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WELCOME TO CHRIST CHURCH

Christ Church, Trivandrum, which was consecrated in 1859, is the oldest church in the city. Set in sylvan surroundings, it is centrally located in the Palayam area, between the Chandrasekharan Nair Stadium and the University Stadium, and with the Kerala Legislative Complex on one side and the arterial Mahatma Gandhi Road on the other.

The Church itself is an elegant building, built in the Gothic style, with beautiful stained glass windows portraying The Good Shepherd. The windows on the walls depict the twelve disciples (and their symbols) and others associated with the life of Jesus.

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VICAR’S MESSAGE

Beloved in the Lord, loving greetings to you all

We are going through a period of Lent. This period should especially be seen as a time of reflection and preparation for cleaning up our impurities and living cleanly. God who sat on the pinnacle of holiness came in human form to the sinful world for the redemption and purification of the entire human race. The thirty-three and a half years of the Lord’s life is to make the neglected, the marginalised, the sick, the oppressed and the hungry have a sense of identity and hold them together. The Lord was able to wipe away the tears of those who weep, recognize the needs of those in need, and criticise those who are not worthy of God’s love. All this increased Jesus’ closeness to the cross. If we abstain for this reason (from the cross) our fasting becomes meaningless. Inner purity should be the motivation for outer action. The spirituality that makes Good Friday and Easter a celebration would be like salt without saltiness, if they were turned into a mere event Jesus could lay on the cross for as long as he wanted. But if many Christians are impatient with the length of time, the question Jesus asked his disciples is still relevant today. “Can’t you stay
awake with me for a while?”

Resurrection brings hope. Easter is a day of hope. The empty tomb is proof of that. May God grant us this time to see sadness as stepping stones to joy and tell the world that Jesus is risen and we have seen him. Wishing everyone a hopeful Easter.

Let’s look at the continuation of last month’s thinking:

Violent tendencies at power levels
The rulers have moved far away from the basic concept of a welfare state. The concept of welfare state is a mission to empower and mainstream the weaker sections of the country. But forgetting this, the authorities who think for personal interest and gain constantly encourage violence. Today, there is a strong tendency for those who should ensure justice for the poor to side with the rich in order to extort crores out of selfishness. Genocide acts in Gujarat with the connivance of the state, Babri Masjid incident and Mathiketan incident in Kerala are some examples. When the constitution guarantees free and compulsory education, it is unjust to hand over education to private capitalists and reserve it only for the rich. Who is suffering because star hospitals are coming up and government hospitals are closing down? Nothing will happen to the rich. Governments who destroy public sector institutions by auctioning them are very cruel to the poor people. Those who are responsible for ensuring social justice are engaged in actions that deny it. The welfare measures a nation provides for women, children, the elderly and the poor determine the quality of that state.

How can the government, which declares phased prohibition as ther policy, adopt an approach that allows for widespread smuggling of spirit, not be violent? In short, any kind of denial of justice by the rich and the government under the guise of money and power should be seen as violence.

Violence is met with violence
When there is widespread denial of justice at the government level, the grassroots sections of the people often paralyse the administration or resort to violence to defeat it. Realising this, the government should take steps to ensure justice in advance. The “Narmada Bajao Andolan Samiti ”, which fought in and out of court against the measures to raise the height of the dam across the Narmada River, was ready to face any threat from the government. But the government was not ready to accept their freedom to live.

Constant denial of justice and sense of failure encourages violence. The government should take a prudent step to discuss and resolve the demands together.

Tendency of violence in politics
Democracy is enriched by the clash of ideas between different political parties. Such exchange of ideas is very important in forming opinions. Political parties are often pitted against each other avoiding healthy communication. The reason for this conflict is the stubbornness of some political parties that those who have ideas and views different from theirs should not live. Such a fascist stance will set back the democratic process. When there is enough space for debate and awareness in a democracy, it is a betrayal to abandon it and follow the path of violence. The position of the opposition is crucial in the democratic process. It is their approach and subtlety that keeps the administration alive. The tendency to bully other parties with the arrogance of having power in hand and the tendency to oppose everything out of frustration at losing control, should be criticised. The trend of violence is manifested where the opposition says that everything the ruling party does must be opposed, and the ruling party boasts that we alone have a commitment to the people.

Craving for power is itself a propensity for violence
While working in the national movement led by Gandhiji in the freedom struggle, in the militant movement led by Bhagatsingh and in the INA led by Subhash Chandra Bose, the basic thought and interest of every worker was “what do I have to give for the nation”. Down the years, there is one question that all those in the business of political action are asking, “What do I get out of this?”. Self-motivated political activism is mainstream today. Those who differ from this will be thwarted out. Enmity and rivalry between political parties is natural. But the grudge within the party is much stronger than that. The bane of Indian politics is factionalism within a party centred on individuals. Groups are used to protect the interests of individuals within them and the goal of public welfare is forever forgotten. This is how the official structure created to serve the people ends up being violent and anti-people. The continuation of this topic will be presented in the next issue.

With Prayers,

Rev. P. K. Chacko                          Rev. Bino Jacob
Vicar                                          Assistant Vicar

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Verse of the Day





King James Version

Tidings

Tidings-Mar-2024Mar 2024

Vicar

RevPKChacko

Rev P K Chacko

Asst Vicar

Rev Bino Jacob

Rev Bino Jacob

Worship Timings

Sundays  Tamil 6 am | English 7:15 am | Malayalam 9:45 am
Fridays 7:30 am Church