1. Asian Indian Christian Church Newsletter
Vol.12 Issue 3 March 2005
From the Pastors’ Desk
Dear members and friends of AICC
Greetings in the name of Jesus!
We are now in the middle of the Lenten season. Lent has always been a wonderful season for the Christians.
It is the time of year set aside for special consideration for our Savior’s wonderful love. It is the time of
spiritual renewal for us. During Lent we are urged to pray and meditate with special intensity and devotion
on the Gospel accounts of the passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is also a time to examine
our lives and come closer to Jesus Christ so that we may become partakers of His death and resurrection. If
we are willing to unite our suffering with the suffering and death of Christ, we will come to new life with Him.
That is God’s promise; that is our hope. We look forward to the joyous triumph of Easter: the victory of life
over death.
Many people observe Lent by “giving up something”. Speaking of giving things up, I would like to offer a few
suggestions.
cont…
Worship Services
Every Sunday at 5pm
Holy Communion every first Sunday of the month
3/25/05 Palm Sunday
3/27/05 Easter Service
Lenten Program
“And Jesus said unto
3/23/05 7:30pm Joint Maundy Thursday Service
him, “verily I say unto
3/25/05 12noon Good Friday Service
thee, Today shalt thou
be with me in paradise.”
Saturday Lenten Meetings
-Luke 23:43
Theme: “Faith Plus” (based on 2 Peter 1:3-11)
3/05/05 6:30pm Residence of Dr. (Mrs).& Dr.Viswanathan
3/12/05 6:30pm Residence of Dr. (Mrs).& Mr. Sudhakar Rajan
3/19/05 6:30pm Residence of Mrs.& Mr. Michael Sithersinghs
Rev. Solomon (718-829-8849)
Asian Indian Christian Church Senior Pastor
Visit Our Website: (worshipping at Community
Rev.B.B.C.Kumar (908-688-8426)
United Methodist Church)
Associate Pastor
301 Chestnut Street
www.aiccnj.org
Roselle Park, NJ 07204
Email: pastors@aiccnj.org
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Pastor’s Letter cont…
•GIVE UP grumbling! Instead, quot;In everything give thanks.quot; quot;Moaning, groaning, and complainingquot; are not
Christian disciplines.
•GIVE UP 10 to 15 minutes in bed! Instead, use that time in prayer, Bible study and personal devotion.
•GIVE UP looking at other people's worst points. Instead concentrate on their best points. We all have faults.
It is a lot easier to have people overlook our shortcomings when we overlook theirs first.
•GIVE UP speaking unkindly. Instead, let your speech be generous and understanding. It costs so little to say
something kind and uplifting.
•GIVE UP your hatred of anyone or anything! Instead, learn the discipline of love. quot;Love covers a multitude of
sins.
•GIVE UP your worries and anxieties! Instead, trust God with them. Anxiety is spending emotional energy on
something we can do nothing about: like tomorrow! Live today and let God's grace be sufficient.
•GIVE UP TV one evening a week! Instead, visit some lonely or sick person. There are those who are
isolated by illness or age. Why isolate yourself in front of the quot;tube?quot; Give someone a precious gift, your time!
Lent is the church season in which we prepare for Easter Sunday. Most of all, it is a time to ready ourselves
for the sheer joy of Easter morning - it is a time to ready ourselves to meet our risen Lord once again! Jesus
is alive. Jesus is risen. He is with us today.
Easter not only happened two thousand years ago. It happens everyday. It is not only an historical event to
be celebrated once a year, it is a living presence to be experienced everyday. The God of the empty tomb is
also the God of our daily lives. The God who gives us victory over death also gives us victory during life.
Easter replaces fear with peace, sorrow with joy, doubt with devotion, weakness with power, and idleness
with a mission.
Kindly remember the Saturday Bible study, Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday & Easter services,
and Easter Concert in your prayers. Try to attend all these important services. May the risen Lord be with us
and fill us with peace and joy.
Yours in His service,
Christopher Solomon
Saturday Lenten Bible Study
During Lent we have been having our Bible study on the theme quot;FAITH PLUSquot;, based on 2 Peter 1: 1-11
Faith is important and without faith we can not please God. Faith is the foundation on which we are called to
build our spiritual life. But 2 Peter 1: 1-11 makes it clear that believers in Christ are commanded to furnish or
provide something more than faith, in order to fulfill God's whole purpose for our lives. Here Peter wants us to
add something to our faith . In verse 5 he tells us to supplement our faith with goodness, knowledge, self-
control, patience, godliness, mutual affection and love. He says quot;make every effort to supplement your faithquot;
with these seven things. If we abound in these things then we will become fruitful and useful to our Lord
Jesus Christ.Otherwise we will be blind and we can not understand the love of God. Cont..
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But we must realize that none of these quot;plusesquot;, or supplements, are adequate in themselves, apart from the
foundation of faith in Jesus Christ which is our indispensable foundation. In this passage we are called to work
hard to add these seven things to our faith. Let us ask God to help us to understand this passage and grant us
grace so that we make every effort to support our faith with these seven qualities.
We meet every Saturday at 6:30 p.m. in different homes to have our Bible study
Please come and join in our fellowship.
“But God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, CHRIST died for usquot; - Romans 5:8
GOOD FRIDAY SERVICE
March 25, 2005 – 12:00 Noon to 3:00 PM
Seven words of our Lord Jesus Christ spoken from the cross will be preached in English by the following
speakers:
Introductory Message: Rev. Christopher Solomon
“Father Forgive Them, For They Know Not What They Do” - Luke 23: 34
Dr. Paulraj Ponniah
“Today Shalt Thou Be With Me In Paradise” - Luke 23: 43
Mrs. Sarah Solomon
“Woman Behold Thy Son. …. Behold Thy Mother” - John 19: 26
Mr. Kenneth Victor
“My God, My God, Why Hast Thou Forsaken Me?” - Matthew 27: 46
Rev. Ashok Suryawanshi
“I Thirst” - John 19: 28
Mr. Samypillai Jayaraj
“It Is Finished” - John 19: 30
Mr. Solomon Karunakaran
“Father, Into Thy Hands, I Commend My Spirit” - Luke 23: 46
Rev. B.B.C. Kumar
COME AND HEAR INSPIRING MESSAGES AND CHRISTIAN SONGS IN DIFFERENT INDIAN REGIONAL
LANGUAGES. WORSHIP SERVICE WILL BE FOLLOWED BY TRADITIONAL FAST BREAKING MEAL.
CHILDCARE WILL BE PROVIDED DURING THE SERVICE.
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THE MOHANS
Mohan, Junitha and Gracelynne
Our Family: Our Home is built by Mohan Mangalaraj Samuelraj ( better recognised as twin of John
Monickaraj ! ).Junitha Rajendran .M & Gracelynne Naomi Mohan .
Roots : We are from Tamil Nadu.Mohan is from Sawyerpuram (Tuticorin District ) & Junitha is a native of
Surandai (Tirunelveli District ), but born & brought up in Madras.
Mohan is the 3rd among the four sons of Mr.& Mrs. Samuelraj & Junitha is the eldest daughter of Mr.&
Mrs.Rajendran. She has a sister & two brothers in India. Mohan was previously working in California .Lord
united us on Feb. 3, 2003. Our Saviour blessed us with Gracelynne on December 2004.
AICC : Internet introduced AICC to us. We began to attend services at AICC since 12/ 21/ 2004 .We are
spiritually nourished by the thought provoking, short & crisp message of Rev. Christopher Solomon. We
are blessed with many Uncles, Aunts, Annans, Accas and Friends after we began staying back for the
fellowship hour !
.
Hobbies :Mohan enjoys playing basketball, watching baseball, football (much against my resentment,
promises to decrease the time spent watching these but fails to keep up). He loves music and is a good
singer. Latest hobby is waking up Gracelynne & snoring when she expects his company! Junitha loves
photography, enjoys traveling, shopping ,experimenting new recipes, chatting with sister, cousins &
friends & philately. Our little one's hobby is yet to be discovered.
Our Testimony : God's Presence was with us on Nov. 23rd, 2004, when an apartment below ours was on
fire. Junitha, was chatting with Amy when this accident happened (this was the usual nap time of my full
term pregnant wife ) .God safely brought her out of the apartment and she escaped without any injury. Our
Saviour has guided us till this day & In God we trust.
We take this opportunity to Thank the Pastors, Uncles ,Aunts, Annans, Accas & Friends who supported us
especially our little daughter with their Prayers.
The Editorial Board collects information on each of the families in AICC and includes it in each issue of
the Triune, kind of a quot;getting-to-know the AICC familyquot; . We are doing this alphabetically and will send
you a questionnaire to answer.We would like all the families to try and complete this before due date.
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CHILDREN’S CORNER
THE FINAL HOURS OF JESUS
.
ACROSS DOWN
3. What was Jesus nailed to? (Mark 15:21) 1. The chief priests and teachers of the law _____
Jesus while he was on the cross? (Mark 15: 31)
4. Who did the chief Priests and elders take
Jesus to? (Mark 15: 1) 2. Which disciple betrayed Jesus? (Mark 14: 43)
5. What came over the earth just before 6. What kind of criminals were crucified with
Jesus died? (Mark 15: 33) Jesus? (Mark 15: 27)
8. How was Jesus put to death? (Mark 15:15) 7. What was the signal used to identify Jesus?
(Mark 14: 44)
Kids activity from www.kidssundayschool.com
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~Triune in your faith journey ~
The Editorial Board of Triune wants to thank you for your time in reading the magazine. It’s been a year as a
Board that we are in circulation, We appreciate your contribution, support and feedback in making this
magazine a success and a medium to present AICC to the rest of the world.
In a mission to make things better for Triune, we need your help. Please let us know how Triune is making a
difference in your life. Some of the questions you can ask yourself are, quot;What do I like the most about Triune?“
quot;What do I want to share with others about Triune?“ quot;What do I want to see in the future issues of Triune?quot;
We would like to thank those who responded….
“I enjoy reading the Triune every month, It keeps me updated on what’s happening at AICC. I also enjoy
reading the “AICC family”, I learn a lot of interesting facts about the families. ” -Dinesh Suryawanshi
“Congrats! to the crew on year first anniversary. Hats off to you guys for your patience and perseverance. I
like the way you nag to get articles and info from the members. I mean it in a positive way. I personally look
forward to reading the Triune for one reason and that is to get to know every family in a personal way I really
enjoy that column of the Triune. I also carefully read the special message by our Pastors.
Keep the good job going. We are with you.” -Sunitha John
TRIUNE 2004 QUIZ :RESULTS
Quiz # 1 : March 2004
Anshel Bright
Triune takes every opportunity to refresh the reader’s knowledge of
Sheba Ainsha
Bible. So in 2004, every quarter Triune had a Quiz in two
Priya Mamidi
categories, one for adults and the other for kids. This was to
Josephine Monickaraj
. encourage our readers, especially children to read the Bible, gain
Percy Senthil
knowledge and apply it to answer the questions in the Quiz.
Quiz # 2 : June 2004
We in AICC have been blessed with a very encouraging and
knowledgeable congregation. There was a very positive Jean Thomas
participation by the congregation and the responses were accurate
Jonathan Alfred
most of the time.
Joanne Alfred
Anshel Bright
Triune wants to thank all the participants and their hard work in
completing the quiz successfully. The congregation is encouraged
Sheba Ainsha
to participate with more enthusiasm as this will help you gain
Ryan Kishore
spiritual food.
Quiz #3 : Nov 2004
Jean Thomas
quot;I can do all things through Christ who Anshel Bright
strengthens me.quot; Sitara Kishore
- Phil 4:13
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ESTHER : PRAYER
submitted by Mrs. Radhabai Vijayakumar
“ Let us all believe that prayer is a Vehicle which carries all the actions and events of our life to save the poor
people and give strength to the poor people, thus building a loving community among people “
1) Esther’s Courage:
“My people should live in the world safely” were the words spoken by Esther. Esther’s courage
was essential to save the lives of God’s people in Persia. Esther decided to risk her own life to save her people.
Let us all join hands and pray to God to help our Indian community in the aftermath of the tsunami.
2) Esther’s Progress:
Esther who grew up under the great care of her uncle Mordecai glittered like a “ star” even when
she was poor. God had blessed her abundantly and elevated her and she was chosen by King Xerxes from the
royal harem to be his queen. Jesus can do the same for you when disasters happen in your life. He can help you
recover from terrific poverty, dreadful diseases and tearful sorrows. In our life time, we should be obedient,
disciplined, patient and sincere like Esther and Indeed God shall lift our life.
3) Esther’s Victory :
The story of Esther is a profound interplay of God’s sovereignty and human will. God prepared
the place and the opportunity, and Esther chose to act on it. Esther was victorious despite the enormous risk that
she took to save her people because God was with her at all times.
We in India have been facing a series of natural disasters. Orissa faced a tremendous flood
which demolished many buildings and caused many deaths.
In Gujarat, the earthquake had taken the lives of many people. Many were buried alive and a
large number lost their homes. Very recently we were struck by the deadly tsunami/
Numerous houses, buildings, industries, lives, and property people's property have been lost
due to these natural disasters.
Like Esther let us all join in hands and pray to God with sincerity, discipline, obedience, and
faith.
Father of Love, we pray for all our Indian people. Please save our people from these suffering
.Lord it is you who created this world . We are all people without any strength. Lord you are great indeed . You
are our strength and our only HELP. “
If we pray sincerely our Lord will make us a glittering star like Esther.
What is your goal and achievement in your life?
It is to impress God’s hearts by our activities?
.
Let us all like Esther, PRAY FAITHFULLY And WAIT ON GOD TO ACT ON OUR BEHALF.
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YOUTH CORNER Submitted by Padmini Kumar
The youth recently had a fundraiser for Valentine's Day. We made candy grams, which consisted of a
bag of candy with a personalized message which church members could send to each other. The
proceeds would be submitted to the Tsunami Relief Fund. We raised about $405! Thank you to
everyone who supported our fundraiser. It was a huge success, and went out for a wonderful cause!
On the Lighter Side…
quot;If there are any idiots in the room, will they please stand up,quot; said
the sarcastic teacher.
After a long silence, one freshman rose to his feet.
quot;Now then mister, why do you consider yourself an idiot?quot;
inquired the teacher with a sneer.
quot;Well, actually I don't,quot; said the student, quot;but I hate to see
you standing up there all by yourself and God said we should love
they neighbor as thyself.quot;
This relates to the youth in an odd way because the youth will always stand together and we are
a team and will never let another one of our team members fall. We are all here for each other.
Words to Live By…
1. Anger is a condition in which the tongue works faster than the mind.
2. You can't change the past, but you can ruin the present by worrying over the future.
3. Love ......and you shall be loved.
4. God always gives His best to those who leave the choice with Him.
5. All people smile in the same language.
6. A hug is a great gift..one size fits all. It can be given for any occasion and it's easy to exchange.
7. Everyone needs to be loved...especially when they do not deserve it.
8. The real measure of a man's wealth is what he has invested in eternity.
9. Laughter is God's sunshine.
10. Everything has beauty but not everyone sees it
Did you know….
•The definition of Easter is found in the root of its meaning from the mythical goddess 'EOSTRE' (also known
as Ostara or Ishtar), a goddess of the dawn and spring.
•The word Easter is used only once in the Bible found in Acts 12:4, in some versions instead of “Passover”
•Easter falls on the first Sunday after the full moon on or following the vernal equinox (spring) which is March
21. Therefore, Easter can come from March 22-April 25
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ANNOUNCEMENTS cont..
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
Dr. Jayanthi Viswanathan
Chairman Bldg. Committee
†Those who want to host Mr. Kenneth Victor
monthly Prayer Fellowship Bldg. Committee secretary
(every third Friday at 8pm) March 2nd Ainsha Enose
Dr. Densingh Bright
are kindly requested to March 4th Nalantha Devaraj
Bldg. Committee member
contact the convener – Alexander John
Mr. Ainsha Enose
Mr. Bobby Benjamin March 9th David Kumar
Worship committee member
March 11th Riya Chatterji
†There are many ways to March 20th Bagshaw Philip Harper
become involved in Mrs. Madhu Luther
March 22nd Pradeep Albert
Sunday School Superintendent
church…. Come and talk to March 27th Cynthia Praveen
one the Pastors and see March 31st Rajesh Frederick
how God can use you!
Mrs. Amy Jayapaul
Mr. Sunil Luther
†Congratulations to the
new office-bearers of the Mrs. Joy Victor
church, who were installed
Mrs. Priya Pakianathan
on Sunday Feb. 27, 2005.
Mrs. Sunitha John
Mr. Kenneth Victor Dr. Jayanthi Viswanathan
New Council member
Mrs. Shebah Rajadurai Coffee Hour
Mr. Thomas Kishore
Secretary Ms. Priya Kumar If you would like to host the
Mr. Anand Manchala after-service coffee hour, Please
Sunday School Teachers
contact Mrs. Priya Mamidi.
Treasurer
Padmini Kumar
Mr. Jayaraj Thomas
Associate Treasurer Sunday School Teachers’ assistant
Change in Triune Board
Triune welcomes Mrs. Shebah Rajadurai to editorial board. Rajadurai, Shebah and little Rebekah are big
part of the AICC family and they have been actively involved in our Church activities. We, the congregation of
AICC thank you Shebah for kindly accepting the responsibility and remember you on our prayers, we wish you
the best.
Editors Note: Corrections and Omissions
The Triune is a monthly newsletter to serve as
Gracelynne Naomi Mohan was born
a means of expression for the members of
AICC. December 21st, 2004 to
We would like to encourage all to contribute Mohan Mangalaraj S & Junitha Mohan
articles, ideas, viewpoints,etc. for this
purpose.The next issue will be April 2005.
Shebah Rajadurai will replace Kenneth Victor
Kindly submit your articles by the 20th of
in the Triune Board
March. It is our hope that this newsletter
along with those that follow will glorify our
Lord and edify its readers.
Kindly bring to our notice any
The Editorial Board
omissions or errors.
Warsha Suryawanshi, Jayanthi Viswanathan,
Anand Manchala & Shebah Rajadurai
The Editorial Board
Triune Email: triune@aiccnj.org
10. The Triune
Asian Indian Christian Church Newsletter
OUR VISION
To establish a worshiping and witnessing church to cater to the
spiritual needs of the Asian Indian Christian community in the
USA, enabling them to come together for worship, fellowship,
and service to the community at large through activities such
as:
“Jesus said unto her, I am the •Regular Sunday worship
resurrection, and the life: he that •Sunday school
believeth in me, though he were
•Youth ministry
dead, yet shall he live: And
•Music ministry
whosoever liveth and believeth
•Counseling
in me shall never die. Believest
•Evangelism
thou this?” -John 11: 25-26
•Mission
•Social activities
COME AND WORSHIP WITH US EVERY SUNDAY AT 5PM
Asian Indian Christian Church
(worshipping at Community United Methodist Church)
301 Chestnut Street
Roselle Park, NJ 07204