Faith Formation Program

Catechism Graduation Ceremony

The School of Evangelization, Ranchi

School of Evangelization, S. Gujarat

X mas Carol report

Group Discussion-Alpha

JY Professionals in Mahvadad

JY Professanals in Delhi

Jammu Family Convention

Bhagalpur Children’s Retreats

Faith Formation Program in Tundoli Parish, Jharkhand

21st April to 26th April 2007, Burari

The Santvana Community had conducted a retreat cum faith Formation program for the Youth of Daltonganj diocese in Jharkhand from 21st to 26th April, 2007. The Sessions were given to the participants to help them grow and experience in the love of God.

This retreat was indeed a blessing for everyone who participated. Many of them are decided to go their and neighboring parishes to proclaim the good news of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Catechism Graduation Ceremony With a Difference

13th April to 15th April 2007, Burari

Shiney Alexy, a member of Santvana Community and the Catechism teacher of the 10th Std, the Holy Rosary Parish, Kingsway Camp with the help of Rev. Fr. Sabu Joseph, the Parish Priest, organized a three day program for the catechism children of class 10, 11, and 12 standard in Jeevan Jyoti Ashram, Burari. 

The main purpose of the program was that the catechism children may experience the love of God. A Total of 27 children took part in the program which began on the 13th till the 15th of April. The Santvana team together with the Youth of Rosary Parish conducted the Life in the Spirit seminar for the children here. With interesting talks and valuable group sessions the children were able to see the beauty of God’s unconditional love in their lives. Rev. Fr. Sabu Joseph the Parish Priest was there to motivate the children with his talks on leadership and some interesting games. Throughout the program there was lively music with action songs which brought fun with useful learning. The program ended with the children being given the catechism graduation certificates. The children were happy to attend such a program and desired that such program should be conducted at least once in every year. 

The School of Evangelization

26th February to 8th March 2007, Ranchi

The Santvana Ranchi community organized and conducted a ten day’s School of Evangelisation program at Don Bosco Youth Centre, Bariatu, Ranchi from the 26th of February 2007 to the 8th of March 2007. 52 youngsters from three dioceses in the state of Jharkhand attended the training. 

The experience of training these youth was unique. Many had arrived at the centre expecting to go through the usual camp conducted for the youth. They were in for a shocking surprise when they were led through a retreat at the beginning of the program. During the course of the program we realized that some of the participants were addicted to drinking and the usage of some mild drugs until the day that they stepped into the centre. In actuality the participants had to be made to experience the love of God and the love for God before being trained. 

Rt. Rev Bishop Vincent Barwa, auxiliary bishop of Ranchi celebrated the concluding mass for the program. The out reach experience during the programme has kindled in them a desire to evangelize. Rev. Fr. Dheeraj, Mr. Santhosh J C, Mrs. Sali Santhosh and Mr. Naveen Lobo were the main resource persons for this programme.

The most heart warming result of this program is that the participants have decided to come together on every Sunday for a prayer meeting followed by an out reach where they will meet strangers to share their faith and experiences. The first Sunday saw 18 youth gathered together from Ranchi diocese. 

THE SCHOOL OF EVANGELISATION PROGRAM

5th to 15th January 2006, South Gujarat

The program was mainly for the catechists of the different mission stations of south Gujarat. Mr. Santhosh JC, Mr. Naveen Lobo and Mr. Jinu Thomas from the community were the resource for the program. Sheila George and Greeshma Simon were there to help with lively music and intercession respectively.

There were total 45 participants attended this 10 days program. The entire program was divided into 3 phases. The first phase was a ‘Retreat’ for 4 days During the retreat they were made to nail their list of sins on the wooden cross as a symbolic sign of Christ being nailed on the cross taking away their sins and giving them freedom from darkness. Through this they truly came closer to Jesus on the cross had a true and total repentance of their sins. The second phase of 3 days was for ‘Kerygmatic Evangelization training’. The next 2 days were for ‘Mission’. These days there was practical implementation of what they were taught in the previous days. They were filled with a joyous zeal and love for the Catholic Church by the time the program got over and promised to bring several other hungry souls to Christ to the best of their ability.

Testimonies of some of the participants: 

Kalyan: “During the intercession at night I was praying for a grandfather who had severe problems with his hand. He had requested me for prayers. He was unable to lift up his hands to an extent. I met him during our outreach and he said that he had been healed and could lift up his hands. My faith has increased after this and I believe that Jesus hears all our prayers. Alleluia”

Ramu: “I had decided two years before to stop serving the Catholic Church and was on the verge of going away from it. I was praying and making the decision, and then I came to this training program. During nailing of our sins on the cross, I saw a vision Jesus with nails on him. As soon as I saw this, my body got strength and I was filled with love for him and I repented. Now I have decided to continue working for him and never leave Jesus.

A Village Christmas Carol

20th December 2006, Delhi

Christmas is the celebration of God’s love, manifested through his Son Jesus. We together with our Bible Nursery children went to a nearby village on 20th December 2006, to celebrate Christmas. There the bible nursery children played the Nativity and sang the Carol songs. Mr. Alexy Pallan gave them the Christmas message. It was amazing to see the nativity played by the bible nursery children aged between 5yrs and 9yrs. Even though we conducted the celebration in a Christian home, many people including children who gathered there were from other faiths. The distribution of cakes added the joy of villagers who came there. The bible nursery staff Mrs. Violet Massey and Ms. Reeta Joseph with Ms. Celene, Mr. Pascal Ekka, Mr. Alexy Pallan and Mrs. Shiney Alexy of Santvana Community coordinated the programme.

The Pilot Alpha Course

11th to 13th December 2006

“I sense the moment has come to commit all the Church’s energy to a new evangelization. No believer in Christ, no institution of the Church can avoid this supreme duty.” Late John Paul II

As a response to above call, the Archdiocese of Delhi together with Santvana Community organized ‘A Pilot Alpha course’ from 11th till 13th December at Navinta Retreat Center, New Delhi. The program was mainly a follow up for those who had attended the two Alpha conferences held in July and September. The Alpha course is a dynamic presentation of the Christian faith, which has become a worldwide phenomenon with it running in over 150 countries. The Course was aimed at giving a good tool for Evangelization, which is practical and non-threatening and friendly by which we can evangelize the parish/school/organization etc. It is a 15 session practical introduction to Christianity, designed mainly for non-churchgoers and practicing Christians to make them more alive. It runs over 10 weeks, one session per week. Each session consists of a meal, a talk and a discussion within the small group, which is very important to increase fellowship with each other. 

The day began with Morning Prayer. There was lively music to add life into the program. It consisted of the sessions which are to be used for the alpha course. Many live persons including the Archbishop gave talks on the various topics like who is Jesus, Why did Jesus die, who is the Holy spirit, how can I resist evil, how does God guide us, what about the church etc. After every session there were group discussions which helped the participants to interiorize the topic they heard. It was a great motivation for the participants to see His Grace participating in the programme for two full days sharing his views in the group discussions. The resource person Ms. Caroline from Malaysia was there to conduct the program. Other resources were Rev. Fr. Sabu Joseph (Holy Rosary Church, Kingsway Camp), Rev. Fr. Jose T.J. (St. Sebastians Church, Dilshad Garden), Mr. Mathew Antony (DST), Mr. Jolly Sebastian (Chennai) and Mrs. Sally Santhosh (Santvana Community). Many understood the program in much more detail and are ready to carry out this in their parishes, etc All have decided to carry out this work as soon as possible in the month of January by last week. In order to train the facilitators a meeting is decided to be held in the month of February.

Parish retreat in St. Patricks Church

9th and 10th December 2006, Agra

Agra, the City of Taj, has always been a special place for the Santvana Community since it was from here that the community has grown. Fr.Joe Vadakekara, the Parish Priest of the St. Patricks Church, Agra Cantt, invited us to conduct a two day retreat for the parishioners as a preparation for Christmas during the advent season. About sixty parishioners attended the retreat which began with the Holy Mass and Novena. Then Mrs. Jancy Wilson, Ms. Sheila George and Mr. Yusuf Massey from the community led the Parishioners in a time of worship followed by a session on Praise, Word of God, God’s love, sin and repentance. Jancy reinstated the importance the Holy Eucharist and praying the Rosary. The second day was for preparing the parishioners for confession. The day ended with testimonies shared by the parishioners on how the retreat helped them grow in the love of God. A lady shared that on coming here she got the motivation to spend her life in service for the lord. Many others felt peace and joy in their lives.

Jesus Youth Professionals to Mission

November 2006

A group of five youths from the Kerala JY Professionals ministry, came to North India. They had come to have a Mission experience for a month. Out of the five youths, all except one were Medical students awaiting their results. These youths were initially stationed at the Ranchi House of the Santvana Community. At the Ranchi house, Mrs. Jini Lobo gave them guidance. From Ranchi, they were sent to Mahvadad, an interior hill station. The youths spend nearly 10 days at Mahavadad and shared the Good News, with the local village Christians.

After their experience at Mahavadad, the five youths arrived at Delhi, where they stayed at the Santvana Prayer house. They visited the nearby villages, accompanied by Mrs. Pallly Tressa and Ms. Celene. In the villages, the group visited variouse houses and conducted prayer meetings in two of the local houses. They met many people from other faith as well, and shared the Love of God with the villagers. The members of the group were really surprised to see the eagerness the people of the village showed in receiving the message of Love. The youths later told "before coming here, we had only heard about Mission. But now, we have seen the Mission with our own eyes, and experienced the scarcity of labourers in the Mission fields".

With greater zeal and love for the Kingdom, they returned to Kerala, taking a commitment to pray and support the Mission.

Jammu Family Convention

24th to 26th November 2006

Believe in the lord Jesus Christ and you and your household will be saved. Acts-16: 31

The main aim of having the family convention was to strengthen the families of Jammu towards one another and towards Christ. The family convention was held from November 24th evening till November 29th, 2006. His Excellency Peeter Selestin, bishop of Jammu had organized it. The resource team consisted of Rev. Sr. Lily, the secretary for womens commission CBCI and her teammates - Mrs. Chinamma, Mrs. Tessy, Sr. Vera and from Santvana community Mr. Alexy Pallan, Mrs. Shiney Alexy and their 5 children, Mrs. Jancy Wilson and Ms. Sheila. The Jesus youth members of Jammu, coordinated by Mr. Bunty along with 15 other members enriched the entire program with their melodious singing in Hindi, English and Punjabi and playing of instruments.

The programs main emphasis was on family and family life. The topics covered were Holy trinity as a family, Sin (Ten Commandments), Holy Spirit, and witnessing of family life. Daily there was Adoration. During the program counseling and confessions were made available to all. There were many who came in need for some consolation. Before the program started some team members went for house visits. This motivated many burdened families to release their tensions and they were invited to come for the program to experience the lord. 

During the inner healing adoration families experienced forgiveness. On the last day they renewed their marriage vows and committed themselves to prayer in their families. It was a blessing for the family’s of Jammu diocese.

Bhagalpur Children’s Retreats

1st to 6th November 2006

Young people do not be afraid to be the Saints of the New Millennium (Late Pope John Paul II)

We were invited to conduct two retreats for Children in the diocese of Bhagalpur, Bihar. The first retreat was conducted in the Gokhala for three days where Mr. Naveen Lobo, Mrs. Jancy Wilson, Ms. Shiela George and Mr. Pascal Ekka of the Community led about nine hundred children in worship.

The second retreat was at Porehatt, a small town in Jharkhand where about three hundred children had gathered. Though they were limited means for such a big gathering still the Lord worked wonders, for many youths experienced the Love, Joy and Peace of the Lord.

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