Commission on Unity, Mission and
Evangelism
National Council of Churches in
India
Ecumenical Open-air Prayer for
National Integrity and Societal Harmony
Over 500 Unity Octave Observances all over India
More
than 250 Christians including Bishops, Clergies and Believers from over 25
different denominations including Church of North India, Methodist, Lutherans,
Marthoma, Jacobite, Catholic and Front Line, Independent and Pentecostal
traditions, Mission Agencies and Christian Institutions gathered together at
Samvidhan Square (Reserve Bank of India Square) in Nagpur with the Indian
national flag to pray for National and Social Harmony as part of the global
observance of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.
Participants of the prayer service were led in
prayers for the nation and its well-being. The prayers affirmed the importance
of unity in the midst of diversity and stressed that by being together as Indian,
transcending differences and accepting others as they are, there are bountiful
blessings to be received. Prayers were said for the National Leaders such as
the President, Prime Minister, Chief Minister, Governor, Municipal
Commissioner, Mayor and all other Government Officials. The prayers also expressed impassioned pleas
for God’s guidance and wisdom to Political Parties, Peoples Movements and also
for ‘Goodwill, Unity and
Cooperation’. The prayers also agonized about various issues challenging
the Churches and Indian society at large, namely injustice and all sorts of discrimination, and sought God's help in the struggles for social and economic justice, peace and harmony, and the blessing of a spirit of Love to pervade all creation. In the course of praying with a collective consciousness,
in fact ‘prayer became an advocacy tool’ to inform the congregations about
social issues, and motivated them to be part of the spiritual journey of social
liberation.
Rev.
Dr. Roger Gaikwad motivated the participants to identify the divisive and discriminative
forces, and urged people to triumph over such in love and justice as Christians and good
citizens. He also encouraged them to look beyond the differences and join
together as Indians and Christians for the cause of our National integrity and
Societal Harmony.
Rt.
Rev. Paul Dupare, the Bishop, Church of North India – Nagpur Diocese
appreciated the efforts of coming together to pray for Nation at large and
wished this initiative should continue. Rev. Satish Nandha of Church
of North India and Pastor Devashish Dubey of Full Gospel of Church
coordinated the event.
This
prayer event was part of the one week long prayer observances taking place all
over Nagpur. More than 25 such prayer events were scheduled in different
Churches, Christian Institutions, Ecumenical and Mission Organisations, and
Theological Seminaries all over the city. Nagpur set an example by inviting all the
denominations and institutions including NCCI, Catholic fraternities and
Frontline, Independent and Pentecostal Traditions.
Similar
such events were initiated all over India by Member Churches, Organisations and
Regional Councils of NCCI in Delhi, Tamilnadu, Karnataka, Odisha, Mumbai
(Maharashtra) North East India, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Uttar
Pradesh, Chattishgarh, West Bengal and several other states. Over 500
observances took place all over India. There were pulpit exchanges, carnivals, youth gatherings, discussions, panel discussions, concerts, fasting prayers and all-night prayers. 24th January 2016, NCCI Sunday, was observed by Members Churches on the theme 'Unity in Praxis: The Will of God'. An NCCI Sunday special offertory was collected for victims of natural disasters. In general, Christian Communities
in India came together to pray for Social Harmony, Peace, Social Justice,
National and Political Leaders and for the socially, culturally and
traditionally excluded communities, and
expressed the hope of seeing the evolution of an inclusive India.
HG
Bishop Isaac Mar Philoxenos
Rev.
R. Christopher Rajkumar
Chairperson
Executive Secretary
