December Vol.I Issue - Madras Christian College

December 2009Vol. 1 Issue 6mccthenewsletterMadras Christian College (Autonomous)Tambaram, Chennai 600 059Bishop Heber ChapelCarol ServiceThe Bishop Heber Chapel Carol Service whichis a much awaited event in the Christmas calendarin MCC was held on the 18th of December2009. The choir numbering 62 studentsand staff sang seven carols that were a beautifulmix of the traditional and the contemporary.For the first time in the history of the college,‘Message of Hope’ a carol written and composedby Mr. Roshan Joseph John, a student ofour college was sung by the choir.Two compositions from Handel’s Messiah,‘But Thanks be to God’ and ‘The HallelujahChorus’ were rendered by the choir. ‘Shepherd’sJoy’, a carol written by a contemporarycomposer Mark Hayes, and sung by the choirwas representative of the youthful spirit of thesingers.Love came down at ChristmasLove all lovely, Love DivineLove was born at ChristmasStar and angels gave the signChristmas in MCCThe Yule Tide spirit lights up the bleak winter months all over the worldushering in a spirit of hope, joy and love anticipating the birth of theNew Year. The ambience of this joyous season manifests itself in anumber of magnificent and creative events on the campus of MadrasChristian College, involving every person in the college community everyyear.The highlight of this year’s Christmas celebration was the Alumni concertwhich was held on the 14th of December at the Madras ChristianCollege Higher Secondary School Campus. The carol concert was truncatedby a day due to the inclement weather. This was a major disappointmentto so many people who look forward eagerly every year forthis particular event. But the actual performance more than made up forthe loss.The Madras Christian College choir conducted by Professor Vimal Kurianraised the curtains for the programme with a rendition of ChristinaRossetti’s ‘Love Came Down on Christmas’. This was followed by JohnRutter’s ‘Angel’s Carol’, Jay Althous’ ‘Shout the News’ and Handel’s ‘ButThanks be to God’. This was just a sample of the musical treat thatfollowed. Octet Cantabile, a well-known group of singers led by Mr.Augustine Paul was outstanding with its delightful version of the popularcarol ‘Deck the Halls’, which incorporated familiar western classicaltunes. Another group which got the audience on their feet was ‘Crotchetsand Quavers’. Made up essentially of children, the group under theskillful training of Ms. Jayanthi Prabhakar entertained the audience withtheir live-wire performance. Other choirs that performed were MellowCircle, the WCC choir and Chariots. For a more detailed review of theAlumni Christmas celebration readers are requested to visit the onlineedition of The Hindu dated December 21, 2009.

Christmas celebrations on CampusSelaiyur HallThe Selaiyur Hall Christmas programmeheld on 7th Decemberpreempted the Yule Tide celebrationson the campus. With its beautifuldecorations and brilliant lighting,the hall threw open its doorsemitting the Christmas cheer. Thechief guest was Dr. V. J. Philip,former Principal. The HIV affectedchildren from the Anugraha Projectin Chromepet gave a heart warmingdance performance. Selaiyur Hallintroduced a novel part-multimediapart-stage performance to carryacross the Christmas message. Thetheme of this performance, whichwas composed by Mr. Ruben, theprayer secretary, was that sacrificialgiving rather than superficial andunnecessary preparations is the truemeaning of Christmas.Martin HallThe Martin Hall conducted its annualChristmas programme on 9th December.The theme ‘Prince of Peace’ aptlyglorified the hero of the season of joy,the Lord Jesus Christ. Dr. Mark Harbold,Professor of Music at ElmhurstCollege, USA was the chief guest ofthe occasion and delivered a thoughtprovoking message on the meaning ofChristmas. Dr. Harbold also kept theaudience captivated by his rendition ofa couple of classic Christmas carols.St. Thomas’s HallThe 11th of December saw the Thomasianscelebrating the season ofjoy. The theme of the programme,‘All is Well’, declared anew the gladtidings the angels declared 2000years ago. Mr. Peter Chidambaram,Principal, Kurinji Mat. H.S. School,Namakkal and also a Thomasian between1980-82, was the Chief guest.At least seven carols were sung bythe residents led by Mr. Lalsang.Margaret HallThe First Noel celebrated in MargaretHall on the 16th of Decemberwas the first celebration of its kindby the residents but had a touch ofcreativity that was remarkable. Trueto the culturally pluralistic nature ofMCC, the Margaretians sang songsin various languages. The good newsof Christmas was delivered by Rev.Peter Francis. The residents staged askit carrying the meaning of Christmasas being beyond all materialisticpomp and celebrations. A candlelitdance provided aesthetic charm tothe whole performance.College Carol ServiceThe College Carol Service was heldon the 13th of December at AndersonHall. The Principal, Dr. R. W.Alexander Jesudasan, delivered theChristmas sermon. Various units ofthe college including the Principal’soffice and the Records office sangcarols to celebrate the joy of theChristmas. The Martinians choreographeda candlelit dance adding varietyto the service.SWAWSAChristmas CelebrationThe SWAWSA Christmas celebrationsbegan on the 12th of December, whenthe children of AIDS Home Sanatoriumvisited our college to receive gifts.Their Christmas party for the teachingand non-teaching staff and theirfamilies was held on 19th December.On 23rd December, the members ofSWAWSA visited the FLI at Mappeduto donate basic requirements like medicalequipment, refrigerators, chairs,etc. The amount for these contributions,Rs.15,000 for the AIDS Homeand Rs.45,000 for FLI, was collectedthrough the SWAWSA food carnivalheld in October 2009.Hodie Christus Natus est....Alleluia

Faculty AccomplishmentsDr. R. Wilfred Sugumar, Dept. of Chemistry, published apaper ‘Role of Service Learning in Water Quality Studies’ –part II in New Horizons in Education (Vol 57, No.3, 2009, pp73-81)Dr. JayaKishore Panda, Mr. E. Iyyapan, Mrs. C. Amirthavalliand Mrs. T. Jaba Priya, Dept. of Chemistry, were resourcepersons in a Workshop on Biotechnology for UG Studentson 10th &11th December 2009, under DBT – Star CollegeScheme jointly organized by the Physics and Chemistry departmentsof MCC.Dr. P. Wilson, Dept. of Chemistry, delivered a lecture on‘Charismatic movement’ at the IACS, MCC on 7th December2009 and a lecture on ‘To be a gracious Leader – a Christianperspective’ in the Staff Study Circle conducted by SFS,MCC, Chennai on 17th December 2009.Mr. Prince Edwin Das, Dept. of Chemistry, participated inthe ‘Second Science Conclave: A Congregation of NobelLaureates’, organized by Indian Institute of Informationtechnology, Allahabad, on December 8th -14th , 2009.Dr. M. Gabriel, Dept. of Philosophy, presented a paper titled‘The Concept of Peace and Harmony according to Gandhi’in the International Congress of Social Philosophy in DravidianUniversity, Kuppam on 12th December 2009.Dr. K. Joshua, Dept. of Philosophy, presented a paper titled‘In Search of a Global ethics: A Critical Exposition ofHans Kung’s Ideas’ in the International Congress of SocialPhilosophy in Dravidian University, Kuppam on 12th December2009.Dr. Mark Harbold, Professor of Music at Elmhurst College,USA and a visiting scholar in MCC delivered a lecture on‘The Political System in USA with reference to the recentPresidential Elections’ on 9th December in the Dept. of PoliticalScience.Workshop on Coastal BiodiversityA workshop on Coastal Biodiversity Restoration was heldfrom December 9th to 11th by the Department of Zoology& Department of Marine Studies at The Estuarine BiologicalLaboratory, Pulicat. Dr. J. Logamanya Tilak was the organizingsecretary. Dr. Michael C. Swift and Dr. Anne Walter,Professors at St. Olaf College, Northfield, Minnesota, USAhonored the participants.Visitors from AbroadThe Collaborators of the Department of Marine Studiesand Coastal Resource Management, Dr. Sigfried Berhimpon(Dean of Science), Mr. Donald Rumokoy (Rector) and Mr.Djonlie W. Emor of Sam Ratulangi University, Indonesiavisited the Department on 10th December, 2009 under theUBCHEA Biodiversity -Conservation project.Workshop on Basics ofBiotechnologyA Five day workshop (7th to 11th December, 2009) on Basicsof Biotechnology was organized by the Department ofZoology under the Star college scheme of the Departmentof Biotechnology, Govt. of India involving Zoology, Botany,Physics and Chemistry Departments where students of thefour Departments selected by their respective Heads weretrained in Theory & Practicals. Dr.Samuel Sukumar servedas the workshop Organizer under the DBT Star CollegeScheme Co-ordinator, Dr. D. Arul Samraj.MCC Association & Extension UnitsThe students of the MCC Mat. Hr. Sec. School, Chetpet organizeda food carnival in Chetpet and raised Rs. 1.5 lakhswhich they donated towards the development of MCC RSLSchool, West Tambaram.Ms. L. Dhinamani of Std. VIII A of MCC RSL High School,won accolades for her essay on conservation of energy in acompetition organized by the Ministry of Power, Govt. ofIndia. She was honoured for her effort by His ExcellencyS.S.Barnala, Governor of Tamil Nadu.Rural Camp ’09The I year Masters degree students of the Dept. Social Work(Day ) went for a 10 days Rural Camp in Adasal village in theVillipuram District from 6-15 December, 2009. The Themeof the Rural Camp was CELO, the Spanish Term for Zealous.The Camp Motto was ‘Perseverance with Passion’. TheStudents conducted various Programmes in and around thevillage including Farmer’s Training Programme, GeneralMedical Camp, Veterinary Camp, Sports Day at The Govt.Middle School in Omnipur, Public Meeting in Adasal, HumanRights Day Awareness Programme(Rally, Street Play),and Health and Hygiene Awareness Programme at the Govt.Middle School in Omnipur(Puppet Show & Skit).

Campus School EventsWorkshop on BiotechnologyThe Departments of Chemistry and Physics organised aWorkshop on Biotechnology for UG Students from 10-11December 2009, under DBT – Star College Scheme. Dr. N.Gautham, Professor, Department of Biophysics and Crystallography,University of Madras, Guindy, Chennai deliveredthe inaugural address.Student AccomplishmentsNational Science Olympiad Competitive Exams were held on19th November and students of classes 4 &7 participated inthe event. Sports Day prizes and certificates were distributedon 27th November. Campus School Choir participated in thecarol services of MCC Alumni Carol Concert in the AndersonHall, MCC, Jesus the Lord CSI Church, West Tambaram,and St. Mark’s Church. To enable children to be aware of andsensitive to the needs of the underprivileged, the childrendonated gifts and cash to the Little Drops Destitute Homeon the 1st of December. On 2nd December, Indian MedicalAssociation gave a demo with a life-size doll on Cardio- Pulmonary - Resuscitation and children later did CPR onthe doll. On 11th December a special assembly was held byUKG followed by the visit of Santa and Christmas program.As part of the regular activities of the school, classes 4 &5 went for an over-night stay to Scripture Union camp site,Mahabalipuram, in spite of the inclement weather.Sharing Knowledge You had abroadMadras Christian College has come up with a programmecalled ‘Sharing Knowledge You had abroad (SKY) by whichfaculty and students who visit any foreign country or Universityare provided with a platform on their return to share theirexperiences with staff and students in the college. The SKYprogramme saw its successful launch on 18th December inthe Power Point presentations of Dr. William Gnanasekaran,Dept. of Public Administration and Dr. David Prabhakar,Dept. of Tamil, who returned from Germany.Biblical Foundation CourseInstitute for Advanced Christian Studies (IACS) plans to starta programme in Biblical Foundation on 19th January 2010.This is to be a four month certificate course conducted in theevenings twice a week on the campus. This is in addition tothe ongoing Diploma programme in Christian Studies. Rev.C.S.E. Ross, Director, IACS invites students to participate.Editorial BoardMr. John Rajkumar Devanboo (Convener)Mr. Surendran Purushotham, Dr. James Kurian, Mr. Jojan Job,Ms. Blessy, Rhea Abraham and Blaisen Bonney TomMail news and forthcoming events to: apro@mcc.edu.inPh: 044 - 22397731(for private circulation only)The students of Department of Chemistry won an array ofprizes in the ‘Chemfest Nano -09’ conducted by the Departmentof Chemistry, Loyola College, Chennai on 12th December2009: I prize in Debate by I MSc students ChethnaJagadesh and Bhuvaneshwari, II prize in Collage by I MScstudents Chethna Jagadesh and Mary Deepa. Mathew Kuruvillaand Jayanthi of II MSc and Chethna Jagadesh andSaranya. N of I MSc won the I Prize at the Inter-CollegiateQuiz Competition - ‘Intellecta -09’ conducted by the ThomsonReuters on 18th December 2009.Tribal VisitThe II year Masters degree students of the Department ofSocial Work went on a study trip to Wayanad, visitng Nilgiris-Wayanad Tribal Welfare Society (NWTWS) at Ambalamedu,in the Wayanadu District, Kerala from 15-21 December. Facultymembers, Prof. Rency Koshy Verghese and ProfessorPrince Solomon accompanied the students.Students took part in the socio-cultural festival ‘Thanal’ tocelebrate the 30th anniversary of the NWTWS. The studentsinteracted with the tribal groups - Kattunaikkans, Paniyas,Kurumbas, and Betta-Kurumbas and gained an in-depthknowledge about their living conditions and common problems.They returned feeling very refreshed and reassured ofthe need to help these tribals to get their legitimate benefitsfrom the government.