Dear friends,
The young man is right. I am new to the faith and even though I have studied malayalam and is fluent in colloquial language, even I find some usages in the book awkward. Many a time, the young who use the Living Sacrifice with the Malayalam written in English mispronounce the words. I have heard them sing Rakshakane nin gaathrathe bhaashichum" and also many times Kanyakayam mariyam innum instead of Mariyameennum (from Mariyam) A translation and use of contemporary language is necessary. eg O yaar is a very awkward usage especially for Hindi areas.It is obvious that even those who actively participate without knowing the language, are unaware of what they are singing.
Many of the older generation would miss the familiar comfort of the Malayalam Liturgy if English Liturgy is used on all days. Our Bishop H G Ireneus has taken the initiative to record the English Liturgy (Qurbana) and it is available to anyone with a will to learn the tunes etc. I have a humble suggestion. One Sunday at least in a month can be laid aside for English Liturgy so that our youth can come to understand the prayers. Once they become familiar with the English Liturgy, they would come to understand the Malayalam Liturgy also.
When I first came to the Orthodox Church, after growing up in the Marthoma Church, I found words like prasavithri also quite odd. Now I am used to it, though I don't think it beautiful.
My sons speak Malayalam at home and can just read the language. However, they too find the prayers difficult to follow. Especially the beauty of the sedera and the songs etc are not understood unless one knows malayalam well. The rahasya prarthanakal or " Adhyathmika Sangeerthanangal" will sound odd to one whose level of Malayalam is just basic.
The Church does seem indifferent to the problems of today's generations- the old, the middle aged and the young all have different sets of problems. In large cities at least, it would be useful to have support groups or counselors.
Another thing that I have found is that the Orthodox Laity come down hard on anyone who asks any doubts. (Not ICON, ICON is an exception) But I have found that if we approach the clergy with genuine desire to learn, & seek, they rise magnificently to the occasion. Perhaps in large forums, we may not get the opportunity to raise doubts. But for these gatherings, advance preparation can be made collecting information from the target audience as to what they would like discussed etc depending on the nature of the conference. I am a zero in Church matters, but when we want to implement new ideas in the Bank or want to know the pulse of the people, we always get feed back on the proposed innovation or on the un-addressed needs of our clientèle
from the field functionaries. This helps us prepare. We have to keep our ears to the ground whereas the church must keep its ears in 2 places- to the ground as well as to the voice of God.
These are just the humble ramblings of an old woman who has spent nearly 30 years interacting with people.
May God Bless us all,
Susan Eapen, Bangalore
The young man is right. I am new to the faith and even though I have studied malayalam and is fluent in colloquial language, even I find some usages in the book awkward. Many a time, the young who use the Living Sacrifice with the Malayalam written in English mispronounce the words. I have heard them sing Rakshakane nin gaathrathe bhaashichum" and also many times Kanyakayam mariyam innum instead of Mariyameennum (from Mariyam) A translation and use of contemporary language is necessary. eg O yaar is a very awkward usage especially for Hindi areas.It is obvious that even those who actively participate without knowing the language, are unaware of what they are singing.
Many of the older generation would miss the familiar comfort of the Malayalam Liturgy if English Liturgy is used on all days. Our Bishop H G Ireneus has taken the initiative to record the English Liturgy (Qurbana) and it is available to anyone with a will to learn the tunes etc. I have a humble suggestion. One Sunday at least in a month can be laid aside for English Liturgy so that our youth can come to understand the prayers. Once they become familiar with the English Liturgy, they would come to understand the Malayalam Liturgy also.
When I first came to the Orthodox Church, after growing up in the Marthoma Church, I found words like prasavithri also quite odd. Now I am used to it, though I don't think it beautiful.
My sons speak Malayalam at home and can just read the language. However, they too find the prayers difficult to follow. Especially the beauty of the sedera and the songs etc are not understood unless one knows malayalam well. The rahasya prarthanakal or " Adhyathmika Sangeerthanangal" will sound odd to one whose level of Malayalam is just basic.
The Church does seem indifferent to the problems of today's generations- the old, the middle aged and the young all have different sets of problems. In large cities at least, it would be useful to have support groups or counselors.
Another thing that I have found is that the Orthodox Laity come down hard on anyone who asks any doubts. (Not ICON, ICON is an exception) But I have found that if we approach the clergy with genuine desire to learn, & seek, they rise magnificently to the occasion. Perhaps in large forums, we may not get the opportunity to raise doubts. But for these gatherings, advance preparation can be made collecting information from the target audience as to what they would like discussed etc depending on the nature of the conference. I am a zero in Church matters, but when we want to implement new ideas in the Bank or want to know the pulse of the people, we always get feed back on the proposed innovation or on the un-addressed needs of our clientèle
from the field functionaries. This helps us prepare. We have to keep our ears to the ground whereas the church must keep its ears in 2 places- to the ground as well as to the voice of God.
These are just the humble ramblings of an old woman who has spent nearly 30 years interacting with people.
May God Bless us all,
Susan Eapen, Bangalore
No comments:
Post a Comment