Mumbai Metro Section
By Gordon E. Christo, and Anupam Nowrangi
Gordon E. Christo, Ph.D. in Old Testament and Adventist Studies (Andrews University). Christo is retired and working on contract as assistant editor of the Encyclopedia of Seventh-day Adventists and assistant editor of the Seventh-day Adventist International Biblical-Theological Dictionary. He is currently setting up a heritage center for Southern Asia Division. Some of his research on Adventist history can be seen at https://sudheritage.blogspot.com/ and https://www.facebook.com/SUDHeritage/.
Anupam Nowrangi
First Published: June 27, 2023
Mumbai Metro Section is an administrative unit of the Western India Union Section in the Southern Asia Division of Seventh-day Adventists. Its headquarters is in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India.
Territory: Mumbai City, Mumbai Suburban, and the districts of Palghar and Thane in the state of Maharashtra.
Statistics (June 30, 2022): Churches, 20; membership, 9,432; population, 27,382,120.
Beginnings
The first Adventists in Bombay were Stephen Haskell and Percy Magan, who halted there when they circumnavigated the globe looking for ways to spread the gospel. They describe the city of Bombay (which they note is called “Mumbai” by the locals) in a lengthy report.1
Anna Gordon, a self-supporting missionary, was the first to keep, and apparently teach, the seventh-day Sabbath in Bombay in 1892, although she had not had the opportunity to be baptized. She had heard of the Sabbath truth on the ship to India from an Adventist missionary on board and had studied the Bible with D. A. Robinson in London during the break.2 The first colporteurs had heard of her work in Bombay which lasted nearly a year, but she passed away before they could meet her.3
The first colporteur in Bombay was William Lenker in 1894.4 Ellery Robinson, who was based in Calcutta, worked and gave Bible studies in Bombay in 1899.5
Lucinda Marsh arrived in Bombay in 1906 and set up treatment rooms in the Dhun Building, Mereweather Rd, Apollo Bunder.6 In 1918 The Sanitarium Hydro-Electric Institute was established at 12 Vachagandhi Rd in Chowpati, Bombay. These “Treatment Rooms” were started by R. L. Kimble and his wife.7
The First Workers
The first Adventist regular workers assigned to Bombay were Dr. Carl and Othilla Hansen, who reached Bombay on October 18, 1905. The Hansens were supported financially by the West Michigan Conference.8 Their home in Dadar had been arranged by two colporteurs, Ella Smith and Freida Haegert.9 The Hansens soon had seven people keeping the Sabbath,10 and in September 1906 they had a large series of meetings for English-speaking locals and Eurasians. Several Europeans attended, although they had been warned by their churches to stay away. These meetings resulted in a group that met for Sabbath School.11 The Hansens left in February 1907 due to Carl’s illness.12 Their brief labor was not without fruit. G. A. Marshall, who had started keeping the Sabbath, remained faithful, though not yet been baptized, and looked forward eagerly to the arrival of G. F. Enoch. Unfortunately, Enoch arrived in Bombay only in time to conduct his funeral.13 The Enochs took up residence on Bellasis Rd, Byculla. 14
The First Organized Sabbath School and the First Church in Bombay
Enoch was assigned administrative responsibilities. The next pastor was G. W. Pettit, who arrived in 1913 and settled in Batliboi building on Cirrus Avenue in Jacob’s Circle and organized a Sabbath School.15
Pastors Pettit and Enoch conducted a major evangelistic campaign in Bombay starting November 9, 1913. The initial attendance of seventy-five increased to more than two hundred. As a result, twenty new people joined the Sabbath School. The meetings included health lectures by Dr. Menkel.16 August 1914 was a high month. On August 8 nine members were baptized in the new baptistry of the hall. On August 15 nineteen members were organized into the first Adventist church in Bombay, and on August 22 the church officers were elected.17
Pastor R. E. Hare found an unused church building opposite Bombay VT railway station that had been sold to the government on the condition that it would not be used for any secular purpose. The building was out of use for seven years, and Pastor Hare obtained a lease for the Adventist church. After the building was renovated, the church was dedicated on November 14, 1925. Enoch and Cormack, the previous pastors in Bombay, were invited with their families for the service. Cormack preached the dedicatory sermon. Enoch offered the prayer.18
The Church in Byculla
In 1938 there was a major evangelistic campaign in Byculla, an area of South Mumbai. Despite opposition, about 100 attended on the weekends.19 Two plots containing two bungalows in Byculla were purchased for Rs 50,000, and Rs 45,000 was spent on construction. One bungalow was remodeled into a mission home and the other was demolished to make space for the church building. Pastor Pierson purchased the property, and the church building was constructed under the next pastor, G. A. Hamilton, who arrived on March 27, 1939.20 The church building was dedicated on February 1, 1941. The dedicatory sermon was preached by division President N. C. Wilson, and the prayer was offered by Secretary A. E. Nelson.21
The First Marathi Church
About the time the Byculla church property was purchased in 1939, efforts were made to reach the local population with the Adventist message in Bombay. H. P. Khajekar and S. S. Chavan conducted follow-up Bible studies in 1940 and made plans for another series of evangelistic public meetings in Bombay and Kalyan.22 A baptismal class was reported as almost ready for baptism in 1942.23 The 1944 Seventh-day Yearbook lists a second church in the Bombay Mission Station with H. P. Khajekar as pastor.
Organizational History
A mission station in Bombay, overseen by the Western India Union, with one church, was organized when the property in Byculla was purchased in 1939. G. A. Hamilton was appointed director. However, by 1946 the mission station was no longer listed in the Adventist yearbooks. Starting 1946 the city of Bombay was organizationally part of the Western India/Bombay State/Maharashtra Union/Section until 1994.
Major evangelism was planned in 1994 among the various language groups present in Bombay. To assist the evangelistic efforts, the city was organized as a church administrative unit named Metro Bombay Region of Seventh-day Adventists.24 A. K. Kandane was appointed the region leader and coordinator for evangelism.25 Western India Union President S. G. Mahapure explained that the objective of the region was to evangelize the city and establish regional vernacular churches among the various language groups in the city.26
As the work progressed, the Metro Bombay Region needed to be reorganized into a larger administrative unit, a section, which was initiated on April 22, 2010. The section status was accorded in 2011.27 Pastor Joseph Augustine was elected as the first section president, and Bobby Wagh as the secretary-treasurer. At that time the Metro Bombay Section covered the metropolis of Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, and Thane District in the state of Maharashtra and had 17 churches with a membership of 10,602.
Executive Officers
Region Directors: A. K. Kandane (1994-1998); Jacob N. Sathe (1998-2001); Bhaskar Bhosale (2001-2005); Joseph Augustine (2005-2010).
Section Presidents: Joseph Augustine (2010-2016); Ujwal Kandane (2016-2018); Shrikant D Shinde (2018- ).
Region Treasurers: Shashikant Shinge (1994-1998); Ramesh Gaikwad (1998-2001); Bobby Wagh (2001-2005); Ujwal Kandane (2005-2010).
Section Secretary-Treasurers: Vijay Sathe (2010-2016); T. Chandrashekhar (2016-2018); Sahebrao Salve (2016-2018); Satish Stephen (2018- ).
Sources
“The Dedication of the Bombay Church Building.” Eastern Tidings, December 15, 1925.
“Western India News Notes.” Eastern Tidings, September 15, 1940.
Coslick, Helen. “Bombay Welcome.” Eastern Tidings, July 1, 1939.
Enoch, Geo. F. “West India.” Eastern Tidings, March 15, 1913.
Enoch, Geo. F. “West India” Eastern Tidings, January 1912.
Enoch, Mr. & Mrs. Geo F. “The West Side.” Eastern Tidings, June 1914.
Hansen Carl A. and Othilla J. Hansen, “Bombay.” Eastern Tidings, November 1905.
Hansen, C. A. “Bombay, India,” West Michigan Herald, October 24, 1906.
Hansen, C. A. “Bombay.” Eastern Tidings,” June 1, 1906.
Hansen, C. A. “Bombay.” Eastern Tidings. Oct 1, 1906.
Hansen, C. A. “India to America.” West Michigan Herald, February 20, 1907.
Hansen, Dr. C. A. “Bombay. India.” West Michigan Herald, December 6, 1905.
Haughey, A. G. President, and E. A. Merriam, Secretary. “Committee on Medical Work.” West Michigan Herald, February 7, 1906.
Lenker, William. “Bombay to Baroda.” ARH, February 12, 1895.
Lenker, William. “India.” ARH, January 1, 1895.
Magan, Percy T. “Round the World – 32.” Youths Instructor, October 22, 1890.
Mahapure, S. G. “A Report of the Central India Union Presented at the Mid-year Committee at Trivandrum, July 5-10, 1994.
Minutes of Central India Union Committee, February 28, 1994; March 6, 1994.
Minutes of the Western India Union Executive Board Minutes, 2010.
Pettit, G. W. “West India Mission Notes.” Eastern Tidings, September 15, 1914.
Pierson, R. H. “Work in the Gateway City.” Eastern Tidings, March 15, 1938.
Robinson, D. A. “An Interesting Case.” ARH, January 3, 1893.
Robinson, E. “India,” ARH, September 11, 1900.
Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook. https://www.adventistyearbook.org/.
Spiess, F. E. “Western India News Notes.” Eastern Tidings, November 1, 1942.
Thurber, R. B. “A New Church Edifice in Bombay.” Eastern Tidings, March 1, 1941.
Notes
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Percy T. Magan, “Round the World – 32,” Youths Instructor, October 22, 1890, 170-171.↩
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D. A. Robinson, “An Interesting Case,” ARH, January 3, 1893, 5.↩
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William Lenker, “India,” ARH, January 1, 1895, 5.↩
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William Lenker, “Bombay to Baroda,” ARH, February 12, 1895, 101.↩
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E. Robinson, “India,” ARH, September 11, 1900, 587-588.↩
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C.A. Hansen, “Bombay,” Eastern Tidings, October 1, 1906, 4.↩
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See “Treatment Rooms,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook, 1920; and W. W. Fletcher, “India Union Mission,” Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook, 1919, 248.↩
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A. G. Haughey, President, and E. A. Merriam, secretary, “Committee on Medical Work,” West Michigan Herald, February 7, 1906, 2.↩
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Carl A. Hansen and Othilla J. Hansen, “Bombay,” Eastern Tidings, November 1905, 3. See also Dr. C. A. Hansen, “Bombay, India,” West Michigan Herald, December 6, 1905, 1.↩
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C. A.Hansen, “Bombay,” Eastern Tidings, June 1, 1906, 4↩
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C. A. Hansen, “Bombay,” India, West Michigan Herald, October 24, 1906, 3.↩
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C. A. Hansen, “India to America,” West Michigan Herald, February 20, 1907, 1.↩
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G.F. Enoch, “Western India,” Eastern Tidings, January 1912, 4.↩
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GF Enoch, Western India,” Eastern Tidings, January 1912, 4.↩
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G F Enoch “West India,” Eastern Tidings, March 15, 1913, 3-4.↩
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Mr. & Mrs. Geo. F. Enoch. “The West Side,” Eastern Tidings, June 1914, 6.↩
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G. W. Pettit, “West India Mission Notes,” Eastern Tidings, September 15, 1914, 6.↩
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“The Dedication of the Bombay Church Building,” Eastern Tidings, December 15, 1925, 3.↩
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R. H. Pierson, “Work in the Gateway City,” Eastern Tidings, March 15, 1938, 5.↩
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Helen Coslick, “Bombay Welcome,” Eastern Tidings, July 1, 1939,8.↩
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R. B. Thurber, “A New Church Edifice in Bombay,” Eastern Tidings, March 1, 1941, 4-5.↩
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“Western India News Notes,” Eastern Tidings, September 15, 1940, 3-4.↩
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F. E. Spiess, Western India News Notes, Eastern Tidings, November 1, 1942, 3.↩
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“Naming of Bombay Region,” Minutes of Central India Union Committee # 94-41, March 6, 1994, 9.↩
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“Bombay Maga [sic] City Evangelism Director, A. K. Kandane –Recommendation to the Division,” Minutes of Central India Union Committee # 94-28, February 28, 1994, 9.↩
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S. G. Mahapure, “A Report of the Central India Union Presented at the Mid-year Committee at Trivandrum, July 5-10, 1994, 20.↩
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Western India Union Executive Board Minutes # 2010 – 33, 2010.↩