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Sacred Trinity, Salford is set to hold its first Tamil service in October, which is being set up by Revd Sweetline Burnell.
Born in South India near Chennai, Sweetline moved to England in 2000 to explore her calling to the priesthood, and in 2009 had a personal encounter with God which rekindled her passion for evangelism.
Sweetline, whose husband is also ordained, has previously travelled around parts of India, the USA, the Middle East and Asia, preaching and sharing the Good News of Christ with the people she met along the way. She has also felt blessed to have been able to evangelise the Gospel on Indian and US TV and radio shows. In more recent years, she felt a calling to establish an Anglican Tamil service in Manchester City Centre, moving from Hull to Manchester to pursue this. Sweetline now hopes to provide a safe space where Tamil-speaking people of all cultures can come, worship, and feel closer to God. “Worshipping in your own language can provide a more personal and spiritual encounter with God”, she explains, “it’s easier to get more involved in your own language.”
Before setting up the new service, Sweetline spoke to a variety of people who expressed their desire to attend a Tamil-speaking church that was in line with traditional Anglican services. Therefore, the worship will be spoken entirely in Tamil, apart from the Holy Communion which will be in English with a Tamil translation, making it an intercultural service. Revd Andy Salmon and Revd Vincent Whitworth have been helping her set things up for the church, which will be accountable to and supported by the diocese once it is up and running.
The first service will be on 6th October 2024, with the service pattern running on a five-week cycle; the first week will be Holy Communion, the second and fifth weeks will be evangelism such as a prayer walk, simple bible study in Tamil or prayers, and the third and fourth weeks will be Services of the Word followed by food and refreshments. Sweetline has been informing people about this new service mostly through word of mouth, and has had enquiries from people as far away as Preston, London and Wolverhampton who are interested in attending and helping set up the service!
“A lot of students come to this country from India and Sri Lanka and are searching for places they can come and worship God in the way they know”, she says, “a lot of families are living here too after moving from the Southern Indian region where English is not their first language, so it’s good for them to come to a place where they can feel at home and worship God whilst being a part of the wider Anglican Church”.
Sweetline hopes that in the future she will be able to minister at this new service, encouraging and nurturing an array of diverse leaders who will be involved in leading and growing the church. She also wants to train and equip more diverse people for ministry, resulting in multiple language prayers and songs at the services.
With the first service now only a month away, Sweetline says, “I want to thank God for giving us this opportunity – it was a few years ago I was wondering how this was going to happen, but after much prayer and fasting it is becoming a reality and I know God’s hand is in it. I also want to thank the Diocese and all those who are supporting me in bringing Jesus to this diverse community. For it is God’s work and all about Jesus. I also want to add that we are very much open and welcoming to anyone from any culture and any background who wants to be part of this new worshipping community”.
Canon David Onabanjo, Intercultural Mission Enabler, says, “I welcome this brand-new Worshipping Community starting in the heart of Manchester City Centre and am looking forward to the launch on the 6th October 2024.”
Sacred Trinity’s first Tamil Church service will be Sunday, 6th October 2024 from 2:00-3:30 pm.
Address: Sacred Trinity Church, Chapel Street, Salford, M3 5DW.
Update
The first service was a great success, with a Eucharist followed by refreshments and food. Sweetline says "We thank all those who came and supported us. We are truly blessed." You can see pictures from the service below.
