Hear BBC ASIA NETWORK FEATURE (CLICK HERE) go to 10 mins 30 secs.
For the first time ever BBC Asia Network recorded a live Punjabi Church service, as part of a feature on South -East Asia Subcontinent Christmas celebrations in the UK. The feature which will aired on 23rd December 2014 at 1pm, will allow listeners to hear extracts of Punjabi Zaboor (hymns),Christmas carols, prayers and sermons, and contains interviews relating to why parishioners prefer services in their native tongue, which is based on a desire to retain cultural inheritance and not simply ease of understanding.
Over 50 Asian Christians attended this celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ today (Sunday 22nd December 2014), which was held at Clementswood Community Centre, 14a Connaught Road, Ilford. Kingdom Ministries hold regular services at the location every Sunday from 5pm – 7pm.
As well as Carols, hymns and a sermon on the birth of Jesus Christ a prayer of reflection was said for the persecuted church globally and for the recent victims of the Peshawar School attack.
Haroon Yousaf an elder of the church, said;
“Christmas is one of the most important dates in the Christian calendar, it is a day we designate to remember the birth of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To be able to share this joy with a much wider audience was a great blessing for us.”
Harpal Singh Saini also an elder for the church, said;
“God gave his son Jesus (who was also part of the one being of God), whom he sent to earth to be a means of salvation for all people. We celebrate his birth knowing that it was part of the fulfilment of prophecy that allows mankind access to eternal life.”
