October 2002

Dearly beloved in Christ,

Greetings to all of you in the eternal name of our Lord.

The theme of the Sevika Sangam National Leadership Training Program to be held in Chicago from 18-20 Oct. is “Choose Life” (Deut. 30: 19). Let me briefly reflect on this theme.  

Life is God’s gift on earth, what we make of it is our gift to God. “Life is also a choice ...If we don’t choose life we lose life .If we make the wrong choice in life we spoil and spill the gift of life”(Dr. Bas Wielenga) Some of the Indian sociologists say that two syndromes loom large in our contemporary social fabric: success syndrome and pleasure syndrome. In today’s market ethics, everything related to life has become marketable commodities and it seems as if that which is not salable or profitable has no value!

How do we assess the meaning and the value of life? Here we have to distinguish between ‘Life’ and ‘physical existence’. Biblical God is not neutral .He is always for life .He acts in history to enhance, promote and to redeem life. Jesus Christ is the life of the world. In Him we have authentic life. He offers us ‘Abundant Life’ (Jn.10: 10). The question for us to ponder on is whether we have an abundance of things at the expense of an abundant life in Christ.  

There are forces of life and forces of death within ourselves, in our community and Parish life. Can we promote symbols of life in the midst of the forces of sin, evil and death? The mystery of life is incomprehensible. When we choose life, we are opting for the higher values of life-the beyond dimension of life. The world demands from us a faithful demonstration of the sanctity of life such as love, fellowship, service, healing and reconciliation. Let us constantly remind ourselves that our faith gives us a new perspective on life, that this life is sacred and that it should be lived for the glory of God in the community.

In Rev.22: 1-5 we have all symbols of life e.g. ‘water of life’, ‘tree of life’, ‘healing of the nations’ etc. Do we discern symbols of life around us? Let us sincerely try to negate all the anti- life forces in our community and promote life at all levels through our actions and options.

With prayerful regards,

Yours in His ministry,

Abraham Achen

        LECTIONARY

Wait on the Lord; be of good courage,

and He shall strengthen your heart; wait, I say, on the Lord!

—Psalm 27:14

Upcoming Events

•       Special Sunday Offertory – Sun., October 6th

•       Family Sunday – October 27th

•       Thanksgiving – Nov 28

•       Parish Retreat - To Be Announced

•       Christmas

•           1 Month Caroling

•           24th Christmas Eve Carol Service

•           25th Morning Service

•        Parish Day – January 26th, 2003, Sunday  

IMPORTANT DAYS IN SABHA/DIOCESAN CALENDAR

Date	Importance of the Day
Thu, Oct 03	World Habitat Day
Sun, Oct 06	Christian Witness in Secular Society - Voluntary Evangelist's Day
Sun, Oct 13	Solidarity with Physically and Mentally Challenged
Sun, Oct 20	Spirituality in the Age of Technology - Youth Sunday
Thu, Oct 24	United Nations Organization (UNO) Day
Sun, Oct 27	Family as God's Gift - Family Sunday