BANGALORE : Thousands of people flocked to the Hudson Memorial Church to celebrate its 110th anniversary on Sunday. The church released a commemorative stamp and launched its own website www.hudsonmemorialchurch.com to mark the occasion.
Established in 1904, the church is named after Rev Josiah Hudson, the pastor who strove for the overall development of the church. Hudson came to India from England in 1865 and served as a bishop of the Christian Mission Services, spending 32 years of his life in India. “On principle, we have not undertaken any major reconstruction of the church. Even the colour has been left untouched. Even to this day, the church bears the same look that it did when it was started,” S William Jones, presbyter-in-charge of the church, told Express.
Located in Sampangiram Nagar, near the Corporation Circle, the church has bagged a ‘heritage building’ tag.
As part of the 110th year celebrations, various programmes were organised, including singing, a Biblical quiz, and a painting competition among others.
“The church also organises many awareness programmes for women and youth and spiritual events,” Jones said. It enjoys the status of a ‘Mother Church’ since it paved the way for the establishment of other churches in and around the city, he added.
Jones said though it is one of the oldest churches in the city, the government has paid little attention to it. “To maintain the church, we need a lot of funds and we depend on alms offered by patrons. We have not received any funds from the government,” he said.
Sawday Memorial Church (Mysore) priest Mohan Manoraj participated in the celebrations on Sunday.