INCULTURATION MARKS CENTENNIAL IN ANAND(GUJARAT,INDIA)

Rev. Bishop Thomas Macwan with Lay sisters

ગયા શનિવારે તા ૧૯-૧૧-૨૦૧૧ ની સાંજે  ચાવડાપુરા-જીટોડિયા,આણંદ દેવળમાં Teresian Association (Lay Sisters તરીકે ખ્યાતી પામેલ છે)  મંડળે વિશ્વમાં પોતાની સેવા કાર્યના  ૧૦૦ વર્ષ પુરા થયા તેના માટેની ઉજવણી ખુબજ ભવ્યતાથી કરી હતી. આ મંડળ હાલમાં ૧૩૦ દેશોમાં પોતાની સેવા આપીરહ્યું છે. આ પ્રસંગે રેવ. બીશપશ્રી થોમસ મેકવાન અને ઘણા ફાધર્સ-સિસ્ટર્સ, મહેમાનો થતા સભાસદોની હાજરીએ આ ઉજવણીને વધુ આનંદિત બનાવી હતી. આ સમયે માનનીય બિશપ સાહેબે ખ્રિસ્તયજ્ઞ અર્પણ કર્યો હતો.

આ ઉજવણી નો વધુ માહિતી આજ મંડળના સિસ્ટર દ્વારા આપેલ છે તે વાંચશો.

The Repot is in English.

The November 19^th TA centennial celebration in Anand, Gujarat, India,   was yet another event of joy and thanksgiving in this part of the teresian world. About 600-700 people filled the newly inaugurated Church of Our Lady of Perpetual Succour. The Bishop of Ahmedabad, Most Rev. Thomas Macwan concelebrated with 17 other priests, among them, the Vicar General, Fr. Rocky Pinto, the priest in charge of the parish, and a host of priest friends from the diocese and beyond.

  
  The Liturgy was beautifully prepared, replete with symbols,  meaningful,  and colourful  as also the church decor and the Indian attire of the parishioners. TA members came from other parts of the country to join in the celebrations: Paskin Miranda and Agosh Librea from Pune, Jojo Gomez from Goa, Sylvia Fernandes from Mumbai, and Jennifer Fernandes, the Coordinator of the TA in India. Among the highlights of the evening were: a processional Indian dance; the offertory procession with a number of symbols related to our mission in the world, many of them offered by our pre-ACIT members; the prayers of the faithful; and the original song about the TA in Gujarati composed by a friend which was sung after communion time. 

The Introduction to the Mass which was read by Arina Parmar while Elisa  Macwan gave the Vote of Thanks to all those present, in particular to all the priests who have served this parish.

After the Mass, as traditionally held in these places, there was the Indian rite of welcoming the Church and TA authorities with the wrapping of the shawl around the person and the giving of flowers,  a skit on Poveda's life, a Power Point presentation on the TA in Gujarati , interspersed with beautiful Indian dances performed by young girls, ably choreographed by Elisa Macwan,  a spirited testimony by a TA friend about the work of the TA members in Anand, etc.  Reception  followed, that is,  dinner for a select group, and snacks for everyone. It was quality time to be with the families of our TA members, friends, representatives of religious groups working in Anand, priests, civic leaders, supporters and benefactors.

 Bishop Macwan, in his homily as well as in his brief intervention during the program, was so effusive in his gratitude to the TA members who work in Gujarat, but most especially He thanked God for inspiring Pedro Poveda to establish this beautiful work in the Church, this type of vocation which is proper for our times. In his talk he exhorted people to be holy in the world, just like the early Christians,  in the midst of the ordinary circumstances of their life, especially in their families. He used the TA symbols of salt and light to drive home his point, and he wished and prayed that  more members will join this Association.

Nenita Tenefrancia, Sector Director (India,Holy Land, Taiwan and Japan) in her talk, traced the beginnings of the Teresian Association, the prophetic intuition that St. Pedro Poveda had  of a new associative form of living the Christian life in the world, integrating both Faith and Science. She said that this centennial means not only gratitude for the contribution that the TA has made to the Church and to society these past 100 years, but also hope for the future, for what the TA can continue to  contribute  to the men and women of our times: the formation and organization of lay people, the empowerment of women, education as the source of social transformation and a radical anthropology rooted in the concept of the person as fully human and totally belonging to God.

A TA friend  gave a personal witness to the work of our members working in Gujarat and he expressed his admiration and appreciation for the quiet and effective evangelizing presence and work of the TA members, past and present,  among the people they work with. 


At present, TA members in Anand are Elisa Macwan who is the principal of a Muslim Girls’ School in Nadiad, Plavia Gonsalves and Arina Parmar who work as teachers in private educational entities in Anand.

The presence of BBN (Bhumel Broadcast News) a Christian channel which e-casted the happy moments, a TA friend, Vijay Macwan, was an added feature of this celebration. 

We continue to get feedback from people who have been touched by this  simple yet attractive TA celebration. In a place like Anand, this type of Christian event is significant for the life and mission of the minority Christians in this land, and it serves as a bond that unites us together, to give us  strength in our journey to live our Christian commitment with greater fidelity and generosity. 

Report By


ELISA MACWAN, 
PLAVIA GONSALVES,
ARINA PARMAR.


Photos - BBN