International Fellowship of Hindi Speaking Congregations
We, The Dandenong Hindi Fellowship is also the part of international Fellowship of Hindi speaking congregation. This organisation was formed by Dr. Rv. Daniel Mastapha in Brisbane in 1990. International Fellowship consist of people from Australia, New Zealand, USA, Canada and Fiji . We meet in every two years for Consultation. One of the main objectives was for the Fiji Indian Methodist gone abroad, to keep in touch with one another and most importantly with the home church in Fiji. The past consultations, as intended, have provided the time for renewal and strengthening of friendship and fellowship and sharing ideas, above all experiencing spiritual blessings as we talked and walked in Fellowship with our Lord. We always cherish the time spent in this gathering, and eagerly looking for the next one.
In 2009, Dandenong Hindi Fellowship hosted the 10th Consultation on 9th, 10th and 11th of October. We had a superb and joyous time together. We enjoyed the fellowship, devotion, group discussion, singing old and new hymns in our new found home. The presentation of the International reports had been very amazing and inspired us all as we gathered lot of knowledge about Hindi Churches around different part of the world where Fiji Indians have migrated over the years. We had the privilege of hearing from Dr. Rev. Daniel Mastapha’s massage on the theme ‘Singing the Lord’s song in a Strange Land and Celebrating our Identity in a Diaspora’. The Sacrament of Holy Communion was followed after his report. Not forgetting the best part of the day, morning tea, luncheons, afternoon tea and evening dinners. On these occasions, we catch up with our old friends and make new friends.
Fijian Night had been the most amazing entertainment held on Saturday. We had several Fijian meke and Indian dances and songs followed by Fijian Lovo and Indian cuisine for feast. On Day 3, We had combined service at Blackburn North Uniting Church in the evening and we had an opportunity to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Blackburn North Uniting Church. The three days International Fellowship had been meaningful, inspiring, and encouraging to those who participated.
Mini Hindi Consultation
Mini Hindi Consultation was held on 16th of March, 2019. It had been a meaningful and well covered programme. The item of interest was from Guest Speaker Rev. Rex Fisher- ‘Challengers in the New Land’. Other items of interest were ‘Recognizing our missionaries.’ the speaker was Dr. Daniel Mastapher. The Fellowship also celebrated the 60th year of Ordination for Dr. Rev. Mastapha and Rev. Edward Calab, both continued to serve our Lord devotionally, faithfully and respectfully for many years. The group study inspired us all, as we discussed about ‘How to motivate the younger generation to preserve our identity, who we are and our deeply rooted beginning? Another memorable ceremony was ‘The Lighting of the candles’ to pay tributes for those who have gone before us to Higher Place. Their memories, dedication, and legacy will be remembered by Fellowship. We continued our service with singing Bhajans, worshipping and prayers. The service ended with Benediction. The afternoon tea was a wonderful time to catch up with The Fellowship.
Each consultation had been unique with its own identity. These have been a divine movement lead by the Holy Spirit. It was also a wonderful privilege to catch with the International Fellowship to share their stories and ideas, building bridges of trust and bonds of unity and time of reflection, meditation and spiritual growth.