We Remember Padre

The Rev. John Millns, or Padre as he was known to his parishioners, served the Wesley English Circuit (1945 - 1949 and 1951-1955) and the three churches (the other two being Broadway Wesley Church and St. Thomas Mount Wesley Church) are truly the lengthening shadows of a great servant of God.

Padre left for his Heavenly Abode on the 30th April 2007 and this special issue of The Steeple contains a Memorial Section -in which his glorious work here with us is celebrated by several who knew him well. Our beautiful Church Organ, the Egmore Wesley Church Choir, the singers and organists whom he trained(and who still play and sing for us) , the Alms Houses at St. Thomas Mount are tangible reminders of what he did. The beautiful church garden which he personally tended is alas, no longer there. But I would like to share two personal experiences one of which is connected with the garden. When my aunt and my eldest sister were to be married Padre came home on the morning of the two marriages to find out if everything was all right - one of his endearing habits of literally being a shepherd of the flock - only to find that the bridal bouquet was simply not up to par! Padre returned to the church on both occasions and made up two lovely bouquets from the church garden tied up with satin ribbon and brought them over to be given to the bride. The other instance is a period of Lent (when I was a young lad ages ago) and on Thursday evenings instead of the usual Lenten meditations he read dramatized excerpts from John Bunyan's great allegory PILGRIM'S PROGRESS. I was too young to understand what it was all about but I revelled in the drama. I remembered this as I had the privilege of editing the text for Macmillan decades later. In a sense Padre was like Robin Hood - he didn't rob anybody! - but he did help every member of the congregation rich or poor. It is but fitting that he should have been laid to rest in the Sherwood Forest area as Mrs. Padmini John has described.

The Steeple Committee would like to thank all those who contributed articles on Padre and lent us valuable photographs (they are individually acknowledged under each picture). We would also like to thank all those who sent us other articles. Do please keep them coming in for the next issue in September 2007. Your encouraging experience would help someone unknown to you.
-Anand Kumar Raju

Tribute

I am really honoured to write this tribute in memory of the Rev. John Millns who passed away recently whose life and ministry influenced my life profoundly. I came into contact with John Millns in 1951 when my family moved from Chintadripet to Kilpauk and started worshipping in the Egmore Wesley Church (EWC). I attended the Sunday School, sang in the choir and eventually became the organist of the church under his tutelage after Pabhu Singh. Padre, as he was affectionately called, was a man of vision.

His vision was to plant the seeds to make the church grow from strength to strength for years to come. His vision was to make the Egmore Wesley Church have the highest standard of music. He was a trained musician and had a sound knowledge of music. He believed in the true Wesleyan tradition of using music as an instrument of worship and to that end he worked tirelessly to prepare the choir. I remember the two choir practices a week, on Thursdays and Saturdays. "Don't attend practice, don't sing in the choir" was the motto. He trained the choir to such excellence that it was common repertoire to perform some of the major oratorios and cantatas. He was able to achieve all this with a bunch of dedidcated people the majority of whom could hardly read or understand music. He put in train a system whereby there would be three organists at any time, the current, an assistant and a trainee so that the church would never be without an organist. His musical impact was such that the EWC youth club formed a male voice choir in the early 70s and named itafter him " The John Millns Singers" This choir has subsequently been expanded to a mixed voice choir and the conductor of this choir is none other than Mr. Jabez Janagaraj, himself a protege of the late Padre. This choir is now a popular musical icon in Chennai carrying on the musical legacy of the late Padre. His mission was to train enough lay preachers to proclaim the word of God for years to come. This was a time time prior to EWC beconllng a part of the CSI. Remember the lay preachers study on Fridays?

Did he achieve his visions? In my opinion, yes. Otherwise we wouldn't be remembering him now more than 50 years after he departed from Egmore Wesley. Some of the seeds he planted are still bearing fruit Padre was known for his ability to reach out to people who were in need. Who else would hand out a cold drink or a cuppa to the traffic constable at the bottom of the bridge outside the church. Who else would accommodate the families of the gardeners inside the manse on a wet, rainy day. His yeoman service to the Mount and Georgetown parishes were unparalleled I do not think there was anyone in the church during his time who was not touched by him.

His other pastimes were gardening and cooking. His passion was to maintain a beautiful garden in the church and to decorate the church with pot plants and flowers grown in the church garden. He developed the garden with the help of two gardeners "mollies" as they were called. He manually helped them to water the garden in the burning hot sun. I remember with nostalgia the beautifully decorated church during the major festival services. His other interest was cooking. I was privileged to have spent a day with him learning how to make a meat pie. For someone like me used to rice and dhall, meat pie was something exotic. We shopped for the ingredients in the Moore Market for beef, suet, celery, parsley etc. This experience to a teenager of 14 was like shopping on another planet. The cooking process involved putting all the ingredients together and baking the pie and we had dinner together that day with meat- pie, mashed potato and salad. Very exotic indeed.

Above all Padre was a simple, devout very endearing person. He had the capacity to gather and galvanise people to the service of God irrespective of caste colour or creed The present Egmore Wesley Church stands as a memorial to him and his ministry. In his passing we have lost a great missionary but his spirit, ideals, and vision will last for a long time to come. May his soul rest in peace.
-Jeyaseela Edwin
Adelaide, Australia.

Padre Millns

I had the privilege of coming in contact with Padre Millns during the year 1951 (approx.). Egmore Wesley Church was well-known for Western Classical Church Music, the result of the talent, effort and leadership of Padre Millns. We had a renowned church choir.

My father joined the church choir & introduced my brother Jeyaseela & me to Padre Millns, who knew our talent in playing on the piano.

He made us join the church choir. I also joined the Sunday school and was made to accompany the Sunday School hymns, on the piano. In the following years, we were encouraged to practice on the pipe organ.

Padre Millns left for furlough during 1955, but to everyone's surprise, he did not return. We were all very disappointed, since he was the livewire of the church. During his tenure, he maintained a beautiful garden, so beautiful that anyone who passed by, would take a stroll inside the compound totally immersed in its beauty. There was a particular event that reminds me. During the rainy season, Padre Millns used to send a cup of tea to the Police Constable at the foot of the bridge, opposite the church. Padre Millns took care about everyone's need, personally- including the policeman!

I started playing the organ in the church, since 1958. About 1970, I took over the church choir also, after Mrs. Frohlich migrated to Australia. Padre Millns used to be in touch with one Ms. H. F. Charles, getting information about the progress of the church choir. I was told by Ms. Charles that Padre Millns was immensely happy to hear the news that I was playing the organ and conducting the choir. Subsequently I had to relinquish these responsibilities due to a touring job and for some years, I was out of circulation. During this period of time, Padre Millns visited India, staying at the International Guest House at the YWCA. Everyone who was then connected with the church activities visited him. But I had an inhibition to visit him for the reasons, firstly, I was not connected with any church activities, secondly, I thought he would not remember me after so long a time. But to my surprise, he sent for me and gently scolded me for not coming to see him. He advised me to use my musical talent for the glory of God.

He was finding it difficult, to wear his socks and shoes. I offered my help to put those socks on his feet and wear the shoes. This was the last, but the least, I could do for this great man, Padre Millns.
-Ebenezer Edwin

The Late Pastor John Millns

At the end of World War I attended a Sunday Morning service in my Airforce uniform with my beloved mother. Pastor Millns preached & I was introduced to him. He exclaimed 'what an enormous man'! Later I attended a social function in the church compound. Since I did not know anyone I sat with my mother. He came up to me and asked why I was not mingling with the Boys & Girls. I said I did not know anyone. He called out to Neela (Bhagyanathan) who was doing her medicine at the CMC Vellore & she kept company with me.

Pastor Millns was a dynamic preacher & drew crowds to the evening service. He was a good musician & Choir Master. He was good at Pastoral work & regularly came home to give communion to my mother. He stopped this and when I enquired he said 'If she can go to the Purasawalkam Fish market, why can she not come to the communion table?" That was Pastor Millns, always blunt.

I vividly remember Pastor Millns visiting my mother at G.H. one morning without his clerical collar. He sat by my mother and was chatting. The Staff nurse came to my mother and said 'Mrs Thyreum no visitors are allowed'. He stood up and said 'Sister I am not a visitor, but a Minister' The Staff nurse vanished. Pastor John Millns was a pioneer in the construction of the Age Old Home at Butt Road, St.Thomas Mount. He was found going on his bicycle from Egmore to Mount. After he went away to U.K. I met him twice and my children used to call him 'the Apple Face man'. Perhaps the likes of Him will never be seen again. May his soul rest in peace.
-Douglas Thyreum
(now) at Mangalore - 575002.