Illuminating the "Healing Ministry of Christ" through CMC
A PUBLICATION OF THE VELLORE CMC FOUNDATION
EDITION THREE | JUNE 2022
IN THIS ISSUE:
PARTNERSHIPS FOUNDED IN THE GOSPEL Written by Reverend Kamalesh Stephen, Senior Pastor Asian Indian Christian Church "I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now." (Phil 1:3-5) There are a few things we pondered and considered as we partnered with others to make an impact in God’s created order. First, we reminded ourselves that the church exists not only to serve the needs of the people who worship in it, but also to the community outside the church. Second, our presence in the town of Berkeley Heights, New Jersey, is not by chance but carefully orchestrated by the grand Weaver. Finally, diaspora Christian communities in the United States gravitate to meeting the needs of the people in their country of origin and seldom get involved in the life of the local community. We realized that we are no exception to this approach. After much wrestling, we did two things: 1) apportioned our mission budget to meet the financial needs of communities both locally and globally, and 2) intentionally participated in outreach programs that cater to the needs of the poor and the underserved in our surrounding neighborhoods. We rallied the support of the congregational members and they responded willingly and graciously. The community of Plainfield, a 10-minute drive from the church, has 21.2% of its population living below the poverty line, according to local data. This is higher than the national average of 12.3%. Children in these communities have limited access to free or low-cost school breakfasts and lunches during the summer months. How are we to be
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PARTNERSHIPS FOUNDED IN THE GOSPEL - 1 DEVOTIONAL - 1 WHY EXPAND THE JAWADHI HILLS MODEL VILLAGES PROJECT? - 2 GLOBAL MISSION ENGAGEMENT THEN AND NOW - 4 MY JOURNEY THRHOUGH NURSING - 5
PRESS THE RESET BUTTON by Reverend Katy Sundararajan, Program Coordinator for HELM (Higher Education & Leadership Ministries), Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
Jesus said to them, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the greatest and first commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’” — Matthew 22:37-39 Sometimes during our Christian life and ministry, we need to press the reset button. We have to go back to when it all began. Do you remember when Jesus wooed you into a relationship, and you loved Him for it? Do you recall the joy in your heart, the gladness of your singing? Press the reset button, and remember the deep, deep love you felt for your God and Savior. And, then, remember that the very next prompting is to love all the others. When our hearts are primed with loving God, loving our neighbor is a natural next step. Of course, some people are easy to love. But with others, well, it is hard. Some people are so different, so needy… or they are desperate, sometimes mean. It is simpler to look away, to ignore. Press the reset button. Allow your love for God to be the lens through which you see and respond in love toward “the other.”
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the hands and feet of Jesus to a nearby community in dire need without overlooking the needs in India? Here are some ways we responded during and after COVID. During the height of the pandemic, we placed a pantry at the entrance of the church where people passing by can access free food. Members of the congregation took turns to restock the pantry every week and sometimes twice a week with non-perishable items. Community members who benefitted from this often left notes of appreciation. It became an instant success and even the talk of the town. We received letters of commendation from Mayors of two local townships – one of which is from the township of Plainfield.
"WE ARE REMINDED TIME AND AGAIN THAT OUR LIMITED RESOURCES IN THE HANDS OF A MIGHTY GOD ARE MORE THAN SUFFICIENT TO MEET THE NEEDS OF THE WORLD." Globally, we did not want to limit ourselves to mission partners who are involved in sharing the gospel through evangelism alone. We chose partners who are meeting the needs of the whole person. One of our mission partners works with the nomadic community in the rural parts of Tamil Nadu and in the rehabilitation of prison inmates. We joined hands with another mission agency that meets the educational needs of children in North India. We did not limit our mission partners to India but also supported church development in Myanmar. Our engagement and support for CMC projects in Vellore during the pandemic was minimal but we greatly cherish this partnership. In the words of the apostle Paul, “we remember you in our prayers” and are grateful for our partnership in the gospel. In closing, when we look at the overwhelming needs of the world and the limited resources in our hands, we tend to operate out of scarcity instead of generosity. However, we are reminded time and again that our limited resources in the hands of a mighty God are more than sufficient to meet the needs of the world. Our task is to offer our gifts and see God at work in and through them.
Outside of the pandemic, we have been packing 100 baskets every Thanksgiving and Christmas for the past three years to distribute to the neediest in these communities. The Sunday school children packed 100 backpacks for children in foster care before the start of the school year. The teens and families from church participated in the “Crop Walk”, which raises money to feed the hungry in the disadvantaged neighborhoods of New Jersey and beyond. The point is this: often immigrant faith communities especially churches are portrayed as “commuting” groups gathering for worship and heading back to their homes with no outreach to local communities. Instead, we want to be a church that deeply cares for the needs of our neighbors. We are a small community of believers, but with a generous heart, a caring attitude, and a deep-seated passion that affirms this phrase: “may our heart be broken with the things that break the heart of God.” www.vellorecmc.org
WHY EXPAND THE JAWADHI HILLS MODEL VILLAGES PROJECT? Written by Dr. Anuradha Rose, Professor, Christian Medical College, Vellore Early in 2014, during a community outreach discussion with tribal communities in the Jawadhi Hills about access to health care, one of the things that became obvious was that there was a large economic component to the poor health conditions of the area. The people in the Jawadhi Hills are subsistence farmers, and in the recent past, due to the changing climatic conditions, they have resorted to migrant labor for a better livelihood. Migration for labor is fraught with social and health-related problems, such as disrupted schooling, higher infant and maternal mortality, PASSAGES | Pg. 2
and substance abuse. CMC decided to address these issues by implementing the Jawadhi Hills Model Villages Project, a comprehensive approach to sustainable livelihoods in the Hills. The interventions planned were aimed at addressing the social determinants of health, such as access to clean water, sanitation, access to health care, education for children, and income generation projects for each family. We also planned activities towards the empowerment of people in the villages we are working in such as advocacy, leadership skills, and building up a corpus in the village bank account. This comprehensive Model Villages Project is being implemented in four separate villages: Koiloor, Valithathankottai, Reddikollai, and Etimarathur. Many of our initial activities involved reaching out to the community, building a relationship, and being there for the people so that they felt comfortable enough to reach out to us. It took one and a half years from the first talk of toilets in Koiloor village to the time when we constructed the first toilet in the village. Now all four villages are opendefecation free, which is helping to improve sanitation markers in these communities. We have stopped active engagement with Koiloor for the moment due to feuds within the village, but are actively working with the other 3 villages and hope to start work in a new village this year.
A Villager's Story
A few years ago, Mr. Rajendran sustained a traumatic above-the-knee amputation of his left leg because of a road traffic accident. The ensuing medical treatment depleted the family’s small savings and left them poverty stricken, and with no prospects of an income earning opportunities for him. Daily activities became very difficult www.vellorecmc.org
The Model Villages Project Goals: Improve the social determinants of health: Access to clean water, sanitation- household toilets for each family, access to health care, education for children, income generation projects for each family- agro and animal husbandry based. Mitigate labor migration drawbacks: lack of access to health care, disrupted schooling, separation of families and higher infant and maternal mortality, substance abuse, and sexually transmitted diseases. Community empowerment: Advocacy, leadership skills, and building up a corpus in the village bank account. Join us in supporting CMC's effort to empower one new village in the Jawadhi Hills: LEARN MORE
and he became fully dependent on his wife for mobility, which prevented her from going to work. Most difficult, in his own words, was “the task of meeting his toileting needs.” The family did not have a household toilet so his wife had to support him on the daily trips to the forest. We came across Mr. Rajendiran when we adopted Reddikollai in the Model Village Project, and he has benefited greatly from the interventions carried out over the last few years. Like many other villagers, he was provided with loans to buy two piglets and two goats, as well as saplings of tomato, brinjal, and chili for his fields. The family has been able to pay back their loans and have a source of income now. Additionally, the project gave him back a sense of independence. We were able to build a disability-tailored toilet in his house, so he does not have to depend on his wife for his toilet needs. Mr. Rajendran was also referred to the Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation doctors at CMC, who are working on fitting him with an artificial leg. In the meantime, Mr. Rajendran was given a walker, allowing him to move on his own, help with the animals, and support his family. PASSAGES | Pg. 3
GLOBAL MISSION ENGAGEMENT - THEN AND NOW Written by Dr. Hudson Kibuuka, Associate Director, Liaison for Higher Education and Advisor for Southern Asia Division, Seventh-day Adventist Church. Questions may be asked in the current times whether global mission is still relevant. In times when news and information go around the world in an instant using modern digital communication means, what is "global mission" and what is its purpose? God the creator, who knows the times past, present, and future knew that such a time would come, and yet He still said ‘go to all the world’ and take the good news which, is global mission. While it must have been many times harder in times past, He sent His followers to be involved in global mission. He also knew that His adversary, the devil, would wreak havoc through wars, famines, natural disasters, interpersonal hatred, indiscrete killings, sickness, ignorance, degradation of morals, etc. It is for this very reason why Jesus died, and why he sends his followers to go to all the world – Global Mission. God says in the Bible, with a lot of concern, that “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge” (Hosea 4:6). His followers are therefore urged to take knowledge to the people so that they may not be destroyed, whether through self-inflicted destruction, external destruction, and eventual destruction during the eradication of sin. This same concern motivated Dr. Ida Scudder – the founder of Vellore Christian Medical College - to invest herself into this venture, which has not only saved many lives but brought light to many in the surrounding areas and beyond. The same concern and vision keep CMC going even today. The Seventh-day Adventist church takes Jesus’ commission of Matthew 28:18-20 very seriously, and
"THERE IS ALWAYS ROOM FOR DOING GOOD, AND IT IS A PRIVILEGE TO BE ABLE TO SERVE BY FOLLOWING IN HIS FOOTSTEPS." multitude following him to listen to His teaching of the words of wisdom, healing the sick, and sharing the good news of the kingdom. In this light, the Seventh-day Adventist Church operates, globally, 229 hospitals and sanitariums, numerous clinics, 117 universities and colleges, numerous secondary and elementary schools, 7 medical schools, and a corresponding number of dental schools, as well as nursing schools and other allied health schools. All this, in addition to the evangelistic thrust, the church does in order to reach out to those needing these services around the world and who would otherwise suffer destruction if not attended to. Jesus said that the poor (and needy) you shall always have, Matthew 26:11. Though the context was different, it also implies that there is always room for doing good and it is a privilege to be able to serve following in His footsteps. The Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) is specifically commissioned to handle issues related to disaster as well as some forms of development. Through its offices in many countries around the world, ADRA responds immediately when there are needs even in places where the church membership is either very small or nonexistent. The church recognizes that the people in those territories are God’s people with needs like all the others and should be served without bias when the need arises. In addition to its regular involvement in global mission through all other ministries, The Seventh-day Adventist church considers it a privilege to be in partnership with the
through the church’s various ministries, including education and healing, it endeavors to take the saving message of God communicated through the Bible to all people, hence the church’s involvement in global mission. It believes in a holistic mission, which is also referred to as comprehensive medical ministry, whereby the goal is to assist the whole person – physically, mentally, spiritually, and socially. It endeavors to follow Jesus’ example. He mingled among different kinds of people as one who wished them good and they noticed this. He always had a www.vellorecmc.org
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great legacy of Dr. Ida Scudder and those who followed in her footsteps at CMC. In the amazing story of the early Christian believers, author and writer, Ellen White, writes in the book Acts of the Apostles: ‘From the beginning, God has been working by His Holy Spirit through human instrumentalities for the accomplishment of His purpose on behalf of the fallen race. This was manifest in the lives of the patriarchs. To the church in the wilderness also, in the time of Moses, God gave His “good Spirit to instruct them.” Nehemiah 9:20. And in the days of the apostles, He wrought mightily for His church through the agency of the Holy Spirit. The same power that sustained the patriarchs, that gave Caleb and Joshua faith and courage, and that made the work of the apostolic church effective, has upheld God's faithful children in every succeeding age. It was through the power of the Holy Spirit that … made successful the efforts of the noble men and women who pioneered the way for the establishment of modern missions and for the translation of the Bible into the languages and dialects of all nations and peoples.
And today God is still using His church to make known His purpose on the earth. Today the heralds of the cross are going from city to city, and from land to land, preparing the way for the second advent of Christ. The standard of God's law is being exalted. The Spirit of the Almighty is moving upon men's hearts, and those who respond to its influence become witnesses for God and His truth. In many places consecrated men and women may be seen communicating to others the light that has made plain to them the way of salvation through Christ. And as they continue to let their light shine, as did those who were baptized with the Spirit on the Day of Pentecost, they receive more and still more of the Spirit's power. Thus, the earth is to be lightened with the glory of God.’ Therefore, though speed and many other things have changed, and communication has become much faster, the needs that Jesus died for still abound now as then albeit in similar as well as different forms. Therefore, global mission is still as essential as then and those who profess to be His (Christ’s) followers are His agents whom the Holy Spirit uses to reach out.
MY JOURNEY THROUGH NURSING Written by Margaret Kamalini Kumar, RN, PhD Chairperson, Vellore CMC Foundation I acknowledged Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior at the tender age of 10 at a Billy Graham Crusade in Bangalore. I did not understand the depth or importance of my decision at the time, but God did, and He has neither left nor forsaken me since. I never chose the nursing profession because I perceived it as a calling from God. In fact, my choice was driven by a romantic view of being a compassionate human being who took care of those in pain or suffering. Being selected as one out of 15 applicants for the bachelor’s in nursing program at CMC from a pool of over 2,000 applicants was both exciting and scary. At the age of 17, it was the first time I had left home, and this was true of the medical and nursing students that entered the portals of CMC. We were all naïve teenagers who had great aspirations and dreams of becoming doctors and nurses at one of the country’s best institutions. My nursing professors were people I looked up to, admired, and eventually came to love. They were strict, had very high standards and expectations, and were sometimes difficult to please, but were authentic, compassionate teachers and mentors and I was inspired by their lives. I excelled www.vellorecmc.org
academically and became a leader in the student body. I graduated not only top in my class but won the President of India’s gold medal for the first rank in all the colleges of nursing in the state of Madras. This opened many doors for me, but I served my bond as a junior faculty member in the College of Nursing (CON) at CMC. I loved every minute of my teaching career at CON as it gave me the chance to emulate my beloved professors and teach others to love and value the nursing profession as they had taught me. Without realizing it, the ethos and culture at CMC had instilled in me that “not to gain, but to give” was the most meaningful way to live one’s life. I paid lip service to my Christian faith, believing that I was serving God through my nursing profession. I left India to study at the Montreal Neurological Institute and thereafter served on the nursing faculty at McGill University, Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, and the University of Missouri at Columbia. I met my husband Dr. Surendra Kumar (CMC batch of 1960) in 1972, who was then a resident in thoracic surgery in Missouri. We were married and moved to Clinton, Iowa where he practiced as a thoracic vascular surgeon for 40 years. I completed both my Master’s and Ph.D. at the University of Iowa, continued to teach at nursing conferences and seminars across the nation, and became a nurse leader at PASSAGES | Pg. 5
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my institution. During this time, early in our marriage, through a crisis of faith, both my husband and I rededicated our lives, careers, marriage, and ourselves wholeheartedly to the Lord Jesus Christ. I was motivated, driven by excellence and maintained a very high standard both for myself and my students. I thought I was making a difference in the lives of nurses and impacting the nursing profession in meaningful ways.
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But all that changed in 1988, when I attended a World Congress of Christian nurses held by an organization called Nurses Christian Fellowship. There I met Christian nurses from over 46 countries who by putting their faith into practice in the workplace were making a difference not only in this world but for the Kingdom of God. It was then that I realized how inward-looking and self-focused I was and how I had wasted precious years not making the true difference I really needed to. God had placed me in a sacred place to make a difference for His world in healthcare. From then on, I dedicated my life to learning how to put my faith into practice, not by preaching, coercing, or proselytizing others, but to understand where they were on their spiritual journey and engaging them with permission, sensitivity, and respect. Sharing my faith journey with other nurses and teaching them wholeperson care by assessing and meeting their own and their patient’s spiritual needs became my passion. I soon became involved with Nurses Christian Fellowship International, serving on the Board for over 16 years and eventually as Board President. I have traveled to 6 continents and 45 countries speaking at conferences and seminars encouraging nurses to be the hands, feet, eyes, and heart of Jesus to their patients and colleagues. I also am on the Board of International Health Services Global, an organization that equips Christian healthcare workers to be salt and light in the workplace through a program called the Saline Process. I train doctors and nurses around the world to help patients and coworkers hear about the reality of Jesus and experience His compassion through their words and actions and to do so with their permission, with sensitivity and respect for their beliefs. I became involved with the alumni of CMC through the reunions (GOTC) which our whole family attended for the past 40 years. It was a joy to reconnect each year with old friends and meet new ones along the way. I was invited to be on the Vellore CMC Foundation Board, and for 16 plus years, I served as the only CMC College of Nursing board
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member. It was my dream to engage nurses in the alumni as well as mentor them to serve on the Board and I’m delighted that both goals have been accomplished. It is now a great privilege to serve my term as Chair of the Board and I hope I will live up to the trust placed in me by my fellow Board members. I had many empty spaces in my life moving from activity to activity and waking up each day and doing the same thing all over again. I realized those empty spaces needed to be filled and used wisely so that when it came time to breathe my last breath, there would be no regrets. I want to leave a legacy of a life lived authentically for God and His purposes. This authenticity had to come from deep within me and not from what I had heard, read or learned from others, but from the Holy Spirit himself. Jesus told us in John 10:10 “I came that they would have life and have it abundantly”. It is God’s abundance that fills my empty spaces and gives me the following: Fullness: an abundant life that is fully committed. Completeness: an abundant life that is truly whole, no holes! Overflowing: an abundant life that flows with peace, joy, and hope. Overwhelming: an abundant life that is exuberant and difficult to contain. Plentiful: an abundant life that is filled with the fruit of the Spirit. Sufficient: an abundant life that Christ gives me all that I will ever need. This is what my journey through nursing has been and I praise God for the twin hounds of Grace and Mercy that have followed me all the days of my life thus far.
“He cuts out channels and passages among the rocks; And his eye sees every precious thing.” - Job 28:10 www.vellorecmc.org
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