Rajshahi Deanery

Rajshahi deanery has 31 parishes with about 3000 members and most of them are from the Santal ethnic group. Their origin lies in India. They were brought here by the British colonial government to build the railways during the 1920s.  The missionaries from the English Presbyterian Church came to them in 1949 and established the first church congregation in 1951 in Belghoria, Later Rev. P. K. Baroi, a Bengali and Rev. Salku Murmo, a Santali priest began to plant churches after 1965. Today Rajshahi Deanery has 31 parishes and out of them 25 parishes (2,500 members) belong to the Santal people. The Santal congregations are today the most vibrant part of the Church of Bangladesh, as they have a deep spirituality and are still growing in number. Bishop Samuel S. Mankhin when he was then the Bishop of Kushtia Diocese along with some Clergy started doing Evangelical works among the Santali people and  planted 16 more new congregations. He then purchased land and built Church buildings from 2010 to 2019 with the help of Dr. Leslie Y Morgan, a PCUSA missionary

Every year we have a spiritual revival meeting for 3 – 4 days which is known as ‘Helmel Sova’. ‘Helmel’ is a Santali word, which means ‘Fellowship’. This Sova is held in February or March. During the Sova, people from the whole Rajshahi Deanery come together to hear from the word of God and sing a lot to rejoice in the Lord. There is a theme for the Sova every year.

Apart from this yearly Sova, prayer meetings and revival meetings are arranged in the parishes also. These give us new life and strength to live and witness for Christ.