On the occasion of the International Women’s Day, the Desk for Women In Church And Society (WICAS) of the United Evangelical Lutheran Churches in India (UELCI) had organised an awareness rally. The rally began from the historic Adaikalnather TEL Church, on Tana Street, and the procession went through the neighbouring streets covering the Purusaiwalkam Area. The procession was led by Rev. Dr. A.G.Augustine Jeyakumar, Executive Secretary of UELCI, Rev. Minnie Sarah, Secretary of WICAS-UELCI, Rev. Paul Satyamurthy, Senior Pastor of Adaikalnather TEL Church. The staff and students of the Magdelene Higher Secondary School and the TELC Primary School, staff and members of the Slum Women’s Advancement Program of the UELCI-WICAS, clergy and members from the various Lutheran churches of Chennai city also participated in the awareness rally.

Later in the day the UELCI-WICAS had also organised a one-day gathering at the Bethesda Hall, UELCI Church Women’s Centre at 94, Purusawalkam High Road, Kellys, Chennai-10. Ms. Isabel Richardson, the Executive Secretary of Madras Christian Council of Social Services, delivered the key note address, Ms. Elizabeth of the All India Radio, anchored a lively debate and there were other educative and awareness creating programs in the same meeting.

Women’s Day awareness rally led by (from left) Rev. Paul Satyamury, Rev. Dr. Augustine Jeyakumar and Rev. Minnie Sarah

The UELCI is a communion of 12 Lutheran Churches, with a membership of four million people, spread across the country, including the neighbouring country Nepal. It has been in the service of the church and society since 1926, engaging in the role of leadership, representing the Indian Lutheran churches in the global forum, initiating ecumenical endeavours and making every effort to live the gospel of Jesus Christ in reality in the midst of struggles. The Women in Church and Society (WICAS) is a wing of UELCI established in the year 1975, which primarily caters to the needs of women in the church and society, struggling towards a paradigm shift for Gender Justice. An extension of WICAS is Slum Women’s Advancement Program (SWAP), this body engages primarily in the empowerment of women and children of the urban and suburban slums, to create a just society with socio-political and economic equities and equalities.

UELCI-WICAS-SWAP wishes everyone a Happy Women’s Day.

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