Missionaries of the World

Rev Martin C. Borgia consecrated as 6th Bishop of Karnataka Northern Diocese in Church of South India. The Consecration ceremony led by the Most Rev. A. Dharmaraj Rasalam, the Moderator of the Church of South India in the presence of the Rt Rev. Dr K. Reuben Mark, the Deputy Moderator of CSI at Holy Name Cathedral, Hubli, Karnataka on Sunday, the 19th December 2021. Adv. C. Fernandas Rathina Raja, the General Secretary of CSI, Prof. Dr B. Vimal Sukumar, Honorary Treasurer of CSI, Bishops in CSI, officers of the Diocese, Presbyters, Missionaries, Evangelists, Sisters, Synod members and Laypeople were present.

Church of South India (CSI) Karungal Home Church celebrated 128th Church Day Ceremony on the evening of 09th August 2021. The celebration was presided by Rev.J.John Jebadas, Presbyter of the Church in the presence of Rev.S.E. Simeon, Presbyter of the Church and Mr. J. Ashok, Evangelist of the Church. Followed by the grand ceremonies, there had a missionary dedication festival and 10 missionaries in the various mission organizations were dedicated. The church was founded by Rev. Isaac Henry Hacker in the June, 1894.

Mr. M. Patrick Joshua, Former General Secretary of Friends Missionary Prayer Band (FMPB) and Founder of National Prayer Network went to be with the Lord on June 17, 2020 at Chennai, India. The Nation has lost a powerful prayer warrior who has left behind a great testimony. It has also lost one of its simple, sincere and spiritual leaders. He is the Man of God and Great humble servant of God. Mr. Joshua, a Veteran Indian Mission Leader served in FMPB and various mission organisations for more than 50 years.

Rt. Rev. Dr. Anantha Raj Rayappan Chelliah has been consecrated as the new Bishop of the Kanyakumari Diocese of the Church of South India. He is the sixth Bishop of our Diocese. The consecration service was led by Most Rev. Thomas K. Oommen, the Moderator of the Church of South India, on the 7th of July 2019 at CSI District Church Mylaudy in Kanyakumari, which is the first church established in Travancore District (1809 AD). Rt. Rev. Dr. Chandrasekaran, Bishop of CSI Trichy- Tanjore Diocese delivered the consecration sermon.

Missionary Awareness Exhibition Programme 2019 (MAEP 2019) and Mission Sunday is organised by Church of South India at CSI Home Church, Karungal. Rev. John Jebadhas, Presbyter will preside the programme. Rev. Maxcin John, Director for Mission and Evangelism Department of the Church of South India Synod will be taking part at the Missionary Awareness Exhibition Program as the Chief Guest. Bro. R. Sunil, Director of Grace Transformation Ministries, Uttar Pradesh will deliver the Lord’s message. This programme commences on May 25th, 2019 and ends on May 26th, 2019. More than 25 Missionary Organizations may participate the above said programme. Adv. T. Hubertson, Convener of MAEP 2019 and Mr. S. Christopher, Convener, Committee for Mission Work make the arrangements.

The Executive Committee of World Council of Churches (WCC) is convening at the Ecumenical Institute in Bossey from 22-28 May. Main points on the agenda are preparations for the WCC 11th Assembly to be held in Karlsruhe, Germany in 2021. The committee is expected to approve a communication strategy for the assembly, which has already adopted the theme “Christ's love moves the world to reconciliation and unity.”

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Most Revd. Justin Welby interviewed Pope Francis on May 18, 2019 in a symbol of the warm relationship shared by the two Church leaders and shared this special video message on social media from Pope Francis to Christians around the world. In a significant moment for relations between the Anglican and Catholic Church, the interview was recorded on the Archbishop's mobile phone during a recent meeting in Rome.

Missionary Awareness Exhibition Programme 2019 (MAEP 2019) is organised by Church of South India on May 25th & 26th, 2019 at CSI Home Church, Karungal, Tamilnadu State, India to remind the Mission history of our nation and the sacrifices of the Missionary Martyrs, to raise up Missionaries from the young generation and to urge the Church members to support the Missionary Organizations. Rev. John Jebadhas, Presbyter will preside the programme. The main object of the programme is creating missionary awareness among the children and young people. This type of programme is organised for the first time in their congregation.

The UK Government on Tuesday said that it would take up the issue of the alleged persecution of Christians in India with Indian authorities, days after a review commissioned by the Foreign Office highlighted several such cases in India. During a scheduled session of oral questions for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) in the House of Commons, UK Foreign Office Minister Mark Field said the British government would raise all specific cases of such alleged religious persecution in India with its counterparts

Cardinal Nasrallah Butros Sfeir former head of the Maronite Church died May 12, 2019 at a hospital in Beirut. He was 98. The Maronite Church which he led as patriarch from 1986 until his resignation in 2011 announced his death. Cardinal Sfeir had been hospitalized two weeks ago with a chest infection. “The Maronite Church is orphaned and Lebanon is in sadness,” the church said. Cardinal Bechara Rai, who succeeded Cardinal Sfeir, called on churches to ring their bells and hold prayers for the late leader, who would have turned 99 on Wednesday.

A suicide bomb and gun attack on Bethel Memorial Methodist Church in Western Pakistani city of Quetta has killed at least eight people and wounded dozens of others, hospital officials say. The attack targeted the Church as worshippers gathered inside to attend a Sunday midday service. A second attacker fired upon worshippers, before being killed by security forces at the scene.

During Pope’s Angelus address at St Peter’s Square on the Fifth Sunday of Lent, Pope Francis drew inspiration from the Gospel reading of the day which the Pope himself described as so beautiful that he reads it and rereads it. It tells the story of the adulterous woman, which the Pope said, highlights the theme of the mercy of God, who never wants the death of the sinner but wants them to convert and live.

Greetings from the World Council of Churches (WCC) were brought to the General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops of the Roman Catholic Church on the Family in the Vatican this week by Rev. Dr Walter Altmann, a Brazilian Lutheran and former Moderator of the WCC Central Committee. He called the Synod a “great and wonderful learning community”.

At the end of the first week of the Ordinary Assembly of the Synod of Bishops on the Family in Vatican City, Fr. Thomas Rosica, English Media Attaché for the Holy See, joined Fr. Federico Lombardi SJ to summarise the discussions at the daily press briefing. His Eminence Beatitude Baselios Cleemis Thottunkal, President of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of India and head of the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church, was a guest at the press briefing.

The leaders of Gospel Echoing Missionary Society (GEMS) with the support of other organizations, local Christian leaders and the persecuted missionaries filed petition to the Superintendent of Police of Satna and to other Government officials on October 07, 2015 regarding arrest of missionaries, persecution against the Christians. The atrocities happened at Satna in Madhya Pradesh, India.

Church World Service (CWS), Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, and other faith communities are urging the United States Government to resettle 100,000 Syrian refugees this coming fiscal year, in addition to increasing the total U.S. resettlement commitment to 100,000 refugees from other parts of the world. The CWS and the Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service are cooperative ministries by churches based in the United States, including member churches of the World Council of Churches (WCC).

Fr. Dominic Monto Hasda was ordained a priest on August 07 and he will leave in January 2016 to begin his own mission in Papua New Guinea. His parents converted by PIME missionaries and as a child, Dominic dreamed of being like them, humble and loving one’s neighbor. I "surrendered to Jesus Christ to serve the poor and the glory of God with my love”, says Fr. Dominic Monto Hasda, the first tribal Santhal in history to become a priest of the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions (PIME) in Bangladesh.

Hindu extremists have intensified their persecution campaign against Christians in India, threatening to "cut them into pieces" if they go back to church and refuse to reconvert to Hinduism, church leaders disclosed recently. In Rajasthan State, 10 Christian families in Nakhnool village, near Alwar have fled after Hindu extremists harassed and threatened to kill them, area church leaders said. One of the Christians facing Hindu fury was a pastor who was threatened with death if he continues holding worship meetings, according to the report.

Christine Hardman has been announced as the next and twelfth Bishop of Newcastle, making her the seventh woman to take up the position of bishop since legislation was passed last year. Christine Elizabeth Hardman, who currently works in Southwark, will replace Rt Rev Martin Wharton, who retired last November. She is likely to become the second woman bishop in the Church of England and the first in the Province of York. She is currently an archdeacon-emeritus.

Over 5,000 Christians of Eastern India joined in a protest organized by Kandhamal Nyaya Shanti O Sadbhabana Samaj in Raikia on September 02, 2015. The participants demanded justice and a return to peace and harmony seven years after Hindu fundamentalists massacred Christians in 2008. They have sought President of India - Pranab Mukherjee's intervention for justice saying the State has failed to punish the guilty and compensate for losses seven years after the deadly violence.