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PARIS BASIS
"THE YOUNG MEN'S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION SEEKS TO UNITE THOSE YOUNG MEN
WHO, REGARD JESUS CHRIST AS THEIR GOD AND SAVIOUR ACCORDING TO THE HOLY
SCRIPTURES, DESIRE TO BE HIS DISCIPLES IN THEIR DOCTRINE, IN THEIR
LIFE, AND TO ASSOCIATE THEIR EFFORTS FOR THE EXTESION OF HIS KINGDOM
AMONGST YOUNG MEN".
The Paris Basis being the basis of the movement, YMCA
religious activities have been the main thrust of the association,
through, its Christian Emphasis programmes and activities such as World
Week of Prayer, Easter pageant "The Mighty Acts of God", Weekly
Devotions, Conventions, Conferences, Prayer Breakfast Meetings,
Interfaith dialogues, Seminars, Symposiums and Christmas and Easter
celebrations.
Before Independence, programmes like World Week of Prayer
& World Fellowship, and regular devotional meetings, mainly due to
the type of membership we had, were the regular religious activities at
the old hostel. Protestants, Roman Catholics and people from all faiths
regularly joined in the weekly devotional meetings, singing of hymns,
confessions, prayer and listening to the devotional talks led by
residents or special speakers such as Dr Stanley Jones, Dr Forestor
Paton, Dr Jesu Dasan, Dr Lucas, Dr Wildar ,Lt. Col. Weller etc.
After Independence the supreme importance of the religious
emphasis was more visible as programmes were well planned and organized
in a much bigger way. In November 1948 on the first day of World Week
of Prayer which was held at the Free Church, the prayer meeting was led
by none other than Rajkumari Amrit Kaur. The message was broadcast by
All India Radio. Besides, as a follow-up of the devotional meetings
conducted by Dr E Stanley Jones, a group met on weekly basis to discuss
Dr Jones' book "Abundant Life" in December 1948.
The devotional lectures on the theme the 'Influence of Jesus'
were delivered by Dr Melville T Kennedy. Dr Sherwood Edy, well-known
international speaker / evangelist and writer, delivered a series of
lectures on the life of Jesus in march 1948.
By 1949-50 due to its religious emphasis programmes, New Delhi YMCA
became city's center for religious activities through its fellowship
meetings, annual week of prayer, a monthly service of singing which was
held after dinner on the last Sunday of every month and the weekly
prayer meetings for the staff were well attended by people from all
faiths. An active members' conference was held at the Quaker Centre in
October for a lively discussion on the religious objectives of the
Association.
Delhi Choral Society
In the early 50s Delhi Choral Society was formed by the New
Delhi YMCA which was responsible for Christmas Carol service during the
Christmas season. The popular cantata "The Crucifixion" by Sir John
Stainer, was sung by the Delhi Choral Society on Mondays and Thursdays
during lent period.
In 1957 the YMCA carol singing organized by Dr O T J Zacharias
was broadcast by All India Radio on 26 and 31 December. In the same
year 18 religious films were screened at the New Delhi YMCA, Mehrauli
Church and at the St. Stephen's Church. After that religious films were
screened every month at the YMCA.
The YMCA choral group also visited the Prime Minister, Pt.
Nehru's house for carol singing and to raise funds for Jhugistan
Community work. The Prime Minister, Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru and Mrs Indira
Gandhi made a valuable contribution towards YMCAs Jhugistan Community
Work at Lodi Road.
Easter Pageant
In 1965 a unique programme was created by the New Delhi YMCA with
the help of Caravs staging the life and teachings of Lord Jesus Christ.
The Easter Pageant "The Mighty Acts of God" an impressive spectacle of
lights, sound and action produced with the help of tapes of texts and
excerpts on the life of Jesus, colour slides and special locations on
roof tops, spiral staircase, balconies, terrace, lily-pond of the
Tourist Hostel. The pageant was enacted by both Christians and people
from other faiths. The narration of the pageant was done by the late Mr
Melville De Mellow, Mr Prakash Meer Chandani and Mr Gill Galloway.
Script was written by Mr Prem E Paul and Mr N R Macwan, YMCA
Secretaries. The Pageant "The Mighty Acts of God" a 90 minute
presentation includes the story of the creation of the universe, the
birth, the crucifixion and ascension of Christ. It is staged annually
during the Passion Week.
Festival of Choirs
The annual feature and ever popular festival of choirs is the
most sought after event during the Christmas season. The programme
introduced in 1971 comprises a variety of traditional and contemporary
carols. Mrs Indira Gandhi, Mr Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed, Mr Sanjeeva Reddy
and Mr B D Jatti are some eminent people who have witnessed the Annual
Saga of carol singing and scintillating Christian music presented by
leading Delhi choirs representing Christian institutions and churches.
Ecumenical Children's Conference
The Ecumenical Children's Conference aims to create an
awareness of the wonderful teachings in The Holy Bible to children
belonging to a cross section of the society in the city. The mission of
ECC was to reach mainly to the underprivileged children who haven't
even seen or touched The Bible The first year of ECC saw 1500 children
attending the Conference. The ECC is a unique Conference design with
Child Delegates and has a value-added 10-day curriculum including
environment and civic awareness recreational and cultural inputs.
Today, the religious emphasis of the Association is projected through
programmes such as Festival of Choirs, Christmas Concert, Christmas
Tree Party, Easter Pageant, Ecumenical Children's Conference, Prayer
Breakfast Meetings, Weekly Prayer Meetings, Conventions, Conferences,
Inter-Faith Dialogues and World Week of Prayer.
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New Delhi YMCA
Jai Singh Road, New Delhi- 110 001
http://www.newdelhiymca.org
Email : ymcand@del3.vsnl.net.in
Phone : 23343379, 23361915 ext 145
Fax : 23746035/32
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