Ecumenical Conference in Orissa Helps Pastors to Reconfirm Faith, Face Challenges

Bhubaneswar – Nearly 1000–odd pastors and church leaders of various Christian denominations in India took part in a meeting to deliberate on how to spread the Good News of Christ and dispel the misunderstanding and prejudice of the non–Christians.

The Ecumenical Pastors' Conference, a first–of–its–kind meeting, was held during November 17–20 in Cuttack, Orissa. Incidentally, cases of anti–Christian violence have been reported from this state for several years.

Pastors from Baptist, Lutheran and Pentecostal Churches, the Church of North India (CNI) and other Church and mission organizations attended the meeting.

Pentecostal Pastor Joab Lohara, chairperson of the organizing committee, said the forum would try to attract missionaries from other Churches including the Catholic Church in the future.

According to Pastor Lohara, the main goal of the Cuttack meeting was to bring pastors from various Churches together in a common forum to help them exercise prudence in their mission work. During the meeting, all the pastors agreed to use discretion while spreading the Good News and recruiting new members so that the religious sentiments of other communities are not offended. According to news reports, the pastors also discussed about conflict situations and how to solve them.

The general coordinator of the meeting, Pastor Pran Ranjan Parichha of the Indian Evangelical Association, said that the meeting gave the Church leaders from across the country an opportunity to interact and share and discuss common issues of concerns.

One of the issues addressed was the difficulty of preaching Christianity effectively in a nation of diverse cultures, languages and religions. The meeting also dealt with other subjects such as women's role in the Church, pastoral care, understanding Hinduism, evangelizing children and youth, and reaching out to people of other religions.

Concerned that the attacks on missionaries and converts, in various parts of India, have grown over the years, the pastors called for unity of all Christian denominations in India in its fight against the communal forces.

Pastors of various denominations in Orissa formed the All–Orissa Pastor's Conference to address problems local Christians were facing. Pastor Parichha told UCA News that the national meeting resulted from a resolution the Orissa unit passed in 2003 to extend the forum to the national level.

News of religious intolerance in Orissa caught the headlines as early as 1999 when a mob of fanatic Hindus led by Dara Singh burnt alive Australian missionary Graham Staines and his two young sons in a tribal village in Mayurbhanj district. That same year, in another tribal village, Catholic Father Arul Doss was brutally murdered.

Following these two shocking incidents, pastors have come together in Orissa to form the All–Orissa Pastor’s Conference to address their problems and solve them. This national meeting resulted from a resolution the Orissa unit passed in 2003 to extend the forum to the national level.

Two American Baptist Pastors who attended the meeting commended their Indian brothers’ strong bond of fraternity, unity and exemplary dedication.

However, they also cautioned that individual prejudice must be overcome by love and sacrifice and mutual differences must be sorted out before they stand up against the anti–Christian forces. They also urged the participants to instill hope in those who are preaching in regions infamous for persecution.

The theme for this year’s conference was, "Moses in front of the burning bush," taken from the Book of Exodus.

Many participants came from Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgargh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Orissa, West Bengal and northeastern states.

Several of them admitted that the conference helped them to rededicate their lives for God’s work and also helped them get to know each other better.

Gospel for Asia Pastor Sushil Kumar Samili, who has been working in Orissa for several years said that the interaction helped him recommit to his missionary work.

From neighboring West Bengal state, Baptist Reverend Akhali Rava said interaction outside the sessions helped the pastors understand each other's missionary life, Church activities and challenges.

The conference also helped instill "a single–minded zeal to proclaim effectively Christ's message of love," he said.

For Lutheran Reverend Sarita Lepcha, who came all the way from Manipur, the meeting provided "an experience of a journey in faith" that strengthened her faith to face challenges and persecutions.