by Cl. Jerome Aruldass Edison
DAKOR-GUJARAT, OCTOBER 17, 2014: On October12, 2014 Rt. Rev. Bishop Thomas Macvan of the Ahmedabad Diocese visited the Religious Societies at Dakor. His presence was seen as a 
precious moment of blessing. Bishop Thomas stayed with the societies until October 13. Many projects were inaugurated in the presence of the bishop.
The day began with Holy Mass at 6:00 p.m that was celebrated by Bishop Thomas Macvan, as the main celebrant. At the very outset of the mass, he congratulated Frs. Isaac Arackaparambil the Rector of Don Bosco, Dakor, Alexander Fernandes, the chief of Amrut Dhara, Kapadvanj, who struggled tirelessly to get the dream of building a temple of God at Dakor and Fr. Ivan De Souza one of the major pioneers of Dakor who is now the Rector of Don Bosco, Kapadvanj. Fr. Bishop cordially invited everyone, to pray in a special manner for the cause of the Church building at Dakor.
Fr. Bishop preached the homily on 'laying Jesus as the foundation stone of our life.' He said,"Jesus becomes the cornerstone of our life for all purposes of growth, joy and love and without Jesus as the prime source of our life we just crumble into mere ashes that lack basis. Therefore the cornerstone is the authentic rhythm to live life." Bishop Thomas mentioned that, "The house that is built on the foundation of Rock and of the Sand which remains firm and dwindles respectively with the material used built to the house. The true Christian house is built on establishment of the word of God i.e. Jesus Christ the author of life Himself. The powerful word of God can work marvels if only we place complete trust and openness to His will who builds our house as a place fit for God."
Bishop Thomas persuaded the laity to recognize that they themselves were the living Temples of God, where God resides. He questioned the congregation saying, "Are we making ourselves a fit temple for him?" The Eucharistic celebration was followed by a procession to the construction block where the laying of the foundation ceremony took place. The 
foundation stone for the erection of the new Church was brought in procession. It was accompanied with songs till they reached the final place. Bishop with the assistance of all the priests executed the ceremony. In the presence of the faithful the Bishop blessed the foundation stone and exclaimed, "This will be a moment of new lease of life, a new sacredness that all the Christian families are entitled to be the living temples of God who are the members of God's body."
After the laying of foundation stone all present put the mud on the foundation which would be the cornerstone of the Christ the King Church, Dakor. Finally, Bishop Thomas Macvan urged the laity to actively pray for Christ the King Parish Church at Dakor. He offered his blessings to all the priests who were vigorously involved in the dream building of this Church. Subsequently, he paid his annual visit to the religious communities of Don Bosco, Dakor, Pushpanjali and to the Society of St. Ann.