National Christmas Celebrations
Founders of LAMP Foundation & Students of the Lorraine Music Academy performed at the National Christmas Celebrations on Thursday 22nd December 2011 at The Ashoka Hotel, New Delhi
Mr Aubrey Aloysius & Mrs Lorraine Fiona Aloysius, Founders of LAMP Foundation, alongwith students of the Lorraine Music Academy were invited to perform at the National Christmas Celebrations held at the Ashoka Hotel in the National Capital on 22nd December 2011 where Members of Parliament, Honourable Smt. Sonia Gandhi and Honourable Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh were present.
The National Christmas Celebrations was hosted by Mr Vincent H Pala (Minister of State for Water Resources & Minorities), Mr. Oscar Fernandes (Member of Parliament) and Mr. Francisco Sardinha (Member of Parliament) and the Church in New Delhi.
His Eminence Cardinal Oswald Gracious, Most Rev. Vincent M. Concessaeu (Archbishop of Delhi), Rev. Dr. Richard Howell (General Secretary, Evangelical Fellowship of India), Rev. Dr. Babu Joseph (Spokesperson, Catholic Bishop’s Conference of India), Rt. Rev. P. P. Marandi (Moderator, Church of North India), Bishop Samuel S. Singh (Bishop of Delhi & Bareilly Episcopal Area, Methodist Church in India) and Bishop Mar Abraham Paulos Episcopa (Mar Thoma Delhi Diocese) were among the many Christian Leaders present from various churches across India.
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It was a joyous celebration wherein Members of Parliament Oscar Fernandes and Francisco Sardinha joined in the singing. Oscar Fernandes sang “Silent Night” with Aubrey Aloysius and Lorraine Fiona Aloysius. He also played the Mouth Organ beautifully for “Joy To The World”.
It was so much joy to see people from all faiths celebrate Christmas together. The Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, addressed the gathering warm heartedly. He recognized and acknowledged the contributions of the Christian community in the field of education and also towards the upliftment of the poor and needy.
Lorraine Fiona Aloysius, Aubrey Aloysius, Marianne D’Cruz Aiman sang solos while Israeli Musician Gil Zohar played the piano and students of the Lorraine Music Academy (aged 3½ years upwards) with angelic voices sang Christmas carols. Krishna Vinod, Nayantara Sen and Jayant Gopalan sang verse solos. The message through song was “Christmas isn’t Christmas till it happens in your heart; somewhere deep inside you is where Christmas really starts….”. Carols and hymns sung included “The Gift Goes On”, “Aaya Masih”, “What Child Is This”, “Adeste Fideles”, “O Come All Ye Faithful”, among many others.
Arshiya Bhayana, Aanya Bhayana, Ishaana Mohanty, Arjun Bhartari Sahu, Kaavya Malhotra, Nayantara Sen, Ketaki Sarin, Sama Naik, Tanya Tomar, Prerna Sharma, Rhea Mahinder Kumar, Krishna Vinod, Rianna Basu, Jayant Gopalan, Meghna Gopalan, Krishna Nair, Nilay Sinha, Tishya Sekhar, Tanya Tomar, Zoya Duggal, Ananya Manoj and Paryn Kaur Khara were among the many children of all faiths who celebrated Christmas through song. These children study at various schools in Gurgaon – The Sri Ram Schools, Scottish High International School, Delhi Public School, Heritage School, Suncity World School, GD Goenka World School, Pathways World School, Amity International, among many others. Other Gurgaonites like Ninotchka Colaco, Niharika Thakur and Andrew Packiam also joined in the choir.
Earlier in the week, LAMP Foundation & Lorraine Music Academy had organized a musical event to celebrate Christmas through song by community participation on 17th December 2011 at Epicentre, Gurgaon. The Community Music Drive is still on! LAMP & Lorraine Music Academy had invited participation from people from across Gurgaon – Nirvana Country, Beverly Park, Sohna Road, Vipul Greens, Vatika City, The Palms, The Close, Paalam Vihar, Park View City, Hamilton Court, Ridgewood Estate, Regency Park, Laburnum, Aralias, World Spa, DLF City, Sushant Lok, Uniworld Gardens, Aardee City, among many others. Children, teenagers and adults had been learning Christmas carols for the past four weeks. They sang on stage popular songs and carols such as “Jingle Bells”, “Silent Night”, “The 12 Days of Christmas”, “O Little Town of Bethlehem”, “Santa Claus is coming to Town”, “What Child Is This”, among many others.
The reason for Christmas is that “God so loved the world that He gave his only Son Jesus; so that whoever believes in Him…. will have eternal life” (John 3:16 from the Holy Bible). “The true meaning of Christmas is found in the joy of loving and giving”, says Aubrey Aloysius, founder of the Lorraine Music Academy.
We look forward to exciting times in the new year 2012.
