The Gurukul Lutheran Theological College in Chennai, India, observed Asia Communication Sunday on 21st June 2009 and continued the celebration till 27th June 2009, making it a week long celebration, under the theme, “Communication is Peace: Building Viable Communities of Peace”, organised by the World Association for Christian Communication – Asia Region (WACC-AR). The doctoral and postgraduate students of the Department of Communication initiated and organised several programmes under the able leadership of the Rev. Dr. Samuel W. Meshack, the Principal of the College and the Head of the Department of Communication.
 The week long programme was inaugurated during a special service by Dr. Meshack during the community worship. Taking the Scripture text from the second chapter of the Gospel of John, he quoted the two incidences of the Wedding at Cana and the cleansing of the Jerusalem temple. Seeing these as reflections of the two sides of Peace, Dr. Meshack challenged the worshipers on taking sides as communicators of peace. The Morning Devotions from Monday to Friday were conducted by the Doctoral and postgraduate of Theology (D.Th. and M.Th.) students of the Communication Department. Creative forms of worship and inspiring and challenging messages based on the WACC-Christian Principles of Communication were conducted highlighting how these principles when practised can bring about peace and help in creating viable communities. (Monday – Communication is Participatory, Tuesday – Communication is Prophetic, Wednesday – Communication creates Community, Thursday – Communication Supports and Develops Cultures, and Friday – Communication Liberates).
Two community programmes were also organised. On Wednesday 24th June, there was showing of the film “Tare Zameen Par” which depicted the careful and diligent helping hand needed in enabling a dyslexic child to overcome his difficulties and face the challenges of life. This was screened to create awareness among the audience on taking sides with the weaker sections of the society. On Friday 26th June, students from different parts of India (North East India, North India, Tamilnadu, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh) participated in a cultural evening, presenting the pluralistic culture of India through folk dances and songs. This programme witnessed students from diverse cultures of India, who live on one campus and call for a need to theologise in such pluralistic context which would help in establishing communities of peace.
The celebration culminated with Painting and Speech competitions in which students from seventeen schools from Chennai participated. The competition allowed young minds to present their challenging and thought-provoking perspective and vision for a peaceful world. There were 57 children for the art competition and 11 children for speech competition. The Asia Communication Week at the Gurukul Lutheran Theological College ended with a brief function, chaired by the Rev. Dr. Suneel Bhanu, President, Andhra Evangelical Lutheran Church. He emphasized the need for peace in order to create a better world and the important role children have to play as communicators of peace. Rev. Dr. P Manoharan, Director, Gurukul Lutheran Theological College distributed mementoes to the winners and the students of the Communication Department. Dr. Samuel W. Meshack congratulated the guests, students of the participating schools, and students of the Department of Communication, reiterating the role of communication in establishing peaceful communities and the need for taking sides with the poor and the marginalised people. He also expressed his gratitude on behalf of WACC-AR to all participants for making Asia Communication Week a successful and memorable event.
Manoj Samuel, Isaac John and Sandeep Theophil
Students of the Department of Communication, Gurukul
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