On Friday March 24th at 6:30pm, Bethesda Covenant Church will host an evening of food and fellowship at the Maharaja Indian Restaurant (230 E. 44th between Second and Third Ave.) We will gather to enjoy conversation, worship, and to hear about the work of Operation Mobilisation from one of the captains of its ships, P.J. Thomas.
Operation Mobilisation is an international mission that combines the good news of Jesus Christ with the integrity of living out their faith with actions of compassion, care, and development at each port they visit. Since 1970, OM’s ships have visited over 470 different ports in more than 140 nations around the globe. On average, 1 million visitors are welcomed on board every year! An international crew and staff, representing over 50 nations, lives and works on board the OM ships. All are volunteers, usually staying for two years. Some serve in their professional capacity – as deck or engineering officers, seamen, carpenters, welders and electricians, or as a doctor, nurse or cook, while others come to participate in training programme on board. Each training programme participant combines a full working week in their assigned department with other training programme elements such as devotional studies, discipleship, prayer and learning ministry skills. Teaching is strongly linked with opportunities to translate theory into first-hand experience. Aid and relief work, as an expression of God’s love and concern for people in needy countries visited by the OM ships, may take many forms – medical aid, construction projects, or major donations of literature, as well as spontaneous gifts of food and clothing. In the past, ship personnel have donated textbooks and reference volumes to schools, libraries, colleges and universities, distributed medical or food supplies, renovated clinics and orphanages, and assisted in the construction of schools and church buildings.
Captain P.J. Thomas will be our speaker on this evening. Captain Thomas, national of Singapore and brother of Dr. Abraham Joseph (member of Bethesda Covenant Church), is the captain of the newest OM Ship, the Logos II. Prior to this position, he was the master pilot of the Singapore harbour and represented Singapore in meetings of the International Maritime Organization, an organization of the UN. 
Logos II visits port cities throughout the world, supplying vital literature resources, encouraging inter-cultural understanding, training young people for more effective life and service, promoting greater global awareness, providing practical aid and sharing a message of hope in God. With stops in over 280 ports of call, this unique ship has visited 76 countries. See www.logos2.org for more information.
The evening will be hosted by Bethesda Covenant Church and Pastors Adam and Amy Rohler. Bethesda Covenant is a multi-ethnic, international fellowship of people who differ from each other, share a common faith in Jesus Christ, seek to live in love, and desire to work with each other and the Holy Spirit to transform lives and communities. Bethesda’s parent denomination, the Evangelical Covenant Church, headquartered in Chicago, IL is a NGO to the UN. Bethesda’s pastors, Amy and Adam Rohler, are the NGO representatives for the denomination.
Please RSVP by March 22 by calling the church office at 212.684.2062 or e-mailing pastoradam@bethesdacov.org.
Bethesda Covenant Church enjoys our "Food and Fellowship" dinners every month. Our next one will be Friday, April 21 at Azuza of Japan (44th and 5th Avenue). Please join us!
