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The Gujarati fellowship was started in 1990 by Rev. Shantray Jacob Jovial because there was a need for a Gujarati-language worship service for people who have migrated to the USA from the state of Gujarat in India.
Since people came from various backgrounds from Gujarat, the name of the Gujarati fellowship was set as “The United Church of India.” The fellowship began to grow steadily and reached up to 75 or 80 members. Since all these members have been immigrants from Gujarat, India and all have gone through the various hardships of immigration and have faced difficulties of trying to settle down in a new environment and culture, to encourage them the slogan or motto chosen was “Where everybody is somebody and Christ is the Lord.”
In 2003, the Gujarati congregation began meeting at Anaheim UMC. Rev. Joel Kant serves the Gujarati congregation under appointment by the Bishop. He is a graduate of Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary in Chicago, IL and has served 13 years as a pastor in the Methodist Church in India and also has been a Professor at the Methodist Bible Seminary for 10 years in Gujarat.
Gujarati-Lanaguage worship services are held the 2nd and 4th Sundays of the month at 3:00 pm in the sanctuary.
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