Epiphany Epistle
(A Quarterly News letter)
First Edition
Editor: Rev. Samuel Ashish Jacob
Mobile No. 9811499447
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From the Pastor’s Desk:-
Joining
I joined this church on 22nd June 2008. At that time I was recovering after a minor operation since my right toe had multiple fractures due to an accident on 11th June 2008. Thanks to God that I was able to join my new assignment at Epiphany Church, Gurgaon, Haryana on the said date.
2 Regular Holy Communion Services in Hindi worships.
In accordance with the Lord’s Command efforts were made by the Presbyter In charge for Regular Holy Communion services both in the Hindi and the English services.
3. The Three Days Spiritual Convention on 15th 16th and 17th August 2008.
The three days convention started on 15th and 16th and was followed by dinner as many as 100-200 people attended this thought provoking convention. 17th being a Sunday the convention was merged with the morning worship and continued long after the worship. The speaker for the three days was Rev. Stephen Rawate from St. Thomas Church, Mandir Marg, Delhi. Special Thanks to Mr. Sanjay Lall, Mr. Rodrick Lall and Mr. Daman.
4. A Day of Prayer and fasting – 2nd October 2008
“Take time to be holy, speak oft with your lord”. The words of this song came true when people of this church took to a full day to pray and fasting. Right from 4.00 O’ clock in the morning the Pastor and the workers were ready making preparations for the day of prayer. The prayers started from 5.00 in the morning and continued till 6.00 in the evening. Few families along with the Presbyter- In –charge and his family continued right from the morning to the evening others came and went as per the preset schedule. Many subjects of the bible were discussed and a revival could be felt in the very air. My heart felt Thanks to Mr. Shebhaz Charles for the over all coordination and leadership.
5. The Church Fete -9th November. 2008
I am thankful to God that the Church fete was a grand success. The church as a single body made a new record by achieving a grand target of more than 5 lacs. It was the united effort of all the members of the church specifically Mr. Promod Sagar, Convenor,; Mr.Depender Gustav Benjamin, Brochure Convenor; Mr. D.D.Lall, Coupon Convenor; Mr. Sunil Massey & Mr. D.D lall Physical arrangement incharges that brought such a good result. Very special thanks to all the members, and the stall holders. Truly prosperity cometh neither from the east nor from the west but it comes from the Lord and I thank the Lord for helping us achieve such great heights.
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6. Church’s participation in the Diocesan Get Together 7th December 2008
As the convenor of the Donation Committee the Presbyter-In-Charge of the church was always running about distributing the coupons and maintaining the records of all the coupons in coordination with the diocesan office. The church was actively involved at the Mutton Biryani Stall. Thanks to Jesus that all the work was done nicely.
8. Christmas Festivities.
(A) The carol Party Rounds
The carol Party Rounds this Christmas started from the 15th of December and continued for 8 (eight) days. The bus of St. Crispin’s School was a great help thanks to the Principal Mrs. Poornima Lall for all the concern and support. The amount that was collected was spell bounding. The people of the church went around singing carols not only in Gurgaon but also to the people at Golden Heights, Sohna.
8. The Christmas Tree Programme and Bonfire
The church had Christmas tree programme on 20th December 2008 in the Evening which was followed by bonfire; in addition to this the choir of the Roman Catholic Church also came and sang songs. The dance of the Santa Clause was an attraction to all. Gifts were distributed to all the children.
8. The Sunday school Christmas Play
The Sunday school teachers can highly be appreciated for preparing the children so well. The regular Sunday school classes are really being conducted in such a nice way that the children enjoy learning the facts of the bible. The teachers richly use the board to explain the concepts. Even the skit that the children presented was very ameliorating and edifying.
(D) The Carol and lessons service
Nicely printed service and the magnificent singing added to the joy of the festival on the 21st December 2008; Special thanks to Mr. David Sannoo and the team.
All festivals were bi-lingual so all the members enjoyed because the lord was with us.
8. Outreach – Help to the people at Golden Heights, Sohna.
Thanks to Jesus the church has a heart to help those in need, when the news about Orissa reached us from the diocese, the church quickly responded and on three consecutive Sundays offerings were taken specifically to be sent as help to needy people of Orissa. This amount approximately Rs.20, 000/- (+) was sent directly to the Diocese to be used for the needy people.
In addition to this, the church provided help to the first batch of sufferers who had shifted to Golden Heights Sohna, an amount of Rs. 50,000 was passed by the Pastorate committee and help was provided to the needy under intimation to your kind authority. The church is still continuing to help those in need in accordance with the Lord’s command. Special Thanks to Mr. Sunil Massey for all the hard work.
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9. The Sadhu Sunder Singh Church at Sohna.
A single visit once a month by the Presbyter-In- Charge to Sohna- Church was not availing the desired results so the Presbyter-In-Charge decided to make regular visits to Sohna as a result of which the congregation has started increasing a bit. In a bid to motivate the people; The Sohna church congregation was taken for a picnic to the Golden Heights on 8th Feb. 2009 along with members of the church at Gurgaon as an outreach programme. The congregation of Sohna is happy and very excited with this involvement.
10. Regular Pastoral visits and communion to the sick.
Pastoral visit and administering communion to the sick has always been given top priority because it is the very call of God for which we have been chosen. As per the Lord’s command whenever I receive a call I always make it a point to go and pray. I have been to hospitals as early as 6.00 O’ clock in the morning and in other cases as late as 10.00 O’clock in the night depending upon the need of the family. Continue to pray for me that I may continue to work with the same zeal and devotion
List of homes already visited by the Pastor/prayer meetings conducted/ Holy communions given
1. Mr. Arthur Lall & family, Pastoral Visit.
2. Mrs. Majri Mall, Holy Communion.( 4 times)
3. Mr. Sanjay McKnight , Pastoral visit
4. Rev. Dr. Ben Yoo & family , Pastoral visit
5. Mr. Ravinder Kr. Ambastha & family, Pastoral visit.
6. Mr. Daman Rodgers & Family, Pastoral visit.
7. Mrs. Malapudi & Family Pastoral visit.
8. Mrs. Indra Nathaniel & family Pastoral visit.
9. Mr. Rakesh and Priya Pastoral visit.
10. Mr. Rakesh Kumar (CRPF) Pastoral visit./Prayer Meeting
11. Mr. Anil Mangla Pastoral visit , Sohna
12. Rev. Mangla & family Pastoral visit. Sohna
13. Mr. Sanjay Hughes & family Pastoral visit.
14. Mr. D.D. Lall & family Pastoral visit.
15. Mr. Sunil Massey & family Pastoral visit.(3 times)
16. Mr. Samuel Chauchan Pastoral visit.
17. Mrs. Poornima Lall Pastoral visit.
18. Mrs. & Mr. Sircar Prayer Meeting.
19. Mr. David Sannoo Holy communion (3 times)
20. Mr.& Mrs. David McKnight Pastoral visit.
21. Mr. Robin Moses Pastoral visit.
22. Mrs. Antra Pastoral visit/ prayer meeting (3 times)
23. Mrs. & Mr. Jeevan Barnabas & fly. Pastoral visit/ prayer meeting
24. Mr. & Mrs. Joseph Pastoral visit/Holy communion
25. Mr. & Mrs. Jaipreet Joshi & family Pastoral visit/ prayer meeting
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26. Mr. & Mrs. D. Benjamin Pastoral visit/ prayer meeting
27. Mr.& Mrs. P Job & family Pastoral visit/ prayer meeting
28. Mr. & Mrs. Aseem Shivappa Pastoral visit/ prayer meeting
29. Mr. & Mrs. Col. Ranjit Sen Pastoralvisit(2times)/SickVisit(1time)
30. Mr. & Mrs. Shebhaz Charles & fly Pastoral visit/ prayer meeting
31. Mrs. A Washington & family Pastoral visit/ prayer meeting
32. Mrs. & Mr. Gilbert A. Elley and fly. Pastoral visit/ prayer meeting
33. Mr. Subashish Nag and family Pastoral visit/ prayer meeting
34. Miss Shikha & famiy Pastoral visit/ prayer meeting
35. Mr. Noel Chandekar Pastoral visit/ prayer meeting(2 times)
36. Mr. Sandeep Mathur & Family Pastoral visit/ prayer meeting
37. Mr. Dinesh Masih Pastoral visit/prayer meetings.
38. Mr. Swapon Kr. Basumata Pastoral visit/ prayer meeting
39. Mr. Promod Sagar & Family Pastoral visit/ prayer meeting
40. Mr. Daniel Charan Pastoral visit/ prayer meeting
41. Mrs. Jasmine A, Samuels Pastoral visit/ prayer meeting
42. Mr.Neeraj & Manisha Benjamin Pastoral visit/ prayer meeting
43. Mrs. Ingty Pastoralvisit/prayermeeting(3times)
44. Mrs. Shiela Scott Pastoral visit/ prayer meeting
45. Mr. L. S. M. Salin Pastoral visit.
46. Mr. Abraham Oomen Pastoral visit/ prayer meeting
47. Mr. Peter John & family Pastoral visit/ prayer meeting
48. Mrs. Irene & family Pastoral visit/ prayer meeting
49. Mr. & Mrs. Sameer Masih Pastoral visit/ prayer meeting
50. Mrs. Shakuntala Burton Holy communion( 2 Times )
51. Col. I. P. Dutta Mission unaccomplished
52. Mr. Rudi Phillip & family Mission unaccomplished
53. Mr. Satish Patras Mission unaccomplished
54. Mr. S. S. Hughes Pastoral visit/ prayer meeting
55. Mr. Anil Amarnath & family Pastoral visits ( 3 times )
56. Mrs. & Mr. Eric Lal Pastoral visit.
57. Mr. John Lall and family Pastoral visit.
58. Mr. Harrish & family Pastoral visit 2 / prayer meeting
59. Mr. Sanjay Lall & Rodrick Lall Pastoral visit.
60. Mr. Joseph Benjamin francis Pastoral visit.
61. Mr. Harrison Dass & family Pastoral visit/prayer meeting(2Times)
62. Mr. Anoop Masih Pastoral visit.
63. Mrs. Lalita Joshua Pastoral visit.
64. Mrs.& Mr. Jeevan Pitamber & fly Pastoral visit.
65. Mr. Rohit Massey and family Pastoral visit.
66. Mr. Dalip Singha Holy communion
67. Mr. Bailey & Family Pastoral visit.
68. Mr. Nitin Victor Hospital Visit.
69. Mr.Marshall & Cynthia Pastoral visit.
70. Mrs. Sapna & Sanjay Hospital Visit.
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11.The Dedication Festival of the New Church Building. Festivities on 4th ,5th and 6th January 2009
The completion of the New Church Building was a herculean task, the same got completed on time by the help of God. I remember how at times I would go to see the work almost at 2.00 O’clock in the morning. I praise the Lord for the spirit and zeal which He imparted to the workers who tirelessly worked to complete the work on time. Though the work had for some time been stopped due to non-payment; I thank God that he helped me convince the contractor and he restarted the work.
To complete the building was one issue and to clean up the outside vicinity was another, praise be to Jesus who helped us in achieving all the targets. How could the festival be gorgeous without the garden! I praise God who helped the church to achieve this target too. A grand garden was worked upon and today as I look back I can only praise God who works wonderfully.
In addition to the above said work we had to work simultaneously on arranging the programmes on the 4th, 5th and 6th of January 2009. On the 4th Evening was the Quawali Night when Christian Quawalis were presented by professional quawals. On the 5th evening was festival of choirs in which members of the Church brought forth their talents. On the 6th January 2009 the new church building was finally dedicated to the glory of God by the Rt. Rev. Sunil Kumar Singh, Bishop of Delhi.
Food was served on all the three days. People enjoyed every bit of all the programmes.
13. Confirmations:
Four candidates were confirmed. Confirmation classes were conducted by Mr. Daman Rodgers after church service every Sunday and thereafter by me almost everyday in the morning (for at least 2 hours) for two weeks continuously.
The names of the confirmation candidates are as under:
Mr. Ravindra Ambastha
Miss. Tanya Sagar
Miss. Mansi Mc. Arthur
Miss. Namarata Basumata.
13. New Members who have joined the Church.
An active church has always been a witness to all those who are within and also to those who are around. The church fete and the distribution of the raffle tickets brought to the knowledge of many that there was a church in the vicinity. Following members have joined the church as its members.
1 Mr. & Mrs. D. C. Gabriel and family.
2 Mr. & Mrs. Viney Mangalwadi.*
3 Mr. & Mrs. Vijay Samuel Wilfred.
4 Mr. Jonathan and his mother Mrs. Mullapudy
5 Mr.& Mrs. Rohit Lall
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14. A day of Spiritual retreat once a month.
To educate the people about the truths of the bible – a real deep study and devotion has been organized on every last Saturday of the month. The process has already been initiated. Three Spiritual retreats have already taken place on 28th Feb 2009, 28th March 2009 and 25th April 2009. In the first two retreats as many as 35 to 40 persons attended whereas the third retreat was attended by as many as 55 to 60 members. Thanks to the WFCS of the church which organized these retreats and Mrs. Sabrina Benjamin who conducted the retreat. The presbyter In charge continued to translate it in Hindi. So that people from both the services could understand.
15 The W.F.C.S. of the church
By the Grace of Almighty God the WFCS of the church rejuvenated thanks to Mrs. Jasmine A. Samuels, who worked hard to revive the W.F.C.S. From the very day of its inception the W.F.C.S. has been actively involved in organizing the Spiritual Retreats.
16 New Additions/Baptisms
1. Cheryl Angel Datta
2 Shruti Ellyya Mal
3 Ashlynn Moses
4 Naisha Titus
5 Hazel Stuti Mall
6 Nimishia Judith Lal
17. Easter Breakfast
Breakfast was served not only after the Sunrise Service ; a special breakfast was served after the main service as well. Thanks to Mr. Ravindra Kumar Ambastha & Asha Ambastha & family.
18. Quarterly- News letter.
To educate as well as to keep the people informed about the various activities of the church, I and Rev. Ben Yoo decided to be the co-editors of the said news letter. This edition is a step forward in that direction. In the next additions we shall include articles etc. Those who wish to give articles/ suggestions may get in touch with the Presbyter In Charge.
19. Obituaries
It is almost impossible to forget those who have been a part with us. Their sweet memories linger even as they are at Rest and Peace in the Lord. May God be with the bereaved families! Amen.
1. Mrs. Shama Amarnath 5th Nov.2008
2. Mr. Anil Amarnath 28th Nov. 2008
3. Miss. Majri Mall 13th Feb. 2009
4. Miss. Savita Harish 12th March 2009
5. Mr. Ephraim Benjamin father of Mr. Promod Sagar. 25th March 2009
6. Mrs. Shanti Sitara Masih 17th April 2009
7. Little Angel - 10 days daughter of Mrs. Meenu and Mr. Naveen Mal. 22nd April 2009
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17. Achievements/Donation
1 Regular communion Services
2 Church Convention
3 New Church building’s Opening and dedication.
4 Out reach to people in need (Orissa victims)
5 Sohna Church picnic and almost regular Holy Communion service (every Sunday) in Sohna
6 Representation of the church choir in the Diocese
7 W.F.C.S. Back into action
8 Spiritual Retreats
9 Wooden Benches/Pews for the new church
10 Fans for the New Church
11 Bibles for the New Church both in Hindi and English
12 New Front Gates for New Church and Front walls rebuilt and beautified
13 Out Houses/ Staff Quarters built.
14 Land fill and Garden uplift.
15 Flower pots and flowers
16 Lighted cross redone and re-fixed.
17 CFLs installed
18 Church Garden fete a grand success
19 Christian Quwali Night.
20 parsonage’s - Sofa redone/Geyser installed/Handles fixed/Curtains put
21 Van Utsav ( part 1 )
22 The Red Carpet in the New Church
23 Green floor Mats /Red floor mats
24. Two Iron Benches for the Gardens.
25. Prayer Cell every Saturday at 8.30 am.
26. A Day of Prayers and Meditation on 2nd Oct. 2008.
27. Donations for Generator
28. Donation for the Altar
The Pastorate Committee
1. Rev. Samuel Ashish Jacob, Presbyter In-Charge/Chairman.
2. Mr. S. S. Hughes Secretary (Hony.)
3. Col. Ranjit Sen Treasurer (Hony.)
4. Mr. D.D. Lall Member
5. Mr. Sunil Massey Member
6. Mrs. Sapna Lall Member
7. Mrs. Jyoti Sannoo Member
8. Mr. Harris Matthews Member
9. Mrs. Jasmin A. Samuels Member
10. Mr. Rajpal Mangla Member
11. Mr. Promod Sagar Member
12. Mr. R. J. Singh Member
Note: Kindly pray for Rev. Maan Singh Luka . All possible help is requested as Rs. 8 to 10 lacs is needed for this medical treatment. Kindly see the letter on the notice board.
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