Families for whom RTMC has been home across generations

When members were asked to name families whose connection with Richmond Town Methodist Church has continued across generations, the responses came readily. The names of the Noronhas, Gokavis, Lazaros, Soans family, Davids, Jeevanesons, Sundaramonys, Macwanas, and the Theodore-Christanandan family were among those frequently mentioned.

For these families, RTMC has been more than a place of Sunday worship. It has been where children grew up, where faith was nurtured, where friendships were formed, where music was shared, and where important family milestones were celebrated. The pews have witnessed generations come and go, while the families themselves have continued to carry something of the church with them.

Four families have shared their stories here. They do not represent every multigenerational family connected with RTMC, but their memories offer a glimpse into the many ways a church becomes part of a family’s story.

✞ THE NORONHA FAMILY

RTMC since 1965
Written by Niranjan Noronha

The Noronha family’s story at RTMC began in 1965, when the family became part of the church’s Sunday School. It was the beginning of a relationship that would continue across four generations.

The siblings — Neegal, Cyril, Nirmala, Nalini, Noel, Nevil and Charlie — grew up within a Christ-centred home, and during the early 1970s their spiritual formation became an increasingly important part of their lives. By the mid-1970s and into the 1980s, the family members were becoming full members of the church and taking on increasingly active roles within the congregation.

RTMC became a place where growing in faith and serving the church happened together. Neegal became involved in the Youth Fellowship and fundraising efforts connected with the present sanctuary, while Shirley, Kripa and Sunita contributed to Sunday School and Christian education. Nevil served on the Music Committee, and music became one of the most enduring threads connecting the family to the church.

Noel, Joyce, Nevil and Kripa were part of the morning choir. Their involvement was not simply an activity they participated in on Sundays; music became part of the family’s shared experience of worship. The influence continued into the next generation as well.

Niranjan served as Assistant Pastor in 1984, while Sunita served as Director of Christian Education. In later years, the family’s musical involvement continued through their children. Naveen composed songs for Sunday School and Vacation Bible School, while Sneha and Smitha became involved in the MYF.

In this way, the story of the Noronhas at RTMC was never confined to one generation. The same church that had welcomed their parents and children into Sunday School became the place where their own children would discover worship, friendship and service.

Across the years, a family of 36 people, spanning four generations, worshipped and served at RTMC. Today, those generations carry the memory and influence of RTMC into their present lives, continuing a story that began more than six decades ago.

— Niranjan Noronha, member since 1965

✞ THE GOKAVI FAMILY

RTMC during the tenure of Rev. Fred Gokavi
Written by Sunita Gokavi

For Sunita Gokavi, RTMC holds a particularly personal place in her story. It was at Richmond Town Methodist Church that she committed her life to Jesus, and the faith she received there was deeply grounded in the preaching and teaching she encountered within the church.

Her father, Rev. Fred Gokavi, served first as Associate Pastor and later as Pastor of RTMC for four years before moving on to serve as Principal of Baldwin Boys’ High School. For Sunita, however, he was more than a pastor. He was also a friend and mentor, and his years of ministry left a lasting impression on the family.

Among the memories that remain especially vivid is hearing him sing “How Great Thou Art.” Such moments became part of the family’s memory of the church — memories in which ministry, family life and worship were closely woven together.

Sunita’s mother, Leela Gokavi, was also actively involved in the life of the church and served as President of the Women’s Society of Christian Service (WSCS). Sunita and her brother Sunil grew up participating in Sunday School, Vacation Bible School and Bible studies. They also sang with the Praise Singers during evening services and took part in youth camps.

As they grew older, both Sunita and Sunil eventually moved away from Bangalore and became part of other congregations. Yet leaving Bangalore did not mean leaving behind the connection they had formed with RTMC.

The church remained an important part of their spiritual journey and family memories. Looking back, Sunita remembers RTMC with gratitude — for the faith that was nurtured there, for the people who influenced their lives, and for the years in which the Gokavi family shared in the worship and ministry of the congregation.

As RTMC celebrates its 150th anniversary, that connection becomes part of the larger story of the many families whose lives have been shaped by the church, even when their journeys later took them elsewhere.

— Sunita Gokavi

✞ THE LAZARO FAMILY

RTMC from the 1970s onwards
Written by Dr. J.S.C. Fredrick

The Lazaro family’s connection with RTMC grew out of a life that was often shaped by movement. Air Vice Marshal John Francis Lazaro (Retired), PVSM, VM, served in the Indian Air Force for more than three decades and was posted to different parts of the country. His career took the family from place to place, but Bangalore eventually became an important home for them, particularly because of the educational opportunities available for their children.

Their connection with RTMC became part of that Bangalore chapter of family life.

While her husband’s service often kept him away, Florence Lazaro became a strong and active presence in the church. She participated in the WSCS and in many areas of church life. Her creativity and practical service were visible in the many things she contributed — from singing in the choir to making handmade Easter eggs, moulded candles and flowers, and helping with cooking and other church activities.

For the children, RTMC became a place filled with music, friendship and participation.

Pamela, Linda and Patricia were singers, while Richard, affectionately known as Dicky, played the guitar. The children took part in church events, youth activities, choir and the Young Adult Fellowship. The three sisters also taught Sunday School.

Music, once again, became one of the strongest memories of the family’s life at RTMC. Singing was not something confined to a particular generation. It became a shared family experience and one of the ways in which the children found their own place within the congregation.

The church also became the setting for some of the most important milestones in the family’s life. All three sisters were married at RTMC. Pamela married Dr. Fred, Linda married Rev. Robin Paul, and Patricia married the late Dr. Fred Job. Their weddings brought another generation of family memories into the church where they had grown up.

Richard married Williamina and eventually moved to the United Kingdom, carrying his own memories of the church and the family’s years in Bangalore with him.

For the Lazaro family, RTMC was therefore woven into the ordinary and extraordinary moments of life — Sunday worship, singing, teaching, youth fellowship, service, friendships and weddings. Their story is another reminder of how a congregation can become part of a family’s identity even as life takes its members to different places.

— Dr. Fred Lazaro, member of RTMC

✞ THE KARKADA FAMILY

RTMC since 1966
Compiled by the Editorial Team

The Karkada family first encountered Richmond Town Methodist Church in 1966, when Jane and Charles would worship there during their annual visits to Bangalore. At the time, their connection to the city was not yet permanent. Year after year, however, they returned to RTMC, and with each visit the church became increasingly familiar.

They continued this pattern until their retirement and their eventual permanent move to Bangalore in 1990.

By then, RTMC had become much more than a church they visited. It had become their spiritual home — a place of familiarity, stability and belonging.

Their story can perhaps be captured in the words of Psalm 27:4:

“That I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life.”

Over the years, the church became the setting for many important moments in the Karkadas’ lives, including their confirmations, their wedding and eventually their Golden Wedding Anniversary. At the same time, both Jane and Charles found their own ways of serving the wider church community.

Charles became a founding member of the Senior Citizens Fellowship, contributing to a ministry that brought older members of the congregation together. Music was another important part of his life at RTMC. His saxophone became a familiar sound at the beginning of Sunday services, and he was part of the choir for decades.

Jane, affectionately known as Karkada Aunty, was equally active in the life of the church. Through the WSCS food stall and the Vacation Bible School snack counter, she found practical ways to serve and connect with people. She also served as Treasurer of both the WSCS and the Senior Citizens Fellowship for many years.

The family’s connection with RTMC has continued through their daughter Pamela Manoraj, who has remained actively involved with the Senior Citizens Fellowship. She helps organise activities, provides support and ensures that members are known and cared for.

The story of the Karkada family is therefore not simply one of belonging to a church for many years. It is a story of finding a spiritual home and gradually becoming part of the life of that home — through worship, music, fellowship, service and family milestones.

— Editorial Team, compiled from congregation memory and church records

✞ BORN IN THE PEW

Across these four stories, the details are different, but a common thread runs through them.

For the Noronhas, Gokavis, Lazaros and Karkadas, RTMC became part of family life across generations. Children encountered the church through Sunday School and youth activities. Parents served through music, education, WSCS and other ministries. Weddings and other milestones brought families back to the sanctuary. Some remained in Bangalore, while others moved away, but the memories of RTMC travelled with them.

This is part of what it means to be “born in the pew.” It is not simply about having attended the same church as one’s parents or grandparents. It is about growing up surrounded by people who become part of one’s spiritual and family story — learning songs, hearing sermons, serving alongside others, making friendships, celebrating milestones and slowly discovering what it means to belong to a community of faith.

The pews of RTMC have therefore held more than generations of worshippers. They have held generations of memories.

And as the church looks back across 150 years, these family stories remind us that the history of RTMC is not found only in buildings, dates and official records. It is also found in the lives of the people who sat in those pews, raised their children there, served there, sang there, celebrated there — and, generation after generation, called Richmond Town Methodist Church home.