Exposure to New Life Fellowship

Encountering and engaging whole heartedly in worshiping God and the readiness to have candidness to inter-denominational diversity was visible in the BD first year students of United Theological College, Bengaluru during their visit to New Life Fellowship Church on November 15, 2015 under the tutelage of Sr. Dr. Rani Joseph Mary Shruti, SND. Pastor Sam Skaria led the praise and worship followed by the Holy Communion. After the welcome note, the word of God was shared by Pastor Manohar based on Romans 5:1-11 reminding the congregation about the blessings that one acquire by justification. The blessings are Peace with God, Access to the father God and Hope in God. The worship service was similar to that of First Assembly of God Church, but kept its individuality. Also the students were able to discover the similarities and differences in the worship service from the view point of one’s own church tradition and also to broader one’s perspective.

Robin Raju

(BD I).

Visit to Seventh Day Adventist Central English Church

On 9^th August 2014, 27 students of the BD First year under the leadership of Sister Dr. Mary Shruti SND visited the Seventh Day Adventist Central English Church, Bangalore. It was started in the year 1840 by the Milleteri Movement. The Community welcomed us warmly. Each and every person greeted the community saying “Happy Sabbath”. The Sabbath School started at 9am. The main topic of the Sabbath School was “Growing in Christ”.

We got a new experience by participating in the Sabbath School. Many of our students interacted with the church pastor at the time of the Lesson study. The worship started at 11am and it was well organised by the women in the church. Story telling time was a different experience for us and it made us go back to our childhood days of attending Sunday classes and VBS in summer. The speaker Mrs. Margaret Nathaniel gave a thought provoking sermon according to the theme “Freedom in Relationship”. She used games for the children to make them listen to her sermon. We learned a new way of worshiping our Lord Jesus Christ. Overall we enjoyed and experienced a wonderful service which ended by 1PM.

G. Chrisitinal Nesa Preethi, BD I

Ecclesial Exposure: St Mary’s Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Cathedral

On 20^th July, the first year B D students of UTC, under the leadership of Sister Dr. Mary Shruti SND, went to St Mary’s Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Cathedral at Queens’s Road in Bangalore for their ecclesial exposure. Before the Holy Qurbana there was morning prayer in Malayalam.

 The Holy Qurbana was celebrated by Fr. Eldo John in English. He was assisted by one of the deacons and the altar assistants. The richness of the liturgical songs in the worship added more meaning to the worship and filled our hearts with holiness.  The sermon was delivered after the holy mass. The sermon was given by Ms Nikhita Sunil, a youth member, based on the gospel reading Mathew 15:32-39. Through her sermon she insisted on the importance of the willingness to 'give' in Christian ministry. The youth in the church are given the opportunity to preach on the third Sunday of every month in this church. It was a great experience for many among us to witness the worship in the eastern tradition.

Koshy P. Vaidyan

BD I

JK

Naga Christian Fellowship

The BD I students worshipped with the Nagaland Christian Fellowship on July 13. The fellowship meets in the Richmond Town Methodist Church on Sunday afternoon's under the leadership of Pastor Rev. Zhabu Yimsung. On the 13th, the fellowship had a praise and worship service on the theme "God is faithful". 

The entire worship was conducted by the worship team. The singing of songs with actions and also the music and the feel created made the congregation participate fully. They made sure all the members gathered were a part of it. The testimony of one among the worship team was also encouraging and showed how God calls people for different ministries. The message to let others see Christ in you was evident throughout the testimony. This ecclesial exposure was a different experience for many of the BD I students accompanied by Sr. Mary Sruthi. 

The UTC students and faculty member with pastor Zhabu Yimsung

Church exposure visit to St. Francis Xavier's Cathedral

On the 6^th of July 2014, Sunday, the class of BD 1 consisting of 27 students and Sr. Dr. Mary Shruti Joseph, SND visited the St. Francis Xavier’s Cathedral, a Catholic church, in Cleveland Town, St. John's Church Road, Bangalore.  The church was built in 1842. Fr. Joseph Abraham solemnised the mass and he welcomed the group of believers by using the phrase, “Welcome to the Cathedral on The Most Beautiful Day.” The sprinkling of holy water on the heads of the believers (reminding us of our baptism) was a new experience to many of us. The sermon was based on Matt. 11:28-30. Father reminded us in his sermon that Jesus in this passage refers his yoke to the yoke of love. He also said that Jesus is asking us to cast all our modern day burdens on to Jesus and He will sustain us. Burdens are always a part and parcel of our life. Jesus always said COME TO ME! After the sermon the believers were administered mass. Overall, the mass was truly a ‘Beautiful’ experience in a very ‘Beautiful’ church. 

 Joel George Philip, BD I