Tribute: Ingrid Albuquerque, Keeping the Faith

Art / Book / Film

A WhatsApp message popped up on my phone at the end of a long and tiring day.  It was from the Editor ICM informing me that Ingrid Albuquerque had passed away on May 2nd 2023. There was an outpouring of grief on the net for those who knew and worked with her, from personalities such as Sobha De.  I was also engulfed in a flood of memories when we were chasing down Christian authors to contribute to ICM.  In the fledging days of ICM when people thought this Mission was started for either personal fame or fortune (really, this was only about Him and for Him only!), it was really hard to get good, authentic Christian content.

Ingrid was one person that I approached over the net after tracking her office numbers and obtaining her email from them. She had a formidable reputation in mainstream media for over 27 years. She started out in magazine journalism and being editor of Stardust, Society and founder editor of Savvy, Island and Family Life, she switched over to news journalism. She joined The Times of India and was the founder editor of Bangalore Times. She has rubbed shoulders with the stars of Bollywood and still found the Lord as the central point in her life.  After a long email chase, sometime in December 2017, Editor ICM and I met her for the first time at her office in a leafy suburb of Bangalore.  She greeted us warmly and said a powerful prayer for us and the Mission, and mentioned she would send in some articles, even though she was completely swamped with her publishing company activities.

True to her word, her articles started coming in. Powerful, hard hitting, with no holds barred.

We did not maintain contact as the years went by though, we had gotten busier at our respective ends.  Our Mission grew and today by God’s grace, content is not an issue, and Editor ICM says it comes in daily, unbidden.  But we still do not forget the contributors like Ingrid, who made ICM what it is today.

Ingrid wrote for the Haggai Institute international website and is also the Global Office Associate of this international institute for advancing leadership skills in professionals. She was also faculty at the institute’s centers at Maui and Singapore, and facilitates for the subjects of Communications, The Importance of Using Audio-Visuals in Evangelism and the newly-introduced subject Writing Skills.

Besides a post-graduation in Mass Media, as well as additional diplomas in Environmental Science and International Human Rights Law, Ingrid had also done her Masters in Theology (Pastoral Care) through TAFTEE in affiliation with the University of Wales.

She was the Founder and Chairperson of SPFA-India (Single Parent Family Association-India) a national organization to equip, encourage and empower single parent families that got afflicted by death or divorce.

Along with her three adult children, Ingrid had also set up a publishing company called the Berean Bay Media House which publishes inspirational books, designs websites and does media planning for organizations as well as conducts orientation programs and workshops for institutional motivation.

She is the author of Not Allowed to Cry – the Birla Battle with Cancer, which made it to the national best-selling list. Recently, two more books authored by her have been published by Berean Bay Media House, including Lost & Found and One Day At A Time; the media house also recently released Grace Unlimited.

Going through some of Ingrid’s articles again, I find they are timeless and convey the message that if He is with you, there is nothing to worry about, even death.  She had written on this theme extensively in the following articles:

Ingrd Albuquerque, Requiescat in Pace.  You live on for us through your feisty, bold writings.