eBook of Memories

Wray Memorial Methodist English Church
Mumbai Regional Conference
Methodist Church in India

1995—2020

The Bishop’s address

Bishop Dr. Anilkumar John Servand
Resident and Presiding Bishop of
Mumbai Episcopal area



The Executive Secretary’s address

Rev. Dr. S. Retnamony
Executive Secretary/ DS, Pune District

Mumbai Regional Conference



The District Superintendent's address

Rev. Anand Methry
District Superintendent
North Mumbai District
Mumbai Regional Conference



The Pastor-in charge’s address

Rev. Shinu Thomas Pothen
Pastor-in-charge

Wray Memorial Methodist English Church
Mira Road



The Founder Pastor’s address cum history of the
Inception of the Church

Rev. Dr. Y. D. Purushottam
Founder Pastor

Founding Pastor’s Address

PRAISE BE TO GOD
18.05.2020

“Do you not know that you are God’s temple
and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? God’s
temple is holy, and that temple you are.” 1
Corinthians 3: 16ff
Congratulations and greetings to the holy
church of God which is at Mira Road, called
the Wray Memorial Methodist English
Church (The Methodist English Church) for
successfully completing twenty-five (25) glo-
rious years of life and ministry. I thank God for you, the Wray Memorial Methodist
English Church, Mira Road, for bestowing upon me the rare privilege of tracing
your origins and blessing you with the Word of God that could guide you in your
future course of ministry.
It makes me nostalgic and feel like the Jewish historian Flavius Josephus, who
had penned the Antiquities of the Jewish race. I thank the current Pastor and the
Pastorate Committee of the Wray Memorial Methodist English Church for this
blessing.
The Methodist English Church, Mira Road, Mumbai had taken birth from the Meth-
odist English Church, Borivali, Mumbai, with the blessings, prayers and efforts of
Honorable Bishop Dr. S. R. Thomas of the Bombay Episcopal Area of The Meth-
odist Church in India, Rev. K.I.D. Bhagavan Raj, District Superintendent and Rev.
Dr. Y.D. Purushottam, Pastor of the Methodist English Church, Borivali, Mumbai.
Apart from the contribution of these servants of God, the lay leadership that suc-
cored The Methodist English Church, Mira Road, during its cradle stage with sac-
rifices and services also deserves a standing ovation on this historic occasion.
Those noble laity that relentlessly labored for the Mira Road English Church, were
both of the Borivali English Church as well as the Mira Road infant Church.
They that labored from the Borivali English Church for the growth and welfare of
the Mira Road English Church, included Mr. N.D. Livingston and family, Mr. Mo-
han Massey, Mr. B.R. Reddy and his wife, Mrs. Vasantha Reddy, Mr. Y.E. Solo-
mon, Mr. Julius Failbus, Mr. R.J. Paul, Ms. Joyce Savel, Mr. M.V.B.V. Siromani
and Mr. Albert Gumle.
Likewise they that laboured from the Mira Road English Church from among the
locals in the initial years included Mr. Roy Rajah and family, Mr. Martin Golla and
family, Mr. Anil Livingston and family, Dr. Suryakumar and family, Mr. K. Solomon
and family, Mrs. Neeta Bird (Rev. Amolikar’s daughter, CNI) and her husband, Mr.
Jesu Bird.

Over the years, Mr. Joseph Mathias and family, Mr. Mahila Pandian and family
and Mr. Joseph Bhalla and family also rendered their sacrificial support. They sup-
ported and strengthened the Mira Road English with their sacrificial giving as well.
The inaugural worship service of this congregation was held in the living room of
the Mr. K. Solomon’s ground floor apartment of Trivedi Complex on Sunday, 4th
June 1995* from 10:00 am to 11:30 am. As the Pastor of the congregation, I
preached the sermon from the text 1 Corinthians 3: 16ff, on the theme: You are
the temple of God. After the service was over, the congregation had congratulated
me for my time-discipline as I had commenced and completed the service sharp
on the appointed time.
Feeling uncomfortable to meet in someone else’s house for worship services, and
inconvenience them, we thought of gathering in a common place, whereby I ap-
proached Mr. Trivedi for the same. He had very magnanimously allocated a room
for us in Trivedi Complex itself and fitted it with a couple of fans, charging nothing.
We remain ever grateful to Mr. Trivedi for the largehearted gesture and pray that
God would bless him, his family and his enterprise. Thus we crawled and eventu-
ally learnt to stand up and stood firm that we could celebrate the Silver Jubilee to-
day.
After worship services, either Mr. Roy Rajah or Mr. Anil Livingston would drop me
back at Mira Road Railway Station in their vehicle. Dr. Suryakumar and family
would pay every month for my first class train pass. It is for these and certainly
several other such services and sacrifices that Mira Road members have been di-
rectly or indirectly making, that God has been blessing them, their families and
their church, even beyond their expectations and imaginations.
God is the Lord of the Church. It is His Church. He will plant it, nurture it and es-
tablish it. We are nobody to claim credit. In fact we should be grateful to God that
He grants us the honor of being tools and instruments in His hands, in His mission
of founding churches.
The classical Greek language employs two different Greek words to define the
Church. The first word is KURIAKOSE which means, “House of God”, at surface
level, implying the place of worship, the physical building in which the congrega-
tions gather to worship and relate to the metaphysical, the Supreme Being, the Al-
mighty God, the Lord of the Church.
If we dive a little deeper into the meaning of the word – KURIAKOSE, we get to
know that it also means, “God’s House and not YOUR HOUSE.” NOT YOUR
HOUSE, implying that we should behave ourselves in the House of God. Our un-
ruly behavior, our rudeness and our pride that we are above everyone in the
church, should never enter the portals of the church.
Therefore, in order to inculcate egality and fraternity among the members of the
congregations, the primitive churches would sit up for worship in circles, wherein
everybody could be the first and the last, the Alpha and Omega and not in the lin-

ear way that we do today in the pews. In a pew, there is a starting point and an
ending point, whereas in a circle, there is no beginning and there is no ending.
There is no hierarchy, all are equal.
There is yet another interpretation of the meaning “HOUSE OF GOD”. In the He-
brew perception, the word “HOUSE” is represented by the second letter of the He-
brew alphabet, “BETH”, which would not merely mean a ‘house’ but a ‘family’
whose householder is God. Hence, as a ‘house of God’, you are not an unrelated
social group or a gathering but a kinship group related through blood, the blood of
the Lamb of God, slain for us, which we celebrate at the Lord’s table. Thus the
word KURIAKOSE tells us that we are a family of God.
The second Greek word ECCLESIA for church also highlights the kinship nature
of the church. The word ECCLESIA means “ a called out or a separated communi-
ty which is expected ‘to listen to’ and ‘to act for’ God”. The Hebrew equivalent of
EECLESIA is QUHAL. The nation of Israel was God’s church (QUHAL). It was a
kinship group of twelve brothers, the twelve sons of Israel; twelve blood-related
brothers and their tribes. The race of Israel was chosen by God to be His church,
to be the world-evangelist, “to listen to Him and to act for Him” in service of the
world.
Along the patriarchal lines, Christ Jesus, our Lord had chosen twelve disciples
and constituted His New Testament church. No church exists for itself. No church
merely should live for itself; it should live for the service of others. The Lord of the
church made it clear to His disciples, thus: “You know that the rulers of the Gen-
tiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so
with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your serv-
ant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave – just as the Son of Man did
not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.’
Mathew 20: 25-28.
The Lord of the church had laid down His life for the church as stated. Except
John, to whom the Lord had entrusted the care of His mother, Mary, all other 11
disciples had attained martyrdom. The legacy is passed on to us now. It is our turn
today, as His church, to love and serve the world as He and His church had done.
The Methodist English Church, Mira Road has an oceanic scope to serve the Lord
as His church as the Mira-Bhayander city is one of the fastest growing cities, hav-
ing connectivity to Mumbai and Navi Mumbai, whereby middle-income groups are
moving into the city due to its real estate prices. Till about 1947, Mira Road was a
village. The credit of developing Mira Road goes to Mr. Bharat Shah who had con-
structed 400 buildings over an area of two hundred acres of waste land to house
about forty thousand economically backward people. Since 1980 onwards, agri-
cultural lands are purchased and townships and colonies are being built to accom-
modate the influx of the middle-class populace.
The credit of serving this growing population of Mira Road with the love of Christ
should go to the Methodist English Church of Mira Road. One of the major chal-

lenges of the contemporary middle-class families face, relates to the bringing up
of their children and guidance to their youth. If both the parents are working out-
side the home to be abreast with the competitive world, the challenges would be
all the more graver. Equally disturbing are the spousal relational problems in this
demanding world, where no one has time for anyone, including one’s own self.
As a church, when these problems are addressed, your ministerial jurisdiction
would be boundless. Take care of the family. If family is taken care of, society is
taken care of; if society is taken care of, nation is taken care of; if nation is taken
care of, the world is taken care of, for after all, family is a micro-world and the
world is a macro-family.
In celebration of the Silver Jubilee of your church, do institute a project or create
programmes to reach out to the people on a sustainable basis. Share the love of
God with kind words and compassionate deeds like Christ Jesus our Lord. Jubi-
lees are celebrated to bring joy into the lives of the disturbed and deprived people
(Book of Leviticus chapter 25). You would celebrate, as God would grant you,
many jubilees in the years to come, as you The Methodist English Church, Mira
Road have been serving the Lord joyfully in and around Mira Road, last twenty-
five years.
Wish you wonderful celebrations of Silver Jubilee. God bless you. Amen
Rev. Dr.Y.D. Purushottam

M.A, B.D. Ph.D.
Founder Pastor

History of the
Growth of the Church

WRAY
Following it’s humble beginnings, the small congregation grew in numbers, vibran-
cy and made her mark in the then Bombay Regional Conference.

For 12 years, this congregation was a Worship Centre of the Methodist English
Church, Borivali, during which Rev. Dr. Y.D. Purushottam, Rev. Sharad Naik, Rev.
Walter G. Kunder and Rev. Isaac Devadoss gave leadership to this congregation.

It was in the very, very early hours of Christmas 2006, after the Christmas Eve
Worship Service, somewhere after 12:00 am, in an adhoc meeting, the then Pas-
tor, Late Rev. Isaac Devadoss proposed the name WRAY for this congregation.
He challenged the congregation to model the life of Rev. Fred Crowell Wray, an
ordained minister of the United Methodist Church, who ministered in the Bombay
Regional Conference in different capacities.

So the congregation which was initially referred to as the Mira Road Methodist
English Church came to have it’s identity as the WRAY MEMORIAL METHODIST
ENGLISH CHURCH lovingly referred to as WMMEC by it’s members.

Late Rev. Isaac Devadoss also encouraged the church to have her own newslet-
ter and he gave the name - ALLETHIA for the newsletter.

Two years later, when Rev. Yohan Silas was the Pastor of the church, on 2nd
February 2008, the congregation celebrated her great day when the Bombay Re-
gional Conference affirmed and welcomed Wray Memorial Methodist English
Church as a Pastorate Conference of the Bombay Regional Conference under
the leadership of Bishop Dr. Elia Pradeep Samuel.

Since then, the church has forged ahead in spiritual and numerical growth. An ad-
ditional property - the adjacent flat was purchased on 27th June 2019 for use as
the Sunday School Block.

The Pastors who have served WMMEC till date are:

Worship Centre of Methodist English church , Borivali

June 1995-May 1999 Rev. Dr. Y.D. Purushottam (Founder Pastor)

May 1999-April 2000 Rev. Sharad Naik

May 2000-December 2006 Rev. Walter G. Kunder

December 2006-May 2007 Rev. Isaac Devadoss

WMMEC became a Pastorate Conference on 2nd February 2008

June 2007-March 2010 Rev. Yohan Silas

March 2010 - April 2015 Rev. Isaac Devadoss

May 2015-November 2015 Rev. C. Cornelius

November 2015-January 2016 Rev. Yogesh Mykalwar

January 2016-January 2017 Rev. Raj Jacob

January 2017-April 2017 Rev. James V. Kumar

May 2017-April 2018 Rev. R. Ramakrishna

May 2018-Present Rev. Shinu Thomas Pothen

:

Report of the
Committee on 25th Church Anniversary

Celebrations

A Report Of Our 25th Church Anniversary
Celebrations

A special committee was constituted in July 2019 to organise the celebrations of
the 25th Anniversary of the Church.
The committee decided to have spiritual enrichment programs throughout the year
culminating in the celebration of the 25th Anniversary.
Programs were chalked for one spiritual enrichment program per month. A holistic
approach to the programs led to complementing spiritual nourishment for the
church throughout the year.
In July, the programs started with a half-day fasting prayer led by Mr. D.M. Bha-
gyaraj. Praying for different concerns set the tone for our celebrations.
In August, the committee, conducted a debate for the MYF. The topic for debate
was: The Lord fulfils our desires with GOOD things: The SMARTPHONE. The
judge was Mr. Brian Michael. The MYF enlightened the pros and cons of the
smartphone which was informative and educative for adults and youth alike.
On 15th August, a Sunday School Retreat was conducted for children. Painting
competition, songs, video-show, and a lovely message by Mrs. Chrysolin Clem-
ents and Robert Daniel enriched the kids.
In September, a six-hour engagement with the Old Testament was led by Dr. God-
win Nickelson. This Study of the entire Old Testament in 6 hours had everyone un-
derstand the framework of the Bible. This was a very educative program.
In October, we screened a movie entitled—LUTHER. The reformation and the
birth of the Protestant Church enlightened everyone. This was followed by an in-
trospection of the church of the present times and the need for a new reformation.
In November, we went to Nilshi at the YMCA Camp Lakeside for a family retreat
for 2 days. Mr. Vijay Thangiah led the studies and devotions on FINISHING
WELL. The 60+ participants had thrilling adventures by the lake and hiking by the
hills and adventure sports.
In December, we were blessed and enriched as we ministered to the newly grow-
ing Worship Centre of the Ketkipada Kannada Church in Bhayander. 121 grocery
packets were distributed in the Christmas Outreach Program.
On 26th January, the day was marked with a fancy dress program, quiz and pray-
er for the Country.

In February, a CLEANLINESS DRIVE was organised. We cleaned the area sur-
rounding our church premises.
In March, we had the WORD AND WORSHIP which was a wonderful day of simp-
ly worshipping God.
All programs were suspended thereafter as the Pandemic hit the nation.
We are grateful to God for enabling the team to lead the church in spiritual nour-
ishment throughout the year.
The final celebrations are not what we desire but what God intends.
Every program was catered by the Committee on the 25th Church Anniversary
Celebrations with the generosity of church members. We are grateful to all our do-
nors and sponsors.
We are thankful to our Almighty God who has made us see this day in our lives
and made us a part of this day.
Thank you

Committee on the 25th Church Anniversary Celebrations

from MRC

To
Rev. Shinu Thomas

&
Wary Memorial Methodist church family.

Greetings and grace to you all in the name
of the Lord Jesus Christ.
As you celebrate this 25th anniversary of
Wray Memorial Methodist Church let me
say that the Lord has brought us a long way
and because He is the God who never
leaves nor forsakes one who trusts in Him.
The future of the church is blessed.
It is not only present generation made it this
far but there have been many founding
members who have gone before that paved
the way for where the church stands today
in 2020. St. Paul says in Ephesians. 2:19-22. “Now, therefore, you are no longer
strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the Saints and members of the
household of God. 20. Having been built on the foundation of the Apostles and
Prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone. 21. In whom the
whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. 22 In
whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit “.
As I reflect on ministry of days gone by we as family cherish the sweet memories
of fellowship with Wray family. Wray family stood with us in our ministry of the
church which we cannot forget. You all blessed us with your prayers.
We enjoyed the worship to the fullest and also the discipline in the church. As a
family we are indebted to you all. Congratulation! May God bless you all to contin-
ue to be salt and light to the World.
Thanking you
Yours in Him.
Rev. Ramakrishna
District Superintendent,
Nagpur District
Ex-Pastor, WMMEC

Dear Rev. Shinu Thomas,

Thank you for inviting me to be part of the Silver
Jubilee Church Anniversary thanksgiving service
of your church and I deeply appreciate the same.
My family [Shobha , Ruth Joy and Grace Jessica]
joins me to send in our heartfelt God's blessings
and good wishes to you all on this historical milestone and the beginning of a new chapter in
your Church Silver Jubilee Day.
May the good Lord who has been your guiding light counsel, great and good Shepherd continue
to lead your Church to achieve marvelous milestones for His honor and glory.
I am reminded of Philippians 3:13 and Luke 9:62 Theme is "Do not look back, but move for-
ward" Every day is a new day therefore look forward.
1]. Do not look back on your past forgiven Sins ;
2]. Do not look back on your past Failures /Defeats;
3]. Do not look back on your past favorable days- [Olden days were golden days] ;
4]. Do not look back on your past fame of achievements.
I have decided to follow Jesus no turning back no turning back , the cross before me and the
world behind me no turning back and no turning back.
David Livingstone prayed on his 83 or 84 birthday Lord what I have not done till last year help
me to accomplish that for you this year.
A special word of thanks to all the senior members Rev. Golla, Mrs. and Mr. Joe Bhalla, Doctor
and his family, then Secretary, Treasurer, P.C. members, Sunday School Children and Teach-
ers, MYF members and Advisors and WSCS members.
God bless one and all. with regards and prayers.
Thank you,
Sincerely,
Rev. Cornelius., C.

To, Rev. Shinu Thomas,
Pastor-In-Charge,
Wray Memorial Methodist English
Church,
Mira Road,
Pastorate Committee and the Congrega-
tion Members.

It gives me a great joy to know that your
Church is wonderfully completing a glo-
rious and very blessed 25 Years of
Ministry.
What a joy it is. We praise God Almighty for His grace all these years.
May the good Lord who is the head of the Church—the body of Christ and we
the members of His body together bear fruit of the Spirit and continue to grow
in His everlasting love and become the vibrant witnesses reaching out His
good news to the people at large.
St. Paul in 2nd Thessalonians 3.1-5 said, "Finally brothers, pray for us, that the
Lord's message may continue to spread rapidly and be received with honor,
just as it was among you".
Congratulations and best wishes on behalf the Conference Treasurer’s Office
MRC MCI and on behalf of my family—my wife Shanta daughter, Rev. Esther,
son, Dr. Emmanuel and daughter in law, Mrs. Trisha Jadhav.
With high regards and sincere prayers”

- Rev.D.G.Jadhav
Conference Treasurer
MRC.

To,
Rev Shinu Thomas Pothen,
WMMEC
MRC-MCI.
Respected sir,
Greetings in our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
Congratulations for the coming 25th church anniversary.
Thank you for inviting me in the Thanksgiving church service.
I am sending the wishes by video recording.
Prayers for the families in this congregation. May the Lord bless us all in the pan-
demic situation.
Thanking you,
Rev Girish Abraham Gaikwad
District Superintendent
Udgir District

“Thanks for the invitation and my best wishes for the 25th
Church anniversary God bless you.”

Rev. Isaac Khatgaonkar
District Superintendent

Talegaon District

“Thanks for the invitation and may God bless this Holy sanctuary,
Pastor and entire congregation.”
Rev. Sanjay Chavan
District Superintendent
Puntamba District

“Congratulations to the Wray Family on the occasion of the 25th
Anniversary! May the Lord God Almighty bless you and keep
you through all generations!”

Rev. Yohan Silas
Ex-Pastor

“Thanks for the invitation and may God bless this event”
Rev. Samuel Kenneth
District Superintendent
Nanded District

From WMMEC Families

WMMEC of today

“Wray is our first English congregation and we love this Church
and are very happy to be the part of the 25th Anniversary of
WMMEC.
We want to join the rest of the brethren to congratulate the

church as it celebrates the anniversary today. Were it not for the
Lord, we would not have achieved nor reached where we are to-
day, It is the power of God that is at work, let us keep on praying

and praising the Lord always. God bless!”

-Rev. Shinu Thomas Pothen and family

“It’s a blessing to be a part of God’s family through this Church
since it’s inception. The sweet memories will always be in our
hearts. We pray that the good work started will continue for

years to come and may God’s name be glorified

Happy 25 years WMMEC!!”

- The Rajahs

" So blessed to be part of a church that has followed each example
of the early church. Of loving, caring, sharing, building up and
guiding. As we celebrate our Silver Jubilee praying when Jesus

comes to claim His bride, He finds Wray faithful and ready.
Thanking each one at Wray for having become a precious part of

our family"

Jesu and family

Praise God! Started worshipping in this church 24 years back in
this same place as today.

Just married and happy to be part of a young and vibrant church.
We have fond memories of Sunday school, retreats, picnics and
spending wonderful times together as a church with Johanna and

mother S. Christopher Bhalla.
We love this Church

- Joe, Lucy and Johanna.

Wray is our family. We are blessed by the ministry and fellowship
of this Church. It’s a blessing to be a part of this vibrant congre-
gation. May we continue to be God’s hands and feet.
God bless WMMEC as she completes 25 years and strengthen her
for years to come.
-George, Glory, Genesis
&
Jeyaselvi Paulraj

Congratulations Church!
"Let me thank our Creator and Maker for this wonderful love
that we are sharing today, as we look back on the journey that
was started by the Lord. Nobody knew where we shall be today

except the Lord Himself. Let's congratulate everyone who
allowed the Lord to use Him for His Glory.
-Leena Ram

It has been a great honor for us to serve WMMEC for almost 18
years. We have learned so much and grown spiritually as one big

God-loving family. We can never stop thanking God for His
abundance and grace. Thank you WMMEC members.
God Bless you all.

- Charles Family

My family and me , thank our Lord Jesus Christ for blessing us
and for making it possible to grow in Wray Memorial Methodist

English Church, our extended family, which is completing 25
years. We pray for togetherness.

May the Lord, bless each and every member of our Church with
good health and energy.
Regards

- Wilson, Lalita and Jennifer



Lord, thanks a lot for your shield and blessings!
- Vijay Albert and family

We earnestly thank and praise God for the wonderful
prayerful time in the past 25 years praying worshiping
together as one family and blessed to be a part of Wray

Church. Hope to continue the fellowship in
future also.

- Albert and Vanajaxi Gumle

On the occasion of the 25th Church Anniversary we congratulate
our church and we feel happy and blessed to be a part of this

family.
May the Lord bless all of us and help us celebrate His presence in

our lives. We have been here since 5 years and we thank our
church for accepting us and helping us grow with them.

- Anup and Esther

Psalm 27:14... Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall
strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord

Yes as a church let us wait upon the Lord always because He has
the best plans for us. Happy Anniversary Church

- Charlie Daniel and family



Living in the exuberance of Christ.
- Mr & Mrs. P.K. Samuel

-Albert Moses & family

It’s been 8 years that we are a part of WMMEC.
Wray is like family to us and we are extremely glad to

celebrate 25 Years of Wray !!

- Nita and Aman Chowdary

It has been just about 3 years that we are worshipping with you
all at WRAY but it seems like a lifetime! The warmth that we
get, the togetherness that we find and the prayerful presence at

the Lord’s house is overwhelming!!
We thank God Almighty for WRAY and pray we grow and get to
worship with innumerable new families who’d be able to witness

God’s love and power through praise, prayer and worship at
WRAY.

Here’s congratulating each of you on WRAY’s silver jubilee and
wish for many more to come!!!

- The Rajasinghs

Suchit , Sunanda & Devdas Peter

“Silver jubilee wishes for our Church.”
- Rev. Golla John

“Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one

another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit
through the bond of peace.”

Ephesians 4:2-3

Wishes for our beloved church.

Charlotte Rao