Title- Bangalore Church Dedication
Author- E.M.Meleen
Date- Feb 15, 1935
On January 26 our new English Church building in Bangalore was dedicated. This was just five months after the beginning of the construction on August 25. The building is solidly constructed of the fine granite which abounds in Bangalore. The design according to which it is built was chosen because it lends itself to economical construction, and is at the same time attractive if not of the usual church style. And since funds were very limited, members of the church having borne almost the entire cost of the building work, this was an important item in its planning. Nearly 200 men and women were present at the dedication service, which shows that the seating capacity of the main floor and gallery is easily 250 or 300, for it was not filled to its greatest capacity. It is so built that two Sabbath school rooms can easily be added to the main room if it becomes necessary to increase the size. It presents a very fine appearance, and even we who have had to do with its construction, are surprised as we look at it in its finished state, that it could be provided at so moderate a cost.
The church has attracted considerable attention in Bangalore, whose church goers have been taught that S.D.A’s. are a people who come and go without any stability about their work. The following
news item from the Bangalore Daily Post gives an account of the dedication service.
“The new church erected by the Seventh-Day Adventist Mission on Cunningham Road was dedicated for divine worship on Saturday evening last. “There was a large attendance of church members and friends and the gallery was occupied by the students of the South India Training School, Krishnarajapuram.
“At the appointed hour the missionaries conducting the service took their places on the dais and the first stanza of the hymn `Holy Spirit, Light Divine’ was sung. Pastor E. M. Meleen, Superintendent of the South
India Union extended a hearty welcome to all present and expressed the hope of seeing them on future occasions. The proposal he said, to build a church was made some years ago, but only within the last year was the undertaking made possible through the sacrifice and liberality of the church members.
“After the singing of the hymn ‘Faith of Our Fathers’ Pastor T, J. Michael (Poona) read from the Scripture King Solomon’s prayer at the dedication of the temple he built at Jerusalem, and Pastor H. G. Woodward (Travancore) offered an earnest and appropriate prayer.
THE SERMON
“Pastor H. C. Christensen (Ceylon) then delivered the sermon. He said that these are days of intense missionary endeavour throughout the world, and the divine prediction ‘this Gospel of the Kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations, then shall the end come’ is being fulfilled. Men and women in every nation, of every colour and class, are being gathered into the church, and the church today is indeed ‘a house of prayer for all people.’
“Science, invention, and education have built up great and successful organizations,but to build the church of God by these means is but to fail, for God must be the master-builder or they that build labour in vain.
“The darkness is deepening, and the present twilight indicates the fulfilment of the prediction that ‘darkness shall cover the earth and gross darkness the people’ in the last days. The churches and institutions dedicated to the service of God, the ministry whereof will reveal the glorious character of God, should stand as lights in the darkness. “The gloom had deepened over ancient Judah, hope had fled, and this people had lost their king and kingdom and felt that the God of their fathers had forgotten them. Jehovah sent them a message to revive hope. This message contains one of the most sublime revelations of God found in the sacred volume. He is there revealed as the God of Comfort to meet the need of a distressed people. He was also revealed as the King of this kingless people, and as a Judge to judge the enemies of God’s people, and as a Shepherd to His own scattered sheep. He is also revealed as the Creator and Upholder of all things. This revelation was what Judah needed and is what a world in darkness needs today. A world of sorrow is in dire need of the God of Comfort.
“The ministry of this revelation of God is one to which this house is dedicated. A failure to fulfil this mission would be a tragedy. With the dedication of this building we, as members, should dedicate
ourselves to this Divine ministry that the purpose of the erection of this building and its ministry shall not be in vain. “At the conclusion of the sermon Pastor A. E. Rawson (Bangalore City) offered the dedicatory prayer, invoking God’s blessing on the house that had been built for the glory and honour of His name. The doxology followed and an impressive service concluded by the benediction being pronounced by Pastor H. A. Hansen (Ceylon). “The special music provided on the occasion consisted of two pianoforte solos by Mrs. A. S. Boykin, a violin solo by Mr. A.Krijoff, and a quartette by Pastors Meleen, Michael and Hunter, and Mr. A. C. Boykin.”
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Attr.- Adventist Digital Library