Illuminating the "Healing Ministry of Christ" through CMC
A PUBLICATION OF THE VELLORE CMC FOUNDATION
EDITION EIGHT | NOVEMBER 2024
IN THIS ISSUE:
CONNECTIONS
CONNECTIONS - 1
Themes from a reflection shared at the Hospital Centenary Thanksgiving Service on June 7, 2024, in the Hospital Chapel
DEVOTIONAL - 1 MISSION FROM THE HEART - 3
Written by Dr. Reena George, Head of Continuing Medical Education ( formerly Head of the Palliative Care Unit), CMC Vellore
BUILDING ON THE LEGACY OF TRANSFORMATION AND INNOVATION IN HEALTHCARE- 4
In 1985, during my vacation from medical school, I returned to my home in Jaipur. While looking through our family album, I discovered black-and-white photographs of our hospital chapel at Vellore. ‘How did you get these?’ I asked my mother. ‘Your grandfather was a patient at CMC in the mid-1950s. He brought us photographs of the hospital and some of the doctors,’ she explained. My mother was eighteen when my grandfather died. She took those photographs to her college hostel and then to her marital home, and they had been sitting in our family album since before I was born. Our hospital lives on in the memories of the people it has touched. The heartfelt prayers of patients and families have made our hospital chapel, the oldest of CMC's chapels, a very sacred space. I wonder how many churches in the world hold services in thirteen languages every Sunday for a diverse congregation from across the country. And who thinks of enquiring if the presiding minister is Baptist, Lutheran, or Presbyterian? When we face the deepest issues of life and death, such divisions hardly matter. A Beginning In August 1994, I joined our hospital’s Radiation Oncology department after my postgraduate training. Many of our terminally ill patients suffered from severe cancer pain, www.vellorecmc.org |
INSP I R I N G
THE IMPORTANCE THE VELLORE CMC FOUNDATION PLACES ON GOOD GOVERNANCE - 5
Unless the Lord builds a house, the builders’ work is useless. Unless the Lord protects a city, sentries do no good. (Psalm 127:1)
Rev. Cora W. Taitt Senior Pastor, Highbridge Community Church, RCA
The Church building in which I serve is one of three of the oldest buildings in the community. Built in 1887-1888 it has seen its fair share of change and transition, yet this building has remained as a testament to the eternal hope and faithfulness of God. The Church was built on a solid foundation, with purpose, love for God and for humanity. My church’s history brings to mind Psalm 127. However, this Psalm speaks of a building that extends beyond physical construction to encompass all that was important to Israel. It included family, work, city, government, the sense of identity and security and all human endeavors, emphasizing the importance of trusting in God’s sovereignty. The Psalmist understood that no family will flourish, no building will be sound, no city will be successful, and no work will stand unless the Lord is the one who establishes it. Without the wisdom and help of the Lord, the builder will find like the foolish builder in Matthew 7:27 who built a house on sand rather than on a solid foundation of the Lord Jesus Christ, that his labor was in vain. In Jesus’s words, “Everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock”. When we put these words in practice we can face the storms of life’s challenges with confidence and stand strong! Continued on next page
EMPO W E R ING
TRAN S F O RMING
PASSAGES | Pg. 1