2013 49 E BishopMathew

Most Rev. Dr. C.V. Mathew, called by the Grace of God and appointed as the Presiding Bishop of St.
Thomas Evangelical Church of India, writes to all the Parishes and Vicars of the Chruch. May the grace and peace of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit be with you all.
Circular No. - 49(English) Dearly Beloved in Christ, I am happy to inform you that the Sabha Council which met on 23 June 2013 has made the following decisions in the light of the discussions held on 22/6/2013 in the joint meeting of the Sabha Council members, Board Secretaries, and MRE Department Directors with a desire to rejuvenate the church spiritually and especially for our church members to recapture the vision of witnessing Christ more effectively in their immediate neighborhood and work places. 1. 2014 - An Year of Witnessing: It is resolved to declare 2014 as an year of witnessing for the whole church. Further resolved that all the general programs that will be organized in the Dioceses, Centres, and Parishes in 2014 should give a special focus on the theme of Witnessing so that our members may be encouraged and persuaded to witness the Lord Jesus Christ to their relatives, neighbors and co-workers and also to lead a life worthy of witnessing the Lord. To this end the respective bodies at these levels may organize special awareness programs. In connection with the above said ideas one day meetings will be held as follows. Diocese 1. South Kerala Diocese 2. West Kerala Diocese 3. East Kerala Diocese 4. North Kerala Diocese Place 1. Valakam (Kottarakkara) 2. Thiruvananthapuram Thiruvalla Ranny 1. Keezhillam 2. Thrissur- Mannuthi 3. Nilambur
Workers meeting including all Achens, Evangelists and Sevinees will be held from 10 a.m to 1 p.m and from 2-4 a joint meeting of the workers, office bearers of the concerned Parishes, Sevini Samajam, Youth Union and Sunday School and all lay leaders will be held. In the evening from 7 p.m onwards a Fasting Prayer meeting will be held at the same venue. Dates of the meeting shall be intimated after consulting the concerned office bearers. 2. Gospel Tracts: Resolved to print and make available new Gospel tracts which present simple Gospel plainly and comprehensibly for people from all walks of life. The Board Evangelistic Work is responsible for the production and distribution of thee tracts. 3. Special Training Programs to teach the skill for sharing the Gospel: Resolved to arrange special programmes to teach the skill of sharing the Gospel to people from various segments of the society. Page 1 of 2
The Teaching and Training Department of MRE is responsible for preparing the study materials and to organize the training programmes. 4. Building Bridges with the Community: Parishes are to be encouraged to build bridges with their neighbors by organizing programmes that are beneficial to the community. They may invite their neighbors to such programmes (for instance, health awareness campaign, career guidance for students etc) so that they may, in addition to the primary intended purpose of serving the community, come to know about our church and its activities; this might also provide our members opportunities to share Gospel in the neighborhood. Parish/Centre wise programmes are to be conducted by seeking the help of Career Guidance and Public Relation Departments. 5. Educational Missionaries: Education Board is entrusted the responsibility to identity and give skilled training to young people willing to serve as Educational Missionaries and to start new schools in under developed areas. In particular, the Education Board is further entrusted to start a Mission School in Jandhaha, Bihar with the active support of the Hindi Belt Mission. 6. Relationship between Established Parishes and Emerging Congregations in Mission Fields: Established Parishes may come up to have fellowship with the new believers in the emerging congregations in mission fields so that their mutual missional relationship will be strengthened and confidence will be enhanced among the believers. Short-term mission trips may be organized to visit the mission fields and to have a direct involvement in missions and to share mission field experiences. Also the established Parishes may get challenged to sponsor some of these fields. I expect sincere cooperation and prayers from all our members especially Achens, Evangelists and Sevinees who are naturally positioned to give leadership to organize and implement these programs. When we stand together for the furtherance of the Gospel and for the Glory of the Lord, Church will be revived to fulfill the purpose of our Lord. May God strengthen and enable each one of us to this very end. From the office of the Presiding Bishop at Sabha Head Quarters, Tiruvalla on 6th of May in the year of our Lord 2013. Yours in the Service of our Lord Jesus Christ Most Rev. Dr. C. V. Mathew Presiding Bishop
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Most Rev. Dr. C.V. Mathew, called by the Grace of God and appointed as the Presiding Bishop of St.

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