Meeting with Shri George Kurian, Vice-Chairperson, and National Commission for Minorities (NCM)

/25 Comments/in , /by

The National Council of Churches in India (NCCI) organized a meeting with Shri George Kurian , the new Vice Chairperson of the  National Commission for Minorities (NCM), on 20th June, 2017 at CNI Delhi Diocesan Office, New Delhi. Around 20 leaders from the Churches representing Orthodox and Protestant Traditions participated in this meeting. While welcoming him, the church leaders also raised concerns of the minority communities, particularly of Christians, such as religious discrimination, FCRA renewal, Dalit Christian issues, Education policy, etc. Shri George Kurian assured the leaders that NCM will protect the Constitutional and legal rights of the minorities. The meeting was moderated by Rev. Dr. Roger Gaikwad, General Secretary, NCCI and hosted by Rt. Rev.  Warris K. Masih, Bishop, CNI Delhi Diocese.

Samuel Jayakumar
Executive Secretary,
Policy, Governance and Public Witness,
National Council of Churches in India.

Statement of United Christian Forum of North East India (UCFNEI) on the portrayal of Jesus as “demon”.

/24 Comments/in , /by

19th June, 2017.

The United Christian Forum of North East India (UCFNEI) takes serious objection to the portrayal of Jesus as “demon” in the Class 9 Hindi language text book published by the Gujarat State School Textbook Board (GSSTB). The 16th Chapter of the book entitled “Bharatiya Sanskriti me Guru-Shishya Sambandh” on page number 69 reads: “Is sambandh me „haivaan Issa‟ ka ek kathan sada smaraniya hai” (In this context, a statement by ‘demon Jesus’ is always memorable). These words in the text book have shocked and deeply hurt the sentiments of Christian Community and of all people who respect the religious beliefs of all the communities in the secular State. One fails to understand the wisdom behind such a derogatory depiction of Jesus, who is revered by Christians in India and all over the world, as their Saviour and by many others like Mahatma Gandhi as a religious leader. The UCFNEI notes with utmost pain such caricaturing of Jesus.

Apart from hurting the sentiments of the Christian Community, the said chapter grossly misrepresents the person of Jesus and provides erroneous information to children. The GSSTB, which should have taken trouble to provide correct historical information, has erred in executing its duty. One gets a feeling that it is a deliberate attempt to malign a minority group. This statement comes not from a fringe fundamentalist group but from an official body of the Government of Gujarat. We are shocked to see an official body of the State taking such a stand.

The UCFNEI strongly objects to such an attempt of the GSSTB and demands that the text book be immediately withdrawn. It also demands an apology from the GSSTB and from the Government of Gujarat to the Christian Community.

 

SD/-

FR. G.P. AMALRAJ
Deputy Secretary
North East India Regional Bishop Conference
On behalf of
THE MOST REV. BISHOP THOMAS PULLOPALLIL
President

 SD/-

REV. R. LALNUNZIRA
Secretary
& Secretary
North East India Christian Council
SD/-

REV. DR. SOLOMON RONGPI
Vice President
& General Secretary
Council of Baptist Churches in North East India

 SD/-

REV. ROLIANTHANG LALSIM
Joint Secretary
& Administrative Secretary
Presbyterian Church of India

UNITED CHRISTIAN FORUM NORTH EAST INDIA

Statement of UCFNEI on Jesus as Demon. pdf

Certificate Course on Gender Justice – National Council of Churches Pilgrimage to Build Just Inclusive Communities

/24 Comments/in , /by

Participants of Certificate Course on Gender Justice during Valedictory Service with Honourable Chief Minister of State of Mizoram

The Women’s Concerns Ministry of National Council of Churches in India in partnership with Presbyterian Women’s Fellowship in India, and Australian Church Women organized ‘Training the Trainers’ Certificate Course on Gender Justice held in Aizawl , in the State of Mizoram from 5th – 10th June 2017. Twenty young church leaders, pastors, young theologians, teachers and community workers from different parts of North East and Eastern  India attended this course. The participants were from indigenous and dalit background.

The curriculum of this course  included ‘Gender awareness & Self Awareness’, ‘ Gender, Development and Gender Analysis’, ‘Sex , Sexuality, Identity.’ ‘Gender Justice and Policies, Human Rights and Women’s  and Child Human Rights,’ ‘Awareness about human trafficking, migration and sexual slavery’, ‘Geo Political trends, conflict and Gender justice’, ‘Practical Evangelization Strategies and Advocacy and Campaign to end Gender based violence’ .  Bible studies were conducted on ‘Feminine Images of God’, ‘Women’s Reproductive Health Justice and Rights and ‘Spirituality to End Human Trafficking’. The course in particular highlighted the strategies and spirituality of Jesus Type of Positive Masculinity and Deconstruct Patriarchal Femininity.

The Key Note address was delivered by Dr Wellorich Sohkhlet  – Chairperson – PCI Women’s Fellowship. Various skilled Resource Persons, namely Dr Evangeline Dutta, Advocate Rebina Subba, Rev Fr Thomas Ninan, Dr Lalnghakthuami, Ms Rosanna Lyndogh contributed during this training.

Read more

CCA invites applications to serve as stewards at the Asia Mission Conference in Myanmar.

/24 Comments/in , , /by

Stewards of the 14th General Assembly of the CCA in Jakarta, Indonesia — May 2015.

 

The Christian Conference of Asia (CCA) invites applications from young Christians belonging to CCA member churches and ecumenical councils in Asia to serve as stewards for the Asia Mission Conference (AMC) to be held in Yangon, Myanmar from 11 to 17 October 2017.

The stewards program will last for 10 days, including three days of ecumenical formation training and pre-AMC orientation; with arrival on 8 October and departure on 17 October 2017.

An opportunity to serve as a steward in a major Asian ecumenical event with historical significance is a unique experience. It will help to develop a sense of togetherness, working in a multicultural context, interacting with a wide range of participants of the AMC – church and ecumenical leaders from around the world, theologians, missiologists, social activists and interfaith scholars.

The deadline for receiving applications is 10 July 2017. Applicants must be between the ages of 18 and 30 years old.

The AMC will be a major ecumenical event with the participation of 400 representatives of churches, ecumenical councils and related organisations in Asia, Europe, North America and other continents. The theme of the AMC is ‘Journeying Together: Prophetic Witness to the Truth and Light, in Asia’. The Diamond Jubilee celebrations of the CCA also will be held during the AMC, on Sunday 15 October 2017.

Fifty stewards, 20 international and 30 local stewards will be selected to work together with the CCA staff and the local host committees to assume various responsibilities during the AMC, and in participating in the two historic events of the CCA – the AMC and CCA’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations.

The Diamond Jubilee of the CCA will be commemorated on Sunday, 15 October 2017 in a grand event in the presence of a gathering of 5000 selected invitees, including the 400 participants of the AMC and international guests.

To download the application form for the Stewards Programme, please visit the CCA website. Kindly send the form to CCA.

 

(Source: CCA News | http://cca.org.hk/home/news-and-events/cca-invites-applications-to-serve-as-stewards-at-the-asia-mission-conference-in-myanmar)

Statement on Martial law in Mindanao (Philippines)

/25 Comments/in , /by

Coming from the Meeting of the Ecumenical Indigenous Peoples’ Network Reference Group (May 31, 2017 | Manila, Philippines)

We condemn the declaration of a state of martial law in the whole of Mindanao by the Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s in response to the alleged terrorist attacks by the Islamic State-linked Maute Group and Abu Sayyaf in Marawi City. Current reports show that state security forces are intensifying its military operations in the whole island of Mindanao especially in Marawi City through indiscriminate aerial bombings, ground confrontations and clearing operations.

We equally express alarm that Martial Law in Mindanao further heightens current military abuses and excesses against the Indigenous Peoples there who aredefending their lands against extractives, energy projects and plantations, and militarization of their communities.

Read more

Young Ambassadors of Peace in Asia (YAPA) 2017 (Chiang Mai, Thailand)

/25 Comments/in , /by

The 2nd Young Ambassadors of Peace in Asia (YAPA) 2017, a week-long training programme, was organised by the Christian Conference of Asia (CCA) from 28th May to 3rd June at Payap University at Chiang Mai, Thailand.

YAPA training programme sought to facilitate the role of young people as ambassadors of change in peacebuilding processes, and to build a network of young peacebuilders in Asia bridging the missing links in promoting peace in society. The training programme consisted of interactive sessions on non-violence and peace with justice through theological foundations of peace from various religious perspectives, skill development to peace implementation programmes at the grassroots level. The programme further buoyed up the young people to be peace makers not among humans alone but within the whole creation commencing from one’s own inner self.

25 young participants from various Asian countries – Bangladesh, Indonesia, India, Myanmar, New Zealand, Pakistan, Philippines, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Taiwan and Thailand – with representatives from the Buddhist, Hindu and Muslim communities who are committed to promoting interfaith collaboration in peacebuilding and conflict resolution participated in the programme.

Read more

Prominent Belgian Liberation Theologist Francois Houtart Dies

/23 Comments/in /by

Dubbed the “Pope of anti-globalization,” Houtart left a mark on discussions of religion and revolutionary social change in developing nations.

Belgian liberation theologist and sociologist Francois Houtart died Tuesday at the age of 92, leaving a powerful legacy through his decades of work theorizing globaliztion, alternatives to capitalism and religion from a Marxist perspective.

Houtart died in Quito, Ecuador, where he lived and worked at the Pueblo Indio Foundation and with several universities. Houtart was born in Brussels in 1925, became a Catholic priest in 1949 completed a doctorate in sociology at the University of Louvain.

Read more

Appeal to observe AUGUST 10th as “Black Day”

/25 Comments/in , /by

June 08, 2017

Greetings from NCCI- Dalit and Tribal/ Adivasi Concerns!

National Council of Churches in India-Dalit and Tribal/Adivasi Concerns appeals to the Churches and Christian organisations to proactively participate in observing ‘Black Day’ on 10th August 2017 to raise our protest regarding the continual negligence of the government to the cry for the rights of Dalit Christians and Dalit Muslims in the country.

Read more

Green Epistle to the Indian Churches

/25 Comments/in , /by

Green Epistle to the Indian Churches :

“Remember your Creator and Creation” (Ecclesiastes 12:1)

on 

World Environmental Day (June 5, 2017)

From time to time and as and when necessary  Churches have been responding to Ecological Catastrophes through various ministerial and diaconal interventions. Rather than waiting to address such catastrophes, it is imperative for Churches to deal with the context of climate change and the environmental crisis that destroy lives and threaten the future of earth communities, that are created by God almighty.

The summer this year has reached a decade high, resulting in drought in several parts of the county, while the monsoon season is expected to result in floods that would swallow agricultural fields. Such extreme weather conditions are not  at all favourable to our country, but yet, we have to go through the experience of the same.

Read more

NCCI Youth Concerns-SCMI organise three-days Youth Regional Programme

/25 Comments/in /by

The daily phenomenon of changes in the world is a challenge for students to cope with as they engage in the process of their education along within the changing scenario. In most educational institutions, the method is teacher centred, based upon the  given curriculum and the demarcated syllabi of courses to be covered within the stipulated time in the four walled classroom. There is hardly any space for student interaction and discussion of the subject and their expediences in society. There is a need for students to have fellowship in learning together with practical exposure, so that they can  share, exchange,  experience and learn with each other, thereby enabling themselves to find out their potential and capabilities mental and physical and relate the same to the contextual challenges in society. Keeping these poignant thoughts in mind, a three-days Regional programme was initiated by Student Christian Movement in India (SCMI) in collaboration with National Council of Churches in India (NCCI)–Youth Concerns  from 22nd – 24th  May 2017 in the NCCI Campus, with the aim of building relationships of learning together, thereby being moulded and committed to engage in different areas and fields so that they become channels of hope for society. 

Thirteen fervent students attended this programme. Rev. Dr. Roger Gaikwad, General Secretary of National Council of Churches in India (NCCI) inaugurated the three-days programme.  He challenged the students by exposing the socio-economic realities of India and its politics, talked about India being the ‘youngest country’ in the coming years and relating it with the challenges of job opportunities, and reconstruction of India. The inaugural was followed by three important sessions. Mr. Rajesh Jadav, Coordinator of Vidarbha Centre for Labour Concerns (VCLC), talked about   globalization and the development of industrialization and its impact (positive and negative), political corruption and caste system, youth power – the role of young people that are involved in industrialization as the agent of change, and the realities of MNCs (Multinational Corporations) exploitation of  labour and land. Mr. Moses Gaur, Programme Coordinator of Evangelical Social Action Forum (ESAF) talked about personal development in the fast growing world, leadership development and socio-political influences among the working class especially among the youth. Ms. Moumita Biswas, Executive Secretary of Women Concerns, NCCI talked about gender justice and equality, discrimination of sex and gender in various social environments–families, society, religion and politics, sexual function and its social stigmas.

In addition to the above three sessions, there were sessions for interaction and  debate. The concluding session was initiated by Mr. Jianthaolung Gonmei, Executive Secretary of Youth Concerns, NCCI, Ms. Wapangyingla Ao, Intern, NCCI, and Mr. Vinod Shemron, Intern, NCCI. The participants also got an opportunity to practically get involved in cleaning the environment during early morning sessions in the NCCI campus.