Recently a young boy lay in Wellington Hospital on life support, in a serious situation. The family were devastated and in need of support. The young boy’s father had been attending a Hindi-speaking Christian prayer group, led by Rev. James Vinod from St John’s Johnsonville. Although they share different faiths, the family asked Rev. James Vinod to join them in prayer and support in the ward. James was humbled to be welcomed into this space. 

James was ordained a deacon by the Diocese of Polynesia, recognising his ministry to the Fiji Indian community in Wellington, and later became a priest.  He has led the Hindi-speaking prayer group for some time, but it was the COVID-19 lockdown that saw numbers increase.  “Many people were busy with work, but as the lockdown started and I moved the prayer group online, more people were able to attend.”

The group attracts many Hindu people, and includes a catch up, discussion centering on a Bible verse, and prayer.  But James says it is the deep friendships the group shares which are most significant to those who come. 

It was through these friendships that James was able to sit with the family in hospital, and later with his wife Pratibha in the family’s home, supporting them and praying together. And together, they witnessed a miracle. 

Despite facing an uncertain future for their son, and having already lost a child, his health rapidly improved, eventually being taken off life support, and discharged to go home with his family. James says it was an amazing moment where they all got to witness God’s glory together. 

Friendship was the beginning, and the saving power of God was at work in their friendship far beyond their traditions, faiths and experiences. Encountering both a miracle of God’s Holy Spirit, and the miracle of kinship which transcends the boundaries many of us struggle to overcome.