Pics: Spoorthi Ullal
Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru (DV)
Mangaluru, Jul 6: Karnataka Christian Education Society (KACES) on Monday July celebrated ‘KACES Day’ commemorating the birthday of the late Dr C D Jathanna, founder of KACES, at Bishop Jathanna auditorium here on Monday July 6.
After inaugurating the programme, Dr Samuel W Meshack, president of World Association for Christian Communication (WACC-Global) said, "We have gathered here to celebrate the life of a great person and man of god, Dr CD Jathanna who founded this great institution. I came to know Dr Jathanna in 1985 through another great man Dr K Rajarathnam. I came to know him better later when he became the bishop. I admire Dr Jathanna for his contributions in building the diocese and also building this institution. He brought acclamation to this institution and made it grow higher in terms of success and name”.
“I pray to God that this institution founded by him becomes bigger and better each day. It was Dr Jathanna who built this institution. He never compromised even on small things. Today, he is remembered for his contribution to society.
"The world is moving fast and it gives many opportunities as well as poses many challenges in front of us. This change in the society is the biggest challenge for the mission of God today. One of the dangers which the church faces today is that the church seems to seclude itself from the realities of society. The church should not be compartmentalized, rather it should address the needs of believers. Dr Jathanna never compromised with the truth. During the life of Bishop Jathanna, many have seen that he always stood for truth and never compromised on it to suit the standards of the world," Dr Meshack said.
“We Christians have the tendency to expect benefits from the church and believe that the church benefits should go only to Christians. But if you see the life of Bishop Jathanna, we know that he wanted the benefits of the church to go to all the people. More than being the receivers, we need to be the givers. That is what we see in the life of the late bishop Jathanna”.
Speaking about the importance of West, he said, “Can we imagine the world without the West? We look towards West for empathy and when there is no empathy from the West, we lose our faith. Scarcity in the midst of plenty, plenty in the midst of poverty is the norm of today. In the modern world, there is the expectation that the East will lead the West. The world is moving forward and we in the East should be the leaders to lead even western countries. The time is not too far when the West would be looking at the East for many things. We need to use our indigenous resources to let the world know that we are the best. You need to take up the challenge of not making the church dependent upon the West. Let us make use of our resources. Let others look at us and say that we too can provide to others. West is looking towards India for knowledge and enlightenment. Some Christians who lag behind still look toward the West for resources. The time has come to change this attitude."
Prof A V Navuda, wife of the late bishop Dr C D Jathanna was felicitated on the occasion.
Moreover, six MPhil degree certificates were awarded to students from the Kannada Hampi University.
Dr Honey Cabral, principal of KTC presided over the programme. Dr F Anil Kumar, treasurer of KACES, Baila Chennakeshavalu, Sandeep Theophill, PRO, KACES and others were present during the programme.