ORDINATION IN THE DIOCESE

Subrata Gorai :- The Revd.Dn.Pankaj Pande and The Revd.Dn.Kalep Tudu were ordained as deacons in the Diocese of Durgapur on Sunday 15 May, 2011 at St. Michael’s Church, Durgapur at 9 00 a.m.  The Revd. Dn. Pande has finished his Bachelor of Divinity Studies from Bishop’s College in April 2011.  He comes from Bishnupur church in the Bankura district.  Revd. Dn. Pande has a University degree in commerce and also holds a Bachelors degree in Physical Education.  The Revd.Dn. Kalep Tudu has finished his Bachelors in Theology from Santhal theological College in Banagaria.  He comes from Malda pastorate. The ordination service was conducted in a solemn way. The Rt.Revd.O.K.Trikey, former Bishop of the Diocese of Durgapur conducted their ordination retreat and also gave the message on that day.  The Rt.Revd.Dr.Probal Kanto Dutta, Bishop of the Diocese of Durgapur ordained these two candidates as deacons.  Over three hundred people from different pastorate attended the ordination service.  Before the ordination service on 14 May the women’s fellowship of St. Michael’s Church and Durgapur United Church did the saffron festival symbolizing that these two ordinands were getting ready to be married to the church.  Representatives from different pastorates presented them with gifts.  The Diocese of Durgapur made a cash certificate for both of them.  At the end of the programme all people attending this important service joined in for a fellowship lunch which was partly sponsored by St. Michael’s Church, Durgapur.

Eco-Friendly Energy For Durgapur Hostel

Rita Dutta :- Durgapur Child Study and Development Hostel run by the Durgapur Diocesan Women’s Fellowship For Christian Service added a yet another feather on their cap.  On 30 April 2011, the Solar energy system  was installed in order to give renewable energy in the form of electricity for the hostel.  Through this Solar energy system most of the lights both outside and inside will  now be lit.  This will also lower the cost of spending on electricity. Solar energy, compared to grid power, is pollution free and this will contribute to the environmental health of the cosmos. 

We are indeed thankful to Ms. Kay Covade for generously donating for the installation of Solar energy system.

POET ' RABINDRANATH TAGORE' HONORED

Rita:- Rabindranath Tagore the national poet of India, who wrote the National Anthem for India celebrated 151 years of his birthday on 9 May 2011.  The Inter Faith Community Study Center, Bankura and Durgapur Child Study and Development center, both run by the Diocesan Women’s Fellowship For Christian Service, Diocese of Durgapur observed this day through cultural programmes.  Rabindranath Tagore has written many songs, poems and dramas which is not only performed in India but worldwide.

The Children of these two centers sang Rabindra sangeet, and did dance performances to Rabindranath’s songs.  At Bankura three hundred people from outside came to witness the performance.  At Durgapur almost one hundred people witnessed the programme.  The children at Bankura started with a drawing competition on Rabindranath Tagore.

Prochesta Asansol girl gets married

Rev. Pratap Kr. Nayak :- On Monday, 25th April 2011, Mamoni Das, a Prochesta Asansol girl (age 23 years) was married, with a man from Raniganj. She was the best student and her manners were good. Every one at Prochesta appreciated, loved and cared for her and wished and congratulated her on  the day of the marriage. Even though the family were poor, still then the banquet and every thing went on smoothly and peacefully. From Prochesta her marriage saree and other requirements were sponsored. We had the joy of witnessing her marriage. May God bless her and may she have a happy married life. Priyanka Kumari Pacheriwal has secured the first position in her school during the annual examination after getting the coaching from the Prochesta Center.  So far she has actively participated in all the activities of Prochesta programs and so she is really blessed by God and a gift to the Prochesta   centre. All others have done well and passed in the exams. Congratulations and keep going!

Summer Camp Orientation Programme

Raja Mojes:- Teachers and Volunteers from around the Diocese gathered together at the Durgapur Child Study and Development Centre on the 20th May 2011 to prepare for the execiting Summer Camp to be Held for the Children at the end of the month. Representatives came from the Interfaith Community Study Centre (Bankura), Community Study Centre (Purulia), Prochesta (Asansol), Community Centre (Adra), Child Development Centre  ( Sarenga) and Mankar Child Development Centre. We also had several volunteers with us from Canada, Australia and UK. The days were spent discussing the activities for the Children, coming up with creative craft, dance, drama and sports activities that represents our theme this year ‘The Seven Virtues’. The Children will take part in a whole host of activities that will allow them to learn Respect, Honesty, Love and Kindness.

A NEW LIFE

Akino Ogawa:- “Long ago when I was very small I lost my soul, I lost the most important love of my life, I lost my mother”. These were the words used to describe the story of Trina Dule when she first arrived at the Durgapur Child Study and Development Centre of Durgapur in 2010. She lost her mother Lt. Chandana Dule early on in her life. Her father, Mr. Tarun Dule works as a cook in the Sarenga Child Development Centre under the Diocese of Durgapur. Due to the long distances needed to travel to and from school in Sarenga and the civil unrest of the area, her father made the difficult decision to send her as a boarder to the Durgapur Child Study and Development centre where she would receive a quality education and necessary support. 

One year later, Trina has a different story. Since arriving at the Durgapur Child Study and Development Centre, she has switched from class IV at a Bengali medium school, and is now beginning class III at St. Michaels English medium School. When she started at the school, she did not know any English. While she still finds English a challenge, she is receiving the required support and tuitions, and her young age will help her overcome this. 

Trina is a hard working student and has a warm and gentle nature. She enjoys playing with her friends, and taking part in the extra-curricular activities of the centre, which include; dance practice, singing, martial arts, and other games. She particularly likes dancing and drawing.

The Dreaming

Akino Ogawa :- The Dream“In the beginning of time, the Rainbow Serpent slept under the ground until she woke in the Dreaming and pushed her way to the surface. She then traveled the land, sleeping when she was tired, and left behind her winding tracks and the imprint of her sleeping body. When she returned, she called to the frogs to come out, but they were very slow because their bellies were full of water. The Rainbow Serpent tickled their stomachs and when the frogs laughed, the water flowed out of their mouths and filled the tracks and hollows left by the Rainbow Serpent, creating rivers and lakes”. 

This story of the Rainbow Serpent is one of many stories told by the Indigenous Australians (Aborigines) and are known as the ‘Dreaming’. These stories tell of Ancestral Beings and pass on important knowledge, cultural values and belief systems from generation to generation through song, dance, painting and storytelling. They demonstrate the importance of the gentle and nurturing connection between the land and the people, and the complex interrelations between people. In the Aboriginal worldview, every event leaves a record on the land. Everything in the natural world is sacred and is there as a result of the actions of the ancestors whose actions created the world. Dreamtime is the telling of the past, present and future at the same time.

Aborigines have maintained a link with the Dreaming from ancient times to today, creating a rich cultural heritage. Today the Rainbow Serpent is known to the Aborigines with the bringing of the wet season each year, and appears in the sky in the form of a rainbow. This deep connection of the Aborigines to the land and the linking together of time is something that always struck me as a child. It is an important concept we can all take from the Indigenous Australians. It displays the notion that all we do in this world is connected and has significance on a greater scale. Even a simple action can have a larger impact without us knowing because of this link. With this comes the need for awareness in the choices of what we do in our lives and why – something the Aborigines have lived by for thousands of years. This is a very holistic way of viewing the world, and is definitely relevant in the present day because of our increasingly globalised society. 

Mother’s Day Celebrated at Christ Church, Burnpur

Rev. Pratap Nayak :- On 8th May 2011,  the Holy Communion service Mother’s Day was celebrated at Christ Church, Burnpur. All mothers came forward and stood in front of the alter  facing the congregation.  In the message it was said that all mothers are to be respected, loved and cared for their dedicated sacrifice and service for the upbringing of the children.  We are here because of our mothers. Though every ones’ mothers may be alive or may not but blessed the wombs which bore us and to be gave birth.  

All came forward, greeted, congratulated and thanked for their love and service and later again they were placed before the Almighty to be blessed and live here 

STORY OF MRS. MOUSUMI SOREN

Mr. Bikash Sen :- A village  stands in the interior of Sarenga block. The distance is  7 k.m. from the block head quarter. The majority of this village population is tribal, and they commute to and from the head quarter by walking or bicycle. Usually they must visit the head quarters for their daily food, marketing, and to get health facilities. There are no first aid facilities available until today as per government planning. To get higher education, students must travel 10 k.m. where the village  Berabaid  stands.

For the older generations of the village,  there was no   graceful blessing of light  and will in the form of visitors to   the village. The light of hope came with the community development programme and the launching of the study centre. In this centre there are 34 students guided by Mrs. Mousumi Soren who teaches with a whole heart. Students are learning, playing , eating drinking and adopting the daily routine process. Teachers are also well adjusted in their process of teaching and guiding the children. This teaching process of service is running continuously.  Mrs. Mousumi Soren, has knowingly or unknowingly  touched the hearts of the children. If there is a day when she does not come into contact with those students,  she feels a loss in her heart. She feels a great attachment to her students. She tells in her language “ I am a mother of all thirty-four students, and I am happy”.  If anybody is absent in her study center she feels it with a pain in her heart.

By the grace of God the Community Development programme is changing the hearts of human being and giving peace through His invisible touch. It is a supernatural event. 

Mrs. Mousumi Soren will be satisfied when others can also feel this connection. The feeling of having a Mother should be experienced by others. 

The Repercussion in SCDP

Sandipan Sinha :- A journey with the endless boundaries leads to the dense forest of Bankura district at a diminutive tribal village Samadi. The majority of the population falls below poverty line. In January 2007, the Diocesan Development Wing (DDW) of the Diocese of Durgapur, C.N.I launched the Samadi community Development Programme (SCDP) in partnership with the Episcopal Relief and Development (ERD), USA to capacitate the tribals with appropriate information, skills and knowledge for their livelihood needs.

Mr. Sagar Mandi, a young male of 18yrs, is one of the grooming outcomes of such programme. Sagar lives in a small village calledHaramgarah, 2 km from Samadi (project office) along with his family. His family consists of his father Mr. Jaleswar Mandi who is a farmer by profession, mother Mrs. Dharmi Mandi who is a house wife and his only sister Ms. Saraswati Mandi a dropout from school. Their family monthly income is approx Rs. 1000/- per month (irregular). Sagar left his studies at class-XI from Kumari High School due to financial problem and lead a life just like the other adolescence of the village - grazing domestic animals, assisting in farming. Eventually in October 2010 he came face to face with one of the Self Help Group (SHG) worker Ms. Mridulla Mandi who insisted him to join the training course of the Tube well Maintenance and Repair programme under the Micro Enterprise unit of SCDP. This programme gave Sagar a new zeal to force his desire for self sufficiency. From then Sagar started working to build himself for a new horizon;  thus, supporting his family and creating an exclusive example to communities around. His income ranges from Rs. 120/- to Rs. 200/- per tube well repair.   

After coming a long way from the midst of the darkness on March 2011 he enrolled himself to another development programme organized by SCDP under the able guidance of Diocese of Durgapur in collaboration with Bankura Christian College for training on mushroom cultivation as an alternative source to Livelihood. A ten days long training in Dept. of Botany at Bankura Christian College gave them the necessary practical exposure for starting a small scale business at the micro level. After receiving the training he energetically emphasized to practice it at home which in due course gave him the result. Sagar and his co-partner Ms. Nomita Murmu indulged themselves in establishing this micro business at their home based ranch. The first seed of Mycelium gave them flourishing result with abundant mushroom which they sold to different houses within the village at Rs. 100/- per kg. Now they are planning to upgrade their business to macro level where then they can pack and sell it to the proper market.  

Few moments in life can amend the overall dimension of ambition and desire. Such verification touched the life of Sagar Mandi while he stayed at the Bankura Christian College in March 2011 for the Mushroom Training Programme. The Intelligence Bureau (IB) of Criminal Branch, Bankura took him to custody for 12 hrs on the charge for the interrogation of Maoist activity in Samadi area. “I was dazed to what was happening” said Sagar. Being a 22yrs guy he found it extremely embarrassing to be harassed by the police department. His motive was to be a self sufficient youth of this society but was forced by the government agencies to convert his path of life. He paused to say “I just went to college for training and in return faced torture from Police”.  But the positive psychological impact which hooked Sagar is that now he has put himself to be in the highest. In a recent interview with Sagar Mandi, he stressed the fact that the shock did not ruin his life but enlightened his intellectual development which eventually gave him the urge to love his community and his people  much more. The memory of that day is still giving him sufficient energy to carry out his business of mushroom cultivation. The workers at Samadi Development Centre are glad to proclaim that their firm work has not gone in vain. No matter what force tries to disturb the motto of the work, no matter what cause comes into effect to build a hindrance in the progress of the tribal people but the Blessing of Christ will be with his people. The tribals are the people of God; they are the blessed generation in His Mighty Kingdom. No evil forces can surveillance the growing platform of the homogenized community at Samadi and its nearby areas. It is we the Diocese of Durgapur who has opened God’s Ministry to this downthrown people not for the proclamation of our frame but to signify the coming of His kingdom.