Dear Friends
What a great God-given blessing to greet you all in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ in this special, historical Anniversary month of Putney Church in 2023!
We, as Putney Church- London Tamil Christian Congregation have been chosen to be consecrated people to declare His mighty acts since 1972 in London. Our hearts are thankful to those who listened to the small voice of the Holy Spirit to set apart people to worship the Lord.
We are the remnants today, and we need to recollect the past memories, to pass on the unforgettable stories of our Church history to praise the Lord. In the past, a handful of worshippers encouraged and welcomed hundreds of worshippers to be benefitted as a Worshipping community in the journey of our church! This is a marvellous deed of our God and His people!
The joyful and suffering stories which they inherited as God’s family from generation to generation uplifted God’s name. Many were baptised, confirmed, and married in our church. The shepherds, those who led the Church are remembered for their faithful services in our Church life and our memories still speak as though they are fresh. Many faithful worshippers as Council members, Stewards, Choir Leaders, Sunday School Coordinators, Youth Leaders and Prayer Group Coordinator for their efficient contributions to the life of the Church, all need to be remembered with gracious hearts. We remember them all to give glory to God this month!
We praise God for the life and work of the Church by recollecting the demography of our worshipping places and the nature of our liturgies. It beautifully brings an image of how small living stones were brought together to build a lively and faithful Ecumenical Congregation of the contemporary life and work of LTCC today. I thank God for the past 15 years I have been journeying with you as your 9th minister. I thank God with a humble heart for His call and strength, graciously looking back to all our former ministers for their faithful services (both alive and departed) in the life and work of LTCC. I am also very grateful for those who helped us as Guest ministers from London, Sri Lanka and India in our worshipping life journey.
LTCC has the inherited history of four Church buildings as our Worshipping Centres within this five decades and a year. We thank God for the Putney Methodist Church at Putney, Rivercourt Methodist Church at Hammersmith, South Harrow Methodist Church at South Harrow and United Reformed Church at Hounslow. Even we need to remember Heston Methodist Church who welcomed us annually to have our Christmas Eve Services too! We plan to visit the Putney church building in the latter part of this year as a sign of our gratitude to God for His provision in the life of LTCC.
I praise God for the modern technologies we have included in the life of LTCC. We especially remember the privileges to use technology more vibrantly with the help of our effective and efficient communication team of different responsibility holders. Particularly we need to remember and thank God for the hard work of our members during the pandemic, which has shaken our worshipping life in person. We remember the platform of Zoom with many video links used for the liturgy which provided the richness in the worshipping life of LTCC since 2020.
The Zoom worship during the lockdown encouraged many members including bereaved families and aged congregation members too. Though I am unable to mention the names of all the hard workers who worked with me, I am very much grateful for those who granted their time, talents and tremendous help even at odd times of the day! Their willingness without complaint boosted the worshipping ministry, I would like to thank God for these facilities and to bless those who are behind the scenes in all our worship preparations during these unprecedented timing and still, we got these privileges too.
I invite you all for the 51st year Anniversary Service on Sunday 25th June in person at Rivercourt Methodist Church at 4 pm. Following the Service, a Cultural celebration will be conducted with a Fellowship dinner too. Please bring your friends and families to raise our voices to praise God and to encourage one another to see the future with His gracious hands to bring many into the life of LTCC as a Mother Church to many Tamil people from Sri Lanka in London and elsewhere in the world.
I bless you all with my sincere heart to grow like a Banyan tree to witness Christ’s unconditional love and steadfast love. God bless LTCC to be a channel of peace and soothe many souls to receive God’s healing and to know the love of Christ whenever we worship as LTCC worshipping community! May LTCC be blessed in God’s Service in London!
With love and blessings in His Service
Revd Jessie Anand
Minister - LTCC