Telugu Churches Federation Meet – Telugu Churches Set A Sterling Example

Over 25 Members of 6  AP Churches Meet

By  Fr Dr Anthoniraj Thumma, Executive Secretary of FTC

         FTC GENERAL BODY MEETING:Held on Feb. 17, 2016, at St. John’s Regional Seminary, Hyderabad

                      (Note: What  is noteworthy  in this meet is the witness value it pays  to the  prayer of Jesus “That  they may  all be one as You and me are one.” Please accept CCV’s  appreciation and congrats for this noble example. Of course the vision of Jesus  was not the unity of  any number of Churches Jesus did not found, but the unity of a divided world of humans, he came to liberate, the unity of all religions, the unity of believers and  unbelievers, all of which should finally lead to unity of all who believe in truth, love and service. There is none in this world who don’t  believe in TRUTH and other universal values. God is truth, God is love, God is care  and concern in foot-washing service high lighted by Master Par-excellence at last supper. FTC means Federation of Telugu Churches. We hope and pray Churches in other states or linguistic groups rise above their divisions to follow the example of  FTC, finally to become a Federation of Churches in India, then Churches in the world, leading to a global family of all men of good will. james  kottoor, editor.)

The Annul General Body Meeting (AGBM) of Federation of Telugu Churches (FTC), which was earlier known as Andhra Pradesh Federation of Churches (APFC), was held on Feb. 17, 2016 at St. John’s Regional Seminary, Hyderabad. FTC is an apex body of Archbishops / Bishops and Church Heads of Catholic, CSI, Lutheran, Baptist, Salvation Army, Assemblies of God and other major Christian Denominations of the twin Telugu States of Andhra Pradesh (AP) and Telangana State (TS). Among the 25 participants there were 9 Catholic Bishops, 3 CSI Bishops, and Heads of Baptist Denominations and Assemblies of God.

The AGBM began with an Ecumenical Prayer Service adapted from the Worship Service of the Week of Prayers for Christian Unity 2016.Archbishop Thumma Bala, President of FTC, delivered the Welcome Address and introduced the new member of FTC, Bishop T. Joseph Raja Rao of Vijayawada Diocese. Another President of FTC, CSI Moderator Bishop G. Dyvasirvadam, in his Presidential Address pointed out the changes taking place in the Country, and the attacks taking place on Churches from within and without. He called for more visible expressions of unity and to make the message and contribution of the Churches visible to the Governments.

Mr B. Danam IAS (Retd), Executive Secretary of FTC, read Minutes of last Managing Committee Meeting of FTC. Fr Dr Anthoniraj Thumma, another Executive Secretary of FTC, presented the highlights of the Annual Report of FTC activities and efforts made to resolve various issues facing the Christian Community in the Telugu region (given in the file-attachment).   

A moment of silence was observed to pay homage to late Methodist Bishop Taranath Sagar, who was the President of National Council of Churches in India (NCCI) and National United Christian Forum (NUCF). When he was Bishop in Hyderabad and President of A.P. Christian Council, he had strongly supported the formation of Federation of Churches.

The attack on CSI Pastor J. Nitin and others was the first among the agenda points taken up for deliberation. The Pastor, who was present along with some victims, described the incident that happened during the prayers being held in a Christian family in Fakirabad village of Nizamabad District on17-01-2016. As the arrested culprits are now roaming free, it was decided that the Office-Bearers of FTC must take up the matter with the Home Minister and DGP of Telangana State. 

Then, Fr AXJ Bosco SJ briefed the participants on the efforts being made to secure SC Status for the Dalit Christians. He also listed the activities undertaken on the issue of suicide of Rohith Vemula, a Dalit student of Hyderabad Central University. President of FTC Bishop G. Dyvasirvadam had visited Rohith’s family along with some Fathers and Sisters, condoled his mother and offered some financial assistance. Support is also being extended to the Joint Action Committee for Social Justice that has taken up his cause, which has emerged as a national movement of students for equality in the universities.

 Mr B. Danam IAS (Retd), who was recently elected as the President of National Council of Dalit Christians (NCDC), requested the Bishops and Church Heads to send delegates to the National Silent Rally to demand SC Status to be held in New Delhi on March 10, 2016. FTC decided to send some delegates for the rally and to render financial support. 

Following that, the problem of securing lands for the Christian Cemeteries was taken up for deliberation. A success story in this regard that happened in Kadapa was cited by Bishop B.D. Prasada Rao of CSI Rayalaseema Diocese. Then, Rev. Dr Ravela Joseph, Professor-Emeritus of ACTC and Executive Secretary of Telugu Baptist Fellowship, presented a paper on promoting “Unity of the Body of Christ”. In response to it, FTC resolved to organize a get-together of leaders of pastors’ fellowships and associations of independent pastors.

 Vote of Thanks was proposed by Bishop Gali Bali of Guntur, General Secretary of FTC, together with some concluding remarks and suggestions for follow-up. The Meeting came to a close with the Closing Prayer led by Rev. Dr Peter Gera, Senior Leader of Assemblies of God and the Benediction by pronounced by Archbishop Thumma Bala.