme Convenor.

This was followed by the rendering of 2

songs by each church choir. Soon after the

song, the members of the choir and the

participating church were encouraged

with a momento and a certificate for each

member of the choir. This was received by

the Vicar and the Choir Master of the

respective churches. All the Churches had

taken sincere effort in training the voices

and rendered meaningful carols by

singing and shouting praises to Our King,

Saviour and Redeemer. The programme

reminded us of the years of eternity that

we as God's children are to spend with

Him in Heaven singing praises to the

Lamb of God. The entire programme

was telecast live on Web . Nearly 700

people who attended in this program. We

thank the Lord who enabled us to glorify

his name through the talent He has given.

We thank the Vicars and the Choir

members of each Church for their

support and making this program a

success by participating and rendering

meaningful songs of Worship. May God

enable us to glorify Him in all that we do

so that the earth may be filled with the

knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the

waters cover the sea.

CHOIR FEST 2017: “ANGELIC HYMNS” DIOCESE OF COCHIN

Cochin Diocese

Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will towards men. Luke 2:14


The Peter Cator Scripture Knowledge Exam conducted by the Department of Christian Education, CSI Synod is a self-study program for Christian nurture. This program was initiated by an English lay leader Peter Cator, a Barrister at Madras High Court during 1930s. The scripture knowledge exam is conducted every year for the students belonging to CSI Churches or children studying in the Diocesan schools / institutions. The exam is conducted for the Lower Grade (Class IX) and Higher Grade (Class XI) students with separate portions from the scriptures.

This year the examination was conducted thon 11 February, 2017 in all five regions in

the Church of South India. About 872 students participated from Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Kerala and Karnataka Dioceses. Children from 10 Dioceses wrote the exam in 31 Centres in respective Dioceses. The names of the centres are as follows:

1. Madras Diocese – CSI Ewart Mat. Hr. Sec. School, Chennai

2. Kanyakumari Diocese – Diocesan Centre

3. Medak Diocese- a) Soan Pastorate b) Cathedral Pastorate c) Holy Trinity Church, Secunderabad d) Thandoor Pas tora te e ) Wes ley Church Kammareddy f ) Be l lampal ly Pastorate g) Nizamabad Pastorate h) Hyderabad & Secunderabad Town DCC Sunday Schools i) Wesley Church, Serilingampally j) Ramayanapet Pastorate

4. Nandyal Diocse – a) SPG High School b) Pedda Pasupalla Pastorate

5. Karnataka Northern Diocese- a) Hebich Memorial Church b) All Souls Telugu Church

6. Karnataka Southern Diocese - Divyashirvadam Church

7. Rayalaseema Diocese – a) Holy Trinity Church b) JCM Church

8. Madhya Kerala Diocese - Diocesan Centre

9. Cochin Diocese- a) Thrissur b) Kalamassery

10. Thoothukudi Nazareth Diocese- a) Victoria Girls' HSS b) KGM HSS c) Pope's HSS d) Elliot Tuxford HSS e) St. Mark's HSS f) Margoschis HSS g) Tucker HSS h) St. John's HSS i) RMPPCN HSS.

I take this opportunity to thank the Bishops for extending their co-operation to conduct Synod level Scripture Knowledge Exam in their Dioceses. I also thank the Christian Education Directors / Coordinators / Teachers and all those who were involved in the conduct of the examination in every Diocese. I appreciate the children who participated in the examination very enthusiastically. It is hoped that this exam will facilitate in the scripture memorization and lay foundation for a God-centered life. Medals, Cash Awards and Certificates will be distributed to the Prize winners.

Rev. K. James Cecil VictorDirector


Peter Cator Scripture Knowledge Exam - 2017


www.csisynod.com30


Pre- Lenten Retreat

for the Pastors of

Karnataka Southern Diocese

Pre-Lenten retreat for the clergy of

Karnataka Southern Diocese was held on

22-23 February 2017 at Shanthi Nilaya,

Balamatta, Mangalore. The theme of the

retreat was Cross: A call to Repentance

and Reconciliation. Rt. Rev. Mohan

Manoraj, the Bishop in Karnataka

Southern Diocese led a preparatory

session at 9:30 am with a brief message on

following the model of Christ in

sufferings. The retreat was inaugurated

by Rev. Dr. Ratnakara Sadananda, the

General Secretary of CSI. In his Key

Note Address, he recalled Martin

Luther's efforts for reformation, based on

scriptures. He explained Sola Scriptura

(scripture alone), Sola Gracia (Grace

alone) and Sola Fide (Faith alone) by

interweaving with Psalm 80:1-19.

The first Session was led by Rev. K. James

Cecil Victor, the Director, Pastoral

Concerns, Synod on the retreat theme.

He reiterated that without repentance

there is no reconciliation and renewal.

While repentance is the sign of inward

humility, it also leads to a reformed life. In

the post lunch session, an interactive

session was facilitated by Bishop Mohan

Manoraj and Rev. Dr. Sadananda on the

challenges and issues faced in the Diocese

and the possible way forward. Pastors

raised many questions pertaining to the

administration, discipline of the church,

finance management and so on. Bishop

Mohan and Dr. Sadananda responded to

the questions and motivated the pastors to

be united for an effective ministry in the

Diocese. The first day's sessions came to

an end with the prayers by Rev. Icon

Palanna and benediction by the Bishop.

The second day started with the Holy

Communion Service held at CSI Shanthi

Cathedral, Balmatta. Rev. Sr. Sujatha, the

Vice President of the Diocese shared the

word of God and Celebrated the Holy

Communion. The third session of the

retreat was led by Rev. Dr. Dexter Maben,

the New Testament Professor at UTC,

Bangalore. He dealt the theme with an

emphasis on A) Walking for Repentance,

B) Walking for Resistance and C) Walking

for Reconciliation. He encouraged

discussion on those points to elicit more

insights in to the subject. The post lunch

session was by the Most Rev. Thomas K.

Oommen, the Moderator of CSI, who

emphasized on the 'Carbon Fast'. He gave

a clarion call to reduce the carbon

emissions to safe guard our planet earth.

“The Eco-Spirituality is the need of the

hour” said, the Moderator.

The clergy were engaged in a group

discussion based on two prominent

questions 1. What are the significant

challenges in the Pastoral Ministry and

way forward 2. What is the scope of

Pastoral Ministry in today's scope. Some

of the challenges identified and discussed

were 1. Social Media 2. Family issues 3.

Financial problems 4. Doctr inal

Problems, 5. Legal issues and so on.

The Diocese has felicitated the Moderator

Most. Rev. Thomas K Oommen, Dr. Mrs.

Suzan Thomas, Women's Fellowship

President, CSI and Rev. Dr. D.R.

Sadananda, the General Secretary CSI

for being newly elected to lead the church

during the triennium 2017-2020. Dr. Mrs.

Monica Sadananda too was honoured

and they all shared greetings. The Retreat

ended with the Vote of thanks proposed

by Rev. Icon Palanna and the benediction

by the Moderator.

Rev. Icon S. Palanna,

Senior Pastor,

Karnataka Southern Diocese

&

Rev. K. James Cecil Victor

Director,

Pastoral Concerns Department,

CSI Synod

March�2017� �|

The Executive Committee of the Church

of South India (CSI) Synod meeting was th stheld on 20 and 21 February 2017 at the

CSI Synod Centre in Chennai. The

meeting commenced with the worship

service. Most Rev. Thomas K. Oommen,

the moderator of CSI, gave the sermon in

the worship service. He based his short

sermon on the parable of the prodigal

son. The Moderator drew the attention of

the worshippers to the fact that the

willingness of the father to forgive his

children- the first one who is lost outside of

the house and the second one lost even

from inside the house- make reconciliation

possible. On the other side, the prodigal

son's realisation about his own actions,

the follies in it, and his willingness to

realise that he should not be living a life of

peril moves him to his father's house and

help him to 'get ' forgiveness and

reconciliation towards a new life.

The Committee, which was started with

the welcome speech of the General

Secretary, Rev. Dr. Daniel Rathanakara

Sadananda, was led by the officers of the

Synod for these two days. The Moderator,

Rt. Rev. Dr. V. Prasada Rao, the Deputy

Moderator, General Secretary, and

Adv. Robert Bruce, the Hon. Treasurer of

CSI led the deliberations, which would

making directions for the coming three

years.

In the evening, the newly elected officers

of the Synod, and Rt. Rev. George

Stephen, the newly elected President of

the National Mission Society of India

(NMSI) were felicitated in a function

organised at the Bains School in Chennai.

This programme was organised by

NMSI, under the leadership of Rev.

Christopher Vijayan, newly appointed

General Secretary of NMSI.

Executive Committee of the Church of South India Synod

meets in Chennai

CSI Synod

www.csisynod.com 31

A two- days workshop for the Diocesan

Treasurers of the Church of South India

has been organised by the Church of th South India Trust Association on 17 and

th18 February 2017 at the CSI Synod

Centre in Chennai. Rev. Dr. Daniel

Rathnakara Sadananda, the General

Secretary of the Church of South India

welcomed the delegates and the resource

persons of the workshop. Adv. Robert

Bruce, the Treasurer of CSI and the Hon.

Treasurer of the CSITA, gave the

introduction to the workshop. CA.M.

Kandasami FCA & Team and CSITA

financial staff lead the workshop in which

various aspects related to the Financial

Matters are discussed, which aim at the

best transparency and accountability of

the Church.

Treasurers Workshop Organised by the CSITA

CSITA

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India - 1 Year

India - Life Time

U.S.A.

U.K.

Australia

Rs. 150/-

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$. 30.00

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Black & White


Rs. 8,500/-

Rs. 7,000/-

Rs. 7,000/-

Rs. 5,000/-

Rs. 3,000/-


India - 1 Year

India - Life Time

U.S.A.

U.K.

Australia

Rs. 150/-

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$. 30.00

£. 25.00

$. 35.00

| � �March�2017


Art ‘n’ Culture

Mr. S. John Barathi

CSI Synod Dept. of Communication

www.csisynod.com 33

Any Views expressed in the CSI Life belong to their respective authors and are not necessarily those of the CSI Life. The authors will be solely responsible for their views and ideas.

DISCLAIMER

Praise stays over you !

| � �March�2017

Congratulation (February 2017) - 179

1. Shanthini Asir, Kovilpatti 22

2. D. Hillel Johnson, Vellore 22

3. Mrs. Anbu Hepzibah, Thuthukudi 22 4. Mrs. Susheela Franklin, Dornakal 22

5. Mrs. Mercy Victoria, Karimnagar 21

6. G. Paulraj, Tirunelveli - 20

7. Arul G. 20

8. C. K. Seharani Thangadurai, Tirunelveli 20

9. Miss Sneha Achu Kottayam 20

10. Rev. B. Dayanandam, Vijayawada 20

11. Mrs. Evangeline Lionel, Tirunelveli 19

Answers Across :1792.Pressed 15: 134.Fear him 13: 46.Suffering 16: 37.Levites 18: 79.Occupy 16:2010.People 13: 161.Place 16: 714.Else 17: 1315.Wonder 18: 2117.Fins 14: 919.Rest 17: 7

Mr. S. John Barathi

Rush in your answers th

before 25 Mar. 2017 You can send answers by

Email <[email protected]>

Answers Down : 1791.Promised 18: 23.Widows 15:145.Yourselves 14: 266.Suppose 17: 28.Obey 18: 19 11.Your 14: 212.Chew 14: 6 13.Eyes 16: 1916.Seven 16: 418.Cattle 17: 120.Live 18: 1

Total Answers: 22

Edutainment Puzzles & Quizzicals

Clues Down: 1801..to show _______(10)2.whom you ______(7)3..will give ____ ____(3+7)4..make them ______(10)6..not to wear men's _____ (8)12..else will _____(8) jumbled15..a bowel ______(8) jumbled17to treat ____ ____(3+7) jumbled

Clues Across: 1801.necessary to _____(5)5.Lord your God ____(5)7..despise the _____(8)8.round the ____(4)9.are to ____(4)11.You may ____(3)10.obey his ____(7)13.you are to ___(4) jumbled14..city of _____(6)16.and ___there (4)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

1 3 1 2 6 15 4 17

2 8 12

3 9

4 5

5 11

6 7

7 13

8 16

9 14

10 10

Clues for Puzzle 180 Deuteronomy 19 -23 GNB

Total Answers: 18 Blank 0 Clues for Puzzle 179 Deuteronomy 13 -18

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

1 5Y 6S U F F E R I N G

2 9O U 12C C P 11Y O U R 3W

3 U 10P E O 1P L 13E A 19C I

4 R P H 2P R E S 15S E D

5 S O W O 8O Y E A O

6 14E S 20L E M B E V T W

7 7L E V T I E S E T S

8 V 17F I N S Y N L

9 E E 4F E A R H I M

10 S 15W O N D E 19R E S T


Pastors’ Pre-Lent Retreat - Karnataka Northern Diocese

Pastors’ Pre-Lent Retreat - Karnataka Southern Diocese

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