KARACHI: To commemorate Holy Thursday when Jesus Christ had washed the feet of 12 of his disciples before the Last Supper, the Angel Welfare Trust organised a ceremony at the little King of Kings Church built by them at the Malir District Prison here.

Pastor Ashley Nunes washed the feet of 12 prisoners — four Muslims, four Christians and as many Hindus.

The Muslims could easily be identified by their white prayer caps, the Christians by their beaded cross necklaces that they had made themselves in the prison and the Hindus by the bright red tilak on their foreheads.

The ritual involved asking all to take a seat before the pastor, who himself knelt down in front of them holding a clean towel. Placed between them was a plastic tub in which, one by one, Pastor Ashley poured cool water over the prisoners’ feet before drying them with his towel. Finally, he kissed their feet as they thanked him.

In a show of interfaith harmony, Muslims, Christians and Hindu inmates participate in the ritual

It was explained by the junior pastor at the church, Pastor Trevor Thomas, that the gesture showed that no master is bigger or greater than the servant.

Pastor Ashley said that in the times of Jesus Christ, the lowest ranked servant was expected to wash the feet of people or guests. “But Jesus Christ showed how no one is smaller than anyone. And how humanity was to be respected by all, big or small.

Meanwhile, Prison SP Syed Arshad Hussain Shah said that they have prisoners belonging to all religions in the jail.

“We want them to have the freedom to follow their faiths as we also feel more at peace after praying. Therefore, we welcomed Angel Welfare Trust’s initiative of building this church here. We have recently also handed over a new barracks built near to the church, for 40 of our Christian prisoners, to the chairperson of the Trust Samina Nawab,” he told Dawn.

Ms Nawab said that she visits all prisons in Sindh to see how she can facilitate the prisoners there.

“The King of King’s Church was the first church that we built in a prison and another we will soon have in the Hyderabad jail,” she said.

Published in Dawn, April 15th, 2022