Churches – from local congregations/ corps to the Synods/ Councils/ Conferences/ Territories, Christian individuals and institutions, have all responded to the corona crisis. Amidst dealing with their own fears of the situation and also adhering to the advisories of the administration, they have been in the thick of things also caring for the needy and vulnerable in their communities and neighborhood. Most church heads have also advised the faithful on what needs to be done.
Frontline missionary doctors, nurses and allied health care workers, chaplains and counsellors, have all been in the forefront battling the virus. The Christian Medical Association of India (CMAI) circulated an early note to help churches address and cope with the situation. The Church’s Auxiliary for Social Action (CASA) have also moved in, coordinating community level responses through their community based networks across the country.
Faith communities worldwide and in India have been discovering new ways of gathering and worshiping together, even virtually. Many online platforms have been created, existing platforms activated and intensified, to nurture interaction and support amidst communities who now face situations of a lockdown albeit temporary. Faith leaders, pastors and theological educators are addressing issues relating to articulation of faith in these trying times and it’s implications for interpretation of faith and God.
We do not completely know how the situation will evolve but we do know that we can stop the virus in its course and break it down. We have done it before. Our scientists will help us. India has the opportunity to learn from countries that were in this spot a few weeks ago.
While cooperating with different measures that are put in place to curtail the spread of the virus we are also faced with the challenge of meeting the needs of the people affected by prolonged curfew in different parts of the country. We pray God for wisdom to guide neighborhood ministerial communities -local churches – to cooperate and strengthen initiatives of all well meaning people and institutions in the neighborhood to help vulnerable people tide over the situation
We appeal to Churches in every neighborhood to assist in some way those who are stranded and those that are homeless, those with disabilities and the elderly, those confined to their homes and limited mobility and those that are socially disadvantaged including the gender and sexual minorities. May our spaces where required and everywhere be sanctuaries and safe spaces for those in need. Where possible let us enhance possibilities for small traders to sell their produce. None should starve. May our people be angels to the unknown.
Pray for our medical missionaries and community workers who are exposed to the virus on account of the nature of their work; call and enquire if they need any support. It will be good to recognise and acknowledge the services of sanitary workers and such others in essential services without whose services we will be worse off. They will value our encouragement and tangible support in their work everyday. It will also be wise to use this time to plan for restoration of persons and communities once we come through this crises.
It is a tough ask, a hard task, yet a call to be Jesus in our times. We thank God for virtual spaces and communication facilities that we can use to extend pastoral counseling and care to all of God’s creation.
Let us encourage each other by sharing how we have been involved in helping people/ communities cope with the challenges of the times, as well as how we coped in dealing with our challenges. Write to communcations@ncci1914.com OR message on WhatsApp +91 72181 83675. These will be posted in the ‘NCCI constituents responding to COVID 19’ link on our website.
Finally, one thing we always know and it comes to us through Jesus our lord; ‘for one who believes all things are possible’. Be assured of the prayers and accompaniment of the leadership and secretaries of the NCCI. We shall overcome . .
Rev. Asir Ebenezer
General Secretary, NCCI
Ecumenical news
We shall overcome . . . COVID 19
/24 Comments/in Appeal /by CommunicationsChurches – from local congregations/ corps to the Synods/ Councils/ Conferences/ Territories, Christian individuals and institutions, have all responded to the corona crisis. Amidst dealing with their own fears of the situation and also adhering to the advisories of the administration, they have been in the thick of things also caring for the needy and vulnerable in their communities and neighborhood. Most church heads have also advised the faithful on what needs to be done.
Frontline missionary doctors, nurses and allied health care workers, chaplains and counsellors, have all been in the forefront battling the virus. The Christian Medical Association of India (CMAI) circulated an early note to help churches address and cope with the situation. The Church’s Auxiliary for Social Action (CASA) have also moved in, coordinating community level responses through their community based networks across the country.
Faith communities worldwide and in India have been discovering new ways of gathering and worshiping together, even virtually. Many online platforms have been created, existing platforms activated and intensified, to nurture interaction and support amidst communities who now face situations of a lockdown albeit temporary. Faith leaders, pastors and theological educators are addressing issues relating to articulation of faith in these trying times and it’s implications for interpretation of faith and God.
We do not completely know how the situation will evolve but we do know that we can stop the virus in its course and break it down. We have done it before. Our scientists will help us. India has the opportunity to learn from countries that were in this spot a few weeks ago.
While cooperating with different measures that are put in place to curtail the spread of the virus we are also faced with the challenge of meeting the needs of the people affected by prolonged curfew in different parts of the country. We pray God for wisdom to guide neighborhood ministerial communities -local churches – to cooperate and strengthen initiatives of all well meaning people and institutions in the neighborhood to help vulnerable people tide over the situation
We appeal to Churches in every neighborhood to assist in some way those who are stranded and those that are homeless, those with disabilities and the elderly, those confined to their homes and limited mobility and those that are socially disadvantaged including the gender and sexual minorities. May our spaces where required and everywhere be sanctuaries and safe spaces for those in need. Where possible let us enhance possibilities for small traders to sell their produce. None should starve. May our people be angels to the unknown.
Pray for our medical missionaries and community workers who are exposed to the virus on account of the nature of their work; call and enquire if they need any support. It will be good to recognise and acknowledge the services of sanitary workers and such others in essential services without whose services we will be worse off. They will value our encouragement and tangible support in their work everyday. It will also be wise to use this time to plan for restoration of persons and communities once we come through this crises.
It is a tough ask, a hard task, yet a call to be Jesus in our times. We thank God for virtual spaces and communication facilities that we can use to extend pastoral counseling and care to all of God’s creation.
Let us encourage each other by sharing how we have been involved in helping people/ communities cope with the challenges of the times, as well as how we coped in dealing with our challenges. Write to communcations@ncci1914.com OR message on WhatsApp +91 72181 83675. These will be posted in the ‘NCCI constituents responding to COVID 19’ link on our website.
Finally, one thing we always know and it comes to us through Jesus our lord; ‘for one who believes all things are possible’. Be assured of the prayers and accompaniment of the leadership and secretaries of the NCCI. We shall overcome . .
Rev. Asir Ebenezer
General Secretary, NCCI
Remembering Prof. Dr. Saramma Varghese…
/25 Comments/in News from NCCI /by CommunicationsWe receive the news of the demise of Prof. Dr Saramma Varghese with sadness. We join fellow believers, friends and family in thanking God for her valiant fight against a long and debilitating illness. We pray for eternal rest to her and affirm the blessing of partaking in the everlasting life of God as promised to all who profess the name of Christ.
We thank God for her ministry as an educationist, an accomplished scholar, and an upright Principal of the Catholicate college. She represented the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church in many National and International fora including the National Council of Churches in India (NCCI) and the World Council of Churches (WCC).
She served on the Executive committee of the NCCI and as the President of one of its autonomous bodies the All India Council for Christian Women (AICCW). She is remembered fondly for her contribution to the cause of women and her passionate orthodox spirituality.
She is described as a beautiful lady at heart and a strong one in her determination. Elegance, soft spoken and upright nature, gentleness and kindness that gave her grace and beauty, are some of the characteristics and virtues for which she will be remembered and celebrated.
We offer our sympathies and prayers to her husband and the family. May the virtues and values that lighted her path of following Jesus bless and guide them all to the end.
Rev. Asir Ebenezer
General Secretary
Rising from the Ashes . . .
/25 Comments/in General news, Statements /by CommunicationsNCCI Statement on Delhi violence
Humanity has been knocked down one more time. Our houses burnt. Our kindred killed. Our peace destroyed, and future betrayed. We have not learnt from our past. In what happened in parts of New Delhi, our national capital, we have been brought down to ashes once again.
Many sections of the Christian community observe Ash Wednesday today. To them it is a day of beginning a season to revisit the past, make amends where necessary, and resolve to move on …an opportunity to rise from the ashes.
On a day such as this we appeal to the members of the different Christian traditions to facilitate each other, and all others of different faith traditions and ideological persuasions in their neighbourhoods, to rise from the ashes. We will not be cowed down. We will rise.
We condemn the dastardly attack on the vulnerable and the weak in different locations of Delhi, the explicit or implicit complicity and tacit approval of those in power and authority, and the blame game to cover inaction and poor response to early warnings.
We appeal to the Churches and Christian Organisations in the vicinity of the affected areas to respond appropriately to those in need.
We urge our constituents everywhere to stand in solidarity with victim communities in their locales and foster an atmosphere of peace and human security across the country. We will not be overcome. WE SHALL OVERCOME. On Ash Wednesday, we resolve to rise from the Ashes …
Our prayers remain with the bereaved, and also with the injured persons and their families. The NCCI stays committed and available to the amelioration of the sufferings of the individuals, families and communities affected in the violence of the last few days in Delhi.
In solidarity,
On behalf the NCCI Leadership,
Rev. Asir Ebenezer
General Secretary
The HOUR has come …
/25 Comments/in General news /by CommunicationsOn the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the Republic of India the Christian community represented by the National Council of Churches in India wishes it’s fellow citizens a greeting of hope and a better future for the country.
The political turmoil has seized the attention of the people of the country for a couple of months now. The ever relevant issues relating to perpetual depravation of vast sections of the population continue to be less than a preoccupation of the people who are elected to serve the People of this country as representatives of ‘WE the people …’. They have become the bosses of the (S)subjects of the country.
Political and legal literacy including in human and constitutional rights emerge as a major focus of service to the nation. We need to commit ourselves to this.
Strengthening democratic processes and those that relate to holding the powers accountable, and that which will consequently hold the ideal of secularism high, is another area that we need to concentrate as a people.
It is time NOW to renew our commitment to serve the disprivileged and disenfranchised people of the country with greater vigour and urgency. While joining hands with all all those who hold the people in power to accountability, we press on in service with due diligence and hope fully convinced that as we empower ‘the least, the last and the lost’ amongst us through relevant and appropriate service, we will see a new India emerge, that which we have dreamt and continue to dream together.
Let us shake off the dust of disillusionment and renew our vows to empower the disprivileged through service, both in word and deed, knowing that our labour in the lord is not in vain.
The HOUR has come: Let us get going …
Rev. Asir Ebenezer
General Secretary NCCI
Sunday the 26th January 2020.
Let’s come out of Herod’s palace and follow the star . . .
/25 Comments/in News from NCCI /by CommunicationsStar has a central role in the story of Christmas as portrayed in the writing of Mathew. It is said to have guided magi to the manger. It is also portrayed as having waited patiently for the magi to come out of Herod’s palace in order to guide them to where they need to have gone.
Contemporary human knowledge attributes power with the ‘high and mighty’; revelation in God’s creation, as in the star, point the other way. It waits for the ‘wise’ men (sic!) to unlearn their folly and return back to an orientation that Power is and in the coming together of the vulnerable children, the nomads, the despised, single mothers, their allies, migrants, and all such of creation both in heaven and on earth.
Christmas, thus, poses a challenge both to the powerful that they are not invincible, and to those who need a deconstruction of their wisdom about Power – that it lies elsewhere and not where the world constructs it to be. The annual remembrance of the birth of Jesus (Christmas) calls us to take up the challenge to deconstruct our wisdom about power, and work on communities and all of creation – both in earth as also in the heavens – realise (their) Power.
It will be pertinent therefore for Christians to come out of the palaces of the powerful and follow the star; joining God’s movements of those alleged vulnerable, and also despised, whose joyful refrain echo the strains of everlasting songs of life-flourishing.
Merry Christmas! Come out, let’s follow the star! Let our year ahead be truly blessed!
Let’s have a Power Christmas . . . all year round.
Rev. Asir Ebenezer
General Secretary, NCCI
Migrant Lives Matter: NCCI – Youth Futsal on International Migrants Day
/25 Comments/in General news /by CommunicationsConcerns and issues relating to migration have been addressed though not adequately enough. The Youth Concerns program and the National Council of Churches in India (NCCI), taking cue from the mandate of the XXVIII Quadrennial Assembly of the NCCI have been working on this for close to four years.
The Futsal Tournament brought a good tiding of sportsmanship and union among the Christian Youth in Nagpur. It also worked as a platform to impress upon the youth the issue of migration and the need for them to be hospitable to migrants amidst whom they live.
CAB Polarises Communities, Contravenes Fundamental Principles of Constitution
/25 Comments/in Statements /by CommunicationsDownload the PDF file
Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 2020
/25 Comments/in Worship /by CommunicationsThe week of Prayer for Christian Unity (Unity Octave) is from 18th January to 25th January 2020. NCCI joins with all Episcopal and Confessional Traditions in coming together to observe the Unity Octave and to Pray for Christian Unity.
Its worship can be downloaded here
Rev. Dr. Abraham Mathew
Executive Secretary,
Policy, Governance and Public Witness
NCCI – ESHA invites applications for Program Executive
/25 Comments/in General news /by CommunicationsTitle: Programme Executive – Training
Reports To
The Programme Executive will report to the General Coordinator, ESHA Project of the NCCI-CSA
Job Overview
You will be responsible for the planning, coordinating and conducting all training programs relating to Human Sexuality and Gender Identities within the Project. Engaging with experts from theological colleges, social sphere, health institutes and community based organizations within India and abroad, you will be in charge of training theological faculty, pastors, laity and youth from across the country. In addition, you will also engage within the NCCI/CSA network and the LGBTI+ Communities in India and overseas, exploring new areas of learning and research. You will play a strategic role towards strengthening the Prophetic role of NCCI in the area of human sexuality and gender identities.
Responsibilities and Duties
Based in Nagpur, you will
• Plan along with the General Coordinator all training programs
• Coordinate with Resource Persons and Delegates for their participation,
• Conduct the training programs as per requirement,
• Document report of the training programs conducted,
• Settle accounts related to training programs, such as travel expenses, stationary and other program related expenses,
• Engage with experts from Universities to formulate curriculum and courses relating to human sexuality and gender identities and work towards making the course an accredited course,
• Engage with other programs within the Project related to mainstreaming, Forum based activities, networking etc. ,
• Network with Government and Non – Government agencies, experts, church leaders, theological colleges, staff and students from within India and overseas.
Qualifications
• Education level : Post Graduate with an additional qualification in Theology
• Experience: At least two years’ experience in having engaged with issues relating to human sexuality and gender identities, with hands-on experience of having engaged with the LGBTI+ communities, a teaching experience in a theological college with some social work background will be ideal.
• Specific skills: Teaching, Presentation, Basic Computer skill, Good spoken and writing skills in English, knowledge of other Indian languages will be an advantage.
• Personal characteristics: Willing to travel extensively while being based in Nagpur.
Duration: Two years
Interested candidates may apply with hard copies of their Application and CV, which must reach The General Secretary, National Council of Churches in India, Christian Council Campus, Civil Lines, Nagpur, Pin: 440001, Maharashtrabefore 16th January 2020. An advance copy can be sent to: esha@ncci1914.comwith a copy to ncci@ncci1914.com with the subject Line : “Application for ESHA Program Executive”. Short listed candidates will be called for an interview.
A Call for genuine ‘Beti Bachao’ and true ‘Mahila Shashaktikaran’- Ending and Preventing Sexual Gender Based Violence
/25 Comments/in Appeal /by Communications