The 11 March 2018 was certainly a day to be remembered for a long time and will have a different significance for each one of us. At least for a great number of Christians it was a day of utmost importance, a day that marked the continuity of actions towards the consolidation of relationships between Christians. In fact on that day which preceded the national day, a march along with a public celebration was organised at the Municipality of Beau-Bassin/ Rose-Hill and had for name “Leve Marse”.
Since the start of the year numerous activities were organised for the unity of Christians and once more we can totally say that it was a successful event. We were able to meet Christians from so many different denominations with still the same vision for Christian unity. This event was organised by the christian churches of Mauritius under the banner of the working comittee for Christian unity and with the support of many organisations (such as Chemin Neuf community, Taize community, Daybreak, Anointed, Worship Central, etc.). The organisation of the event was itself the perfect illustration of what Christianity should be, that is, united and not divided, as we saw a variety of representatives from all denominations that came together as one family in Christ to sing together to the world “Leve, Marse”.
“Leve, Marse” is a quite symbolical name for this event as we can feel the call drawn to us to physically get up and walk but it also gives somehow the need for us Christians to get up and to start concrete actions: not simply beingChristians who talk but also Christians who walk together.
This event was even more symbolical as it was also organised to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Mauritian independence. The atmosphere that prevailed on that day was one of togetherness, one of sharing but also one of patriotism as it was also a moment of thanksgiving for our beautiful Mauritian nation.
The plan of the day started from the post office in Rose hill to end at Plaza. It was such a striking image to see all the colours of our flag going towards Plaza along with praise songs resounding in the air. The praise and worship continued at the municipality when everybody arrived. We sang the National anthem, we read the word, there was a drama (done with Christians from different churches) and then various church leaders came up on stage sharing about how the Church contributed to the growth of the Mauritian nation and about the importance of serving together as one Mauritian Christian nation. We then had some people who shared their testimonies of how they were able to stand up on their feet with the help of the brothers and sisters in Christ despite various difficulties they were facing. We then had a powerful prayer time for our nation all together before the leaders blessed all who were here to send us as witnesses of Jesus Christ in our country. We finished by praising and worshipping the Lord all together as one family in Christ. It was again a remarkable example of Christian unity. A call to ‘Leve Marse’.
Kathlyn Appadoo
