Mumbai (AsiaNews)
- United in the "common mission to serve the tribal people and create a
kingdom of justice, peace and development among these marginalized communities
of India. This is the motivation behind an
ecumenical meeting during the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity ( January
18-25 ) organized by Fr. Lino
Fernandes SFX , Pilar missionary, who administers the parish of Blessed Mother
Teresa Siadih ( Diocese of Jamshedpur). It
is the first time that the state of Jharkhand has ever hosted such an event .
The
parish priest explains to AsiaNews , "more than 25 people are expected to
attend, including evangelicals, catechists, pastors and others. [In addition to
the Catholics ] , living in this area there are Lutherans , Anglicans [ Church
of North India ] , Baptists and members of the Gossner Evangelic
Lutheran Church ( GEL) . Everyone will come here to pray together,
celebrate our shared service among the Mundari tribal and thank Jesus Christ.
"
"The
God of Christians - said the missionary - is communion, the communion of the
Trinity: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. This communion was established by the baptism
of Jesus in the Jordan. Upon receiving Baptism, Christ dove even further into
his mission, the mission that unites all of us today".
This
ecumenical union is inspired, according to Fr. Fernandes,
by Mother Teresa herself : " The patron saint of our parish saw Jesus in
the poorest of the poor, the vulnerable , the oppressed , the suffering , the
dying. This is the mission that we have in common: to convey the love of Jesus
to our people, and alleviate their suffering. Christ continues to seek our undivided
attention in their weaknesses".