Pilgrim
Excerpts from the September 2026 edition…
FROM THE EDITOR
Dear Friends
Greetings to you from the Editorial Team of the Friends of the Church in India. In this edition of Pilgrim, we give thanks for the continuing witness of the Churches of
India and South Asia, and for the friendships that bind us together across countries, churches and communities. We hope this issue finds you strengthened in faith and renewed in hope. As followers of Christ, we are called not only to rejoice with those who rejoice but also to weep with those who weep, holding before God the pain and longing of our neighbours near and far.
The Formation of the Church of South India: Exploring some Background Factors
Revd Canon Dhanaraj Charles Premraj
The Church of South India will be celebrating the 80th anniversary of its formation. We thank and praise God for the amazing way the Church of South India has grown and continues to grow by the grace of God.
(Read more in the magazine)
Relevance of Gandhian Alternatives in the Context of Globalisation
Revd Dr Solomon Victus
[This is an extract from the original, with the writer’s permission. The full article can be obtained on application to the Editor.]
There was a birth of “Gandhism”, named after Mahatma Gandhi in the post-Independence period of India. This new term has become inevitable for those who are talking about economic alternatives. It has become a popular ideology while referring to principles and paths of alternatives. Although such talk is in decline in recent years
in India due to various factors, a new brand of ambassadors is coming up globally who witness that they are still inspired by it in many ways. This evokes a question of how the concept of Gandhism which is ignored in India is able to get attraction at the global level, and is especially able to survive in a context of the neo-liberal market
economy and globalisation. What is the significance which Gandhism is still able to witness?
(Read more in the magazine)
The Church of South India
An Ecumenical Vision and Its Continuing Challenge
A Personal Reflection
Revd Dr Samuel Reddimalla, USA
I was born before the inauguration of the Church of South India (CSI) in 1947 and was raised in the former British Methodist region of Karimnagar District. My education took me from Jagtial to Kothapally, Kamareddy, Secunderabad, and finally to the United Theological College (UTC), Bangalore.
(Read more in the magazine)
South Asia Christian Youth Network (SACYN), Nepal, August 2026 – A Reflection
Revd Vinod Victor
It was a privilege and a joy to be part of SACYN 2026 – a movement whose journey has been closely intertwined with my own ecumenical pilgrimage for more than twenty-five years. The seeds were sown during the “Everywhere to Everywhere” encounter in 2000, when conversations began about creating a space where young Christians across South Asia could meet, listen to one another, build friendships across borders and discover together what Christian witness could mean in our region. Those conversations eventually led to the first gathering of South Asian Christian young people in 2002 in Colombo and to the emergence of SACYN — the South Asia Christian Youth Network. The South Asian Churches joined CMS, USPG and other ecumenical partners in facilitating this movement.
(Read more in the magazine)
The South Asia Forum, Wantage, April-May 2026
Revd Adrian Watkins, FCI Secretary
The South Asia Forum held its annual gathering from 27th April to 1st May 2026 at St Mary’s Convent, Wantage with the Diocese of Oxford as the host. The Forum brings together leaders of the CSI, CNI, Church of Pakistan and Church of Bangladesh with their European partners and links. The theme and focus this year was “Celebrating Rural Ministry and Mission”. The keynote address was given by Sarah Hulme, the Rural Mission and Ministry Officer in the Connexional Team of the British Methodist Church. She highlighted several challenges faced by local communities in the UK including affordable housing, transport and communication connectivity, access to public services, isolation and loneliness and energy issues in relation to netzero. She then also spoke of particular concerns faced by rural churches including smaller, ageing congregations, governance issues, maintaining buildings, scarcity of funds, and an over-stretched ordained ministry.
(Read more in the magazine)
Colonialism and Christian Missions in India 1793-1947
Dr Eleanor Jackson
There is much that could be written on this subject, and indeed already has been. “Colonialism” is generally taken to include attitudes, policy and settlement, usually taken by force. Sadly, the argument that, from the arrival of Protestant missionaries in areas today known as Bengal and Tamil Nadu until Independence in 1947,
missions were agents of imperialism is re-cycled continuously and is now resurfacing in book reviews and their subjects. It is to oversimplify the dominance of English culture, with the late Bishop Sundar Clarke’s little book, Let the Indian Church be Indian! resonating even when published (CLS) in 1979.
(Read more in the magazine)
News from the Church of Bangladesh
Rev. Stella Sudatta Boidya
Matthew S. Bicket
Reverend Stella Sudatta Boidya passed away on October 26 at 5.30 am in the Bollovpur Mission Old Age Home in Meherpur. She was 82 years old. She was the first female priest of the Church of Bangladesh. Her funeral service was held on October 27 at 10:00 am at Epiphany Church, Barishal, officiated by Father John. The burial service
followed at 11:00 am, conducted by Bishop Sourabh Pholia. A large number of people attended to pay their last respects.
(Read more in the magazine)
For texts of obituaries published in the magazine, see the Obituaries page.
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