The bustling punjabi
christian community based in and around the New York region is focused around
an important Indian church that caters to its spiritual, emotional and social
needs. As a matter of fact, the Indian church in Jackson Heights plays a very
important role in the community and helps its members in many different ways,
especially since many of them are first or second generation immigrants from
different parts of South Asia.
Punjabi
Christians are fewer in number than other religious groups from this state. The
community is nevertheless large and bustling and it has much to offer to
society as a whole. The church also welcomes Christians from other parts of
North India who come here for worship and social activities.
Since the most
important function of the church is to provide religious guidance, this is
indeed what people come for primarily. Indian churches generally offer services
in native languages instead of English in order to ensure that worshippers can
perfectly understand what is being said.
The spiritual
activities of the church are extremely crucial since they guide people on the
right way to worship. The activities include bible reading classes which are
conducted in languages that the church members are comfortable with. These
languages include Punjabi, Urdu, Hindi and Spanish. In fact, the church also
offers hymn books, bibles and religious reading material in these languages so
that there is perfect understanding of them.
These books are
available free of cost and are distributed without any restrictions on who can
get them. Spiritual healing sessions are also offered. All in all, the emphasis
is on enabling people to lead productive, happy and modern lives in a Christian
manner.
The social
initiatives undertaken by these churches are also very important because they
help ensure that church members are well integrated in society. This is
absolutely crucial since many of the members are immigrants and might not yet
be properly integrated in society. Members who are well-established in society
give new comers lots of assistance to enable them to build a good life for
themselves as well.
The Indian Church In New York members
also help each other solve problems that might arise in the community on
account of ignorance or bigotry. The emphasis is on peaceful co-existence with
all people irrespective of where they come from or what they do. A lot of the
activities also focus on environmental issues because this is of great interest
to society as a whole.
The Indian Church
In Jackson Heights
is a very important institution in the New York area and its membership keeps
on expanding. It ensures that all members get the chance to explore all
opportunities available to them and achieve their spiritual and economic
potential.
