WOMEN DEVELOPMENT & SERVICE SOCIETY (Regd.)

Transcription

1 WOMEN DEVELOPMENT SERVICE SOCIETY (Regd.) Diocese of Raiwind Church of Pakistan 17-Warris Road, Tel: , Cell: CONTENTS Mission Conference Dear Friends! Pleasant greetings, Dedication of CCPH The fear of God was seen in the lives of sensitive human being sin recent months Visitors from Abroad because of dengue mosquito which has brought illness to many patients especially in city suburb areas of Lahore. Everyone was horrified by the sudden deaths of Medical Camps dengue victims, who numbered eight to ten daily. The Punjab government Counseling Sessions announced the emergency in the province and also took many preventive measures against the fatal plague. The media in all forms has been communicating the information about dengue s signs symptoms, preventive curative care, advice to spray buildings and streets, and avoid water storage in open place, etc. Special wards were set up and hundreds of patients were admitted in hospitals for proper treatment. Though it was a natural disaster, still most of the people saw this tragedy as the punishment sent by God because of our immoral deeds. But He does not want to kill man; He wants to save us. The people who recovered from this fever were highly grateful to God. Unfortunately; in WDSS staff; the mother of Ms. Sanya Samuel (teacher) and the sister of Mr. Emmanuel (driver) passed away the infection of dengue virus. Some other staff in diocese were also affected but they all recovered by the Grace of God. In the second week of October, the administrative staffs were involved the Mission conference which was held at the diocesan campus. International and national church leadership discussed and shared their rich experience and knowledge on the topic Finding God in Challenging/ difficult situation: Mission of the church. MISSION CONFERENCE Mission Conference; Finding God in a challenging/difficult situation Meekness makes you Strong The Mission Conference was organized hosted by the Diocese of Raiwind on behalf of Church of Pakistan, from 9 th to 11 th October 2011 at 17 Warris Road, Lahore. In this regard; the reception dinner was arranged on 8 th October 2011 in the honour of Revd. Dr. Olav Fykse Teviot, General Secretary, WCC, the guest of honour, and other distinguished guests from abroad. The guests were d by Mrs. Reesha Qadir Bukhsh, (Diocesan Treasurer Principal of Dar-ul- Mussarat) and garlanded by the staff. In his e address, Bishop Samuel Azariah shared the brief history of Pakistan related to policy of rulers and the present situation of the Country, as it has been facing social, economicc and September October 2011 WDSS Newsletter Vol. 2-Issue 5 Rt. Rev. Samuel R. Azariah Chairman, WDSS Bishop of Raiwind Diocese, Moderator Church of Pakistan Women Development Service Society has been established by Dr. Rev. Khushnud Azariah a vision to build a just society free from all sorts of discrimination and exploitation, in 1989 embarked upon a mission to reach the women of the oppressed s activities that would promote health, education, economic opportunities and help them to lead a life honor and dignity.

2 political crises as well as terrorism by fundamentalists for last two decades. However; he emphasized for the need of social harmony and tolerance on inter-religious issues of different s of Pakistan. Later, the gifts were presented to all guests. Rev. Dr. Olav Fykes Teviot expressed his thanks in response of Bishop Azariah s address. The dignitaries of Churches in Pakistan, Rt. Rev. Azad Marshall, Bishop of Gulf Iran, local clergy, heads of diocesan departments, Heads of Christian organisationss and friends from Muslim Christian s were also invited. Brief Description of Conference The participants of the Mission conference consisted of the Synod members and the overseas partners of the Church of Pakistan. The following guest speakers addressed the theme in the context of Holy Scripture and the present era. Rt. Rev. Samuel R. Azariah, Bishop Azariah in his opening session shared that Humility therefore is not about being poor and wearing humble clothes. The path of humility is a path of self-discovery; it is not made up of external actions to abstain, so that others can praise us. Humility is way of life, and to justify humility, we need to acknowledge that we are proud. He also described that what is the mission of the church? Mission is God s mission and from my perspective mission is to heal a fractured world and to heal the fractured and wounded body of Christ. We live in a deeply broken world and body of Christ is deeply wounded and divided. Mission as brining the Gospel (as owners) to the other (receiving the product) does not fit in my perspective of mission. Mission has to do the religiosity of the other? Mission of the wounded body of Christ is not merely conversion of the other, but conversion to the other. Rev. Dr. Olav Fykse Teviot, General Secretary, World Council of Churches (WCC) said the mission of the church is to strive towards resolution of issues that are affecting this country. He further added that Church Mission could be helpful in the present situation. Bishop Joseph Coutts, President (Roman) Catholic Bishop s Council of Pakistan, in his response to the first address recognized the importance and need of intra-faith dialogue amongst the churches in Pakistan. He said thatt in the past, efforts had been made but only during a time of crisis. Unity is a key to the future of the Church. Dr. Christine Amjad Ali, Director, Christian Study Centre, Rawalpindi, took the Bible sessions. She shared that God has a purpose and plan for each of us, and has thus placed us in Pakistan.

3 Rt. Rev. Irfan Jamil, Co-adjuror Bishop, Diocese of Lahore, Church of Pakistan, shared the Word of God and said, We do not find God but He finds us. God gives encouragement to the believers. Bishop Irfan also mentioned the missionary endeavours in the sub continent. Rev. Dr. Aslam Ziai, vice principal of Gujranwala Theological seminary shared that whenever God Almighty calls someone for special task, He not only prepares him/her but also encourages them as He did Jeremiah. Dr. Naeem Mushtaq analyzed the religious and liberal extremism in Pakistan and stated we should resolve our issue dialogue. Mr. Muhammad Wasim from Interactive Resource Centre, Lahore performed his group the theatrical presentation of the existential realities of Pakistan and how God fulfils His Will through these realities. The conference ended specific recommendations derived from panel discussion for strengthening the Church. The ministry towards women, children and youth will be emphasized in all respects. Partners were also urged to support the Christians in Pakistan in facing the challenges of viability. Bishop Samuel Azariah extended his thanks on behalf of Church of Pakistan to all participants and guests speakers for their inspiring thoughts on topic for the encouragement to face the present challenges towards the ministry of church and for social harmony peace among all the s.

4 Dedication of Central Church of Praying Hands It is a great pleasure for the Diocese of Raiwind that the project of reconstruction of Central Church of Warris Road-Lahore has been completed. On 9 th October 2011; in Sunday service a dedication ceremony was led by Rt. Revd. Samuel R. Azariah, Bishop of Raiwind Diocese Moderator, Church of Pakistan, who was assisted by other Bishops of Church of Pakistan i.e. Bishop Humphrey Peters, Peshawar Diocese, Bishop Leo Paul, Multan Diocese, Bishop Irfan Jamil, Lahore Diocese and Bishop Mano Rumal Shah, Ex. Bishop of Peshawar Diocese. The church was packed congregation and guestss from friend churches. The well dressed choir praised God and led the congregation in Hymn singing for the glory of His name. Rev. Dr. Olav Fykse Teviot from WCC shared the word of God and paid congratulation on the completion of this grand churchh building of Raiwind Diocese. Later on; Bishop Azariah thanked God Almighty for His grace and help in the inauguration of new building of Central (Methodist) Church who has its own history for 110 years. He announced its new name given by the Executive Council of Diocese i.e. Central Cathedral of Praying Hands. He paid his thanks on behalf of Diocese of Raiwind to all local overseas friends and members of the church for their generous contributions for the construction project and prayed for the atomist use for worship. He appreciated the great efforts of Rev. Emanuel S. Khokhar, parish priest and the members of parish council. The distinguished guests from overseas also attended the service.

5 Visitors from Abroad During and after the Mission conference, the distinguished guests from abroad visited the project sites and office of WDSS. The brief description of their visits is as under. a. On 4 th October 2011; a delegation from Church of Scotland World Mission Council, consisting of Mr. Sandy Sneddon, Asia Secretary, Mr. Chris Hoskins and Rev. Fiona Gardner visited the literacy centre, the child protection project at Margzar Colony and n Centre Youhanabad-Lahore. They weree very pleased to see the literacy centre and appreciated the achievements of WDSS in the uplift of deprived s. b. Rev. Dr. Andrew Macllen, President, World Mission Council, Church of Scotland, also paid a visit to Youhanabad Centre on 12 th October 2011 and found the staff busy in their regular activities. He was given information about the running programs and also met the beneficiaries. Mrs. Alice Garrick expressed her compliments for his visit and for taking interest in WDSS projects. In coming months, WDSS and Church of Scotland will develop their partnership in different projects. c. Mr. Steve Pearce, coordinator, Asia Pacific Region from Methodist Church of Britain (MCB) visited WDSS office on 10 th October2011 and discussed the HIV/Aids project Mrs. Alice Garrick, as the MCB has already been supporting this project since He showed encouraging concern towards the empowerment of targeted beneficiaries. d. Mr. John Hayward, Regional Manager, Church Mission Society (CMS) U.K, had a meeting Mrs. Garrick at WDSS office. She extended her gratitude to CMS for its financial donations received in previous years. Mr. Hayward took the request for support of Baath health centre for further consideration of CMS Board. e. A delegation from Finland, Revd. Timo Frilander, Co-coordinator, Emergency desk of FELM and Ms. Anne, Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Mission, were given information through the picture slides presentation and showed their interest for partnership in future WDSS programs.

6 Medical Camps Session Youhanabad Centre; on 25 th October 2011, a medical camp was organized at n Centre-Youhanabad, focusing on the patients of fever who feared they had dengue virus. The doctor examined treated them and also gave them information and advice. A number of 52 patients visited the camp and they were provided medicines free of cost. The staff also conducted awareness sessions at8 schools in neighbouring localities in order to promote the awareness of dengue fever. They advised the students to protect themselves by wearing full covering dresses, using medicated lotions for body protection and cleaning their homes. The literature related to dengue was distributed for their family members as well as provided to schools staff for teaching sessions. By this campaign 1300 students were benefited. Baath Centre; The staff of Baath Centre organized two medical camps at Sham Ki Bhatian on 25 th September 2011 and at Bhata (Brick Kiln) colony on 7 th October 2011 in regard of dengue fever. A number of 5035 patients were examined and treated respectively at these Camps. Most of the people were afraid of dengue but after examination, just 6 patients positive results were referred to the nearby government hospital for proper treatment. The rest of the patients were suffering from seasonal fever, skin problems, gastrointestinal and other problems. Counseling Sessions The field worker Mrs. Agnes Yousaf reported that she took counseling sessions individually Female Sex Workers at their homes. Though, it is a difficult job to identify their real activities but after some meetings, Mrs. Agnes can understand their involvement. Recently she has had success two women who have been rescued from their critical situation and now they are earning through respectable jobs. May God keep you in His love peace. Thank you; Mrs. Alice R. Garrick Executive Director WDSS