Monthly newsletter of the Diocese of Durgapur Donation: ₹ 5/-Vol.: One Hundred and Twenty Four July 2017

t h a n k s t o t h e

par�cipants for their

i nvo l ve m e nt b efo re

ending the session with a

prayer. A rally followed

this session where the

par�cipants held the

banners and posters they

had made on soc ia l

issues, in order to create

awareness among then

local residents about

t h e s e p r o b l e m s

concerning our society.

Sukanya Mandi: A two-

d a y s y o u t h r e v i v a l

p r o g r a m m e w a s

c o n d u c t e d b y t h e

D u rga p u r D i o c e s a n

Youth Fellowship (DDYF)

on the theme of Adding

Spir itual Knowledge

( A S K ) , w h i c h w a s

influenced by James 1:5.

The programme was

conducted at Wesleyan

M e t h o d i s t C h u r c h , th

Raniganj from 8 July, th

2017 – 9 July 2017. 62

Youths from 8 Pastorates

par�c ipated in th i s

revival Mee�ng. Office

Bearers of Diocesan

Y o u t h F e l l o w s h i p

commi�ee Rev. Pankaj

Pande (Chairperson),

Ms. Sukanya Mandi

( Yo u t h S e c r e t a r y ) ,

M r . S a p t a r i s h i

C h o w d h u r y ( Yo u t h

Tr e a s u r e r ) a n d M r.

Prasant Barman (Youth

Vice- President) were

present for the program.

The purpose behind

o r g a n i s i n g t h i s

p r o g r a m m e w a s t o

encourage Diocesan

youth to develop their

Biblical Knowledge and

to revitalize those youth

of our diocese who are

laid back.

ooo

T h e p ro g ra m

began with praise and

worship which was led

by B a n ku ra C e nt ra l

C h u r c h , A s c e n s i o n

church and Santha l

M i s s i o n P a s t o r a t e .

Rev.Subhendu Soren

offered up a prayer

before we lit the lamps

t o i n a u g u r a t e o u r

p r o g r a m m e . T h e

Chairman of DDYF, Rev.

Pande welcomed all the

p a r � c i p a n t s t o t h e

programme.

Rev. Rabindranath

R a y w a s o u r m a i n

speaker at the event. He

explained the theme

“ A S K ” t o t h e

par�cipants, taught us

how to grow in spiritual

knowledge and how to

lead an exemplary life as

a young representa�ve

of the Church. He also

s p o k e t o u s a b o u t

w i s d o m , h u m i l i t y,

rela�onships outside

marriage, Devo�ng �me

for God's work and the

i m p o r t a n c e o f

o b e d i e n c e t o w a rd s

parents.

At the end of the first a

c u l t u ra l e v e n t w a s

organised, in which all

e i g h t P a s t o r a t e s

par�cipated with great

enthusiasm.

The second day

started with the Sunday

s e r v i c e w h i c h w a s

followed by a session on

soc ia l i s sues . Th i s

session was facilitated

by the DDYF team. We

divided the par�cipants

into five groups and

asked them to make

p o s t e r s a n d w r i t e

slogans on social issues

l ike chi ld marr iage,

human trafficking, child

labour, environment and

educa�on.

T h e n e x t

session was conducted

by Rev. Subhendu Soren

on “Leadership”. In his

session, he spoke about

the life of Moses and

shared the quali�es of a

g o o d l e a d e r . H e

encouraged the youth to

develop their spiritual

k n o w l e d g e a n d t o

become a leader.

We were privileged to

h a v e w i t h u s M r.

Kamakhaya Biswas, Hon.

Diocesan Secretary, Mr.

Subrata Gorai , Hon.

Diocesan Treasurer and

M r . P r o s e n j i t

Chowdhury (Manager of

Durgapur Diocese) at the

end of the Program, who

encouraged them to

i n c r e a s e t h e i r

involvement in church

ac�vi�es. Mr.Kamakhya

Biswas said that Youth

fe l l o ws h i p , Wo m e n

F e l l o w s h i p a n d

Children's ministry are

the three pillars of the

Diocese and if any of

these pillars weakens,

then it will affect the

Diocese. Therefore, he

co n c l u d e d t h at t h e

youth should involve

themselves more in the

ac�vi�es of the church

and to work towards

leadership in the church.

Mr.Subrata Gorai spoke

about the vacancies in

the diocese and our

need to invite and fill

those vacancies with

people from outside the

church due to the poor

educa�on qualifica�ons

o f o u r y o u t h . H e

e n c o u r a g e d t h e

par�cipants to finish

their educa�on and to

apply for jobs in the

Diocese.

ooooo

R e v . P a n k a j

Pa n d e t h a n ke d t h e

Pastorate commi�ee of

Wesleyan Methodist

Church, Raniganj, and

the Pastorate Youth

fellowship commi�ee

for the arrangements.

He also expressed his

t hOn 18 July, 2017, a

celebratory programme

was held in Bankura

M i s s i o n G i r l ' s H i g h

School to congratulate

Ms. Ankita Sit for scoring

good marks in her Higher

S e c o n d a r y B o a r d

examina�ons. She has

ranked fourth in the state

o f W e s t B e n g a l .

Chairman of the School-

Governing Board and our

Bishop, the Rt. Rev. Dr.

P r o b a l K a n t o D u � a

h a n d e d o v e r a g i �

cer�ficate to her from

the Diocese. Secretary of

t h e d i o c e s e , M r .

Kamakhya Biswas, other

members of the diocese,

guardians and the school

staff were present to

witness this ceremony.

Ms. Sit had earlier ranked t h

8 i n h e r C l a s s X

M a d h y a m i k b o a r d

examina�ons. Bankura

M i s s i o n G i r l ' s H i g h

School is very proud of

her success and wishes

her all the best as she

forays into the wider

world. In 2016 our school

had been adjudged the

best school in the state

by the government, and

we can rightly say that it

is because of students

like Ms. Sit that we can

proudly wear that badge

of honour.

Rev. Sumanta Naru: Under the leadership of our beloved Bishop, the Rt. Rev. Dr. Probal Kanto Du�a, several priests and pastors from our Diocese h a v e h a d t h e opportunity to a�end Theological conferences across the world. This year Rev. Pankaj Pande a n d I r e c e i v e d t h i s chance visit Derbyshire, Un i ted K ingdom, to a�end the Ministerial Summer Conference

which was organised by United Reform Church. Ministers from all over England a�ended this conference to par�cipate in discussions about the Bible and related present events. oooo

S e c r e t a r y o f United Reform Church, Frances Brailles, shed l ight on Theological Educa�on in modern � m e s w h i c h w a s followed by a session on

Youth Revival Programme

Bankura Mission Girl's High School Student

Ranked Fourth

Ministerial Summer Conference in UK

2July 2017 Vol.: One Hundred and Twenty Four

“Whether it is the criminal

ac�vi�es of the so-called

gau-rakshaks, the beef

vigilantes, the love jihadis,

it is an open season for all

those who do not conform

to the idea of the Hindu

rashtra.” – Brinda Karat,

CPI(M) leader

This sentence by Brinda

Karat summarises the

p r e s e n t s t a t e o f o u r

country. For a country

deemed Secular by its

Cons�tu�on, India has

been reduced to a country

run on the principles of

a g g re s s i v e H i n d u i s m ,

which, interes�ngly, does

not follow any of the ideals

of the very religion the

ru l ing party seems to

propagate.

I w a s r e c e n t l y i n

conversa�on with a Hindu

friend, whose family has

been prominently involved

in poli�cs for genera�ons,

who enlightened me about

the philosophy of Hinduism

or, as it is more correctly

called, Sanatan Dharma. In

all the texts of the religion,

be it Vedas, Upanishads or

the Puran, ea�ng cow

hasn't been forbidden

anywhere. Yet, our leaders

have shaped the present

poli�cal scenario around

this very ideology.

These an�-secular policies

that our ruling party has

adopted, unofficially let me

tell you, seems to be aimed

mainly at the minority

communi�es who eat beef,

while it is funny how goats

and buffalos are sacrificed

in elaborate rituals during

Kali puja. In the name of

propaga�ng a religion,

blatant viola�on of Human

Rights is being commi�ed

in the country, yet no one

raises a finger. This lack of

public outrage is not to be

taken as a sign of general

apathy (which to some

extent may be true) but

more as a reac�on to

carefully cra�ed measures

adopted by a government.

W h i l e j o u r n a l i s t s a re

imprisoned for raising their

voices against the Speaker

of the Parliament (no cases

a r e fi l e d i n c o u r t ) ,

elsewhere, network and

connec�vity is blocked in

order to prevent the world

from knowing about the

riots that are going on in

Darjeeling (the demand for

G o r k h a l a n d ) a n d i n

Basirhat (where riots broke

out because someone

decided to be very vocal

about h is support for

Pakistan during a cricket

m a t c h ) . I f a l l t h e s e

m e a s u r e s w e r e n ' t

deterrent enough, the

central government has

been cra�ily announcing

demone�sa�on measures

and imposing arbitrary

taxes (GST) in the middle of

the night, without giving

the common man even a

day to think over it.

The government at the

centre has been elected by

a largely i l l iterate and

economically downtrodden

group of Indians who are

not much affected by these

policies and that, I believe,

is where democracy has

g o n e w r o n g . I n t h e

i m p e n d i n g l e g i s l a � ve

assembly (state assembly)

elec�ons, our choices are

n a r r o w e d d o w n t o a

situa�on which is aptly

conveyed by the age-old

adage 'between the devil

and the deep sea'.

discipleship in Christ, where the speaker laid e m p h a s i s o n t h e importance of personal discipleship which can b e i n s t r u m e n t a l i n leading the congrega�on t o w a r d s a m o r e spiritually fulfilling life. She also spoke about invoking Christ as our companion during our journey through life in order to overcome all the obstacles that we face daily.

D u r i n g

the second session Ms.

Brailles focused on the

ways in which we can

help the congrega�on

l e a r n p e r s o n a l

discipleship and create

more disciples of Christ.

She referred to Acts 1:8

in order to drive home

t h e i m p o r t a n c e o f

helping people hear the

call of Christ. During the

discussion sessions we

s p o k e a b o u t t h e

different steps we can

take as pastors to create

more disciples in the

congrega�on. We also

discussed about how

people are losing faith

and are thus going far

away from Christ and

from the Church; how

they are going far away

f r o m t h e p a t h o f

Salva�on. Our last topic

of discussion was how

we , a s p r i e st s , ca n

present ourselves before

the congrega�on as

disciples of Christ and

engage ourselves in

developing the Church

and the society.

This

four-day seminar shed

l ight on how soc ia l

media can be a useful

tool in engaging the

congrega�on and in

carrying out the works of

the Church. Focus was

a l s o l a i d o n t h r e e

important facets of a

good disciple which

include:

Conduc�ng ourselves

with care and good

inten�on

C r e a � n g n e w

disciples

P e r f o r m i n g o u r

du�es in a manner

that creates wonder

and respect in the

m i n d s o f t h e

congrega�on and all

who watch us.

We were also privy to the

different approaches

that the members of the

congrega�on, either

personally or as a whole,

undertake to promote

development among

women and children.

During this trip we also

witnessed the work of

t h e p r i e s t s i n t h e

U n i ve rs i t y H o s p i ta l

which gave us renewed

strength and focus to

carry out God's work in

our Diocese. Our visit to

Queen's Founda�on for

Ecumenical Theological

Educa�on reminded us

o f o u r d a y s i n

Theological college as

we witnessed several

young people take the

vow to spread God's

word and His love in

various corners of the earth.

What happened to Democracy?

Mission Trip USA 2017Raja Moses: I had the

opportunity to v is i t

C h a r l e s t o n , S o u t h

Carolina, from June 15 –

28, 2017 as part of a

mission trip to USA with

our Bishop, the Rt. Rev.

Dr. Probal Kanto Du�a. I

feel very lucky to have

had the guidance of our

Bishop on this trip as a

mentor who guided me

in every aspect of this

mission.

guj

Charleston is like

a hub of churches; there

seemed to be a church

around every corner. Our

first visit was to the

w o n d e r f u l B r i d g e

Church, which receives it

n a m e d u e t o i t s

geographical loca�on

u n d e r a b r i d ge . A n

extension of the Holy

Cross Church outreach

programme, this church

p r o p a g a t e s G o d ' s

ministry through feeding

t h e p o o r a n d t h e

homeless. During our

visit, Bishop Du�a, in his

Chief Editor: Ankita BhattacharjeeEditorial Board : Caroline Tan, Tarun Pal, Prosenjit ChowdhuryEditorial Assistance: Akash Das, Rev. R.C Kisku, Raja MosesPublished by Rt. Rev. Dr. Probal Kanto Dutta on behalf of Diocese of Durgapur, CNI, Diocesan Bhavan, Dr. Martin Luther King Road, Bidhan Nagar, Durgapur - 713212,District Burdwan, West Bengal, India.

newsletterdeep@gmail.com

ditorialE- Ankita Bhattacharjee

July 2017 Vol.: One Hundred and Twenty Four 3

lucra�ve. Since they have been engaged in alcohol produc�on no SHGs (self help groups) or social d e v e l o p m e n t h e l p groups were formed here. When they learned a b o u t t h e t r a i n i n g program that will be organized by the AHT team they agreed to quit alcohol-produc�on in exchange for skill training in order to earn an h o n e s t a n d l i a b l e

income.

Hence the AHT team in consulta�on with the c o n c e r n e d v i l l a g e Panchayat has formed their first ever S H G comprising of 10 women. The first Dhokra training, which is a effort of the A H T t o g e n e r a t e alternate sources of livelihood in the target areas, will be provided to this group.

Rev. Rabindranath Ray:

The Na�onal Council of

Churches in India (NCCI)

had organised a seminar

o n Tr i b a l a n d D a l i t

concerns from July 4 – 6,

2017, in the Diocese of

Durgapur. The seminar

was focused on the Role

o f P r i e s t s a n d

C o n g r e g a � o n

Moderators in the face

o f I n j u s � c e . 3 6

representa�ves from

different states of North

I n d i a a�e n d e d t h i s

conference.

The first day of the

seminar began with a

prayer by Mr. Pradeep

B a n s r i a r a n d

presenta�on of the

Word of God by Rev. Dr.

Roger Gaikwad (General

Secretary of NCCI). Rev.

Lucia Tudu presented

h e r v i e w s o n t h e

injus�ce and torture that

D a l i t w o m e n a n d

children face and how

we can prevent that; Rev.

Caesar David spoke

about the ways in which

we can carry out mission

works in the Dalit and

Adivasi communi�es.

During the second-day,w

hich began with prayers

and Bible reflec�on, Mr.

Binit Munda enunciated

t h e e ff e c t s o f

globalisa�on on the Dalit

a n d A d i v a s i

communi�es. Rev. Amos

M a s i h , M r. R a m e s h

Hembrom and Tanal

Murmu conducted the

second session of the

day where they laid

e m p h a s i s o n t h e

struggles of the Dalit and

Adivasi Communi�es in

the Fight to secure their

Human Rights. Rev. Fr.

M o n o d e e p D a n i e l

conducted the next

session where he spoke

a b o u t t h e ro l e a n d

mission of congrega�on

leaders in the face of

injus�ce.

Akash Das: During one of our mee�ngs conducted in June at a tribal village called Mohin Nagar, the A H T t e a m w a s approached by a group of women seeking a

liable and honest source of income. The A H T team had visited the village as part of its skill training program to enquire if the villagers, especially, the women

would be interested in r e c e i v i n g D h o k r a training as an alternate or addi�onal method of i n c o m e . T h e t e a m learned that women t h e r e a r e l a r g e l y engaged in produc�on of local spurious liquor/ alcohol which is very unsafe for consump�on. The residents in this village do not have many job opportuni�es. The men are engaged in farming and daily wage labour which is not very

S a m u e l D a d e l a n d

Sh i rsendu Pramnik :

Father's Day is observed

worldwide to celebrate

the contribu�on that

male parents and parent-

figures make in the lives

of children. Generally,

Father's day is observed th

on 19 March which is

also commemorated as

St. Joseph's Day since the

Middle Ages. However,

some places like to follow

t h e A m e r i ca n d ate ,

which is the third Sunday

of June. Our Diocese

prefers this approach as

it allows us to celebrate

the contribu�on of the

male parents in the

Church.

Chr ist Church

Burnpur had celebrated

Interna�onal Father's th

Day on 18 June, 2017.

The communion service

paid homage to the 16

f a t h e r s w h o w e r e

p r e s e n t d u r i n g t h e

c e r e m o n y . T h r e e

members of the Youth

Fel lowship and four

Sunday-school children

s a n g s o n g s a n d

presented flowers to the

a�ending fathers.�

St. Paul's Church

Asansol also celebrated th

Father's day on 18 June.

Pastor Anand Sondi was

present as chief guest

during the celebra�on.

The youth fellowship

members conducted the

p r o g r a m m e d u r i n g

which they honoured 14

f a t h e r s f r o m t h e

congrega�on.

The recogni�on

of the contribu�on by

father's in their families

and in their children's

lives drove home their

value and importance as

a nurturer in the family

and also helped to break

the idea of father's being

only the provider and the

discipl inarian in the

household.

message drew a�en�on

to the fact that Chris�an

ministry is not contained

within the four walls of

the church, but that it

exists in reaching out to

the underprivileged.

We then met with Bill

H e w i � , w h o i s a n

enthusias�c supporter

of our Good Shepherd

Eye Clinic and Hospital,

to update him on the

work that we are doing.

We also met with the

N o r t h C h a r l e s t o n

Breakfast Rotarian Club

and spoke about the

w o r k s o f t h e G o o d

Shepherd Eye Hospital.

Next Bishop and I visited

Holy Cross Church, St.

M i c h a e l ' s C h u r c h ,

Unbound Crossroad

Community Church,

Grace Center and the

Dream center where we

focused on our children

ministry, An� Human

Trafficking and Good

Shepherd Eye Hospital.

The a�endees present at

these mee�ngs were

very enthusias�c and

suppor�ve of the work

done by the diocese of

Durgapur in its effort to

reach out to those who

are less fortunate.

I am thankful to Dr. Mike

S a b b a c k , J e a n n e

Sabback, John and Jean

Corbe�, and Alan and

Sandy Brown for their

kindness and generous

h o s p i t a l i t y t h e y

bestowed on us during

our visit. I pray that this

partnership between

the Diocese of Durgapur

and the believers in

C h a r e s t o n , S o u t h

Carolina, con�nues to

grow and develop in

order to effect changes

that are long-term and frui�ul.

NCCI Seminar on Dalit and Tribal/Adivasi Concerns

AHT moves towards a new horizon

Father's Day Celebration in Burnpur

4July 2017 Vol.: One Hundred and Twenty Four

nearby Bakdah Gram

Panchayat, was the chief

guest at this ceremony.

Also present were Ms.

Jyotsna Dey, Principal of

Kaniska B.Ed college,

several other guests and

p r i e s t s f r o m t h e

Diocese.

Diocesan

Secretary, Mr. Biswas

spoke about the history

of St. Michael's school

while the chief guest

and the Principal of

Kaniska B.Ed college

c o n g r a t u l a t e d t h e

B i s h o p o n t a k i n g

another well-planned

step towards educa�on

and wished the school

success.

Plans are underway to

start the school from the

next academic session

and we pray to the

a l m i g h t y f o r H i s

blessings in the success

of our plans.

Tarun Pal: The external

evalua�on for the first

phase of Community

D e v e l o p m e n t

Programme, which is an

ini�a�ve of the Diocese

o f D u r g a p u r , w a s stcompleted from 31 May

th– 8 June, 2017.

The evalua�on revealed

to us, from a different

p e r s p e c � v e , t h e

successes and overall

s t r e n g t h s o f t h e

programme and also

held up before us a

clearer picture of the

direc�on we have to take

a s a d e v e l o p m e n t

programme in order to

ensure sustainable and

self-development in the

vil lages in which we

operate.

The evaluator,

Ms. Surabhi Mathur from

A s s o c i a � o n f o r

S�mula�ng Know How

(ASK), India went to the

villages and met with the

b e n e fi c i a r i e s , t h e

r e s i d e n t s o f o t h e r

villages, members of the

S e l f - H e l p G r o u p s ,

children and teachers at

the study centres and

with several government

officia l s in order to

compile her report on

the work of the project.

Surabhi Mathur is a

d e v e l o p m e n t

professional with over

10-years of experience in

the field of conduc�ng

evalua�ons, research

s t u d i e s , i m p a c t

a s s e s s m e n t s a n d

situa�on analysis. Her

f e e d b a c k w a s v e r y

informa�ve and gave us a

different perspec�ve of

the needs faced by these

villages at present. The

evalua�on report was a

highly beneficial tool in

helping us form the plans

for the next phase of our

project.

ndRev. Debojit Das: On 22

A p r i l , 2 0 1 7 , t h e

founda�on stone for a

new school building was

laid on the campus of St.

Paul's Church, Baramara.

Under the v is ionary

leadership of our Bishop,

the Rt. Revd. Dr. Probal

K a n t o D u � a , t h i s

e x t e n s i o n o f S t .

Michael's school was

s t a r t e d t o a i d t h e

children in Baramara to

develop their poten�al

a s s t u d e n t s a n d t o

contribute to the growth

of the society.

The Secretary of the

Diocese, Mr. Kamakhya

BIswas, Treasurer, Mr.

Subrata Gorai, Principal

of St. Michael's School,

Mr. M.P. John, teachers-

in-charge of several

Diocesan schools and

teachers from various

school were present at

this ceremony.

R a g h u m a n i S a h a ,

Panchayat Leader of

Abhijit Tudu: Members

of Barikul Pastorate th

came together on 24

June, 2017 to celebrate

the joys of being a family

in St. Mark's Church. 60

believers from different

congrega�on of Barikul

Pastorate a�ended the

s e m i n a r w h i c h wa s

organised jointly by

m e m b e r s o f t h e

women's Fellowship, the

Youth Fellowship and

t h e P a s t o r a t e

commi�ee. Presbyter-

in-charge of Barikul

pastorate, Rev. Kalep

Tudu began the session

with an invoca�on to

God. A�er prayer, Rev.

Anil Kisku spoke to the

a�endees about the role

of parents and the need

fo r a l o v i n g fa m i l y

atmosphere which is

crucial for the healthy

development of a child.

He also spoke about the

significance of a loving

rela�onship between a

husband and wife which

w o u l d c o n t r i b u t e

towards developing

family values in a child.

During the course of the

session Rev. Kisku also

drew a�en�on to our

tendencies to forget our

Heavenly Father during a

f a m i l y s t r i f e ; h o w

couples can show their

respect to our Lord

above by respec�ng

each other and how to

remember the Lord even

in the most mundane of

tasks. He brought the

session to a close in the

evening with a prayer.

Abhijit Tudu: A fas�ng

prayer meet was held in

S t . M a r k ' s C h u r c h ,

Barikul on June 23, 2017,

for the convenors of

Order of St. Luke (OSL),

India. Rev. Kalep Tudu,

who is the Presbyter-in-

charge of St. Mark's

church, ini�ated the

prayer-session with an

i n v o c a � o n t o G o d .

Members of Barikul and

S a n t h a l M i s s o n

Pastorate were present

at this prayer mee�ng.

The a�endees reflected

on verses from the Bible

and prayed for the sick in

their congrega�ons.

Special prayers were

sent up for the sick who

h a d a � e n d e d t h i s

mee�ng. Rev. Kalep Tudu

closed this special prayer

session with another

entreaty to God, asking

His blessings upon all

those who were present.

Evaluation of Community Development Programme

New School in Baramara

Seminar on The Importance of Family

Fasting Prayer Session In Barikul Pastorate