-Message of love, forgiveness, sacrifice, and surrender
Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: On the occasion of Good Friday, Christian religious leaders from various denominations in Marathwada came together to spread the message of love, forgiveness, sacrifice, and surrender, as taught by Lord Jesus more than two thousand years ago. The leaders spoke about the significance of the seven sayings made by Jesus on the cross and elaborated on their meaning.
At St Philip's Church, Rev MU Kasab, the Rev Mahaguru of Marathwada province, delivered the message of love and peace. Rev Sushil Y Ghule assisted in the conduct of devotions and religious rituals. At Christ Church, the main message was delivered by Rev Ranjan Rathod, while Rev S Samson assisted in the conduct and liturgy.
The scriptures from the seven sayings of Jesus on the cross were recited by members of the congregation at St Philip's Church and Christ Church, including treasurer Daniel Aswale, members Mahesh Shrisundar, Bipin Ingals, Prashant Tidke, Archana Rathod, Veronica Londhe, Adarsh Nade and others.
Similarly, at Holy Trinity Church Nagar Naka, Rev Samuel Nikalje, and at St Stephen's Church, Cidco, Rev Prabhudas Aksal gave the message, while Rev Shanti Mitra assisted in the ritual. The scriptures were read by CB Gudhekar, Pramila Gudhekar, Sakshi Khajekar, Nitin Khot, Savita Kamble, S Bhosle, and secretary Bhausaheb Kamble.
All denominations in the city, Cantonment, Bhavsingpura, Cidco, and rural areas gave a special Good Friday message from their respective churches. The Catholic Church also performed the traditional rite of the Way of the Cross, allowing devotees to experience the sacrifice made by Jesus for the salvation of the world.
Message to spread love
The religious leaders urged the faithful to follow the message of love and forgiveness and to work towards ending enmity, riots, arson, caste discrimination, and arrogance in the world, and to promote brotherhood and peace.