NCCI Republic Day Message 2019: Let us Arise and build . . .

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We have been a unique republic. It is with great joy and a sense of satisfaction that we look forward to another year, and many more, organising ourselves as a people – different and diverse, rich in heritage and righteous in spirit, sincerely hoping that we will sustain the legacy of this great nation for generations to come. Read more …

Rev. Asir Ebenezer

General Secretary

National Council of Churches in India

Secretary,

Christian Service Agency

THURSDAYS IN BLACK

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National Girl Child day- 24th January, 2019

Girl children are considered a “burden” on their natal families, attributed to the idea that they will be married off at a certain age (and hopefully at a competitive price), while sons will study, become breadwinners of the households, bring home a wife who will take on households responsibilities, and thus support his parents in old age.  It is time for us to ponder upon a question are girls less capable or is it our attitude? Because , not only have we been socialised into believing in differential rights and abilities of boys and girls, but we have behaved in ways to ensure this is true by not providing equal access to both boys and girls, equal access to support and encouragement, and consequently, equal opportunity to perform. And this is one kind of silent struggles and violence a girl child has to go through since her childhood and after marriage she goes through violence. The worst victims of such violence are girls, women, and children. We know India is the 4th dangerous country for women to live in and for the girl child to survive. 53 percent children get sexually abused in India that means one out of two children.

Thursday in Black campaign is against gender based violence and it encourages men and women to support girl child and treat them equally to build inclusive church and society.

THURSDAY IN BLACK

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National Council of Churches in India urges all churches and social organizations to take concrete actions against gender based violence and also encourage people to speak out against violence to ensure that women and men, boys and girls are safe from violence in all places.

India is rapidly growing more towards violence which has no end and a huge threat for the younger generation to live peacefully.  Children who grow up in families where there is violence may suffer a range of behavioral and emotional disturbances therefore NCCI invites all of us to join in Thursdays in Black Campaign to fight against violence and make country a better place to live in.

For more information read

NCCI invites all to be a part of Global Campaign “Thursday in Black”

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Gender based violence is a universal and global issue that harms men, women and children in their most private arena. People often feel helpless and hopeless in the face of so much pain and injustice.

In 2011 a survey conducted by the Thomson Reuters Foundation has ranked India as the world’s most dangerous country for women to live in. However, we can all be involved in a simple but powerful campaign to address gender Based violence.

Thursdays in Black encourages everyone, men and women, to wear black every Thursday. This can be a campaign T-shirt, other black clothing or simply a campaign badge as a sign of their support.

Wearing black on Thursdays shows others that you are tired of putting up with violence, and calls for communities where we can all walk safely without fear; fear of being beaten up, fear of being verbally abused, fear of being raped, fear of discrimination. The campaign is not confined only to countries at war, but recognizes that violence takes many forms, including domestic violence, sexual assault, rape, incest, murder, female infanticide, genital mutilation, sexual harassment, discrimination and sex trafficking.

The Thursdays in Black campaign protests began in the 1970s and its roots lie in groups such as Mothers of the Disappeared in Argentina. These women began wearing black sashes in honor of their friends and family members who were disappearing, being raped, and abused. They would gather every Thursday in silence to protest the loss of loved ones under the military dictatorship, with the aim of raising the government’s awareness that these acts of violence were happening in their homeland. Other groups have developed including women who wanted to express outrage at the rape-death camps in war torn Bosnia, the Black Sash in South Africa and women who oppose the Israel occupation of the West Bank and ordinary woman all over the world.

In the 1980s, Thursdays in Black became an international human rights campaign supported by different organizations, groups and individual as a peaceful way of saying “I support the human right of women’s to live in a world without violence, rape and fear.”

National Council of Churches in India has been part of “Thursday in Black” campaign, and it acknowledges the churches, organizations, faith groups and individual who have been part of this campaign.

Jayalakshmi is a domestic violence survivor and her story is that of lakhs of other Indian women. That is why it needs to be told. 

https://www.womensweb.in/articles/domestic-violence-survivor-story/

National Council of Churches in India invites people to join this worldwide movement which enables the despair, pain and anger about rape and other forms of violence to be transformed into political action.

 

Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 2019 (Unity Octave)

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Every year Christians across the world gather in prayer for growth in unity. We do this in a world where corruption, greed and injustice bring about inequality and division. Ours is a united prayer in a fractured world: this is powerful. However, as individual Christians and communities, we are often complicit with injustice, and yet we are called together to form a united witness for justice and to be a means of Christ’s healing grace for the brokenness of the world.

The theme for the 2019 Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, “Justice and only justice you shall pursue”  is taken from the book of Deuteronomy 16:18-20.

The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 2019 has been prepared by Christians from Indonesia. With a population of 265 million, 86% of whom are reckoned to be Muslim, Indonesia is well known as having the largest Muslim population of any country. However, about 10% of Indonesians are Christian from various traditions. In terms of both population and the vast extension of the country Indonesia is the biggest nation in South East Asia. It has more than 17,000 islands, 1,340 different ethnic groups and over 740 local languages and yet is united in its plurality by one national language Bahasa Indonesia. The articulations on the prayer themes have however been adapted to the Indian context by the NCCI Secretariat.

Churches all over the globe are called to work together to heal the wounds in the body of Christ. At the same time, need to discern God’s hand at work in bringing about reform, healing and liberation. In other words, churches should be together and work where God is.

Download the Week of Prayer 2019 for Christian Unity

 

Passing the Baton: Revd. Asir Ebenezer takes charge of NCCI as the General Secretary 

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The installation of Rev. Asir Ebenezer as the new the General Secretary  took place on 3 January 2019. The program began with a worship service in which the Office bearers of NCCI,  members of Working Committee, Finance Committee, Executive Secretaries and Staff were present. The President  handed over a copy of The Holy Bible and Constitution of NCCI to the new General Secretary. Rev. Dr. Roger Gaikwad the outgoing General Secretary handed over the charge. Rev. Asir Ebenezer was felicitated by the Church dignitaries who  graced the occasion.   After the installation service Rev. Asir Ebenezer was led to the General Secretary’s room where he was seated in the general secretary’s chair.  Rt. Rev. Dr. J. George Stephen, Bishop of Madras Diocese consecrated him in prayer .

Rev. Asir Ebenezer is an ordained minister of the Church of South India (CSI). He has been in ministry since 1992 and has served in various positions in national and global ecumenical forums.

Prior to this, he was serving as Director of Social Empowerment: Vision in Action (CSI_SEVA)  at the CSI Synod. He had earlier served the NCCI in various positions, including Officiating General Secretary of NCCI in betweeb 2004 and 2010. A well-known figure in ecumenical circles, theologian, community-enabler and finance expert, the multiple competencies of Rev. Asir Ebenezer will go a long way to strengthen the council.

The office Bearers, Secretaries,  and the Staff of the NCCI welcome Rev. Asir Ebenezer and  wish him well in his new responsibility.

The Rev. Dr. Roger Gaikwad moves to another area of work relating to Theological Education. The NCCI acknowledges his contribution to NCCI and wishes him well for his new endeavor.

To Everything Turn, Turn, Turn

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December 31, 2018

To

All the Constituent Members of NCCI
Dear Ecumenical Fraternity,
Greetings in Christ from the NCCI Secretariat!
As 2018 comes to a close, 2019 dawns on us with 365 days of challenges and  opportunities, changes and hopes. In such a context, the NCCI will be blessed with a new General Secretary in the person of Rev. Asir Ebenezer. As he takes on this responsibility, he brings to it several years of experience as a church minister, ecumenist, and societal change maker, along with his multi-faceted talents, particularly his administrative acumen and incisive leadership.
I have had the privilege of serving the NCCI for eight years (December 2010- December 2018). It has been a time of challenges and opportunities working together with all the Secretaries, Staff, and Interns, as well as with the NCCI Office Bearers, Executive Committee and General Body Members and all other committee members and the people of God at large.  During my time  we have focused our ministries on the themes of the three quadrenniums: “Together in Mission: Empowering Local Congregations” (2008-2012)”The Gospel in a Groaning World”(2012-2016) and “Towards Just and Inclusive Communities” (2016 -2020). We have also celebrated the centenary of the NCCI in 2014 on the theme”Towards Integral Mission and Grass-roots Ecumenism.”
I am grateful to all of you for enabling me to serve as a steward in this ecumenical journey of NCCI. Above all, I am grateful to God, within whom we live and move and have our being, as we endeavor to give expression to and experience the Nazareth Manifesto of Jesus (Luke 4:18-19).
Roger Gaikwad
Rev. Asir Ebenezer

Manger on the Streets: Nativity in 2018

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National Council of Churches in India

Christmas Programme – 2018

Manger on the Streets

Venue: Srishti Lawn, NCCI Campus                            Date: 18/12/2018                 Time: 6:00 pm

 

“We need to fight for the sick child, the woman in sanctuary, the migrant family, the transgender teenager, the homeless veteran, the young black man at the traffic stop,; because when we do, we are perpetuating the heart of the Middle Eastern child, born under duress, amid the smell of damn straw and animal dung—the one who turned the world upside down in the name of a compassion that knew no borders and a love that had no walls.”

                                                                                                                                                -John Pavlovitz

 

Introduction

Narrator:

Good Evening!! Christmas is on the verge. What is Christmas?Is it yet another festive of celebration? Certainly not. It is an emotion. It is a harvest of memory of God acknowledging God’s humanity and humans realizing their divinity. Christmas is when Christ – the Creativity of God – took flesh in Jesus. So come let us try to comprehend the incomprehensible mystery of Incarnation.

SCENE 1

Skit: Christ – less Christmas

(A woman hears the voice of Jesus expressing his desire to dine in her home. The woman feels overwhelmed and starts cleaning her house. Meanwhile she makes calls to her friends and a photographer as well. Later she hears a knock at the door and opens it to find Jesus. She warmly welcomes him. Soon her friends also drop in and the woman introduces them to Jesus. Finally the photographer arrives and all of them get ready for a group photo with Jesus. The photographer says that the frame does not accommodate everyone and hence one should move. None of them agrees to move out of the frame and eventually Jesus himself leaves and stands at the fringe. Then the photo is clicked without Jesus.) 

Moral: Christmas seems to have lost its anamnesis. The paraphernalia commemorating its memories are at sale but too expensive for the commons. Market has usurped the manger. In the pomp and gaiety of the celebrations of Christmas we often push Christ to the periphery and thus our Christmas turns out to be a Christ – less Christmas.

SCENE 2

Flashback

Narrator:Who is this Christ Jesus secluded on the fringe? Shall we take a re-look at his birth.

One fine day, off-the-wall, trees blossomed, birds chirped like never before, wind blew bearing the aroma of flowers, the sky poured out his love through the clouds and the earth drenched in it, spread her fragrance all throughout. The entire cosmos stood in awe on seeing its Creator, Creativity and Animator. Jesus, him we call. The True Human.

We re-imagine the birth of Jesus on the Streets.

Mary: May Peace be upon all of you as we welcome you to celebrate the birth of our child Jesus the Christ. We are the children of the street, we bear the stench of exclusion, our clothes are tattered and stained, we have nothing to offer than our sweat and blood, yet God chose to incarnate on the streets among us. Today the streets are blessed.The womb of a woman has become the site of inception of the Salvation of the World.

Joseph: Come and witness you people how God has sanctified the profane, how the wise and wealthy have been put to shame, how the powerful and complacent are mocked and how the ethos of the margins are acknowledged and upheld. The Light of the world has been born in the darkness of the streets. We are overwhelmed and thank God for this subversive act. We shall pray;

The God who sees we thank you for looking at us with utmost mercy and compassion. We understand that we encounter you in places we least expect. In the face of infant Jesus we see your radiance that penetrates deep into our being. In his eyes we see your unconditional love towards creation. May we perceive all things through his eyes so that we explore the unexplored beauty of this world. Help us to grow along with your Son so that we renew ourselves. In Christ Jesus we find the embodiment of the impoverished, the excluded, the homeless, the refugee and the outcast. May our pilgrimage with Christ enlighten us to embrace all so as to flourish our intrinsic humanity. For Christ’s sake we pray. Amen

Mary: It’s time to celebrate. Come let’s sing and dance for the Savior is born today.

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Inter Faith Marriages: A Ministerial Need

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National Council of Churches in India – Unity and Mission

A Study on Interfaith Marriage

In this post-modern era the organized ‘Faith Based Organizations’ (FBOs) and Society are experiencing lots of challenges to retain their dogmas and traditions due to the changing value systems and by the influence of modern life related orientations. India is not even exempted from these challenges. India is an ‘icon’ of unity in diversity. It is a cradle of most of the major faiths in the world including several folk traditions including the ideologies like Dravidian-ism. For centuries we have examples of Indian spirituality such as cohesive living, where all live in harmony as faith communities along with all creation. Indian spirituality upholds the essence of inclusivity and affirms that God is  creator; every atom in creation is  God’s handiwork, including human communities.  There is diversity in God’s creation but certainly not any discriminatory elements in them. Therefore, recognizing the value of human life and love, and also respecting the relationship, marriage is a bridge to unite humans with all their diversities to live as an inclusive communities.

The traditional, social, cultural systems of societies generally dissuade persons to move out far from their native places. In some cases, moving away from one’s native region and settling elsewhere is considered to be an insult to the society of one’s native region. But today, the processes of globalization and liberalization, and the economic and development polices of the States are forcing such migrations. Youngsters move out of their societies to metro cities where they find their employment hubs. Such movements expose them to different cultures, languages, food and heritages and other societal systems. Such a situation brings together men and women of various differences, backgrounds, ethics, faiths, traditions, practices and orientations for studies and employment.  This facilitates relationships of mutual understanding, appreciation and love which leads them to inter-faith marriages. For example, when a ‘modern woman’ marries a ‘patriarchal’ man, the understanding of gender-roles, through faith expressions, broadens to create a new flavor of coexistence.

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HOPE IN DISTRESS

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HOPE IN DISTRESS

The NCCI Christmas Card has a picture of a mother with a child seated in a relief boat during the August 2018 floods in Kerala. With her house being submerged, there was no room for immediate help, but the boat which would take her to the safety of one of the relief camps. Hope in distress!

A pregnant woman who was in an advanced stage of pregnancy was stranded on the roof top of her house in Aluva. – a submerged region of Kerala’s Ernakulam District. Her house got isolated in the relentless rain. Her life and that of her child in the womb were in danger till help came out of the blue – almost literally. It was an Indian Navy Chopper that had been sent especially to rescue her and to end her nightmare. Hope in distress!

When lives of their fellow human beings were under threat, the fishermen of Kerala travelled hundreds of kilometres with their fishing boats on the back of trucks to flood ridden areas and rescued people. They waded through unknown waters looking for people and rescued them. Those boats are their livelihood. They literally risked everything they had and their lives to save fellow human beings, without expecting anything in return. Selfless agents of hope in distress!

In all the above mentioned three stories, hope came in the form of persons who were committed to save people in distress.

Hope in distress! That’s what even the Christmas message is all about this year. Read more