"Dear fellow pilgrims in the journey of faith and compassionate service. I greet you on behalf of the National Council of Churches in India, the Chris

"Dear fellow pilgrims in the journey of faith and compassionate service. I greet you on behalf of the National Council of Churches in India, the Christian community in India and, above all, in the name of Jesus Christ. We rejoice with you on this very special occasion of the 50th birth anniversary celebrations of Her Holiness Mata Amritanandamayi Devi. We pay respect to the life and witness of our beloved Amma, who is the living symbol of Universal Motherhood. We wish Her abundant blessings from heaven, and long life. "Through Her compassionate service, Amma is giving contentment and peace. To the Amma who encompasses all beings, animate and inanimate, whom She encloses within the circle of Her loving embrace, I offer a thousand bouquets of flowers in the name of all Christians. "On Amma's birthday, I'll read two lines from a poem that I wrote in remembrance of my mother. "Amma, mata, ma, aai, taye, tallayai, mother, mutter, mommy: She is known in a 1,000 names, for She is all these and more. Fifty years she carried me-- first in her dreams, then in her womb, then in her lap and now in her prayers. Mother, never dies She keeps coming back in tender forms of loving care. "I want to dedicate this poem to you, Ammachi. "On this day of interfaith conference, I'm asked to speak on integration through compassionate service and to elaborate on the foundations of compassionate care for the needy in Christianity and how the Church's efforts in compassionate care have helped religious integration in India. So I'll speak about the foundation first. "So, let us struggle together to make it possible. We thank You, Amma, for the leadership and initiative You are giving to us as a model of this activity and my final blessing is: lokah samastah sukhinu bhavantu [May all the beings in the world be happy]." Rev. Dr. Ipe Joseph General Secretary, National Council of Churches of India The reverend's Amritavarsham50 Interfaith Summit speech: "Integration Through Compassionate Service"