Prayer Campaign for 'peaceful' Manipur begins

Meitei Christians who form the majority ethnic group of northeast Manipur will join a prayer campaign starting today for peace and stability of the state.

Organised by the Meitei Baptist Convention, pastors and church leaders of various organisations will gather at Imphal Youth on March 23-27 to participate in the campaign.

The campaign that will be held in two phases is to pray for a "Manipur without bloodshed and normalcy like before."

First Phase of the campaign will be a chain prayer from 5 PM on March 23 till 5 PM on March 30. The member churches and individual members will join together for a one-hour prayer. Second phase will start from April 1-30, 2009; the member churches will assemble in their churches and homes for one hour each day for the whole month of April.

New Delhi based Human Rights Activist and the Spokesperson for the North East Support Centre & Helpline, Mr. Madhu Chandra said, "Where the church of Jesus exist, there is transformation. Even in situations like Manipur, this power of the church can bring a huge transformation."

He further said, "There is panic in our hearts about what Manipur will look like in next ten years. Due to the ongoing crisis [Separatist Insurgency] of the state, which has affected the lives, economic, and education of Manipur, there is a very high possibility that Manipur will become the least educated, least employed and the poorest state among the whole country."

Meitei Baptist Convention, Manipur (www.mbcmanipur.com) is the body of Meitei Baptist Churches in Manipur and surrounding states involved in transforming lives and communities.