Dr. Pat Gelsinger, President and COO of EMC, and architect of the original 80486 Intel Chip, will be speaking on the topic of faith, family and work, on Sept 11, 2010 at 5.30 PM with Dinner at Grace Baptist church, Hudson, MA.  Dr. Gelsinger will present his success story beginning with the fabrication of the first Intel Chip 80486 and shares his personal relationship with Jesus Christ and presentation of Gospel  based on  his Book,  "The Juggling Act - Bringing Balance to your Faith, Family and Work." The admission fee is $10.00 per person and $15.00/ couple with free Dinner and free Parking.  Child care will be provided and early bird registrations would receive a copy of Dr. Gelsinger's book, the Juggling Act for free. The seating is limited to first 600 people.

iCare 2010 Consultation was held in New York from July 30 to Aug 1. Counseling and Care as a Mission was the theme of this consultation.  Dr. Bradford Smith, a renowned Christian Psychologist was the keynote speaker. In addition, a number of leaders from the counseling field working among the South Asian Community presented various seminars related to Christian Counseling and the challenges facing South Asian community in North America.

Not in the recent past has New York has seen such a large number of Christian professionals such as Pastors, Psychologists, Social Workers, Psychiatrists, Nurse Practitioners, Medical Doctors, Bible School Students and other Christian Lay Workers of Indian origin coming under one umbrella for three days in discussing the problems facing our community. The participants were blessed with the tremendous wealth of information from various presenters. Participants represented from Canada, Oklahoma, Illinois, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Georgia, and of course New York. This joint initiative of Agape Partners and Parivar will help develop a strategy to successfully address these problems beyond denominational and territorial barriers. 

Agape Partners has launched its latest survey on Indian Christian Youth  on June 28, 2010. This survey features dozens of questions about challenges facing Asian Indian Christian youths. Most of the questions are those that young people face and youth leaders are interested to know to be more informed to improve their own knowledge base as well as to help others. To complete the survey, click here.

Playing violent video games increases aggressive and behavior and negatively affect relationships, according to a new review of 130 researches conducted by Texas A&M faculty and students. However, if you have a child with no other risk factors for aggression and violence, and if you allow them to suddenly start playing video games 5-10 hours a week, they're not going to become a school shooter; one risk factor doesn't do it by itself. But video game violence is the only causal risk factor that is relatively easy for parents to do something about. (Source: USA Today 3/1/10)

Young teens who spend more time watching TV or computers appear to have poorer relationships with their parents and peers. Recent study research study by Dr. Richards (University of Otago) New Zealand, studied 3,043 adolescents in the age group of 14 to 15. Overall, the more time teens spent watching TV or playing on a computer, the more likely they were to report low attachment to parents and difficulty forming a relationship. The risk of having low attachment to parents increased 4% for every hour spent viewing TV and 5% for every hour spent playing on a computer. Conversely, teens who spend more time reading and doing homework reported a higher level of attachment to parents. For every additional hour of TV, teens had a 13% increased risk of low attachment to their parents and a 24% increased risk of low attachment to peers. Source: Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, March, 2010)

A new nationwide survey of Asian Indian youths, conducted by Agape Partners International, suggests that Indian youths who consider themselves to be Christian have Bible as the most influencing factor (40%) followed by Friends (22%), Parents (13%), Media (13%) and Church (12%).  The survey explored beliefs, the influence of faith on their life, views of the Church, Bible, and influence of media, moral choices. Full survey report coming soon.

 
In recent decades, group violence, especially communal violence, has become a recurrent theme in the lives of Indians in many parts of the country. Starting with the anti-Sikh massacres in 1984, communal violence has continued to challenge India’s secular credentials in the Ayodhya riots (1992), Mumbai bomb blasts (1994), Gujarat pogrom (2002), in the Orissa riots (2008). There is a rising phenomenon of terrorism, as seen in the  Mumbai terror attacks (2008), which lead to societal and State responses that centrally challenge secularism and rule of law. There is a dire need to study these forms of violence and the impunity enjoyed by its perpetrators. This workshop thus aims to fulfill a timely need to examine the roots and processes of such violence.

In the December issue of Emmanuel Research Review, Dr. Thomas Idiculla presents the preliminary results of a recent survey on the perceived needs for Christian counseling in the Boston area. This survey provides preliminary findings to assist churches, ministries, and counseling agencies in strategically addressing counseling needs. When do church leaders refer counseling to others? What are the most common counseling issues in Boston? What role should the church have in the counseling process? What are the barriers in obtaining Christian counseling? How might churches and counseling ministries collaborate to address counseling needs? As a preliminary survey and report, this is an initial investigation that begins to address a much larger realm of questions on the topic that could and should be expanded and refined in the future.

API just completed its recent mission trip to India. During  the two weeks, they did over 900 screening and 500 testing for sickle cell diseases. Some patients walked four hours to receive the screening. One community leader brought over 70 patients with sickle cell related symptoms. Most had never received any prior care. The team was overwhelmed by the warmth, friendliness, gratitude and smiles of helping the people in desperate need.  Shunmugabai said, "We are so grateful for the impact they made in our communities."

The 10th annual Ethnic Ministries Summit will be held in Boston on April 15-17, 2010. The Summit is sponsored by the Ethnic America Network, a catalytic coalition of Christian ministries and churches across the USA and Canada, in partnership with local Christian leaders, churches, and ministries.  Click here for Regional Website/Registration

Agape Partners International (API) is conducting its third mission tour from November 5 to Nov 19. This short term trip has two purposes: conduct medical camps in North India; and second, conduct leadership and family seminars in various Indian cities including Trivandrum, Hyderabad, Mumbai and Ahmadabad. These events are organized in partnership with local Christian churches and organizations in India.