I happened to attend a one day convention at the United Church, Sadar Bazar, Ambala Cantonment on the 23rd. of April, 2011. The Church is under the Church of North India, Diocese of Delhi, the Presbyter in charge is Revd.Arthur Solomon and he is assisted by Presbyter Revd. Daman Rodgers.
The Rt. Revd.Sunil Singh, Bishop of the Diocese of Delhi was the speaker, and it was a privilege to hear him speak! The Bishop talked about how the name United Church, reflects the main aim of the Church of North India which is unity of the Diocese. Incidentally, The Rt.Revd. Sunil Singh, happens to be the first Bishop from Haryana. The Bishop talked about the importance and significance of Good Friday, and the meaning of Easter. He further said that Parmeshwar, may be also viewed as oneness with God. He spoke about how sin draws us away from God, and how the Prodigal Son was alienated from his father because of his bad ways. However when the Prodigal son repented and returned home, he was welcomed by his father. The Bishop talked about the importance of praying with humility and without pride. One of his anecdotes which particularly struck me was about how a rowing boat needs to be rowed with both the oars, and that if you use only one, the boat will go in circles! One oar is Faith and the other is Strength. You need both Faith and Strength to row the boat of life to the other bank.
There was a serene atmosphere in that cosy church. The church, incidentally is more than a hundred and seventy years old (The written records go back 170 years). The Presbyter Revd.Daman told me that the renovation had been done in such a way that very little of the original structure was affected! So much work is being done by these churches which are far away from the Capital. I was particularly captivated by the Church Choir which sang some wonderful numbers in Punjabi. The choir was wonderful