The Mar Thoma Church is not the only Church facing issues, the Orthodox Syrian Church which claims the same roots as us are seriously talking about these issues and there are high level committees which are meeting to find a solution.
Today, I am pasting a letter by an Orthodox Member to his Bishop, But all that he has written applies to our Church all the same, point by point! But here the difference is that the Bishop or Thirumeni as some would say, has taken into consideration the letter and made it public on the orthodox newsletter mailing list which goes to thousands of their members each day!
When will our Bishops, priests and Church elders acknowledge the problems of the Church?
Comments are most welcome!
*************
A Youth in Diaspora Writes
Posted by: "HG Yuhanon Meletius Metropolitan
Tue Jan 16, 2007 11:11 am (PST)
Dear all
I wish to forward a maill I received from a participant at the the Gulf Orthodox Youth Conference held in Kuwait. The mail is self explanatory. For obvious reason the name of the sender is withheld. I would appreciate if our members would look in to it an comment on the issues raised.
With regards and prayers
Yuhanon Mor Meletius Metropolitan (President OCYM)
*********
Your Grace Yuhanon Mor Meletius,
First of all, allow me to express my deepest appreciation in having you preside over the Gulf Orthodox Youth Conference in Kuwait. I and my friends who do not speak Malayalam went into this conference with great anticipation, hoping that we would be able to address some of the important issues that were facing today's youth in a mature and orderly fashion. Unfortunately, our pleas fell on deaf ears. Firstly due to a lack of time ? what was meant to be a 1 hour discussion panel turned into a 15 minute diatribe of church politics which seem befitting for some of the elders. I felt that we couldn't even address half the issues pertaining to today's youth because people were not willing to ask the right questions or push the envelope so to speak. You were right when you stated that we come from a culture where not enough questions are asked and the solution is sought without providing any analytical or thought-provoking discussion. There was little to no participation from the female members; and on top of that we the non-Malayalam speaking people were not being taken seriously just because we chose to speak in English as opposed to Malayalam.
It's a sad day in our Indian Orthodox Church when a language such as Malayalam takes precedence over the way we have our relationship with God, as well as the people within the community. Why should we as a youth, who have already been displaced from Kerala, have to speak in a language that our parents have been brought up in? We live in a culture today where
English is the main language of communication, yet here in Kuwait within our Indian Orthodox parish, unless you know Malayalam you are treated as a second-rate citizen; I'm sure this is not the case in North America. We agree with you, when you said that we need a separate liturgy for English speaking adults ? yet, I don't think that's going to happen in our lifetime at the rate that things are going. As English speaking youth, we don't know who we should address our concerns to, or what channels we can take to bring about any real change within our church. If we were to approach our church elders, they would simply say, "you should learn Malayalam; it is after all
your mother-tongue". This response is saddens me, because it demonstrates nothing but sheer ignorance. The parameters in which today's youth is involved in has changed drastically. We do not live in the same world as our parents did. There must be some way of our church moving forward by having English services that are relevant to this generation, while still encompassing all that at makes our church's traditions so glorious.
Many of today's youth attend the Malayalam Holy Qurbana, not because they want to be there and take part in the liturgy, but because they want to please their parents. Take myself for instance ? I only get to see my parents for few hours every day, therefore going to Church with them is more of a social way of me spending more time with my family. Going through the motions and doing lip service to a Malayalam liturgy that hardly makes any sense to me, is a small price to pay.
If you were to ask me what is the biggest problem facing our Gulf youth, I would have to say it's fear; fear of their parents. Many of them are brought up in a draconian system, where the father makes the rules and the children are told to obey. If the child questions the father's authority, it is considered "disrespectful" and so the child gets punished. Like you mentioned at the conference, there is no open dialogue that exists between the parent and the child, and perhaps the church should play a more prominent role in providing some kind of counseling in this respect.
During the discussion, our people were very quick in criticizing the media as one of the main ills of society. According to them, our youth are watching way too many soap operas these days that encourage adultery and divorce, and so they're afraid that they'll pick up after these bad habits.
I do not think so. Only weak-minded people who are not brought up in a God fearing environment would do such a thing. How about embracing some of the positive aspects of the media: such as changing all out-dated Sunday School books into interactive DVDs, and creating an online curriculum. We are now in the 21st century and we should be getting away from coloring books, and use television and the internet as a way of teaching kids more about our church. While it may not be the case in Kuwait, I know of many of our youth who attend other denominations, such as the evangelicals, not because their services are made out to be like rock concerts or even more attractive, but because it fits into the culture they have grown up in. Perhaps we should start looking at how other churches are tackling the problem of being relevant to the next generation and learn from them.
Here's an example of what's happening within our church. The growth of the church is based purely on generational members attending ? parents, children, their children and so on. That number possibly grows through marriages; this growth is slow and organic. Yet at the same time we have a significant part that are leaving church as our generation crosses into new countries, where Indian Orthodox parishes may not exist. What option is left to them? Some may decide not to attend any services at all, as not to mix with other denominations, while others will take the opportunity to explore and may even switch to a different church as it is more relevant.
Take a the case of a friend of mine for example ? while he currently resides in London, and while there is an Indian Orthodox parish present, he has found that his relationship with God has grown in leaps and bounds in the short time that he has been there than while he was growing up in Kuwait. Now due to the new concepts that he's introduced to he has found his understanding of our Church being challenged. This is certainly not a bad thing ? what better way to understand our Church than to ask questions. Unfortunately he has expressed difficulty in trying to find the appropriate channels in which to direct his questions; even though he is one example it is almost assured that there are many more like him.
This is not a rant by any means. Like you mentioned at the conference, we should not criticize the church; but as Indian Orthodox Christians we should ask ourselves how we can improve on our current situation ? and this I feel is the best way that I could contribute and play my part. Some of our friends have started to put together an online discussion group called Orthodox Generation in order to encourage forward thinking in our church. We believe that this generation can play an active part in helping the Theological Seminaries get more connected with the issues this generation is facing. While it is still only in its initial stages, the goal is to try and share ideas, not only within the church in Kuwait, but amongst all the dioceses.
Ours is a problem that is not and cannot be limited to the walls of our church. You had defined Orthodox as a means of learning from our history, while moving forward. It's time for forward thinking, it's time for someone to step up and speak out and we the non-Malayalam speaking youth refuse to see our church's youth walk blindly to the future without understanding the Church traditions or developing their relationship with God. We hope that you provide us with some direction.
Maybe we were born for such time as this.
God bless,
(name withheld)
Today, I am pasting a letter by an Orthodox Member to his Bishop, But all that he has written applies to our Church all the same, point by point! But here the difference is that the Bishop or Thirumeni as some would say, has taken into consideration the letter and made it public on the orthodox newsletter mailing list which goes to thousands of their members each day!
When will our Bishops, priests and Church elders acknowledge the problems of the Church?
Comments are most welcome!
*************
A Youth in Diaspora Writes
Posted by: "HG Yuhanon Meletius Metropolitan
Tue Jan 16, 2007 11:11 am (PST)
Dear all
I wish to forward a maill I received from a participant at the the Gulf Orthodox Youth Conference held in Kuwait. The mail is self explanatory. For obvious reason the name of the sender is withheld. I would appreciate if our members would look in to it an comment on the issues raised.
With regards and prayers
Yuhanon Mor Meletius Metropolitan (President OCYM)
*********
Your Grace Yuhanon Mor Meletius,
First of all, allow me to express my deepest appreciation in having you preside over the Gulf Orthodox Youth Conference in Kuwait. I and my friends who do not speak Malayalam went into this conference with great anticipation, hoping that we would be able to address some of the important issues that were facing today's youth in a mature and orderly fashion. Unfortunately, our pleas fell on deaf ears. Firstly due to a lack of time ? what was meant to be a 1 hour discussion panel turned into a 15 minute diatribe of church politics which seem befitting for some of the elders. I felt that we couldn't even address half the issues pertaining to today's youth because people were not willing to ask the right questions or push the envelope so to speak. You were right when you stated that we come from a culture where not enough questions are asked and the solution is sought without providing any analytical or thought-provoking discussion. There was little to no participation from the female members; and on top of that we the non-Malayalam speaking people were not being taken seriously just because we chose to speak in English as opposed to Malayalam.
It's a sad day in our Indian Orthodox Church when a language such as Malayalam takes precedence over the way we have our relationship with God, as well as the people within the community. Why should we as a youth, who have already been displaced from Kerala, have to speak in a language that our parents have been brought up in? We live in a culture today where
English is the main language of communication, yet here in Kuwait within our Indian Orthodox parish, unless you know Malayalam you are treated as a second-rate citizen; I'm sure this is not the case in North America. We agree with you, when you said that we need a separate liturgy for English speaking adults ? yet, I don't think that's going to happen in our lifetime at the rate that things are going. As English speaking youth, we don't know who we should address our concerns to, or what channels we can take to bring about any real change within our church. If we were to approach our church elders, they would simply say, "you should learn Malayalam; it is after all
your mother-tongue". This response is saddens me, because it demonstrates nothing but sheer ignorance. The parameters in which today's youth is involved in has changed drastically. We do not live in the same world as our parents did. There must be some way of our church moving forward by having English services that are relevant to this generation, while still encompassing all that at makes our church's traditions so glorious.
Many of today's youth attend the Malayalam Holy Qurbana, not because they want to be there and take part in the liturgy, but because they want to please their parents. Take myself for instance ? I only get to see my parents for few hours every day, therefore going to Church with them is more of a social way of me spending more time with my family. Going through the motions and doing lip service to a Malayalam liturgy that hardly makes any sense to me, is a small price to pay.
If you were to ask me what is the biggest problem facing our Gulf youth, I would have to say it's fear; fear of their parents. Many of them are brought up in a draconian system, where the father makes the rules and the children are told to obey. If the child questions the father's authority, it is considered "disrespectful" and so the child gets punished. Like you mentioned at the conference, there is no open dialogue that exists between the parent and the child, and perhaps the church should play a more prominent role in providing some kind of counseling in this respect.
During the discussion, our people were very quick in criticizing the media as one of the main ills of society. According to them, our youth are watching way too many soap operas these days that encourage adultery and divorce, and so they're afraid that they'll pick up after these bad habits.
I do not think so. Only weak-minded people who are not brought up in a God fearing environment would do such a thing. How about embracing some of the positive aspects of the media: such as changing all out-dated Sunday School books into interactive DVDs, and creating an online curriculum. We are now in the 21st century and we should be getting away from coloring books, and use television and the internet as a way of teaching kids more about our church. While it may not be the case in Kuwait, I know of many of our youth who attend other denominations, such as the evangelicals, not because their services are made out to be like rock concerts or even more attractive, but because it fits into the culture they have grown up in. Perhaps we should start looking at how other churches are tackling the problem of being relevant to the next generation and learn from them.
Here's an example of what's happening within our church. The growth of the church is based purely on generational members attending ? parents, children, their children and so on. That number possibly grows through marriages; this growth is slow and organic. Yet at the same time we have a significant part that are leaving church as our generation crosses into new countries, where Indian Orthodox parishes may not exist. What option is left to them? Some may decide not to attend any services at all, as not to mix with other denominations, while others will take the opportunity to explore and may even switch to a different church as it is more relevant.
Take a the case of a friend of mine for example ? while he currently resides in London, and while there is an Indian Orthodox parish present, he has found that his relationship with God has grown in leaps and bounds in the short time that he has been there than while he was growing up in Kuwait. Now due to the new concepts that he's introduced to he has found his understanding of our Church being challenged. This is certainly not a bad thing ? what better way to understand our Church than to ask questions. Unfortunately he has expressed difficulty in trying to find the appropriate channels in which to direct his questions; even though he is one example it is almost assured that there are many more like him.
This is not a rant by any means. Like you mentioned at the conference, we should not criticize the church; but as Indian Orthodox Christians we should ask ourselves how we can improve on our current situation ? and this I feel is the best way that I could contribute and play my part. Some of our friends have started to put together an online discussion group called Orthodox Generation in order to encourage forward thinking in our church. We believe that this generation can play an active part in helping the Theological Seminaries get more connected with the issues this generation is facing. While it is still only in its initial stages, the goal is to try and share ideas, not only within the church in Kuwait, but amongst all the dioceses.
Ours is a problem that is not and cannot be limited to the walls of our church. You had defined Orthodox as a means of learning from our history, while moving forward. It's time for forward thinking, it's time for someone to step up and speak out and we the non-Malayalam speaking youth refuse to see our church's youth walk blindly to the future without understanding the Church traditions or developing their relationship with God. We hope that you provide us with some direction.
Maybe we were born for such time as this.
God bless,
(name withheld)
2 comments:
This is an important question.
such dialogue should be made necessary if not compulsory.
Malayalam should be taught to children in a way that helps them to understand what is being said.
Our traditions should be more interestingly be made acceptable to our generation.
great point guys.. i think we wouldnt be christians if St thomas and all the other missionaries wanted us to learn english and then get to know about gos...
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