13.08.2023
DUMCN Visit to Chota Nagpur Gets Underway
Archbishop Michael Jackson is currently visiting the Diocese of Chota Nagpur in India with Canon Dr Maurice Elliott, Director of the Church of Ireland Theological Institute, the Revd Steve Brunn, Dean of Residence and Church of Ireland Chaplain at Trinity College, Dublin and Dr Kerry Houston. The visit is organised under the auspices of the Dublin University Mission to Chota Nagpur. Here the Archbishop reports on the first day of their visit on Sunday August 13.
Today was spent in Ranchi and in surrounding area. The archbishop preached at the English Language Service in Chota Nagpur Cathedral in Ranchi, India at 8.30am and Dr Maurice Elliott at the Hindi Language Service at 10.30 am. Both took the theme of Jesus stilling the storm [St Matthew 14.27]. You can read the Archbishop’s sermon here.
In the afternoon we went to the tribal areas North West of Ranchi. This is where missionary work is carried out and where the Diocesan Catechists are working. Their advantage is that they come from the local areas and they speak the local languages.
St Columba’s Hospital, Hazaribagh is situated in this area. It was founded to bring healthcare to the region and has flourished for many decades.
While in the tribal areas we visited The Ten Waterfalls, a cascade of water which comes down from the mountains and creates a spectacular sight and sound. We also visited a community where the members had gone on a parish outing to mark Independence Day. There is a residential hostel for girls in the community which provides education for girls and young women in the surrounding region. We met the parish priest and his family and left them to enjoy a feast of rice and beef which some of the men of the parish had stayed behind to prepare.
Dr Kenneth Kennedy from DUMCN was the first bishop of the Diocese of Chota Nagpur. From modest numerical beginnings the diocese has now 400 million members, 80 clergy, 132 catechists, one cathedral and one bishop.
