Methodist Church, Bathinda

METHODIST CHURCH BATHINDA

Episcopal Area is having two Regional Conferences (it means we have twelve Regional Conferences in Methodist Church In India) as given above, we are in Delhi Episcopal Area, Delhi Regional Conference is divided in six Districts Ajmer, Batala, Delhi North, Delhi South, Hissar, Patiala, It covers eight states Rajesthan, Haryana, Punjab, Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal, Delhi, Utter Prades (NOIDA). We are in Patiala District, Patiala is in Punjab, Punjab comes under Delhi Regional Conference, and Delhi Regional Conference is part of the Delhi Episcopal Area which falls under Methodist church in India.

It’s very difficult to say and prove that when this existing church building was constructed, how it was constructed and by whom it was constructed. One of the survey and research which was conducted by the students and faculty of Giani Zail Singh Engineering College Bathinda in 2005 which says after testing the soil and after taking the sample of the wood from the roof wooden frame and after minutely and carefully looking to the structure and map of the existing church building they have made a statement that this church is 200 - 250 years old. There is a very old church organ which is still there in church (not in working condition) was first repaired in 1853 by the Manson Company from Italy. It has got brass stamp / seal with date and signature on it. There is a book in the library of Sirsa city (Haryana) which contains a letter of SSP who was there in 1857 when Mangal Pandey started fight for freedom this SSP has written a common letter to the SP Bathinda and SP Sirsa city saying that please pay special attention to the church in Sirsa and Bathinda situated at Thandi Sadak that no person or mob should harm the church building which means this existing church building is there in Bathinda before 1852 and the railway track in Bathinda came after because the work of railway were started in India on 1849 by British engineer, Robert Maitland Brereton, before that there was not a kilometer of railway line in India and the first train which was introduced to India was on 16 April 1853, the first passenger train service was inaugurated between Bori Bunder in Bombay and Thane. Covering a distance of 34 kilometers (21 mi), it was hauled by three locomotives, Sahib, Sindh, and Sultan. And railway tracks and trains came in Bathinda (Punjab) much later that is after 1875. So the existing church building in Bathinda is there before the railway came in India or in Punjab. Since then Christians are worshiping Lord Jesus Christ in this existing church building.