Greetings to you in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!
It has been 10 blessed years since United Evangelical Christian Fellowship (UECF ) started. I am delighted to report the progress as we entered into the 11th year.
The last UECF General Body meeting was held on 25th February 2007 and the leaders were elected for a 3 year tenure. The present leaders took charge after their installation on 4th March, 2007.
I praise the Lord for the privilege to serve Him. I thank Him for watching over us all these years and helping us in growing both spiritually and in numbers. Praise the Lord for His continued blessings. Our regular worship services have been a blessing to many. We are privileged to hear the word of God through our honorary pastors.
We had a great joy in celebrating UECF 10th anniversary last October. 3-Day celebrations were held with guest preaching by Rev. Naveen Balakrishnan and Rev. Solomon Raju Kunchanpalli. Apart from regular Sunday worship services, we had special services on Christmas, New Year Eve (Watch Night Service), Palm Sunday, Good Friday, Easter, Thanksgiving, Mothers Day and Fathers Day. On the scheduled Sundays, Sr. Honorary Pastor Rev. Dr. David Ravinder and Honorary Pastor Rev. David Davis have shared the God’s word and spiritually encouraged us all through the year. We are also blessed to hear the Word of God through many of the guest preachers from India and around New Jersey. The guest preachers for the year 2007 included the following eminent servants of God: Rev. Dr. Yesupadam Bandela, Rev. Manoj Bhatt, Rev. Anna Bhujbal, Rev. Darryl Duer, Rev. Nelson Vantabathina, Dr. Elijah Gnanaranjan Philip, Dr. Jacob Prabhu, Rev. Vasanth Peter, Rev. Dr, Livingston Gadde, Rev. Dr. John Stephen, Rev. Solomon Raju Kunchanapalli, Dr. Edwin Chelli, Bro. Suresh Kumar Gundala, Rev. Naveen Balakrishnan, Rev. K. Kurian, Rev. Dr. Devasahayam Dandala, Rev. Dr. M. S. Santhavardhan.
As we do every year, Lenten Cottage prayer meetings were held for six weeks and we are looking forward to start the same for this year from next week onwards. UECF joined the Community United Methodist Church in Roselle Park for a combined Easter morning service on 4th April, 2007. UECF actively participated in Christian Family conference and NAAIC Annual Banquet.
Praise Time has been a vital part of our Sunday Worship Services. We had the opportunity to sing praises not only English but also in the regional languages like Telugu and Hindi. Thanks to the Praise Team and to Mrs. Emily Sensen Gopal, Ms. Yuko Unehara, Mr. Sushil Bhujbal, Mr. Samuel Chilaka, Mr. Josiah Srigiri, Mr.Junia Moses, Mr. Sunil Robert and James & Jacob for providing music support.
Sunday School: Sunday School children of different age groups exhibited their talents on all possible special occasions. Thanks to Mr. Louis Dundi, Sunday School Coordinator and the Sunday School teaching staff for conducting dramas and group dances. Thanks for their efforts in nurturing the children with the Word of God.
Bible Study: UECF monthly Bible Study has been a blessing to many of the members. Thanks to the efforts of Mr. Ravi Rapaka for taking lead in conducting the Bible Study.
Christmas Carols: As we do every year, we participated in Carol rounds during the Christmas season. In the year 2007, we had visited 49 families as part of our carol rounds and received your prayerful gifts. Thanks to Mr. Clement Myla and Mr. Louis Dundi for their help in coordinating the Carol rounds.
Picnic: Last year, we had an Annual Family picnic at Colonial Park. Mr. Ebenezer Mallepalle shared the word of God during our picnic time. Many families have actively participated in various items of the picnic.
Fellowship Hour: Many of our members have volunteered to host Fellowship Coffee hour after each Sunday service while celebrating their Birthdays and anniversaries. Special programs like Baby showers were also taken place. I thank all the congregation members for keeping the sanctuary and the fellowship hall clean and neat after the usage.
Many guests have visited us and worshipped with us during regular Sunday worship and other Special services. Mr. Thomas Kalyanapu as Stewardship Coordinator has helped to reach out the visitors and ensured they signed the Guest Book with their addresses. Also, I would like to appreciate Mr. Vinod Nakka and Mr. Clement Myla for arranging the Communion elements on Communion Sundays.
Special thanks to Mr. Clement Myla for helping us as an in-charge Treasurer and providing the contribution statements and other financial reports.
UECF acknowledged the yeoman services of Late. Mr. Alfred Bhaskar, one of the founding leaders and the first President of UECF. The congregation misses him a lot and he is always remembered for his services and vision.
I thank the Executive officers, Board of Trustees and Pastorate Committee, Coordinators and all the members for their help. I express my thanks to our Pastors Rev. Dr. David Ravinder and Rev. David Davis for ministering to us. Thanks to the NDUMC board of trustees and Pastor Darryl Duer for their continued support.
In Him,
Joshua(Phani) Pilli