First ‘Vacation Bible School’ by Whangarei Marthoma Church well-received in community

The first-ever Vacation Bible School organized by Whangarei Marthoma Church of the Northland region was well received within the community with enthusiastic participation from children, families, educationists and the church’s organizing team.

Organized for three consecutive days from April 29-May 1, the school witnessed participation from about 40 children along with a 14-member support team of VBS Director, music team, teachers and volunteers.

Vacation Bible School is a specialized form of religious education for children, organized by Churches, which may employ Bible stories, religious songs, arts and crafts, skits, or puppet shows to cater to children of different age groups within the community.

Speaking with the Indian Weekender, Rabin Ranji, the Secretary of Whangarei Marthoma Church, said, “We are happy to hear strong positive feedback from parents. We hope that the VBS will be a critical element in providing a spiritual upliftment to the lives of our children in the community, especially delivered in a fun-filled manner.”

“Many activities including seed planting, gratitude wall and Love Feast were carried out on the various days, which helped children understand and appreciate the value of nature, family & friends and the need for sharing,” Ranji said.

The success of this inaugural event has encouraged the church and the organizing committee to plan Vacation Bible School once every year in Whangarei during school holidays.

Expressing satisfaction on the participation and the opportunity for the spiritual education of the children in the first-ever VBS school, the Very Reverend K S Mathew, Vicar-in-Charge of the Whangarei Marthoma Church, said, “This will go down as a historic event in your faith journey as a community of believers. It will be etched out in the memory of our children, particularly as an evergreen and indelible event.”

Emily Henderson, Local MP for Whangarei, attended the event and congratulated the church’s organizing team for bringing together children and the community for a noble cause.

The key members of the organizing team included School Director - Jessin Thomas, School Convener - Tony George, 

Sunday school Headmistress - Jency Jacob,

Whangarei Marthoma Church Vicar-in-Charge - Very Reverend K S Mathew, Vice President - Renju Mathew and Secretary - Rabin Ranji.

For uninitiated, the Northland region of New Zealand has a small but thriving community of followers of Marthoma Church – a church based in Kerala, India – within the broader Malayali community in the region.

About Marthoma Church

The Marthoma Church is one amongst a variety of Christian communities emanating from India, originally from the Kerala state of India (being the sixth largest Christian church in Kerala) with now its followers spreading all around the world along with broader Indian diaspora to places like North America, Europe, the Middle East, Malaysia, Singapore, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand.

The Marthoma Church sees itself as a continuation of the Saint Thomas Christians, a community traditionally believed to have been founded in the first century by Thomas the Apostle, who is known as Marthoma (Saint Thomas) in Syriac.