Telugu Sangham Gathering on 27 November 2010- Report
Arrival
The brethren of Andhra Pradesh in and around Rome have arrived at St. Paul's Pontifical College by 9.30 a.m.
Holy Eucharist
The Eucharistic Celebration in Telugu was presided over by Fr. Chinnaiah Polisetty OFM Cap concelebrated by all the priests and participated by the other members of Telugu Sangham at 10.15 a.m.
At the beginning of the Eucharist, Fr. Johannes, President of Telugu Sangham welcomed the members and reminded the importance of our presence in Rome. He said that we should prepare ourselves and well eqipeed to work in the Kingdom of God.
During the Holy Eucharist, Fr. Battu Jayaraj preached the homily which was liked and appreciated by every member. He began referring to the Gospel passage of the day that we all should be alert and ready at every moment to recieve the Lord and attend to his call. Thereafter, he preached about the sweetness of the culture and language of Andhra Pradesh. He reminded us that we should respect respect our 'Mother Tongue' and should speak when we meet our own brethren - which would lighten our heavy hearts and make us feel at home - instead of wishing in an unknown and foreign language. He took all of us to the streets and homes of Andhra Pradesh, through his preaching of the greatness of our culture, traditions and language.
Get-Together
After the Holy Eucharist, we had a chit-chat, assembled in one of the halls of the venue. Fr. G. Johannes, President of Telugu Sangham, once again welcomed the members and thanked each one for their participation in the fraternal and Telugu Family gathering.
Fr. Rajendra Prasad MF, Secreatary of Telugu Sangham addressed the family announcing the important concerns of the Telugu Family in Rome.
Decisions:
1. It is decided that all the priests shall contribute € 20 per annum towards the expenses of the family get-together which is normally held 3 times in a year.
2. All the members of Telugu Sangham are volunteerly invited to contribute financially to their best to help the victims of the recent chaos due to heavy rains in Andhra Pradesh. The President and the Secretary would contact the Bishops with the help of the priests in Rome and send the help to the needy.
3. The next meeting is decided to be held on 26 February 2011 (the last Saturday of the month) at St. Paul's College. The programme, the agenda and if any changes with regard to date and place would be notified at the earliest.
Vote of Thanks
Fr. G. Johannes, president, thanked all those who took part in the meeting and for sparing their valuable time for the family get-together. He also strongly recommended that it would be fine and well appreciated if all the members be present and participate in every meet without fail.
Personal Experience of the Members
The gathering was a great experience for me to meet people of my state. I could feel the nearness of our culture and tradition. God bless the organizers. This will unite us more as telugu prajalu. - Fr. Sudhakar Lawrence ofmcap
It was nice gathering. We all enjoyed. Congratulations to the organizers for having done it so nicely. - Br. Showry Raju Nagothu OCD
