ECT Newsletter for June 2020
Dear friends and well-wishers,
Hope all is well with you and your families amidst the pandemic! We praise God for enabling us to come to the end of another academic year, in spite of all the setbacks caused by the Covid-19. We thought of simply giving away the awards and certificates to the graduating class, but we changed our mind at the last moment. Responding to the request of the students, we organize a quiet small graduation program in the morning of May 30, Saturday.
In order to minimize the crowd, all non-graduating students are not allowed to join, graduating students are to come alone, no friends or family members are allowed to accompany them. Only some faculty members and the Board Chairman and Vice Chairman were present to give away the awards. The General Director of ECCI Rev. Paozathang Singson gave a short exhortation and commissioned them with prayers to God. While we are thankful to God for all his guidance, on the other hand, our hearts are heavy that we were unable to celebrate with great pomp and show the achievements of our students which they have so deserved.
Altogether two M. Th. students, twenty M. Div. students, eight B. Th. students and three Dip. Th. students walked the ramp to receive their diplomas and awards. One more reason why we are so thankful is that the two M. Th. graduates are the first batch of our M. Th. (Missiology) program which was started in the Fall of 2018. Initially we started with four students, two of them dropped out half-way, and these two brave hearts have completed the course. To God be the glory!
Considering our current situation, July may see the highest peak in Covid-19 infection in Manipur, and it is unfortunate that it coincides with the beginning of our academic year. Since, we have some students who could not return home due to the lockdown, we also advised our returning students to remain in the hostel through the summer as we may not be able to take them back if they return in July for fear of infection. We are making extensive preparation for online teaching through the use of technology. Faculty members are divided into two groups and we will be learning the use of technology such as Zoom, WhatsApp, Loom, Google Meet, Google Classroom, etc. While many of our people do not use emails, the WhatsApp portal is able to do all, if not more, what an email interface has offered. The ATA live webinars hosted on Facebook have been a great help to learn how people in other places are managing during this time of crisis. So here in ECT, we are prepared to start our classes in July initially by online mode and we will continue with normal classroom teachings once the situation permits us.
While we have printed copies of admission forms, we are also making an online admission form available for those who would prefer to apply from home during this period of lockdown. Our online application form can be accessed on our website at http://ect.edu.in. Our last date for accepting admission form is July 10, 2020 (Friday). May I invite you to join us in offering the following praise and prayer items:
- Praise God for His enabling power to complete another academic year amidst the turmoil around us.
- Praise God for granting success to all our graduating class and enabling them to complete their studies.
- Praise God for keeping us all safe till today and continue to pray for His protective hands to be upon us constantly.
- Praise God for many men and women who have sacrificially contributed towards the cause of ECT and students’ scholarship. It is because of your gifts that we have been able to continue till today.
- Let us pray that the Lord will bring us all back in July to begin another academic year.
May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all! Amen!
Rev. Dr. Lalrosiem Songate
Principal