THE FRONTIER NEWS March: 2016 Diocese of Peshawar Church of Pakistan

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1 [[[ THE FRONTIER NEWS March: 2016 Diocese of Peshawar Church of Pakistan Individual Highlights The Easter Procession 1 Junior Church Teachers Retreat 2 Easter Fair 2 St. John s Cathedral renovation 3 Sun Rise service at Nowshera 3 Holy Week Services 3 International Women Day 4 World day of prayer 4 New Development 5 Developing development sector 5 Participants of the procession The Easter Procession The century old traditional Easter Procession despite many security threats marched through the streets and bazars of the ancient walled city of Peshawar. Members of the various Parishes of the Diocese of Peshawar, Church of Pakistan, along with the faithful from other denominations in Peshawar gathered at dawn in the premises of the All Saints Church, Peshawar to participate in the grand Eater parade, led by the Revd. Rasheed Nazir, Priest Incharge, All Saints Church, Peshawar. All the participants before going out into the streets prayed for security and His protection. As the procession preceded many others also kept joining the parade and the number kept rising to tens and hundreds who enchanted slogans of Halleluiah Christ has risen and the Christian spirit was high. On every nook and corner and in the middle of roads, Bible passages were read aloud, and the participants kept singing Hymns and religious songs. It was a great witness of a living Church in an Islamic State. Nevertheless, the Diocese acknowledges support and security provided by the Provincial Government, as they put their life on-line for us. After a complete round of the old city the procession returned to the Church where the parish committee of the Church served them with tea and breakfast. Later on, many stayed back at the Church to join the Sun Rise Service at the All Saints Church, Peshawar. Parade in images

2 Junior Church Teachers Retreat Easter Fair Bishop Humphrey S. Peters, offering the opening prayer The Junior Church Teachers Retreat was held at Christ Church Nowshera. The theme of the retreat was Obedience. Around 50 members from Northern, Central and Southern Deaneries participated in this retreat. This activity of the Mission & Ministry Board (MMB) was organized by its secretary, Revd. Shahzad Murad and Mrs. Naveeda Razaq, Coordinator, Junior Church Desk. The retreat started with Devotion and the prayer led by Revd. Jeffery Samuel, Priest Incharge, Christ Church Nowshera. At the start of the session Mrs. Naveeda Razaq welcomed the participants and gave a briefing about objectives and importance of the retreat. She mentioned Jesus Christ as a Good Shepherd, who carried out his duties with utmost Obedience to God, and eventually give away His life for Sheep. Therefore, we all need to follow His footsteps. She said. In the 2 nd session the Revd Shahzad Murad highlighted qualities of a good teacher in reference to the theme. The key-note speaker of this retreat was the Rt. Revd. Humphrey S.Peters who in the last session of the retreat quoted 3-4 chapter from book of Azriah, and the young participants prayed in the form of groups, and were touched by the Holy Spirit as there were tears in their eyes. Later, Mrs. Naveeda Razaq thanked the MMB secretary and Revd. Jeffery Samuel for their cooperation. S he also highly acknowledged the presence of the Rt. Revd. Humphrey S.Peters, and especially thanked him for his inspiring presentation. A very colorful and a well arranged Easter Fair was organized by the All Saints Church parish at Easter Day, 27 th March This is the first time that Easter fair was conducted. The idea was initiated by Mr. Daniel Samuel Deputy Director, Directorate of Education Diocese of Peshawar and a regular church member of the All Saints Church. The scars of the injured and the departed souls from the twin blasts of 22 nd September, 2013, on the hearts of the affected families and the All Saints Church community still hurt and are painful. An air of fear surrounds people always and they are scared of gatherings. In the midst of this inner fear and conflict, Mr. Daniel Samuel, put forward the idea for uplifting the moral of the All Saints Church family. Diocese of Peshawar used to conduct a new year fair and almost after 8-10 years, a fair has been conducted again. There were around 12 stalls including food items, games, gifts and lucky draws. It brought a wave of joy, happiness and peace among the people and they enjoyed fully after long time since the blasts. For safety purposes a tight security was provided. It was a very successful event and this tradition will be continued in the coming years as well. Page 2

3 St. John s Cathedral renovated Sun Rise Service at Nowshera Holy Week Services St. John s Cathedral, repair in progress A massive earthquake, magnitude 7.5 in 2015 shook the country, as a result people were killed and hundreds of buildings partially and badly damaged, including the Diocesan educational and worship places. The worth mentioning of them is the St. Jones Cathedral as there were massive cracks in the structure which were quite dangerous as well. The St. John s Cathedral Parish with the blessing of the Bishop Humphrey S. Peters initiated the repair work by hiring the top professionals in the business. After a pains taking hard work the uphill task was completed in April, The Bishop and Diocese of Peshawar highly praised the labor of love of all those involved in the repair and renovation of the St. John s Cathedral, Peshawar. The Diocese of Peshawar is one of the largest of the Church of Pakistan, extending from Wana to Swat thus Rt. Revd. Humphrey S. Peters always tries his best to give equal time and importance to all the churches and parishes in the province. Therefore, he is always on the move from one place to another. If he is on Bannu or Tank for the Good Friday, he will join the congregation of the All Saints for Maundy Thursday, and will lead the Easter Service at the St. John s Cathedral Peshawar. The Bishop joined the Christ Church Nowshera for the Sunrise service. The congregation along with its member from suburbs gathered at the Church premises to take part in the Easter procession which marched through the street of Nowshera, led by the Bishop Humphrey S. Peters and the Revd. Jeffery Samuel. Later, the local parish served breakfast, followed by the traditional Sun Rise Service. Throughout the Holy week special worship and prayer services were held in all the Churches of the Peshawar Diocese, Church of Pakistan. Thus the Holy Week was celebrated with utmost religious zeal and respect. All the churches were jam packed and the love for the resurrected Jesus Christ was at display. The Rt Revd. Humphrey S. Peters, Bishop Peshawar Diocese, joined the All Saints Church Peshawar congregation on Maundy Thursday s Service. He in his message mentioned that being a leader in Christianity means a humble servant of God and His people. He also quoted that Jesus despite being the Master washed feet of Hi s disciples. Thus following His footsteps the Bishop also washed the feet of the elderly men and women and humbled himself----as it is the true essence of Christianity. One could clearly see tears in the eyes of many, as they were all touched by the moment! Praise the Lord. St. John s Cathedral after Renovation Christ Church Nowshera Page 3

4 I DO EXIST! (International Women Day) World Day of Prayer Revd. Altaf Gohar and Bishop Humphrey Peters at the opening ceremony To mark and celebrate the social, economic, political and cultural achievements of women an International Day is celebrated every year on 8 th March globally. Its 2016 theme was Pledge for Parity. The World Economic Forum predicted in 2014 that it would take until 2095 to achieve global gender parity. Then one year later in 2015, they estimated that a slowdown in the already glacial pace of progress meant the gender gap wouldn't close entirely until Women Desk of the Diocese of Peshawar celebrated International Women s Day on 8 th March, 2016, highlighting the theme of gender equality. Rt. Revd. Humphrey S. Peters was the chief guest at the occasion. He offered the opening prayer and afterwards congratulated all women especially the participants of the evening for this day and encouraged them to fulfil their desires and accomplish their dreams through hard work and commitment. Ms. ZarishAltaf and Mrs. Samina Shahzad hosted the programme. Speakers Mrs. Joyce Ashkar, Mrs. S.P Asghar, Mrs. Shumila Shahid and Mrs. Sumeratalked on Equality at home, society, and work place. Few young ladies, Ms. Nadia HannahDass ( Lecturer in Chemistry at Edwardes College Peshawar; Head Communication Desk DoP), Ms. Julia Pervaiz (Lecturer in Psychology at Edwardes College Peshawar; an evangelist), Ms. Saima Walter( Principal City School, Cantt. Branch Peshawar) and Ms. Zarish Altaf (Lecturer in Statistics at Edwardes College Peshawar; President All Saints Church Youth) from Diocese of Peshawar shared their achievements in various fields of life and paid gratitude to their parents for their success in life and thanked God for His immeasurable blessings. Mrs. Noreeen Altaf, Coordinator Women s Desk, DoP, thanked all the speakers, participants including women from All Saints and Cathedral Church and appreciated the young achievers for their accomplishments. Mugs printed with the theme of IWD were presented to the speakers and the young achievers as a token of thanks and appreciation. The evening ended with the closing prayer by the Revd. Altaf Gohar followed by dinner. Group Photo of the Participants Around the world Christian women belonging to various traditions, cultures, ethnic backgrounds, come together each year to observe one day as World Day of Prayer. Where they spend their time in prayer and fellowship. This annual day is celebrated on the first Friday of March. On this day women affirm their faith in Jesus Christ, share their hopes and fears, their joys and sorrows, their opportunities and needs. Through this day, women affirm that prayer and action are inseparable and both have immeasurable influence in the world. This year the World Day of Prayer fell on 4 th March and its theme was Receive children. Receive me. The host country this year was Cuba. Jesus declared: "Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the Kingdom of God as a little child, will never enter it." Women Fellowship of All Saints Church and St. John s Cathedral Church Peshawar celebrated this day on Friday, 11 th March, 2016, asserting their faith and joy in Jesus. All Saints women were the host this year in Peshawar and the day was celebrated at All Saint s Church, Peshawar. They, along with women from St. John s Cathedral Church, entered the Church in the form of procession. They were carrying the bible, a bowl of soup, a tambourine, and a candle. The soup was severed because it is a tradition in Cuba. Guests were welcomed by Mrs. Naseem Dass, Treasurer All Saint s Church and Chief Coordinator. She shared the history and Church life of Cuba. Different women shared their experiences and hymns were sung. Mrs. Irfana Joseph, President Women Fellowship St. John s Cathedral Church Peshawar, shared the message on the theme Receive children. Receive me. Explaining why Jesus said to disciples to accept the Kingdom of God as little children, as they are innocent and believe in truth. Dinner was served at the end of the programme and all women left with determination to have an innocent heart as Children with the hope of receiving the Kingdom of God and spreading it to others.

5 Development & Relief Sector s Health Project Church of Pakistan for Development A group photo of participants The Health Project : This on ongoing project for the year , has specially been designed for the uplift of the Minority Women. Altogether, 32 women were selected to be trained in different medical trainings, such as, Ultrasound, Lab-Technicians, Dental training, and Lady Health Visitor s course. So far, two batches comprising of sixteen girls completed their Ultrasound course successfully. Moreover, sixteen girls from Pannell Hospital Bannu complete their Midwifery course. Whereas, eight girls from Peshawar, Mardan and D.I. Khan are still under training for their Two Years Certificate. The Development & Relief Sector feels much happy to announce that a new batch comprising of eight females students have joined the Ultrasound course, The opening ceremony of the course was held at the Development & Relief office in March, It is pertinent to mention that without the kind support of the Church of Scotland all this could not have been possible to achieve. Participants from all the eight Dioceses of the Church of Pakistan for the first time ever gathered at the Diocese of Peshawar, hosted by the Development & Relief Sector of the Diocese to share their development work with others, and to learn from each other experiences. It is pertinent to mention that this particular workshop/seminar was the brain-child of the Rt. Revd. Mano Rumalshah, Bishop Emeritus, Diocese of Peshawar. In this two days workshop all the participants presented their reports regarding their developmental activities. Some of them were really commendable, however it was also noted that a few of them had little knowledge regarding professionalism, whereas, the concept of development work at Diocesan level was also not clear to some of the participants. The good news is that the workshop enhanced their abilities and cleared their misconceptions regarding the development work in the real sense of the word. After the workshop a few participants told The Frontier News correspondent that during the workshop they have been illuminated, as they learned about project writing, fund raising, donations, project implementation,report writing, follow up and planning of the various projects for the uplift of the communities without any negative discrimination. It was decided that all the Dioceses of the Church of Pakistan will coordinate, share and cooperate with each other regarding the development projects in the future. The Bishop s Bishopdop@hotmail.com The Diocesan Centre E.Mail DioceseofPeshawar@gmail.com Contact Us at: commdeskdop@gmail.com Visit Us at: Page 5