Greetings to you in the Name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!
I thank and praise God 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 great blessing to many. We are privileged to hear the word of God through our honorary Pastor and guest Preachers.
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 Da. On the scheduled Sundays, Sr. Honorary Pastor Rev. Dr. David Ravinder 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 2013 included the following eminent servants of God: Rev. Joseph Theophilus, Rev. Dr. Isaac Simon, Rev. Immanuel Desai, Bro. Sunil Robert Vuppula, Bro. Ravindra Bhaskar, Rev. Dr. Samuel Mohanraj, Pator Ravi Prakash, Sis. Elizabeth Vallabhaneni, Bro. Ashish Pushkaran, Bro. Deevanaiah, Bro. Bhogi Santha Rao, Bro. Herford Urlica, Bro. Joe & Sis. Veena Payarda, Bro. John Moses.
Our special meditation programs included the Cottage Prayer meetings during the 6 weeks of Lenten season. UECF participated in New Jersey, Virginia and Connecticut annual family conferences.
Missions/ Outreach Ministry:
UECF goal and purpose is to participate in the great commission given by our Lord Jesus in Mark 16:15 ‘Go ye into the all the world and preach the gospel to every creature’. In 2013 we were able to reach out to unsaved and unreached through witnessing, tract distribution and DVDs of Jesus film. In 2013 our Lord has given an opportunity to have 4 special Gospel/ Revival meetings, and some people accepted Christ as their personal Savior, we thank and praise the Lord for this. So many people have been touched by UECF music ministry, so many people testified that some of the songs have been encouraging to them and using our songs in other ministries. We thank and praise God for our musicians and singers. UECF is also fulfilling the mandate given in Acts Ch: 8
‘Ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem and all Judea and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth’. Based on the scripture Romans 1:16 ‘I am not ashamed of the gospel’. UECF wants to do more things in Outreach. We thank and praise the Lord for all those who have participated through giving, spending time and sacrifices made.
UECF is supporting missionaries who are doing missionary service for the spread of the Gospel primarily in India where many people do not know Christ. UECF supported Emmaus Ministries, Saviors Heartbeat Ministries, AEL Revival Forum, Rev. GCR Arun Rao, Bro. J. Prem Kumar, Pastor N. Sudhakar Rao, Bro. Joseph Dawson, Dr. Augustine Pagolu, Bro. Moshe Dayan, Lutheran Boarding Home, Partners India International, Peluru Church Planting, Followers of Christ Ministries, Bro. Boaz Kommuru, Leprosy and Orphanage in Tirupathi, Save a Child Ministry, Peace Proclamation Ministries, Parchur Church construction, Nandi Velugu Church construction, Hyderabad Church construction, Mrs. Sudharani Orphanage and Old Age support in Chittoor Duistrict as part of missions support. Thanks for your prayerful financial support. UECF participated in India Day parade and distributed tracts and Jesus DVD movies and also reached many people. UECF visits CareOne Nursing home on every 3rd Saturday of the month in which we worship and share word of God. There will be around 20 to 30 people who would participate during this time and are blessed. All these people are very appreciative of our work and UECF will have wonderful time in praising God. UECF families who attend these services are very much moved and uplifted in their walk with GOD. God is blessing each and every person who are supporting and involved in these ministries. We thank you for all your participation, prayers and support for UECF to do this outreach ministry for the glory of GOD.
Music Ministry: UECF Music ministry is committed to worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness and a great encouragement for fellowship, encouragement and outreach through video songs (You tube). Our corporate worship is in English(Praise and Worship) and contemporary Christian songs , Telugu and Hindi to exalt his Holy Name by using three keyboards and a guitar and drums(for special occasions) music ministry is a blessing to so many people inside and out side of uecf.the key element of uecf music ministry is to inspire non christians/non believer's, to hear the gospel, and receive the gift of salvation and also preparing the congregation for praise and worship the lord. The highlights of the music ministry- 1. Every year the praise and worship team travels to virginia on ministry tour yo lead and participate in utcf virginia christian family christian conference, and to connecticut to participate in annual christian conference in summer. 2. Visiting care one nursing home every month to worship the lord by singing grand old hymns,which is really uplifting the spirits in old age home , and as a result of this some residents came to know the lord.
We are truly blessed to have musicians Mr. Samuel Sudhakar Chilaka, Mr. Josiah Srigiri, Ms. Yuko Unehera and Mrs. Suneela Ponnapalli, and the singers who are committed to serve in the church..
Uecf music ministry is thankful for the choir, who is dedicated, and sacrificing their time and energy, spending countless hours to practice, especially during the Christmas season and easter.
In conclusion the uecf music ministry is excelling with the spirit of service of excellence, sensitivity to inspire, encourage and train. All glory and honor to our lord Jesus Christ.
Sunday School Ministry: We thank the Lord for UECF Sunday School Children for participating in all special occasions with their individual talents, Dramas and group dances and a successful VBS program. Thanks to Mrs. Emily Myla and the Sunday’s School staff for their efforts to nurture our children in Word of God.
Youth and Junior Bible Quiz(JBQ) Ministry: Our children and Youth continued to journey along this year too, growing in the knowledge of God and develop their faith. Both the teams that represented Slingshots finished among the top five teams and UECF has truly become a team that is known for commitment, excellence and team spirit. Many parents and young people are also helping the JBQ ministry as officials during the year long league season. As kids graduate from the program we are confident that they will use this knowledge as stepping stone for a deeper understanding of God. It is our vision that many strong believers will grow out this small seeds of the word. This year too, UECF slingshots remain unbeaten so far in both the matches and are likely to do well in the final in April 2015.
Our youth have been also meeting regularly during Sunday worship service. In addition to study, debate, discussion and fun it has been our vision to create an atmosphere of acceptance, a stress free space where they can let their hair down after a week of packed activity. We believe our young people are challenged intellectually and they are given many opportunities to find answers to difficult questions. Our identity in christ, The God who is a designer, Why Christianity is exclusive and unique, Defending yourself in high school/college, What does it mean to be a true winner? are some of the topics that the youth explored over the year. Thanks to Mr. Sunil Robert & Mrs. Prafulla Vuppala for leading this ministry.
Married Couple’s Ministry: The Married Couple’s meeting usually held on the 4th Saturday of every month in various homes that are pre-decided. Couples discussed and debated on various topics that are very practical and tried to use the Bible as a guiding tool. Thanks to Rev. Dr. David Ravinder & Mrs. Sarita Ravinder for leading this ministry. Thanks to Mrs. Asha Chakravarthy for coordinating.
Bible Study: We praise God for providing the opportunity to have Bible Study once a month.
After studying power and work of the Holy Spirit and the early Church, covering Acts Chapter 1 to 12 in 2013, we studied about Paul’s Missionary Journeys and the expansion of the Church, and also started the Book of Revelation. On an average 10 to 15 believers met together to discuss about the Church growth from the Book of Acts covering Chapters 13 to 28, Rev. Chap 1 and Church of Ephesus. The following topics were covered: Paul’s First Missionary Journey, the Jerusalem Council, Paul’s Second Missionary Journey, from Antioch to Philippi, On to Athens and back to Antioch. Paul’s third Missionary Journey, Revival at Ephesus, marching towards Jerusalem and Paul’s arrest. Paul Goes to Caesarea, the appeal to Caesar. Perils and Prison. Journey to Rome, Paul’s leadership in the midst of Storm. Paul’s arrival at Rome. Introduction to Revelation, chapter 1 and 2 - where we covered the Church of Ephesus. Thanks to Bro. Josiah & Sis. Satya Srigiri for leading this ministry.
Christmas Carols: As we do every year, we participated in Carol rounds during the Christmas season. In the year 2013, we had visited 62 families as part of our carol rounds and received prayerful gifts.
Picnic: Last year, we had an Annual Family picnic at Iselin Park. Rev. Dr. David Ravinder 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. I thank all the congregation members for keeping the sanctuary and the fellowship hall clean and neat after the usage.
Women’s Prayer Fellowship: UECF Women’s Fellowship, dedicated to glorifying God by bringing women into a more intimate relationship with Jesus as Lord and Savior through the use of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, Prayer and praise, meditation, study of the scriptures and loving fellowship.
- Monthly Prayer Women’s monthly prayer is held on every fourth Friday of the month. In the year 2014, we have meditated on ‘Power of Prayer’, ‘The Power of a Woman’s Words’ and other inspiring subjects. Thanks to Mrs. Komala Vellore, Mrs. Satya Srigiri, Mrs. Bharathi Kola, Mrs. Govindamma, Mrs. Preethi Pilli and Mrs. Smitha Ghanta for sharing the word of God in our monthly prayer.
- Women’s Retreat By God's grace UECF was able to have their first Women's Retreat in the month of October, 2014 for which Mrs. Jackie Ford, the speaker shared on 'The Portrait of a Godly Woman'.
- Women’s Christmas We had a fun filled 2014 UECF Women’s Christmas at Mrs. Shanthi Bhasker’s residence.
Thanks to Dr. Vatsala Bhasker for sharing the word of God during Women’s Christmas and Mrs. Shanthi Bhasker for hosting. The offering has been given to an orphanage "Cherish Foundation, Hyderabad" and St. Ann's home for the aged, Kazipet.
- Baby Showers As a sign of celebrating God’s Blessing, UECF women have joyfully celebrated baby showers for Mrs. Lavanya Devi, Mrs. Daisy Vellore and Mrs. Deepthi Janumala.
UECF Women are grateful to all the volunteers who helped us with arrangements for the events and helping us in maintaining the fellowship hall clean and tidy. Thanks to Mrs. Kavitha Shaik for leading this ministry.
Men’s Prayer Fellowship: The monthly Men's prayer meeting ministry is based on the verse Luke 18:1 "Men ought always to pray, and not to faint". Every 3rd Friday of the month UECF men corporately pray together as a Church. This time is designated for the men of UECF to come together and pray with one accord for the UECF ministries, families, missionaries, persecuted missionaries and the Church, and for the salvation of family members, and for the needs of the people. Apart from praying we encourage each other with the word of God based on King Solomons proverb ''IRON SHARPENS THE IRON". This invitation to pray together is open to any and all men who feel a sense that the Holy Spirit is leading to do this. Our prayer also relates to spiritual revival and all things considered, this should be seen more as an opportunity and privilege to pray together
UECF.NET: The presence of UECF is known all over the world through this web site. Many visitors have attended our worship services and testified that they came to know about UECF through the website. Some such visitors started attending regularly.
Many guests have visited us and worshipped with us during regular Sunday worship and other Special services. Mr. Sunil Pagadala as a Stewardship Coordinator has helped to reach out the visitors by preparing colorful flyers on all occasions, also thanks to Mr. Vamsi Ghanta and Mr. Sunil Pagadala for auditing the UECF finances.
I am thankful to the Executive Committee Mr. Samuel Sudhakar Chilaka(Vice President), Mr. Anand Devi(Treasurer) and Mr. Joshua Shaik(Secretary)for providing their continual cooperation and support. I also thank the Board of Trustees and Pastorate Committee, Coordinators and all the members of UECF for their cooperation. I express my thanks to our Pastor Rev. Dr. David Ravinder for ministering to us. Thanks to Rev. Peter Sanfilippo and Board of Trustees of Reformed Church for their support and Rev. David Mertz and FUMC Westfield leadership for welcoming and supporting UECF worship services.
I am extremely happy to inform you that the Lord has blessed UECF ministry with wonderful messages by Pastors and other eminent Servants of God, Praise and Worship, Offerings, Children activities and Bible Studies and Outreach and our Lord’s name was glorified.
In Him,
Joshua(Phani) Pilli 25- Jan- 2014