Church leaders representing the National Council of Churches in India (NCCI) and the Regional Christian Council of North West India met the President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee at Rashtrapati Bhawan on 24th December, 2014. The Church leaders greeted him on the occasion of Christmas and offered prayers for his health and for the Nation.
The leaders also raised their concern with the President about the attacks on Christians in the different parts of the country as well as about conducting of Government functions on 25th December which is a public holiday (Christmas). The President affirmed that India is a pluralistic society and all the religious communities are to be given equal respect. He was very concerned that the social harmony, which has existed for a long time in India, should not be allowed to be disturbed.
The delegation consisted of Bishop Subodh Mondal, Bishop of Delhi Episcopal Area, Methodist Church in India; Mrs. Sudipta Mondal; Bishop Collin Theodore, Delhi Brotherhood Society; Bishop Warris. K. Masih, Moderator’s Commissary, Diocese of Delhi CNI; Archbishop Anil Couto, Archdiocese of Delhi Catholic Church; Bishop Simon John, Believers Church, Delhi Diocese; Dr. Sushant Agrawal, Director, CASA; and Mr. Samuel Jayakumar, Executive Secretary, CoP, NCCI.
We hope that the President will take some proactive steps in addressing the concerns presented by the delegation.
Samuel Jayakumar
Executive Secretary,
Commission on Policy, Governance and Public Witness, NCCI.
Ecumenical news
Church Leaders Called on the President of India on the Christmas Eve
General news, News from NCCINUCF Press Statement
StatementsNational United Christian Forum
( CBCI, NCCI and EFI )
Yusuf Sadan, 1 Ashok Place, New Delhi – 110001
+91 11 23343457/ 23362058 Fax: +91 11 23746575
Co Secretary NUCF
Co Secretary NUCF
Secretary NUCF
PRESS STATEMENT
National United Christian Forum Raises serious concerns
New Delhi: 20/12/2014We, the members of the National United Christian Forum (NUCF) comprising the three leading Churches of India, i.e. The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI), the National Council of Churches in India (NCCI) and the Evangelical Fellowship of India (EFI), together express our serious concern about the current situation of the minorities, particularly the Christians in India.
The recent happenings in Bastar forcing the school to put the statue of Sarsawati Maa in a Catholic school and forbidding the children to address the principle with the honorific ‘Father’; the burning of a church in Delhi; the declaration of ‘Good Governance Day’ on 25th December to undermine the importance of Christmas; the provocative call by some fundamentalists to convert 4000 Christians to Hinduism in Agra on Christmas Day and the regular targeting of the Christian community, calling them even anti-national is a cause of great concern for us.
The Christian Community being a small minority of just 2.33 percent of the Indian population doing its day to day work in a peaceful manner and setting a good example of how dutiful citizens must abide by law, is highly distressed with the types of announcements and statements made by certain groups belonging to a right wing ideology.
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NUCF Press Statement
General news( CBCI, NCCI and EFI )
Yusuf Sadan, 1 Ashok Place, New Delhi – 110001
+91 11 23343457/ 23362058 Fax: +91 11 23746575
Co Secretary NUCF
Co Secretary NUCF
Secretary NUCF
PRESS STATEMENT
National United Christian Forum Raises serious concerns
The recent happenings in Bastar forcing the school to put the statue of Sarsawati Maa in a Catholic school and forbidding the children to address the principle with the honorific ‘Father’; the burning of a church in Delhi; the declaration of ‘Good Governance Day’ on 25th December to undermine the importance of Christmas; the provocative call by some fundamentalists to convert 4000 Christians to Hinduism in Agra on Christmas Day and the regular targeting of the Christian community, calling them even anti-national is a cause of great concern for us.
The Christian Community being a small minority of just 2.33 percent of the Indian population doing its day to day work in a peaceful manner and setting a good example of how dutiful citizens must abide by law, is highly distressed with the types of announcements and statements made by certain groups belonging to a right wing ideology.
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Letter to the Indian Prime Minister expressing concern over the “good-days” and “good-governance”
General newsTo
Shri Narendra Modi,
Prime Minister of India
Honorable Prime Minister,
This letter is a continuation of the concerns expressed in the letter of 2ndDecember 2014 sent from the NCCI Secretariat. The NCCI is a council representing about 14 million Christians in India belonging to the Protestant and Orthodox Traditions in India. We are committed to unity, witness, service and exemplary practice in the country. As a well-read person, you are certainly aware of the tremendous contribution made by Christians of all traditions (Including Catholics), in history and up to the present, towards nation building through education, health care, orphanages, old people’s homes, counseling ministries, relief services provided during natural calamities, and the ongoing work for rehabilitation and development. The Church in India continues to be committed to the cause of dalits, tribal/adivasis, women, youth, children, the disabled, PLWA, mother earth – indeed all creation, particularly those who have been marginalized. We are committed to an India developed on the principles of justice and peace.
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We weep with you oh Mothers, Sisters and Brothers of Pakistan – A letter from AICCW
News from Constituent Members, Other concerns“Guns of Darkness! Why would I not curse you?
You turned love-filled homes into broken debris” (Pashto Couplet from Book ‘I am Malala’)
“The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit” (Psalm 34:18)
Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.” (Matthew 5:4)
__________________________________________
My Dear bereaved Mothers, Sisters and Brothers in Pakistan,
We cannot wipe away your tears but we want to let you know that we weep with you and feel your pain.
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Message from NCCI General Secretary for Christmas and New Year 2015
General newsGod with us: Gospel in a Groaning World
Our Groaning World
We live in a world marked by several sufferings: “Many continue to reel from the impact of wars; ethnic and religious animosity, discrimination based on race and caste mar the façade of nations and leave ugly scars. Thousands are dead, displaced, homeless, refugees within their own homeland. Women and children often bear the brunt of conflicts: many women are abused, trafficked, killed; children are separated from their parents, orphaned, recruited as soldiers, abused. Citizens in some countries face violence by occupation, paramilitaries, guerrillas, criminal cartels or government forces. Citizens of many nations suffer governments obsessed with national security and armed might; yet these fail to bring real security, year after year. Thousands of children die each day from inadequate nutrition while those in power continue to make economic and political decisions that favor a relative few.”
(An Ecumenical Call to Justice and Peace, Resource Material for International Ecumenical Peace Convocation in Kingston, Jamaica, in May 2011, under the theme “Glory to God and Peace on Earth”)
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For our ongoing Solidarity and Commitment
Other concernsFrom December 2–4, 2014, over 250 participants from Palestine and many other countries[1] gathered in Bethlehem to commemorate the 5th anniversary of “A Moment of Truth: A Word of Faith, Hope, and Love from the Heart of Palestinian Suffering,” known as Kairos Palestine. The document,[2] produced by a broadly ecumenical group of Palestinian Christian leaders, offered a word of hope in a hopeless situation. It signaled a strong commitment for Palestinian Christians to participate fully in creative resistance to end Israeli occupation, a reality we again describe as “a sin against God and humanity.”
We thank God for the many churches that have received, studied, and offered comment on the document. We thank God also for the many ways Kairos Palestine is accompanied by so many Kairos movements around the world, each seeking justice in their own context, joining their struggle to that of the Palestinian people.
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People’s Reporter features NCCI’s Centenary Celebrations Finale
General newsNational Council of Churches in India Centenary Celebrations Finale featured in People’s Reporter Volume 27, Issue 22 (November 25 – December 10, 2014).
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Homage to Justice Dr. V. R. Krishna Iyer
General newsDr. V R Krishna Iyer was socially sensitized and spiritually kindled judiciary and a moral rebel against human injustice. He was a peace lover and a visionary.
Without being a member of any political party, he associated himself with political figures, freedom fighters, social reformers, constructive public workers and, with his wife, helped women’s organizations and backward classes including fishing communities. Compassion was his passion. He identified himself with human rights causes and poor litigants found a defender in him.
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NCCC-USA calls for accountability
Other concernsis forgotten in God’s sight. But even the hairs of your head are
all counted. Do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows.”
-Jesus, as recounted in Luke 12:6-7 (NRSV)