Worship and Sermon by Pramod Chand Lakra

Mr Pramod Chand Lakra conducted his evaluation worship and sermon on 5th December, 2008. The text for the sermon

was John 13: 1-11. The theme was " The Call to be a Servant like Jesus" He emphasised two points in his sermon: 

1) Jesus, a model for servanthood and 2) Our call to be servants. The invocation was sung by Abraham Thomas BD IV.

Bhajan was written and composed by Jinu John BD IV. A Hinid song written and composed by Sandeep Paramarth 

was sung by Captain Latha Rajyam and Yesurayam. Pramod Chand Lakra, a member of the Gossner Evangelical 

Lutheran Church, is a confident preacher and he could articulate clearly and convincingly. We wish him all the best for

the future ministry.

Worship and Sermon by Major Lalliankunga

Major Lalliankunga conducted his evaluation worship on 3 December 2008. The text of the Sermon was Mark 11: 15-19.

The theme of the worship has been a "Critical reflection of the Temple today." The order of Worship has been simple, 

as Salvation Army to which he belongs does not follow a prepared order of worship. Since Major Lalliankunga is an 

experience pastor, he has appeared connfident and convincing in his sermon. We appreciate his efforts and wish

him God's blessings in his ministry.

Anoop Jolly Bhengra - Worship and Sermon

Anoop Jolly Bhengra conducted his evaluation worship and sermon on 19 November 2008 at Gurukul chapel. The theme of the worship and sermon was "Call to discipleship." The text of the sermon was Acts 9: 10-18. He derived three points from the text: 1) Manifestation of God's love in one's life
2) The filling of Holy spirit and 3) To be witness of Jesus Christ. Hindi and English songs were sung during worship. Bhengra was confident and audible. He has good leadership qualities and we hope that he may further develop his talents for the effective ministry in his GELC church.

Dr. Monica Melancthon chosen as the Distinguished Alumni 2009 of LSTC

Dr. Monica Melancthon was chosen as the 2009 LSTC Distinguished Alumni by the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago Alumni Board. She will be honored at a banquet at the seminary on February 10 and receive the Theological Education in the Global Church Award. Melancthon is the author of numerous articles in leading international journals. She serves on the Lutheran World Federation and other international organizations. Gurukul is proud of having her in its faculty as the Head of the Department of the Old Testament and professor of women's studies. Other recipients of the 2009 award are the Rev. Dr. Martin Marty, the Rev. Melody Eastman, and the Rev. Dr. Fred Strickert.

We congratulate Dr. Monica Melancthon on this great recognition by her alma mater.

Joseph Christopher's evaluation worship and sermon in Gurukul

Joseph Christopher conducted his evaluation worship and sermon on 12th Novemeber, 2008. Worship started with a beautiful invocation song led by N. Among Jamir. As prelude to worship Flute was played by Jacob Jebaraj. Daniel Thambiraj played the Key Board. The theme of the worship was "Unique Covenant for a New Life." The sermon was based on the text Jeremiah 31:31-34. The sermon was divided into four sections: A new loyalty and obedience, 2) A new family and community, 3) a new intimacy and access to God and, a new acceptance and freedom. The preacher tried to emphasis the newness of covenant in Jesus. We are living in the age of the new covenant and we we need to realize the newness of the Gospel in the life of the Church. Mr. Joseph Christopher Chitturi is a member of the AELC and we pray that God may bless his ministry abundantly.

Anjali Lama's Worship and Sermon

Anjali Lama conducted her B.D. evaluation worship and sermon in Gurukul chapel on Wednesday, November 5, 2008. The Nepali Invocation was sung by Dn. Aby paul. A Hindi song, written by Sonia John, composed by Sandeep Paramarth and sung by Alice Jose added flavour to the worship. The theme of the sermon was "Christ's Vision of Women as Apostles." There was a choreography on the theme by Sweety Helen. The text used was John 20: 11-18, the resurrected Jesus appearing to Mary Magdalene. The text was enacted by Sonia John, Daiju Joseph, Jeremiah and Belinda. Anjali included some additional material on the story from the Gospel of Thomas. The disciples rejection of witness by Mary was thus strongly communicated. The song, prayers, choreography, enactment made clear the theme. The sermon had two main points: 1) Restoring the vision of Christ by enabling women's agency 2) Restoring the vision of Christ to enable women to become apostles. She strengthened the sermon by narrating her personal experience as a woman in the Church and society. There was a rangoli (alpana) at the entrance of the chapel depicting the Chinese symbol of mutality, Yin-Yang, which conveyed the thrust of the sermon, as commented by the staff evaluator, Dr. Suneel Bhanu. The sermon was delivered with clarity and conviction. Anjali's reply to the comments from evaluators has been gracious. Anjali is a memebr of Independent Pentecostal Church, Kathmandu, Nepal. She has joined Gurukul as a B. Th. upgrader. She proved herself to be a good student and an able worship leader. We wish her ministry all success.

Jose P. Mathew's Worship and Sermon in Gurukul Chapel

Captain Jose P. Mathew, from the Salvation Army, India South Western (Kerala) region, now studying in Gurukul, conducted his evaluation worship and sermon on 29th October 2008. The invocation was led by Jose himself. During the invocation Salvation Army flag, representing victory and authority ( the colours of which symbolized Trinity: bluie - Creator, red - blood of Jesus, yellow -  the work of the Holy spirit), was elegantly carried by the young daughter of Jose. His wife, Alice, a good singer, led the Bhajan which was written by Jose himself and composed by John G. Varghese. It reflected the   theme of the sermon, prophetic mission of building a new community.

The sermon was based on the text, Ezekiel37: 1-10. Jose started his sermon with the story of Colonel Yesudasan, founder of the Salvation Army in Kerala, who brought new life to the marginalized and the downtrodden Dalits of Kerala. Jose P. Mathew lamented that instead of building a community, now the "spiritual mafia" is taking over the church, making the Church, a religion of the market, without any sense of  divine call or  clear vision. Ezekiel is an example of a prophet who had genuine call from God and a clear vision for  the society:  The "dry bones," he saw represented the pathetic situation of the people in the valley. Today the Churches are insensitive to the realities of the valley --  the injustice, poverty, violence against the dalits, women and the marginalized in society. Instead of a people oriented ministry what we have now is a " task oriented and tradition oriented ministry."  "Creating a new community out of dry bones is the mission of the Christians," he said. "Building community is not to convert people from other religions or bring people form other churches. "He quoted Mother Theresa who once told a journalist: I convert Hindus to be better Hindus, Muslims to be better Muslims, and Christians to be better Christians. Mission is liberating people form spiritual and physical bondage. Kingdom of heaven is the place of a liberated community. Jesus' sacrificial work on the cross was laying down his life for building a new community. Jose P. Mathew delivered the sermon in a  clear and convincing manner. He was confident  and proved himself  to be an efficient worship leader.

Jose and his wife  are  experienced ministers in the Salvation Army. Salvation Army always encourages team ministry of the whole family. We pray that Jose and his family would make  the minstry of the Salavation Army  much more effective in India. 

Ananta Kumar Nag - Worship and Sermon

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Ananta Kr Nag- Worship and Sermon

Ananta Kr Nag conducted his worship and sermon on 22 October 2008. The theme of the worship was "Living Christ in a dying Society. The Oriya Invocation song was written by Paras Khosla. The Bhajan was written by Babu Abraham. A solidarity song in Hindi, modified out of SCM solidarity song by Sandeep, also was used. All these songs were appreciated by the evaluators. The text of the sermon was 1 Peter 4:12-17. Ananta Kumar Nag derived two points from this text: 1) Living Christ in a Lifeless Society and 2) Living Christ to Encounter the unjust power Structures. The context of the sermon was the present persecutions of Christians in Orissa. In a power point presentation numerous stills of destroyed houses and churches were shown and this added some emotional flavour to the whole worship. The community was moved by the pathetic conditions of Christians in Orissa. However, the preacher deriving strength from the lessons of the early Church, which was the background of Peter's epistle, expressed hope in the power of the resurrected Christ to make persecutions an opportunity for the further spread of the Gospel.
Ananta Kumar is an ordained minister of the Jeypore Evangelical Lutheran Church and we hope that God will use him as a powerful instrument to continue the mission of Christ with vision.

Belinda G. Praisy - Worship and Sermon October 15, 2008

The theme of Belinda's sermon was "Breaking Free: Participation in God's Liberative Mission,"  based on the text, Luke 8: 42b -48, the story of the woman with discharge of blood. The worship started with an enactment  of the theme by Sweety Helen, Wilson, Ravi Topo and Remalia, which gave a shocking experience to many and alerted people of the gravity of women's oppression in India.  The invocation in Hindi, written and composed by Sandeep Paramarth,  was sung by Alice Jose. The opening Tamil song was written by Jane Anitha and music was comped by Jacob Jabaraj.  These songs reflected the pain of women on account of social, racial, gender and economic oppression. Opening prayer  went like this: O God, as we come to your presence this morning we realize that you are a God who resists injustice. We ask that you might strengthen us with this spirit of retaliation to break free from oppressive forces and participate in your liberative mission. There was a discussion during the evaluation session whether it is right to use "retaliation", which was used several times in the order of worship and sermon,  as a Christian method of resistance to oppression. Belinda defended the usage as it reflected active resistance. The theme of worship was also reflected  in her confessional prayer: God, we confess that we have failed to be like Puah and Shiprah who had the courage to oppose authority to save life. We have failed to be like Jael who had the strength to nail forces that inflict violence; we failed to be like Vashti who had the powers to resist powers of patriarchy,  to be like Mary and  Elizabeth who nourished their children to stand against injustices, to be like Mary Magdalene, Joanna and Suzanna, who were co-workers in establishing God's reign.  We  failed to be like the woman suffering with hemorrhage who took the initiatives to overstep traditions to liberate herself. We have failed to follow the examples of the many women in our society who have recognized their strength and ability to succeed in life. She also used a "modified prayer of Jesus" written by Miriam Therese Winter of  Hartford Seminary, USA:

Our Mother and father who is within us

 we celebrate your many names.

 Your wisdom come, Your will be done

Unfolding from the depths within us.

Each day you give us all that we need

You remind us of our limits 

and we let go.

You support  us in our power and we act with courage.

For you are the dwelling place within us

the empowerment around us

and the celebration among us

now and for ever. Amen

In her sermon Belinda  described the  oppressive Jewish context which demanded women to remain  as household properties. The women who followed Jesus took a courageous stand to be part of the Jesus movement by overstepping the social barriers and their traditional roles. The woman with the hemorrhage for twelve years was not just suffering from a physical ailment. She was ritually unclean and impure  according to the rules in Leveticus 15: 19-27.  The Levetical  rules made her life miserable.   Whoever touches ritually impure woman also shall become unclean, whoever uses the things she uses also become unclean. She was completely cut away from society -- an untouchable, socially ostracized,  and stigmatized person. No body would marry her. Finally she comes to the  point of realizing that she has to take the initiative to claim her rightful place in society. She decides to overstep the purity-pollution laws that has imprisoned her. She breaks the laws that oppressed her.She might have thought Jesus being a Jewish man would hesitate to to touch her. Knowing that Jesus had healing powers she was determined to take the initiative: to touch Jesus.

This woman represents today's women whose mobility is controlled by patriarchal structures . She represents women who are prohibited to enter church altars, mosques and temples. She represents women suffering with illness like HIV/AIDS. She represents the Dalit and Adivasi women who are made politically voiceless. She also represents the agony, the cry, the pain, humiliation  and stigmatization of women who are forced into flesh trade because of their poverty.There is  a need to recognize the power dynamics behind the oppressive forces that keep women under bondage and  "wake up to resist and retaliate against them." She retaliated against the society by breaking the social taboos. Jesus also decides to bring her to the public view.  Her touch has shaken Jesus too. Her touch made Jesus to recognize the evil that his society had been inflicting on people in the name of religion, law and God. It was touch that could not be left unnoticed but one that should be given credit so that it will be a model for the God's community he was striving to create. Jesus recognized that resisting the oppressive forces is to do the will of God (Luke 8:21). By saying that her faith has made her well Jesus affirms that not only the woman's physical ailment was cured but that  by the woman's courageous act of faith she has sought to heal herself of the social constrictions that were imposed on her. Jesus has given full credit to her for taking a bold step to disregard the laws that bound her in the name of traditions and customs. He assures that both she and the society which she has woken up to recognize their  folly can reconcile to carry on the spread of the reign of God.

Belinda has brought out three significant ways from Jesus' attitude to the woman  by which  the community of believers can   break itself free from being oppressors: Firstly, Jesus chose to take a stand opposite to that of the patriarchal structures by acknowledging women to be co-workers in God's liberative mission which has been  the overall significance of  Luke chapter 8.  Secondly, by recognizing and acknowledging the act of the woman before the society Jesus teaches us that we should provide space for the oppressed to rise up by themselves and also must be ready to accept the change they bring. Thirdly, we should  be ready to identify ourselves with the oppressed people and stand in solidarity  with them in their struggles. This story of the woman with hemorrhage is  a radical call for the dominant oppressive society towards a "metanoia" to reverse all the structures to form the community of God.

Ms. Belinda Gracelyn Praisy is a member of the Church of South India, Madras Diocese.  Last summer she went to Fiji on an exposure programme. We hope and pray that she would be able to meaningful change in church and society through her interventions as a committed Christian. 

SCM Dharna in Protest Against Religious Violence in India

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2008

StudentChristian Movement of India, North Tamil Nadu Region, organized a Dharna in front of the Gurkul College, Chennai, on Saturday, 11th October, 2008.to protest against the continuing violence against minorities in several Indian states.  The SCM was  denied permission by the police to conduct a  protest rally.  

The Dharna was inaugurated by Dr. Ponniah Manoharan, Director of Gurukul.  Students from  various colleges in the city participated. Dr. K. Rajaratnam, Director Emeritus, Gurukul, Dr. Suneel  Bhanu, Acting Principal, Gurukul, Moulvi O.M.Muzzamill Ahmad H.A., Sister Elsa from the  Catholic church and  Rev. Ebenesar Kiruba Karan from the  CSI Church addressed the Dharna.  The speakers emphasised that by raising the question of  relgious conversions the communal forces are trying to bring back caste oppression in India. Communal forces in India are a minority and in the name of Hinduism they  are trying to bring back brahminic hegemony over India and to suppress the rise  of the former untouchables from gaining social and economic freedom.  The heart of Hinduism is pluralistic, tolerant and secular. The Christians who have been  attacked in Kandhamal, Orissa, are Dalits. The attackers are primarily interested in burining houses and destroying property  to prevent the economic independence of  Dalits. Swamy Laxmananda, the BJP missionary  in Kandhamal came from Uttar Pradesh and was instigating the Kandha tribals against Pana dalits and forcibly converting tribals and Dalit Christians to Hinduism.  No forced conversions  to Christianity  were  reported in Orissa or in any part of the country.  The issue of conversion was  raised as a ploy to attack the Dalit Christians and to create panic among the secular  Hindus. The organized attacks against Christians started in December 2007. Mass raping of the nun is only a symbol of  the violence that is in the heart of  its perpetrators. Violence agaisnt women is preceded by violence and rape of the earth and its resources. The secular as well as the non-political Hindu leaders should no longer turn a blind eye to the damage done by the VHP and its youth wing Bajrang Dal to the secualr fabric of India. The Indian heritage of  relgious tolerance need to be safeguarded. The Central Government should show the courage to dismiss the Orissa Governemnet which protects the communal forces and ban Bajrang Dal which turns Indians against Indians, the worst act of terrorism.  Dalits will not get justice under the present BJP supported Naveen Patnaik government and thousands of Christians living in refugee camps and in forests will not be able to return to their villages if  the Bajrang  Dal and VHP are allowed to continue to hold their sway over the villages. 

 In the afternoon there was a seminar on Youth's role against Communal violence in a Democratic Nation, in the Ziegenbalg Auditorium of Gurukul. Rev. Samuel Prabhakaran, General Secretary of  the National Missionary Society spoke on Christian Mission in the Context of Communal Violence. He exhorted the students that retaliation is not a Christian option: "it is not in our blood." The Church need to be educated how to live and die for Christ in times of persecution. He reminded the audience the early Christian response to persecution in the Roman Empire. We are approaching difficult times. We should be spiritually equipped to meet the challenge of communalism without becoming communalists.  Ms. Geetha Ramakrishnan spoke on Violence and Negligence  of Human Rights in Communal Violence.  Prof. Bernard D. Swamy  spoke on the question,  Is  Conversion Unconstitutional?' Ms. Hannah led the discussion on the Role of Media in the Context of Communal Violence Mr. Eby  Ebenzar Thomas, Programme Secretary SCM North  Tamil Nadu Region, and Mr. Aravind Jeyakumar, Gurukul Unit President organized the  programmes.

Church in India Under Attack

Evaluation Worship and Sermon by Deacon Johns Koshy, M.

The evaluation Service and sermon of  Dn Johns Koshy' was held on Wednesday 11th October, 2008.  Deacon Koshy's   worship gave the community a flavour of the Syrain Orthodox worship, a  rare experience in Gurukul Chapel. The curtains that spearated people from the altar surprised some in the beginnig of the service. When the curtain was slowly moved from left to right the kneeling figure of the deacon gave a dramatic effect upon the worshippers. The ceremoniously decorated altar as in an Orthodox Church Madbaha with chalice and paten covered and twelve candles lighted  by women and men  in public view  was an innovation on tradition.  The text of the sermon was Matthew 14: 13-21 (Jesus feeding the five thousand). While reading the scripture the narration was  enacted.  The topic of the sermon was, "A Christian Response to Food Security."  Lord' Prayer was sung in Syriac .Benediction was taken from the Orthodox Liturgy for the Holy  Qurbana. Students from different liturgical traditions particpated in the worship in tune with the Gurukul tradition.  We hope that Deacon Johns Koshy, who belongs to the Antiochene wing of the Orthodox Church in India, would make much contribution to the ecumenical life of the Church in India.

Evaluation Worship and Sermon by Abraham Thomas

Mr. Abraham Thomas, BD IV, conducted his evaluation worship and sermon on October 1, 2008. The theme of the service was, Let Your Love be in Action. The  text selected was Romans 12:9-21 The  Invocation ,  Praise and Thanksgiving and, the Concluding Prayer (modified Lord's Prayer)  were particularly appreciated by evaluators.The Invocation was led by Nang Sang (M. Th I). The sermon was presented in the context of persecution of Christians in Orissa.  For a number of reasons Paul regards love greater than faith and hope. For Paul love the heartfelt affection of the Christian in response to th love  God has shown toward us, especially in the gift of salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. To Abraham Thomas, "Love subordinates the interests of the lover to the one who is loved.  Love inspires our deliberate, diligent, self-sacrificial service to others, which is intended for their good at our expense." The Grek word  used in Romans 12:10 is   philostorgoi, which is translated  "Kindly affectioned" (KJV),  mutual affection (NRSV), devoted to one another  (IV,NIV, TNIV). Love should be natural as loving the family members. When persecuted we are to endure not passively, but actively by perseverance and steadfast prayer. To explain the meaning of Paul's quote from Proverbs Prov. 25:21,22 in  Romans 10 20  the preacher referred to an Egyptian custom: When a person wanted to demonstrate public contrition, that person would carry on his head  a pan of burning coal to represent the burning pain of his shame and guilt. He concluded by saying: Pray  for humility that you might repay evil with good, and for the ability to serve their needs rather than their desire their suffering. This is genuine love which overcomes the evil.

Mr. Abraham Thomas belongs to th the Church of God (Full Gospel) in India, which does not have the tradition of  prepared liturgy. However Abraham Thomas tried hard to prepare an order of service as required by the Gurukul Evaluation Service. He is a good singer and  communicator, with a good loud and clear voice and we pray that he may be enabled further to pursue the meaning of the Gospel of Christ.

For excerpts from his order of worship click here

Jinu John's Worship and Sermon

Jinu John conducted his Evaluation worship and sermon on 24th September, 2008. The text for the Sermon was Mark 14: 22-26.  with the theme, "Eucharist as the exhortation of Christ's socio Political Mission." There was a skit to introduce the theme. The preacher analyzed the text by using socio political method of hermeneutics. Usually Eucharist has been explained as ritual of salvation or a memory of Jesus' martyrdom. For the preacher the Jesus' Eucharist is a socio-political act. In the Eucharist Service the Church is supposed to witness to the socio-political mission of Jesus. The Greek word artos (bread) refers to a celebration of resources. Bread symbolizes the toil and sufferings of people working in the field. By lifting the bread and uttering "This is my body," Jesus is recognizing the sweat and toil of people. Jesus is "giving thanks" (eucharist) for the work of the laborers in the field. The preacher quoted the famous lines of Rabindranath Tagore who asked people to go to the field to see God and not to the temple. It is interesting to note that Mark records this event after the cleansing of the temple and cursing of the fruitless fig tree.Jesus give thanks not for th temple but for the labour of the people, bread.

The second century Bishop Irenaeus has viewed eucharist as  thanksgiving for  the blessings of creation: When we offer bread and wine we remember  that Christ is the "word through the trees bear fruit, the springs flow, and the earth yields."  In the context of passover meal Jesus' eucharist is symbol of liberation. Scholars like Chilton  have argued that the usage of bread by Jesus acted as a strong condemnation on the cruelty to animals in the name of sacrifice. Eucharist requires from  us acts to abolish  cruelty, exploitation and oppression.

Eucharist is a sharing of resources: one feeds the other.   Unless the receiver become another sharer of bread there is no meaning for the eucharist. Also it is an act of reconciliation, a foretaste of the reign of God, where God and people, outcastes, women, sinners participate. Jinu John quoted an incident in the life of the Bartolomeo de las Casas  (1484-1566) one of the early Spanish Dominican  Priest who worked for the liberation of the Indian slaves  in Venezuela  in the early days of the colonization. A passage which Bartolomeo  read for  the Mass from Sirach 34: 22-27 has opened his eyes. The passage reads: 

 ²²   the gifts of the lawless are not acceptable. 
²³The Most High is not pleased with the offerings of the ungodly,
   nor for a multitude of sacrifices does he forgive sins. 
²⁴Like one who kills a son before his father’s eyes
   is the person who offers a sacrifice from the property of the poor. 
²⁵The bread of the needy is the life of the poor;
   whoever deprives them of it is a murderer. 
²⁶To take away a neighbour’s living is to commit murder; 
²⁷   to deprive an employee of wages is to shed blood. 

 Reading this passage Bartolomeo realized that the bread he was about to offer is the property of the poor. He refused to celebrate the Eucharist  and set back to Spain to get  a charter from the king to free the slaves in the Spanish world.  Bartolomeo was not able to free the slaves but he committed his life  for the struggle of the Indian slaves. He knew that unless the slaves are free the eucharist has no meaning. Another Columbian priest Camillo Torres refused to celebrate  eucharist untill justice is achieved.  the   The West saw Christ as a strong channel of  creating new colonies. Today also many Christian preachers are  bothered about souls and not  bodies. The sermon began with the experience of a Dalit writer, Heera Bensoda, who was chased away from her friend's home from the dinner table when the family cam to know that she belonged to an untouchable caste. The preacher challenged to make the eucharist as an occasion for human liberation. Jinu who belongs to the Mar Thoma Church is a talented singer and we hope and pray for a successful ministry in his church.

Worship and Sermon by Mr. G. Greeto Racharia, BD IV

Mr. G. Greeto Racharia, BD IV, led the evaluation worship and sermon , the last of the June term, on 27^th August 2008. The worship started with a music prelude during which a slide show of slum children and refuges was presented with the caption “open your eyes to the realities around you.” This introduced the theme of his worship and sermon: “The Life giving mission of God Towards children.” The text selected was Genesis 21: 8-20, the story of Abraham casting away Hagar and Ishmael their the plight in the wilderness. The invocation song was the composition of Dr. Parattai (a) Theophilus Appavoo, who always experimented with unconventional tunes and style of folk music in worship. Greeto’s confessional prayer also used an unconventional format. He made his methodology clear at the very beginning: a reflection on the text from a sociological perspective of the suffering children. Greeto Racharia runs a Non Governmental Organization for the benefit of the children in one of the biggest slums in Chennai, Kannagi Nagar. It was his involvement with the slum children that made him to read the Bible from the perspective of the slum children who go without food and proper education. He narrated how a Government run Municipal Corporation School teacher made the request for a map “to show our children how big our land is” or at least a “first aid“ box for the school.

Greeto in his sermon passionately said: ”I want you all to see this text from the perspective of hungry children crying for food, the malnourished children in Sudan and other African countries, the street children in our country, crying for food and shelter from the hot sun and rain, the wandering Hagars and Ishmaels in our city roads. It is a very pathetic scene for any mother anticipating the immediate death of her child. What a pathetic scene is this where a woman who is chased out by her own husband and mistress, after being used for all their needs. The cry of both Hagar and Ishmael wandering in wilderness is the cry of the refugees and their children coming out from the countries like Sri Lanka carrying their children, with fear of death surrounding them, chased way by their own country people. It is the cry of a Dalit woman and her child, who has been used by her upper caste sex-partner and chased away by the mistress of the house.

He said that the first step of our mission today is to first listen to the cries of children, just as God listened to the cry of Ishmael – the meaning of the very name Ishmael being, “God will hear.” He was wondering how God could concede to the demand of Sarah for the ouster of the “slave woman and her son,” the very woman whom Sarah has given her husband as wife. Sarah became angry Ishmael when she saw him playing with Issac, “innocent of social distinctions.” Greeto asked: How many of us will allow our children to play with the poor and Dalit children of the neighborhood? How many of us have taught our children to share things with their friends from the poor and socially lower caste families? Do we not give the left over food to our servant maids to take home for their children after our children are fed to the full? We still want to see the dalits remain as dalits, sex-workers as sex-workers, slum dwellers as slum dwellers. He ended his sermon with an affirmative note: God breaks all evil structures of enslavement to create a structure of equality and justice. God promises that Ishmael will be made “a great nation” and thus reverses the structures that made Isaac unequal to Ishmael. God has given is assurance that God’s support to make equal to Isaac and thus justice was ensured for the oppressed child. God starts to work by giving water to Ishmael. Let us also continue the mission of God by quenching the thirst of crying children around us. Dr. George Zachariah, in his evaluation, has aptly commented that it is an autobiographical sermon as Greeto has been committed to serve the slum children. Greeto Racharia is a member of the CSI Madras Diocese and we wish all God’s blessings upon him to carry out his chosen area of mission of God.

Excerpts from Greeto's worship order

Gurukul Forum for Social and Theological Issues : Struggle for Freedom and Justice as the common platform for Christians and others to come together

Gurukul forum for Social and Theological Issues initiated a discussion on “Christian Participation in a Pluralistic Context” in the Ziegenbalg auditorium on 22nd August 2008. The session was moderated by Rev. S. Doraiswamy (MTh.II – Old Testament). Forum Convener Mr. Daniel T. Philip welcomed the gathering. Rev. N. Solomon James Sudhir, Staff Adviser, led the opening prayer. The philharmonic group rendered a special song. Mr. A. Dalvin Kristi Dass, BD II, member of the committee, proposed vote of thanks. Dr. Sam P. Mathew, Acting Principal, closed the meeting with a word of prayer. A panel of four people looked at the topic from different perspectives: Ms. Belinda, BD IV, who went to Fiji Islands on the Face to Face Programme, presented a Fijian perspective, Mr. Pa Hmo, BD IV, approached the issue from Mara Perspective, Ms. Vekutulu Lohe, a Ph. D. candidate in the department of Communication, viewed topic from the Northeastern perspective and Mr. Sam Thomas, (MTh. II – Theology) approached the topic with a North-western perspective. There was enthusiastic participation in the general discussion that followed the main presentations. The theme pluralism as well as the differing perspectives on it was theologically very challenging. Several significant questions were raised from the floor. What is the nature of mission in a pluralistic context? What makes a Christian, Christian? How do the theologies and ecclesiologies we inherited from the west relevant to our multireligious cultural context? How do we meet the contextual challenges in relation to the gospel of Christ?
Ms. Belinda, from her experience in Fiji, pointed out how Fijian Christians are trying to interpret the meaning of Christ in their culture. She said that in Fiji most sacred and important animal is pig and there are Christological attempts which view Christ as the Pig of God. In cultures where Jesus Christ is interpreted as lamb of God, pig is not an accepted symbol; in some societies lamb is quite unknown and they do not have any meaning with the image of Christ as the lamb. M. M. Thomas in his introduction to the Acknowledged Christ of the Indian Renaissance has narrated how missionaries took with them a stuffed lamb to an island where lamb was an unfamiliar animal. Clearly Christians many times failed to understand the meaning of the message of the gospel just as the Jews in Jesus times failed to understand the meaning of the law. They were trying to be true to their faith not knowing that faith needs creative understanding and interpretation to remain as faith and to prevent it from becoming dead ideology which cannot account for “assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” Ideology without faith is blind. It cannot see beyond, rather looks back for inspiration. One of the challenges of pluralism is to understand theological doctrines in quite different terms from what is familiar to us, to be challenged by people and ideas from others who think and act differently from us. To the European missionaries who came from homogeneous cultures it was difficult to accept what they saw unfamiliar in other cultures and suppressed the cultural values of people. It may seem offensive to certain people some cultural symbols familiar and accepted in some other cultures which are not present in one’s own culture. We should not make our cultural values as the criterion to evaluate other persons, or for understanding their ethics. The discussion on cultural questions was very humbling for many of us and a challenge to shed our cherished doctrines as the absolute theology. Theology can be theology only when it is contextually meaningful. Most participants in the discussion held that the churches need to get out of the western framework of doing theology and participate in the struggles of people for food, freedom and justice. Christians need to participate with other religious communities to ensure these rights of the people. Rev. Duraiswamy said that etymologically Christian means an anointed one, for the Greek Christos is the translation of the Hebrew word, Messiah which means the anointed one. Christians are anointed people, entrusted with a special task, to do the will of God, in serving the people in need, in our living context.

Fr. Kuriakose T Abraham Gurukul Alumnus Chosen as Metropolitan designate

Rev. Fr. Kuriakose Abraham Thukalan was chosen as Metropolitan designate in the Malankara Syrian Church for the diocese of Idukki, in Kerala. He was elevated to the order of Ramban (Rabban- Monk) by His Beatitude the Catholicos Mor Baselios Thomas I at a solemn function held at the St. Athanasius Cathedral, Puthencuriz on August 11, 2008. Rev. Fr. Kuriakose Thukalan will henceforth be known as 'Sthepahnos.' Ramban Sthepahnos will be consecrated on Sunday 24th August, 2008 by the supreme head of the Church His Holiness the Patriarch of Antioch & all the East at the St. Peter & St. Paul Cathedral, Mor Aphrem Seminary, Damascus along with Rev. Fr. Paul (Ullas) Varkey Vettikkunnel (Ramban Shemavun).

Fr. Kuriakose received his Bachelors degree in Physics from the Ernakulam Albert College in 1988 after which he joined for the diploma course in the Malankara Syrian Orthodox Theological Seminary, Vettikkal and completed it successfully. In 1996 he was awarded the degree of Bachelor in Divinity from the Sermapore University, Calcutta. Later he successfully completed different courses, in Ecumenical Theology (from ISET, Bangalore), in Communication (from the ‘Gurukul Lutheran Theological College’, Chennai) and in Transactional Analysis (from P.O.C, Kochi). In 2006, he received the doctoral degree in Social Psychology from the open International University for Complementary Medicines.

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Esao Basumatary's worship and sermon

Esao Basumatary, BD IV, conducted his evaluatory worship and sermon on 20th August, 2008. The theme of the sermon was "A call for God's inclusive mission through transformation." The text was Matthew 8:5-13 (Jesus healing the centurion's servant). The sermon was divided in to three sections: (1) Preparing ourselves to be transformed for God's mission - self transformation, (2) Becoming an agent of transformation for God's mission and,( 3) Practicing God's inclusive mission. His major emphasis was that unless one has been transformed one cannot be part of God's mission: To change others we have to change ourselves first. To teach others we have to learn first. Being transformed is the precondition to become an agent for God's mission. God's mission is inclusive. Inclusive mission is participating in God's mission by joining hands with others who work for the upliftment of the marginalized regardless of religion, caste and economic status. Basumatari in a prophetic tone asked: what right do we have to make discrimination of people as superior and inferior if God does not make any discrimination among God' creatures? Everyone and everything that God created has got its dignity and unique identity. Discrimination comes not from God but from the evil one. The mission of inclusiveness is to witness that God's grace is for all, God's love is for everyone; this is a very important aspect of mission particularly relevant to our Indian pluralistic context. Gospel is that the Kingdom of heaven is for the least and those who love the least.

Basumatari started his sermon narrating how the message of this text came clear to him in his personal life when his father got paralyzed after a stroke; immediate and costly treatment became necessary. Many people prayed for his father and some extended a helping hand to meet the medical expenses. In a poignant statement he pointed to the implication of such generous act: "It was not only my faith, but also the love and prayers of others and also their willingness to help that saved our family from a great loss." He has emphasized the point that we are not only helped by God but also by people who are willing to help us in difficulties. The role of the centurion has been such a one. He took the case of his servant to Jesus. He acted as an agent of transformation. For such an act of kindness the centurion needed to be self transformed first. Basumatari explained self-transformation thus: Self-transformation means healing one's own attitude towards a relationship of love. It is a call to change our attitude, character, thoughts and relationships with other fellow beings. Jesus' appraisal of the centurion's faith has been a direct challenge to the oppressive authorities to change their attitudes. Basumatari quoted from Fr. Raj Irudaya, Director of Arul Kadal Jesuit Seminary, the leader of the last Gurukul Retreat, who said, "A humanized person will humanize others." Here is a humanized centurion who has become an agent of transformation, that enabled him to humanize others. Basumatari's Order of Worship was well prepared and went well with the theme of the sermon. Esao Basumatari belongs to the Bodo Lutheran Evangelical Church, Assam. We wish and pray that God may give him opportunities where he can make use of his leadership qualities in the service of the Church.

“Silver Linings” in Indian Freedom Struggle: Moses P. Manohar

“Silver Linings” in Indian Freedom Struggle: Moses P. Manohar

Gurukul Independence day Celebrations

Dr. Moses P. Manohar, Executive Director of Inter Church Service Agency (ICSA, Egmore, Chennai) and a Visiting Faculty at Gurukul was the chief guest for the 61^st Independence Day celebrations in Gurukul on 15^th August 2008. He hoisted the National Flag and gave a very meaningful Independence Day Message. Dr. Moses P. Manohar in his speech recollected the contributions of the freedom fighters and outlined four “silver linings” that made Indian freedom movement unique and remarkable:

First, commitment to non-violence. It is the most fascinating feature which has become an article of faith for the Indian National Congress under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi. “Indeed,” Dr. Manohar said, “ history has very rare examples where freedom struggle against an imperial force was conducted on non-violent terms.”

Second, commitment to democracy. The sixty-two years of struggle for independence was a training period in democracy for the nation. “Democracy stands on the Rule of Law. In a civilized society the law replaces the gun. In a democracy voting right is more lethal than the military. Elections in a democracy can be described as controlled revolutions,” he said.

Third, commitment to inclusiveness. A good number of Europeans were part of the freedom movement, like Annie Besant who clamored for “Home Rule,” C. F. Andrews, who in his book featured “Independence - The Immediate Need.” People with little academic background like K. Kamaraj could rise to national prominence. Dalit leaders like Ambedkar could even guide the discussions of national governance and chalk out a constitution that guaranteed constitutional protection for the untouchables and other marginalized sections of the society. Indian Christians like Dr. John Cornelius Kumarrappa from Tamil Nadu who was recognized by Mahatma Gandhi for his brilliance in economics, were part of the freedom movements. There were many women who played leadership role in the freedom struggle like Sarojini Naidu. She became “the President of the Indian National Congress, in 1925, that was 50 years earlier than Margaret Thatcher, the first woman leader in a British political party.

Fourth, the spirituality: “Political struggle became an expression and inseparable extension of one’s inner struggle in search of Truth, the God. The freedom fighter was a satyagrahi, the searcher of truth. Prayer with multi-faith resources was very much part of Indian National Congress under the leadership of Gandhiji. “He even wanted to dedicate the first Independence Day as a day of Prayer,” Dr. Manohar said. He concluded his speech by raising the question, whether the Indian Church can give an institutional hope to the state in the areas of non-violence, democracy, inclusiveness and open-spirituality.

Sports Committee and the Fine Arts Committee jointly organized the Independence Day programmes. Mr. Pa Hmo Convenor of the Sports Committee welcomed the guests. Mr. Vunnammatla Prabhakar, member of the Sports Committee read the Bible Text (Matt. 5: 13-16). Gurukul BD II trio, Ms. G. Vasthi Charisma, Ms. P. Joice Esther, and Ms. Chrisida Nithya Kalyani presented a charming traditional dance item. Mr. V. Samuel Jabaraj (BD III), rendered a beautiful solo. Dr. P. Manoharn, Director of Gurukul offered the Independence Day Greetings. Ms. Sonia John, Student General Secretary (MTh II), proposed the vote of thanks. Rev. Dr. Suneel Bhanu, Dean, Post Graduate Studies, offered the closing prayer and benediction. Ms. Belinda Gracelyn Praisy compered the morning programme. Games, Volleyball match and Cultural Night were other programmes for the Independence Day.

Evaluation Sermon by Ms. Rosalind Elaiyarani

Rosalind Elaiyarani, BD IV, conducted her evaluation worship and sermon on Wednesday 13 August 2008. The text was Micah 4:1-5. The sermon was titled, "Towards a New Community in Obedience to God." She had three points in her sermon: 1) Towards a community of Unity. 2) Towards community of Peace. 3) Towards a community of Economic Sustainability. She started her sermon referring to the recent bomb blasts in Bangalore and Ahmedabad, by some terrorist groups, that killed several innocent people. Through such incidents the terrorists might have hoped to disturb the communal harmony and thereby destroy peace as well as the economic stability of the nation. Micah, she said, was also preaching in a similar context in Palestine and offering the post exilic people a message of hope as well as vision of an ideal community where all instruments of war are transformed into agricultural implements. The prophet also envisions a time when people will enjoy peace and stability sitting under their own fig trees and vines. Such a vision of future is very necessary in the context of economic exportation and terrorism today. The worship was simple but the prayers were carefully selected and rich in theological content. The invocation song was written and led by Jinu John, BD IV. It was a Malayalam composition. The Lord's Prayer was set to a fast moving Tamil folk tune by Dr. Theophilus Appavoo, a well known activist , musicologist and theologian.

Worship and Sermon by Mr. Binu Thomas

On 16th July 2008, it was the turn of Mr. Binu Thomas, B.D. IV to conduct Evaluatory Worship and Sermon. The text for the sermon was John 7:53 -8:11. The text refers to the story of Jesus dealing with the Pharisees who caught a woman in adultery. This is a story not found in many manuscripts. This pericope might have been an interpolation into the Johannine text by some editors. The style of writing is quite different from other parts of the Gospel. Binu has interpreted the message of the text as a norm, a mandate, for Christian ministry. He gave contemporary examples of such ministry, including that of a non-Christian. He titled his sermon: "Leading to Fullness of Life as a mandate for Christian Ministry." Binu has taken much effort to make the worship service meaningful. At the entrance of the chapel the Greek words for "Go and sin no more" was scribbled on sand. Did he mean that Jesus has written these words on the sand when the Pharisees were accusing the women of sin? We are not sure what Jesus wrote, must be some words that frightened the accusers. We always look at other's sins and easily excuse ourselves. Binu has argued for introspection in the place of condemnation. Christians are too quick to condemn others. The more pious one thinks of oneself the temptation to condemn other is higher. The Pharisees got the message of Jesus and left one by one. Disciples of Jesus today need to do some hard exercise to look at themselves before they start their crusades against others.

There was a beautiful invocation song in Hindi written and composed by Mr. Sandeep Paramarth, BD IV. There was also a Malayalam Bhajan written and composed by Mr. John G. Varghese, BD III. Call to Worship, Prayer of Confession as well as Benediction were beautiful compilations. Binu Thomas, who belongs to the Mar Thoma Church, is the Student Chaplain for this year. He very well responded to the comments at the evaluation session. He appeared self-confident and clear about what he was preaching.