MARAMON (Kerala, India) – A huge crowd of more than 100,000 people from various parts of India and other countries attended the 112th Maramon Convention here from Feb 11 to 18, 2007.
Held on the sandbed of River Pampa in Maramon, Kerala, the convention has helped to kindle the spirit of revivalism among the Marthoma Christians and to address the social concerns facing the Indian society.
It was organised by the Mar Thoma Evangelistic Association – the evangelistic wing of the Mar Thoma Syrian Christian Church – with the cooperation of all the other auxiliary units of the church.
The convention meetings were held in a “pandal” (giant temporary shed) to accommodate the more than 100,000 people. A special “pandal” for mothers with babies was constructed adjacent to the main shed.
Personal evangelism and counselling formed part of the convention, and prayer sheds were available.
The vision of a small prayer group of 12 members, the convention answered the fervent prayers of the founding fathers with its phenomenal growth from 1895 when it was launched. It has since attained a global stature, and attracted Christians of all denominations and even people belonging to other faiths.
Bishop Dr Robert Solomon was one of the four main speakers at the convention. His messages were based on the text from Colossians.
He also spoke at the Opening Service on Feb 11 and conducted Bible studies for the men every morning throughout the convention period.
The Rev Dr George Varghese, who translated the Bishop’s messages, expressed his appreciation for the “wonderful messages which had made an impact on our listeners”.
The other speakers were Mr R. Rajkumar, Director of Logos Ministries in New Delhi; Mrs Anne Graham Lotz, daughter of American evangelist Billy Graham; and the Rev Dr Samuel Kobia, General Secretary of the World Council of Churches.
The Rev Dr Johnson Mathew, General Secretary of the Mar Thoma Evangelistic Association, said: “Their messages were spread over a period of eight days and the large crowd which gathered listened with rapt attention.’’
Past speakers included Dr E. Stanley Jones, American Methodist evangelist and missionary to India, and Sadhu Sundar Singh. Dr Jones had preached regularly at the convention for 30 years in the early part of the 20th century.
The Rev Dr Kobia described the convention as “a unique experience that will remain in my memory for a long time”, adding: “I had never seen anything like this before.”
The Lord ‘brought me back from captivity’
WHILE I was kidnapped, you were in captivity here praying for me until my release. Because of your tears and prayers, the Lord has brought me back,” the Rev Tongkhojang Lunkim told worshipers in the Upper Room Chapel recently.
The Rev Lunkim, publications coordinator for four editions of the Upper Room Daily Devotional Guide in northeast India, was captured on Jan 16 last year by a group of rebels called the Kuki Liberation Army. Held in solitary confinement for 61 days, he was released in mid-March 2006.
Former hostage visits Upper Room
“I am alive. It is me,” the Rev Lunkim, 87, told the staff of the United Methodist Board of Discipleship during the weekly chapel service. Gesturing towards the carved picture of The Last Supper in the front of the Upper Room chapel, he recalled first seeing it when he spoke there in 1980.
As a captive “I prayed to God to let me see it one more time, and here I am, standing before you today”.
The Rev Lunkim came to Nashville to visit the Upper Room staff and to thank personally those who prayed for him while he was a hostage.
While in captivity, he said there was nothing to do but read the Bible and meditate. He said the boy who arrested him was one of his own people. “They sent him to kill me, but he could not pull the trigger.” The Rev Lunkim was kept in a tiny cabin about the size of his small-frame body.
He suspects he was kidnapped because of his work either as a human rights activist or as a Christian.
Jeanette Pinkston is Media Relations Coordinator for the General Board of Discipleship in Nashville, Tennessee. — United Methodist News Service.