Mangalore: Devotees Celebrate Harvest Festival at CSI Shanti Cathedral
 
Pics: Ramesh Pandith
Daijiworld Media Network – Mangalore (PS)
 
Mangalore, Oct 2: The presbyters and the members of the pastorate committee celebrated the harvest festival (thanksgiving service) at CSI Shanti Cathedral, Balmatta here on Sunday October 2.

The harvest festival is observed with the offering of the first harvest to God, as a mark of gratitude. The community members brought to the church new corn, tender coconuts, sugarcane and vegetables and offered them to God.

Fr Dr J S Sadananda, bishop, CSI, KSD delivered the Lord's message on the occasion and dwelt on the importance of offering thanks to God for the crops.
 
Devotees in large numbers with their families took home the blessed crop after the thanksgiving service.
 
The harvest festival Sports and Games Committee will organise the annual sports and games at the cathedral premises in the afternoon. A C Jayaraj, commander, Jacobite Syrian Church, H H Patriarch will be the chief guest. Agnes Pushpalatha Sadananda will give away the prizes. Dr J S Sadananda will preside over the programme.
 

About Shanti Cathedral

Originally, three missioneries came to Mangalore and settled in a rented house in Mission Street, then known as Nireshwalya, in the city in 1834. In course of time, a new church building was built and consecrated on December 1862 at its present location, known as Bell Mount then.

Thereafter, several churches have come up, to accommodate growing number of members living in the city outskirts. Various other churches too came into being in course of time. Under the guidance of the pastorate committee, various activities are being conducted in the churches successfully, like Sunday school, youth get-together, womens get-together etc.