Pongal worship held in UTC

The Tamil fellowship of the UTC held the Pongal worship yesterday morning on the library lawn. The worship was a mix of colour, traditional songs, dance and fellowship.

The worship engaged the audience and explored the sad minds of people post the devastating floods in Tamil Nadu and how people are celebrating the new year despite the hard ships and challenges faced. It reminded everyone of our responsibilities as caretakers of Mother earth and why we should look at the thoughtful pongal celebration of an agrarian people.

The hope in the midst of adversity was shown in the boiling over of the milk and the call 'Pongal o pongal'. Guests from other seminaries also witnessed the colorful worship.

The lawn resembled a recreation of rural India with the call for all to join hands with God's creation instead of going against it.

Pongal celebration

 
The festival of Pongal was celebrated in the UTC on January 18, 2012 on the lawn in front of the library. The Tamil fellowship took the lead in celebrating the festival and included other members in the community celebration. Pongal signifies the end of the traditional farming season, giving farmers a break from their monotonous routine. The morning worship was colourful and mixed with song and dance. The Rev. Dr. R. Sahayadas preached on the occassion. The worship was followed by the sharing of the sweet pongal dish and sugarcane. A lunch for the entire community was also organized.

UTC community sitting for the worship

Bhajan

Dance

Rev. Dr. R. Sahayadas

Pongal is not complete without the sweet dish

The UTC staff joined in the celebration

Breaking the pot

The Tamil fellowship members

The pot for boiling milk

The toil of the land in the form of sugarcane

UTC staff, students and community members queuing up for lunch

Rev. J. Jeyakumar and family contributed towards the lunch for the marriage of his daughter