st saviour's tamil church, kolkata - newsletter - march 2017

St Saviour‟s Tamil Church, Kolkata SAVIOUR‟S CHIMES

| March 2017 Monthly Newsletter of St Saviour‟s Family |

5 March: Tamil Eucharist, 8.30 AM

Theme: God‟s Word gives us strength to resist temptation

Readings: OT: Deutr. 8:1-5; NT: I Corinth 10:6-13; Gospel: Matthew 4:1-11

Songs: Hymns 90, 108, 311 Lyric 129 Communion Hymn 336

WOMEN’S FELLOWSHIP & PRAYER GATHERING: AFTER SERVICE

12 March: English Eucharist, 8.30 AM

Theme: Christ gives the “Living Water” of the Spirit

Readings: OT: Exodus 17:3-7; NT: I Corinth 10:1-5; Gospel: John 4:5-26

Songs: Hymns 46, 101, 105, 184 Communion Hymn 103

19 March: Tamil Eucharist, 8.30 AM

Theme: Christ is the Light of the World

Readings: OT: Exod. 13:17-22; NT: Eph. 5:8-14; Gospel: John 9:1-17, 32-41

Songs: Hymns 88, 283, 276 Lyric 342 Communion Hymn 102

26 March: English Eucharist, 8.30 AM

Theme: Christ is the Resurrection and the Life

Readings: OT: I Kings 17:17-24; NT:Rom.14:7-9; Gospel: John 11:1-3,17,44

Songs: Hymns 25, 182, 170, 192 Communion Hymn 233

Every Friday, 6 pm. At 7 Homes

across all directions of Kolkata. Do join a fellowship close to your home.

We welcome you to the Prayer

Fellowship on Sunday, 12 March, 6 pm at Mr Abraham‟s Residence to give

thanks for God‟s Mercies, during challenges they had during a recent

accident and a fall.

ST. SAVIOUR’S TAMIL CHURCH

9, Haji Mohammed Mohsin Square, Kolkata – 700 016.

Phone: 033 2217 2636 E-Mail: [email protected]

Website: www.saviourskolkata.wordpress.com Like us on Facebook: Facebook.com/stsaviourscalcutta

SAVIOUR’S CHIMES The Monthly Newsletter of St Saviour’s Family

CHURCH OF NORTH INDIA DIOCESE OF CALCUTTA

ST. SAVIOUR’S TAMIL CHURCH KOLKATA. ESTD 1849

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Welcome

MARCH 2017

REPENT and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus

Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of

the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all

who are far off — for all whom the Lord our God will call.

ACTS 2:38

For Private Circulation Only

mailto:[email protected]

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FROM THE PRESBYTER’S DESK

Glory implies the idea of weight, status, position and power. The

basis of glory could be riches, especially spiritual riches; glory also

conveys authority. We have the position and authority when we

become the children of God (John 1:12). This Message decodes

glory, and its importance in our lives from 7 perspectives.

1. JESUS, GOD'S GLORY: Jesus is the splendour of God's glory.

God's glory is manifested in the life, ministry and the Cross of Jesus. His

glory shines forth out of his passion to save us from sin and offering

himself as a free gift of his life. God gave him the glory because of this

sacrifice and elevated him to the highest position in heaven and earth.

2. OBEDIENCE GIVES GLORY: Obedience to the will of God excels

all human glory. When Satan offered all the kingdoms of the world with

their glory, Jesus refused saying, "The Lord your God shall you adore

and Himself shall you worship (Matthew 4:10). Submission to God's

ways brings glory to our life too. After finishing the work assigned Jesus

prayed to God to give him the glory that he had before the world was

made. He wants us all to share that glory with him in heaven (John

17:24). We are all exhorted to do what he did and even greater works to

share that glory (John 14:12).

3 GLORY CONFERS PRIVILEGES: God's glory confer s on us the

privilege of asking anything in Jesus'

name. "If you remain in me, and my

words remain in you, then you will

ask anything you wish, and you shall

have it. This is how my Father's glory

is shown; by bearing much fruit (John

15:8). Jesus assured Philip, "I will do whatever you ask for in my name,

so that the Father's glory will be shown through the son (John14:13).

4. THE RESURRECTION GLORY: By His resurrection and

ascension, Christ has entered into divine glory. This glory blinds St Paul

on his way to Damascus. Paul became then the light of new creation for

special ministry to reveal God's glory (Acts 26:16-18). We too have been

risen with Christ to a new life free from the awful burden of guilt and

condemnation. Jesus went back to His glory in Heaven but wants us to

carry the same Cross so that it may bring glory to our life too. Mark8:34

5. BEARING THE CROSS BRINGS GLORY: Cross bearing is God's

school of discipline to give us glory. It is not a sad message. It just

means to take sides with Jesus. It is bearing all pain and shame for his

sake. When persecuted and humiliated,

"Be happy and glad, for a great reward is

kept for you in heaven" (Matthew 5:12).

"For the Son of Man is about to come in

the glory of his Father with his angels, and

then he will reward each one according to

his deeds" (Matthew 16:27).

6. BE CONSCIOUS OF YOUR GLORY:

We are adopted as full heirs in God's family and honoured as His

special treasure. This is our standing and position before God (Romans

8:17). As children of God, our goal should be to practice our position.

God's glory should be reflected in our daily life as we are His own

children. The consciousness of His glory in our life begets the feeling of

our dignity and honour on earth. Project God's glory in your life.

7. GIVE GOD THE GLORY: "I will not believe except I see the prints

of the nail" (John 20:25), Thomas doubted. The world wants to see the

prints in our life to believe and accept Jesus. We should daily reveal the

glory of God in our position and dealings. "Your light must shine before

people, so that they will see the good things you do and give glory to

God in Heaven (Matthew 5:16). BY REV. DR. SAMUEL RAJ

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A POEM TO PONDER

OUR PASSPORT TO HEAVEN

When we travel abroad, we need a visa and a Passport,

Which is checked at the airport;

We complete all formalities,

And are ready to visit city or cities!

But the Passport to Heaven is absolutely free,

Which all of you will agree;

Our earthly life is a journey to another one,

Where there is no tension but joy, peace and fun!

God has prepared this Passport,

But will see first our report;

Whether it is written in the Book of Life as laid down,

As Heaven will be our eternal hometown!

Terms and Conditions of the Passport to Heaven :

This is an absolutely free gift to you…

You don‟t have to wait in any long queue!

One must believe in Christ (John 3:16) –

Remember how His Life, for us, He sacrificed.

One must do the will of the Father in Heaven (Matthew 7:21)

For not all who say “Lord, Lord….” can enter in.

We need to be Born Again through Baptism (John 3:3)

Ask for forgiveness/trust in Him as our only hope of Salvation.

Obey the Ten Commandments as given (Lev.22:31)

Care for the poor/needy for their burden.

Repent from sin, which is an offence to Him, (Matt.4:17)

Satan can trap us and make situations grim.

Tell the Good News to others, spread it far and wide (Mark16:15)

It pleases God when we lead others and be a guide!

By following these rules, our place in Heaven is reserved,

And Eternal Life with God is assured! MRS. CYNTHIA MUKHERJEE

AS WE LOOK AHEAD…

The Tamil Church SAVIOUR’S CHIMES: Inspired by the

abbreviation, this piece touches upon the current Church

activities, while contextualizing it to the children’s exams this

month.

St Saviour's Tamil Church, our enlarged family

As we dearly like to call it,

Very recently revived the YPF.

Initiated by Rev. Dr Samuel Raj,

Our dear and respected "Aiyya".

Under his leadership, members

Remember in prayer every

Single member's need daily, every month.

Children of our Church are presently

Having their final and Board examinations.

It is our duty to uphold them in our

Morning prayers, so that

Every child interceded for, must

See success and later pursue careers for His Glory.

COMPOSED BY MR CYRIL MANI

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“I put My Relationship with God before Everything

else… I Try Shining the Light wherever I go”

The world knows him as the Captain of the South African Test and T20

Teams; IPL fans know him as Mr Consistent at the Chennai Super Kings,

and key pillar in MS Dhoni’s formidable CSK army. But, he sees himself

as JESUS-FOLLOWER; this piece delves into his personal walk with God.

Could you tell us how you

came to know God for

yourself?

I grew up as a Christian, but

definitely not with a relationship

with God; Christian, just a

religion, where I went to Sunday

school and it was a very old-

school Church. When you don‟t

have a proper relationship with

God, you don‟t really

understand it all; so, that was

me until about three years ago.

I would say prayers as a habit and read my Bible as a habit, but without

feeling or emotion. What happened was that my wife, before we got

married, suggested that we see someone to give us pre-marital advice on

what to expect and she recommended someone who was a Pastor.

Now obviously, as guys generally do, our egos get in the way a bit; but, I

said “let‟s go and see him”. I met with him and he started challenging me

directly about my background in Christianity and so I was intrigued; I told

him that I was interested in changing my life a little bit and that there are a

lot of things I‟d like to get rid of. Slowly but surely I saw other things that I

wanted to change and we actually worked through a little book called „One

To One‟ which unpacks what it means to surrender your life to God. In

working through all that stuff, my heart began to change and I wanted to be

obedient, for the first time I was starting to fall in love with God.

It was about putting my needs second and trying to focus on putting God

first, somehow he provides and makes sure that you get through. That was

a huge turning point for me and my relationship with God.

Another turning point was a short time after when I was got a back injury

and couldn‟t go and play in the IPL, I was really disappointed because the

IPL for us is a huge income source. In this two week period which I had to

spend at home I went through a heart change, got baptized along with my

wife and then I went over to the IPL as a completely different person.

What’s one thing that God has taught you through your cricket?

I am trying to learn more about God every day, trying to be more like him

every day and gaining a greater understanding that we do get it wrong all

the time, we are only human. I found that my identity was with my cricket.

Yes I am a sportsman and I‟m used to be having my performances and my

destiny in my own hands but you‟ve got to surrender that and realize that

isn‟t why you serve him. It‟s a tough lesson in the beginning because you

like your destiny to be in your own hands but you realize that how you

perform as a cricketer is not the most important thing. It‟s just about trying

to shine that light where ever you go and affect people.

Around world cricket there doesn’t appear to be too many players that

are open to voicing their faith; why do you think this is?

Yes, it feels like such a small family in the cricketing industry; in rugby, you

see guys praying together after the game, different nationalities praying

together on the field and I would love to see that in our sport. So hopefully,

through us speaking about it, our sport can become like that as well

because the players are so influential and if the sport can do that then it is

a great way to reach out to people.

Your Twitter bio reads ‘Jesus Follower’ before anything else; is this to

show that your relationship with God is the most important thing to you?

Yes, I must put him before anything else. I do it to openly say that to the

world that God is the most important thing in my life and when I, as we all

do, sometimes drift away from God I just flick onto my Twitter or Instagram

and I am reminded of that.

I also have a few tattoos; they are almost like the story of my life. I have

one on the side of my ribs which reads grace because it is by the grace of

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God that my life has been changed. Then I have got a quarter sleeve on my

arm which has all the important things that has happened in my life,

including cricket and my walk with God. The first on the inside of my arm

was the day I made my debut for South Africa and above it in Latin it says

„a day from the Lord‟. On the side there‟s a compass with the directions of

the Adelaide cricket Oval where I made my test debut with two dates in

there, one the day I got married and the other is the day that I got baptized.

… So they are just a reminder and a way to publicly say this to people, it‟s a

way of giving a small testimony of what I am about.

Courtesy: Interview with “Cross the Line,” www.xtheline.co.uk

Our God is an Awesome God, who cares for His Children. This

Testimony will grow your faith on how He leads, at the right time.

My mom and me boarded the flight in the evening to Kolkata from the UAE.

Usually, she returns during the second week of November. But this time,

my aunt, mom and me wanted to be together during our birthdays in

November, after a gap of 9 years. This time, winter was harsh in the UAE

and it had set in early; as a result, mom didn‟t feel too well. In the flight, I

was listening to music and she kept her eyes closed. When we were served

dinner, mom didn‟t respond. I called her, but she didn‟t hear my voice. I got

scared, cried and prayed to God. The air-hostess found a lady doctor who

felt her feeble pulse and B.P.; she was given oxygen and the doctor said

that my prayers saved my mother. I was afraid whether they would off-load

us to some nearest airport but our God is an amazing God and she opened

her eyes at last. When we reached Kolkata, an officer came running to give

my mom‟s mobile that had been left behind in the flight. I thank God for all

that He did for my mom.

Over to my Mom… I felt very weak and tired and happy to reach home.

Next day, I met my doctor who gave some medicines. In the meantime, my

younger brother came from A.P. to see us. She wanted to do some

shopping for her friends and

colleagues; wanted me to get her

snacks not available in the UAE and

of course, come to our Church. But

as each day passed, my wheezing

increased and I could not take her out anywhere.

On December 7, Tina had to go back; my brother on 9th. We dropped Tina

at the airport and went to the hospital. I was immediately taken to the ICU.

For 5 days, I was there without my mobile. Then I was shifted to a twin

room. I was given so many injections and medicines. A lady physiotherapist

was arranged, who used to drum my back and chest and made me do

breathing exercises to remove cold from my chest. All along, I was using

oxygen; even if I removed it for 5 minutes, I would gasp for breath.

One day, the doctor told me that I should go for a blood test and chest x-

ray. All along, I was praying that, when I to the ground floor for x-ray,

nothing should happen to me, as I would be without oxygen. I made the

nurse call them up and to attend to me first. Everything was done quickly

and within 15 minutes. I was back to my bed with the oxygen.

After 2 weeks, I was given my mobile and I almost forgot how to use it

because, the medicines being strong, I used to feel very dizzy at times. 3

weeks passed and the doctor told me that I should remove the oxygen for

15 minutes daily and to breathe normally as I would get addicted to it. In

the beginning, it was difficult, as I could not stay without oxygen. But

persistent Prayers helped me. Slowly and steadily, I increased the timing so

I could stay without using oxygen; my medicines were reduced and

injections stopped. After I became well, I spent some more days in the

hospital to see if I would feel uneasy and even spent my Christmas in the

hospital. Though the doctor told me to keep oxygen at home in case of

emergency, I have not done this as I completely trust God who saved me.

I want to thank our Pastor, Aunty and others who came to see me at the

hospital; some who sent me messages, contacted me and all those who

Prayed for me in our Church. May God bless them. I want to thank God

abundantly and Praise Him, for the wonderful way He took care of me. O

Lord, my God, I cried to you for help and you healed me. (Psalm 30:2)

BY MS CHRISTINA AND MRS CYNTHIA MUKHERJEE

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http://www.xtheline.co.uk/



Facebook.com/stsaviourscalcutta

St Saviour’s Tamil Church Calcutta

THE QUIZ: Thanks for including this. We're learning the 66 Books of the

Bible as a community at our place of Ministry, ages 4 - 60. Trying it both by

rote and through song. ARUNA PATIBANDLA

I love these quizzes, as it gets people to read more of their Bible daily. It is

amazing how many people in America know nothing about the Bible even

though they are Christians! So sad. The other day, the question was “Who

was the brother of Moses?” I was shocked when one of them said

“Abraham”! Unbelievable! Thanks for the brilliant job you all do with the

Chimes. Keep up the great work and may God‟s eternal blessings always

be with each one of you and Pastor Samuel Raj and the whole

congregation of St. Saviour‟s Tamil Church. GLORY RENDALL

This month, Chimes has expanded the Quiz, led by your amazing reception.

THE NEWSLETTER: Lovely receiving your newsletter. Beautiful layout. Just a

suggestion: it would be good to share the outreach programs of your

Church too. PHILIP GUPTA

Dear Editor-friend, Thank you for the Church's 'Chimes' magazine. I was

particularly interested and appreciated the article on 'Congregation in

Mission'. I am sending my write-up regarding this theme which, I hope, you

will have time to read and share with those who are interested. P.S. I am

son of Rev. VG Siromoni and younger brother of Rev. John Siromoni, and

was myself a member of St. Saviour's. PAUL SIROMONI

This gets better and better with each issue, and continues to be a good

newsworthy read! The team puts their heart and soul into this Newsletter.

Keep at it, and this little Church will be shining all over the world through

Saviour's Chimes. So glad I have reconnected with all of you. Who would

have thought that, imagine after 50 years! Wow! THELMA TAI

1. How long did Joshua‟s troop march around Jericho before walls fell?

2. Who said, “Silver and Gold have I none; but such as I have I give thee”?

3. In the Bible, who did the sun and moon stand still before?

4. Whose flock was Moses tending, while encountering the Burning Bush?

5. What were the 2 animals in the Old Testament that spoke to humans?

6. Whom did God describe as a “Blameless and Upright man”?

7. Which king had the longest reign over the kingdom of Israel?

8. Who were the parents of King Solomon?

9. What is the name of the City of God?

10. Where were the disciples first called Christians?

11. James, John‟s brother was the 1st apostle martyr. How was he killed?

12. Who directed Paul to preach to the Gentiles?

13. How many years were the Israelites in bondage in Egypt?

14. Who hid Joshua‟s spies from Jericho‟s King?

15. Who made a bronze snake?

16. Which prophet secretly anointed David as King?

17. Who was Moses‟ successor after his death?

18. Whom did Samuel anoint as the first king of Israel?

19. What is the name of Abraham‟s nephew?

20. One title of God is El Shadai. What does it mean?

FROM MS. CHRISTINA MUKHERJEE, VIA E-MAIL FROM THE UAE

21. What were God's chosen colours for the curtains of the Tabernacle?

22. Where did God put Moses when He passed by him covering him with

His hand?

23. Why did Eli fall back and die?

24. When Jesus said, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it

up." Which temple was He talkng about?

25. Who was the Israelite whom Jesus said had no deceipt?

26. Paul said he was brought up at the feet of this person. Who was this

person?

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27. Where is the chapter on "Love" found in the Bible?

28. Who sent men to Joppa to meet Simon Peter?

29. Who was Paul's adopted son?

30. Who was the first female judge in Israel?

FROM MRS. GLORY RENDALL

Courtesy: The Internet

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

This new section goes back to the Archives to bring you pieces that have

timeless relevance. We pray that this section be a blessing to you.

From Saviour’s Chimes, March 2007

Jesus left His purse to Judas

His body to Joseph of Arimathea

His mother to John

His clothes to the soldiers

His peace to every one

His supper to His followers

His servant example to His disciples

His Gospel to the world

His presence with God‟s children.

From Saviour’s Chimes, March 2007

24 years for sleeping

11 years for working

8 years for amusement, TV

6 years for eating

6 years for walking around

5 ½ years for wash, dressing

3 years for gossiping

3 years for education

3 years for general reading

½ year for GOD.

Is that all for God? It’s time to ponder…

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st saviour's tamil church, kolkata - newsletter - march 2017

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