The historic Christ Church is celebrating Christmas with full fervour. The theme this year was ‘The birth of the Saviour who is the word made flesh.’ Along with its members, a lot of people gathered during the morning service and Holy Communion today.
Reverend Angel Daimari said, “Let us all take up the challenge to do good, to love and help one another, to reach out and bring light where there is darkness and rescue those who are in trouble,” highlighting the spirit of love and service. They also prayed for the country and for those who hold positions of power and authority and the leaders of the nation.
As part of their Christmas traditions, they also distributed school bags among the under-privileged school children and celebrated by singing carols and nine lessons last week. Moreover, under the Diocese of North East India, CNI, they also run a number of schools, colleges, hospitals and seminaries.
Being the first church of North East India, Christ Church is one of the oldest buildings in the city. It is located in Church Field near Nehru Park and is the first church in the northeast region. It was founded in 1844 when Reverend Robert James Bland was appointed as the Chaplain of Assam and consecrated in 1850 by Rt. Reverend Daniel Wilson, Bishop of Kolkata.
In October this year, the Pastorate Committee of the Church took the initiative to restore the church building. The members of the church, around fifty families, contributed to give it a new lease of life. Shri Ranjib Baruah, a heritage conservation architect, supervised this project under the aegis of Heritage Conservation Society of Assam (HeCSA). The building was restored with a combination of Tudor style architecture and Assam-type construction.
