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July Edition 2015 Volume 2(2)

Table of Contents
Message from Diocesan Episcopa................................ 3
Editorial ........................................................................ 5
Disagreement and Grace ............................................. 7
Ministry in a Digital World ......................................... 10
Silence of the Plant Kingdom ..................................... 12
Mission today: Five Key Themes ................................ 13
"Reaching Out Sharing Faith & Meeting Social
Needs........................................................................ 15
The Mar Thoma Church: Gender Equality in the Sacred
Space .......................................................................... 19
Lent Talks by Lord Leslie Griffiths .............................. 21
Repetition and Recollection ....................................... 23
News & Reports ......................................................... 25
Hermon MTC, Midlands, UK - Parish Day
Celebration............................................................. 25

The COMPE Executive Committee

President: The Rt.Revd. Dr. Geevarghese Mar Theodosius
Vice President : Revd.Dr. Thomas Philips
Secretary: Mr.P.M.Mathew
Treasurer : Mr.Jaffey Chacko

Editorial Board of the Mar Thoma Echo

Editorial Director : Dr. Zac Varghese
Chief Editor : Revd. Jose Punamadam
Mr. Sherry Mathews
Mr. Oommen Abraham
Mrs. Geena Ajay

Golden Jubilee of the Ordination of Revd Dr. M. J.

Joseph and The Golden Beams ............................ 25
The First Mar Thoma Congregation in Wales ........ 26
Sinai Mar Thoma Church Sunday school VBS ........ 27

Cover Design: Revd. Jose Punamadam

For private circulation only

Alisha A Lighthouse of Faith ................................ 28

ECHO Garden ............................................................. 29
Appachan..Now youre gone ............................... 29

Disclaimer: The views published in this journal are

those of its authors. Editors or the COMPE do not
endorse the contents or views expressed and they are
not liable for the contents or views in any form.

Message from Diocesan

Episcopa
Outreach Ministry

I am glad that the Mar Thoma Echo is bringing out

another publication on the theme: Outreach
Ministry. Let us begin at the beginning; the
establishment of the kingdom of God is the single
purpose of Gods outreach programme, Gods
mission (Missio Dei), from the beginning of time.
The revelations of the Triune God in Jesus is the
ultimate reaching out for inaugurating the
kingdom, which is inclusive and integrated from
the centre to margins and from margins to the
centre of our existence. This is an existential reality
of transforming from being-for-itself into beingfor others under the costly grace of the Cross of
Jesus Christ. How can we reach out to present this
authentic truth to our contemporaries?
Let us not get confused about phraseologies such
as reaching out, outreach, witnessing, mission,
ministry, and evangelisation. All these are
expressions and variations of a central theme of
reaching out to people with love to meet a specific
need at a time and a place and to cultivate values
of Gods kingdom. In his classical work on
Reaching Out, Henry Nouven1 explained three
movements of the spiritual life for the reaching out
experience: reaching out to our innermost self
from loneliness to creative solitude, reaching out to
God in prayer, and finally reaching out to fellow
human beings from arid self-centredness to selfgiving. The manifesto for the kingdom of God is set
out in the Sermon on the Mount and in the
reaching out Jesus had done during His earthly
ministry and continued ever since through the
Church under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. The

life of Jesus became the good news that gave hope

to humanity. People started to find a new way in
their lives, opened by a gracious God. The mission
that Jesus inaugurated has become the sole
purpose of the Church.
The early Church at the Pentecost became a
witnessing community of Gods kingdom and
hence, witnessing is reaching out to others to
create an inclusive community. Jesus reached out
to every section of the community, to Jews and
Gentiles, rich and poor, sick and healthy people,
villagers and city dwellers, illiterate and scholars;
no one was excluded from his loving attention and
caring concern. He reached out and touched
untouchables, His touch transformed water into
wine, gave vision to both physically and spiritually
blind people; His touch had the power of making
the secular into sacred; people who were living
dead became alive under His gaze, and He made
His disciples fishers of men; such was the power
of His reaching out. Finally, He reached out from
the tomb on that glorious Easter Sunday to liberate
people from shackles of oppression and every kind
of bondage. He established a second exodus for all
humankind.
From the beginning Jesus sent his disciples into
the world, as He had been sent by the Father (John
20: 21). From this stems Churchs responsibility of
spreading the faith and salvation that comes from
the redeeming and sanctifying actions of Jesus in
His death on the Cross and resurrection. Even on
the Cross He reached out to forgive and offer a
place in the paradise to the thief on the nearby
Cross. Therefore, Gods mission, kingdom of God,
is reaching out to everyone at any given time or
space, in ways only known to God. His outreach is
limitless and His love and compassion flows and
flows. It is our business to know Gods ways for a
particular situation in a given time through prayer
and meditation. The Church is not Gods kingdom,
but only a pilgrim body of people moving towards
it under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. However,
when the Church equipped with the fruit of the
Spirit to reach out to people, it has the beginning
of establishing the kingdom on earth. We are in an
already, but not yet mode with respect to the
kingdom. We have to commit ourselves to
transform this world in collaboration with all
people of goodwill through our ecumenical
understanding.

With rising aggressive religious fundamentalism1,

each religion thinks of itself as the only true
religion. In a pluralist environment, the Christian
witness embraces dialogue with other religions
and cultures. When they meet for inter-religious
conversations, there is usually a clash of absolutes
rather than heart to heart dialogue, but the
dialogue ought to continue, in spite of deliberate
hindrances. Addressing other religious leaders in
India in 1986, Pope John Paul II said; By dialogue
we let God be present in our midst; for as we open
ourselves in dialogue to one another, we also open
ourselves to God. This experience of God should
empower us in reaching out to and with others to
establish the kingdom values for the betterment of
the whole created world. This understanding
should challenge us to go beyond fashionable and
never ending dialogues to collaboration to create a
better human community of freedom, fraternity,
and justice. This is possible only if we listen well,
live well and engage well with the rest of human
society.
Many countries are struggling with interreligious
conflicts, religious radicalisation and violence,
dehumanising poverty, and ecological issues. The
gap between rich and the poor has become more
marked even in the most economically developed
nations. Mans inhumanity to man has given rise to
acts of terrorism and violation of human rights.
Fanaticism and fundamentalism and activities
against human dignity can never be justified in the
name of religion. Therefore, reaching out for wider
ecumenism is inevitable for our meaningful
existence. The veil of the temple was torn from the
top to bottom, symbolizing that the door of
salvation is open for all who turn to God. Let our
actions and traditions do not encourage us in
mending the torn up veil and closing doors to
strangers and the distanced. In doing so, we will be
misunderstanding the heart of God and the Cross
of Christ.
We are called out to serve others and in doing so to
recognise Christ in the least of our brothers and
sisters (Matthew 25: 45). However, it is important
to remember that exploitation of situations of
deprivation and poverty has no place for Christian
outreach ministry. Every human life has a value
and something to contribute. Christians should
denounce and refrain from offering prosperity

gospel in such situations, including financial

incentives and rewards for winning souls. It is
good to remember the model of St. Pauls ministry,
Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God
for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak
before God with sincerity, like men sent from God
(2 Cor. 2: 17).
In all aspects of life, Christians are called to follow
the examples and teachings of Jesus Christ,
sharing His love, giving glory and honour to God
the Father in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Watching the crucifixion of Jesus, a Roman
centurion said, This man is truly the son of God.
When we reach out to people let others say that
these people are true Disciples of Christ. You show
that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our
ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of
the living God, not on tablets of stone but on
tablets of human hearts (2 Cor. 3: 3). The image
of a living letter is that others might read Christ in
our lives, as His marks are imprinted on our hearts.
Bearing witness to Christ is not just a matter of our
words: we carry Christ with us, and the more His
Spirit fills our lives, the greater the sense that God
has turned up with us. In humility we will realise
that it is Christ who is carrying us. It is not our
competence that does this, but the Spirits work, if
we allow Him to do so. Hence we need not be afraid
of reaching out; the yeast spreads, the salt
preserves and the light shines. May Gods grace be
with all the faith communities for your outreach
ministry in places and situations that you are
placed.
Mar Theodosius+

Henry J. M. Nouwen, Reaching Out, Fount,

Harper Collins, London, (1990).
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Editorial

The theme for the current issue of the journal is

based on the fourth letter of the title of the Journal,
which is O for outreach. Revd Dr. Valson Thampu
says, Outreach is the very nature of God.
Regardless of the form outreach ministry takes, all
Christians are called to share the Gospel, to reach
out beyond themselves, their communities, and to
serve those in need. Methods may vary, but the
message is unchanging: Jesus Christ died for us,
He rose again, and He lives for encouraging us to
live, with the help of the Holy Spirit, by the values
of the kingdom that he inaugurated.
Methodists describe themselves as a disciple
movement shaped for mission. John Wesley in his
Rules for a Helper reminded us that we are not
to go to those who need us but to go to those who
need us most. Are we shaped for such a mission?
Every parish has the opportunity to reach out to
spiritually blind people and those who live on the
margins of the society in their parish and beyond
its boundary. What kind of outreach ministries
should a parish have? Do we have a clear vision
before we start out this mission? How do we get the
resources needed for a reach out mission? Who has
the ownership of this outreach mission? It is
obvious that no single parish or congregation can
provide every type of outreach ministry. In His
wisdom, God has uniquely gifted each
congregation with those who excel in particular
types of outreach ministry.
There are a few types of outreach that every
Christian should perform because there is no
solitary Christian, and we are expected to share our
life with others. Scripture is clear on how the
church is to reach out. Jesus said, Then the
righteous will answer him, saying, Lord, when did
we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give
you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and
welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when
did we see you sick or in prison and visit you? And
the King will answer them, Truly, I say to you, as

you did it to one of the least of these my brothers,

you did it to me (Matthew 25:37-40). Ministry to
the least of these must be part of every churchs
outreach. Every Christian is called to reach out
beyond his/her local community to make disciples
of all nations (Matthew 28:18-20). Christians
should be involved in telling others silently and
actively about Jesus Christ (1 Peter 3:15-16). Since
most adults spend the majority of their weekday
hours at work, outreach in the workplace offers
connections to people the church might otherwise
miss. This is an experimental theatre for working
out the Gospel. Appreciating a God-given
mandate, many forms ministries could be
developed. Examples include the following: food
banks, prison ministry, meeting the needs of the
elderly and the sick. Serving those affected by
disability provides life-changing help to those
often neglected by others. Teenagers and college
students
represent
a
strategic
ministry
opportunity and they in turn may become agents
of this ministry too.

There is a forward and backward movement in

reaching-out. We should look within ourselves first
and develop a relationship with the indwelling
Christ before venturing to reach-out to others with
our evangelistic vigour. Henry Nouwen2 wrote: To
live a spiritual life we must first find the courage to
enter into the desert of our loneliness and to
change it by gentle and persistent efforts into a
garden of solitude. The movement from loneliness
to solitude, however, is the beginning of any
spiritual life because it is the movement from the
restless senses to the restful spirit, from the
outward-reaching cravings to the inward-reaching
search, from the fearful clinging to the fearless
play. In the midst of a turbulent, often chaotic, life
we are called to reach out, with courageous honesty
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to our innermost self, with relentless care to our

fellow human beings, and with increasing prayer to
our God. A prayer- centred life is important for any
type of reaching-out ministry. Nouwen wrote2: A
spiritual life without prayer is like the gospel
without Christ. A prayer-centred life helps us to
find space for others in our lives. This gives us an
opportunity for providing hospitality for others.
Hospitality is not to trap and change people, but to
offer them space and freedom where they can be
transformed under the grace of God. An Irish
proverb states: It is in the shelter of each other that
people live. Religious conversion and increasing
the membership of the church should not be prime
aim of the outreach programmes. It is often said,
Jesus came to disturb the comfortable and
comfort the disturbed.
In Ezekiels time, Jews who lived both in
Jerusalem and also in Babylon had their own
version of decadence and moral deprivation, and
worshiped other gods as well. They continued to
rebel against Gods prophets like, Isaiah and
Jeremiah. Ezekiel reminded them of their false
ways and errors. But they never listened as we are
not listening today. There were so many gaps in
their lifestyle, a chasm, between them and
Jehovah. That is why God is asking Israelites
through Ezekiel this question. Who will stand in
the gap? Jehovah said to Ezekiel, I looked for a
man among them who will build a wall and
stand before me in the gap on behalf of the
land so that I would not have to destroy it,
but I found none (Ezekiel 22: 30). God is
searching for people to stand in various kinds of
gaps to create a seamless big society or kingdom
of God. It is up to us to understand what and where
these gaps are, and to equip ourselves through the
grace of God to stand in gaps or reaching out to
build relationship and fellowship with God and
Gods people.
There are gaps between us and God because of our
devotion and attachment to other things; this gap
also creates gaps between us and our neighbour.
There are many stories in the Bible about God
finding people to stand in these gaps from time to
time. Abraham, Noah, Joseph, Moses and many
others stood in these gaps. We need people to
stand in the gap to build our church; we need to

intercede on behalf of the needy, the helpless, the

voiceless, the troubled, the sick, the mentally
handicapped, and those who have lost their faith.
Outreach is a ministry that never ends.
Intercession is much more than a one-time event
by which a conflict is resolved. There is not a
moment in our lives without the need for
mediation and intercessory prayers. God gave us
the ministry of intercession through Jesus Christ
and the Holy Spirit. Let us pray together to find
these gaps and ask God for His grace to empower
us to stand in these gaps.
We constantly find ourselves looking for grand
projects, and elaborate plans; we appoint
committee and commissions, secretly hoping that
this time it will be different. Sometimes in our
enthusiasm for outreach ministries we may get
burnt out. Jesus avoided this by His dependence
on His quiet meditations and prayer. It is only
when we take time to develop our inner spirituality
and to become comfortable with who we are and be
content with solitude, only after those primary
steps are taken can we reach out to others in true
love. Spirituality is a way of gaining perspective,
recognising that our role in life has a greater value
than just what we do every day. It can separate a
person from dependence on material things and
establish a greater God-given purpose. We simply
must deal with our inner conflicts and needs before
we can help and learn from others. We often reach
out to others when we are confused with our inner
self. We are afraid to deal alone with our needs. We
are desperately seeking someone or something to
drown out our own voice, to give us new answers.
We watch television, listen to music, read books,
and socialise; these are temporary escape routes.
We are indeed God's children, and His Spirit is in
us. When we learn to be still, we can offer that very
stillness and peace to others. We can commune
with God in prayer. We can break the illusions of
busyness and activism by relying on Gods grace. It
is important to realise that we cannot cash a
cheque without having a bank balance. The lack of
this inner strength causes moral bankruptcy.
Therefore, we need to be in touch with our own
reality and our relationship with God before
reaching-out to others.

Henry J.M. Nouwen, Reaching Out, Fount,

Harper Collins, London, (1990).
6

Finally, it is absolutely important to realise that it

is Gods mission. You are the light of the world. A
city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people
light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a
stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the
same way, let your light shine before others, so that
they may see your good works and give glory to
your Father who is in heaven ( Matthew 5:14-16).
Lighted to lighten is the motto of our church;
therefore, reaching out is in our DNA. The miracle
of digital technology allows us to present the
Gospel of Jesus Christ to people across many
boundaries. This online journal may help us to
accomplish our mission of bringing the gospel of
Jesus Christ to as many people in Europe.

Disagreement and Grace

Archbishop of Canterbury
Justin Welby

The Editorial Board

"Brothers, if someone is caught in a

sin, you who are spiritual should
restore him gently. But watch
yourself, or you also may be tempted.
Carry each others burdens, and in
this way you will fulfil the law of
Christ."
Galatians 6:1-2

[At the National Leaders meeting of Churches

Together in England (CTE), the Archbishop of
Canterbury as one of the CTE Presidents,
presented a reflection under the general heading
'Disagreement and Grace'.]

I want to say four things about graciousness and

respect in disagreement. The first one is that
disagreement is a reality; and when we deny that,
ignore it, avoid it, pretend its not true, everything
goes badly wrong. We all know that in a household
or a community or a marriage if someone
is looking sulky or saying very little, and you know
theres something wrong and they wont tell you, it
doesnt help. When we look at the New Testament
we see division and disagreement at every possible
opportunity. Look at the beginning of both of
Pauls letters to the Corinthians, the first chapter of
each of them. In 1 Corinthians he talks about a
church entirely divided by people following one
person or another; and in 2 Corinthians he talks
7

about being in despair because things were so bad.

In Philippians, he calls for reconciliation between
two members of the Church and remember this
was in the days when there was no good
communication, and yet from a great distance hed
heard the row, and he knew there was something
wrong and he had to deal with it. In the Gospels,
we see the apostles and the disciples arguing about
who is the most important, right up to almost
immediately before the crucifixion. They waste all
their energy on disagreements.
The Church has historically always found it easy to
divide, and we still do. And the issues which cause
division are sometimes represented as principled
issues, issues of theology which is true; or they
may be issues around discrimination against one
group of the Church or another. I often think about
the fact that in the 1960s when Afro-Caribbean
people first came to this country they were not
made welcome in our churches. Its the reality; it
was a sin, a very bad sin.
Firstly, Division is a reality. Most of our
divisions come down to issues of power and
prestige. We dress them up in smart clothes
around dogma and disagreement over doctrine;
but at the very heart of them is very often a
failure to be able to talk to each other, to
communicate with humility that enables us
to hear what the other one is saying.
Im an Archbishop; I know about the absence of
humility. I struggle with it. Sometimes its about
money, but it all comes back to Jesuss parable of
taking the best seats at the feast. Power and
prestige; they get under our skin.
We need first of all to recognise that we will
disagree, we disagree, and therefore we need to be
prepared and thoughtful about what is involved in
disagreement. It is a reality.

Secondly, there is the question of reaction

to disagreement. We need to start by
recognising we are family. The reaction must be
from within the knowledge that, not by our choice
but by the will of God, we belong to each other. To
put it crudely and in an unsophisticated way, as the
saying goes: you can choose your friends, but
youre stuck with your family. And my
brothers and sisters, I hate to tell you this but Im

family with you, and by the Lords grace, through

the work of the cross, we are going to be in heaven
forever. So wed better start getting used to each
other, because were stuck with each other
permanently. Thats the work of God. Its not our
option to say, well we can go off and not be family.
We are always family.
Thirdly, our response to division and this is
where grace comes in. Transparency is an element
of grace, because of course God in his grace to us is
transparent. He doesnt say, well, I dont really
mind about sin. He says, I hate sin but Ive given
a remedy. We know where we stand with God;
theres no messing about. Having reacted, how do
we respond? One thing I want to say, and Ive
learnt this in Africa as much as anywhere, is we
need to act to be gracious. Sometimes you have to
do things in order to become them. If were going
to be gracious, act graciously. Whatevers in your
heart, act graciously and the grace of God will
often transform our hearts so as we act graciously
we become gracious.
Theres a well-known story of Corrie ten Boom, the
extraordinary
Dutch
evangelist
and
missionary. She was in her middle age, in her 50s,
when the Second World War broke out. Her family
sheltered Jewish refugees in Holland. They were
betrayed by a collaborator, they were taken away to
a concentration camp in Germany. Her whole
family, apart from her, was killed; every single
member. And after the war they were in
Ravensbruck a really terrible camp, and after the
war she was lecturing in Germany on forgiveness,
and she gave her lecture and at the end she saw a
man pushing his way to the front to come and talk
to her. And she recognised him: hed been one of
the cruellest guards in Ravensbruck; he had
tortured and beaten and assaulted and raped. Hed
done terrible, terrible things. And he pushed
towards her and he didnt recognise her he said
to her: I was a guard in a concentration camp; I did
terrible things. After the war, I found the Lord
Jesus and He has forgiven me. I know you were in
a concentration camp (she hadnt said where), will
you forgive me? And she said that in her heart was
just hatred, but she stretched out her hand (I
remember hearing her say this) and took it, and as
she did so she felt the Holy Spirit dissolve the
hatred in her heart and enable her to say with a full
heart: I forgive you.

sacrifice.
Now, forgiveness is not often that simple lets be
clear, it may take decades, generations sometimes,
we need to be honest about that. But we need to act
in order to be. And when we disagree with each
other there are moments when we need to act to
be. We need to act to be. . . We need to pray so we
can act. . . One of the top priorities for my time as
Archbishop is a renewal of prayer and the religious
life, the communities of prayer, without which
there will be no renewal of the spiritual life in this
land.
Finally, reconciliation: Reconciliation between
us as human beings is not agreement it is
learning to love one another in deep disagreement.
That is genuine reconciliation. It is being different.
God is so wonderful, we are so different. The
miracle of the church is not that we agree and love
one another; its that we disagree and, despite that,
we love one another. Thats the miracle that the
Holy Spirit brings. So what happens when were
reconciled, when we demonstrate diversity in love?
When we demonstrate that, were straight into the
last seven or eight verses of John 17. And the world
will see that Jesus is the Son of God, and they will
believe.
.
.
But reconciliation I can tell you this after many
years of working on it, both in myself and
professionally in war zones around the world
comes with two ss: service and sacrifice. If were
going to have reconciliation, if were going to have
graciousness and respect in disagreement, there
has to be sacrifice. It is always costly to be
reconciled. Within the catholic tradition Ive learnt
over the last ten years about the great sacrament of
reconciliation: confession. It is enormously
powerful and hideously painful when its done
properly. . . Its really horrible when you go to see
your confessor I doubt you wake up in the
morning and think, this is going to be a bunch of
laughs. Its really uncomfortable. But through it
God releases forgiveness and absolution and a
sense of cleansing, a sense of knowing that we
belong to him, that were his children. And if were
to be reconciled to each other in CTE and across
the church, and to see people come to faith and be
disciples of Jesus Christ and to live out the
transformation of our society to one of justice . . .
we will see justice when we see a church that is
alive in Christ and is calling with great power in the
service of Christ. . . But that will take great

So, graciousness and respect in disagreement: the

reality, the reaction, the response, the
reconciliation - that we may maintain the unity of
the Spirit in the bond of peace.

"When your mind and your heart

are pure, then the divine will be
open to you. The voice of your
conscience is the voice of God.
Tolstoy

Dr. Zac Varghese, London

ministry for transforming cultural norms and

establishing the kingdom culture. Jesus was not
using theological jargons, but he used everyday
examples to reach his audience and it made sense
to them.

Most of us seem to be somewhat parochial in our

outlooks, loyalties and concerns. Nevertheless, we
appreciate the advice to think globally and act
locally. As stewards of a world created by a loving
and caring God we have no excuse for not having a
loving concern for people throughout the world,
irrespective of caste, colour, and creed. The digital
environment provides a huge range of
opportunities for Gods mission. In a world where
an ever increasing number of people are connected
to the internet and mobile phones, the possibilities
of reaching out to all sorts of people and
generations are greater than they have been at any
time in history.

Lord Donald Soper was a very effective Methodist

preacher, in the second half of the twentieth
century, at the speakers corner at the Hyde Park
near Marble Arch in London. He encouraged his
hearers to heckle him and he used that opportunity
to reach out to the very same heckler and others
around him because he understood and spoke the
language, used their idioms, and engaged with the
mood of his audiences. We are told over and over
again that the young people of the Mar Thoma
Diaspora communities are disenchanted with the
church and its liturgical worship. Therefore, it is of
utmost importance for our church to take this
problem seriously and follow Pauls example by
studying the current, continuously changing,
youth culture and searching for means and
methods of communication, and applying the
gospel to the prevalent culture. There is a huge gap
in appreciating this urgent need in the ministry of
our church. There is an urgent need for churching
the churched before going after the un-churched.
Is it not important to keep the netted fish in the net
and mend the holes before casting the net again for
a new fishing expedition? We mostly depend on
Sunday schools for post-baptismal faith formation.
Are we equipping our youths with sufficient
apologetics to cope with the demands and
challenges of a university and social networking
environment?

Ministry in a Digital World

It is interesting to note how St. Paul broke cultural

barriers to reach out to intellectual giants, traders,
and poor peasants of his time; he spoke to Jews,
Greeks, Romans and Gentiles with relative ease.
He used different skills in spreading the gospel of
Lord Jesus Christ whom he met on the Damascus
Road and his tent-making skills to support his
mission. Pauls reasoning, an ancient rhetoric
method, to men of Thessalonica and of Athens in
Act 17 is an ideal model for ministry even today.
Paul starts with research of the prevailing culture
(vs 16, 17) then he builds on that knowledge by
making links from their culture to the gospel (vs
22, 23). He was taking the pulpit to the pews, to
people where they assembled at synagogues and
market places, where people found it easy to
assemble; it is important to meet people in their
cultural milieu and in their comfort zones. He
respected his audiences history and culture
because
persuasion
requires
the
active
participation and even the heckling of audiences.
As we know, Pauls methodology was very
effective. Jesus parables are prime examples of
using cultural conventions and traditions in His

However much many of us resist, we need to make

policies by taking into consideration not only the
present realities of the world as it, but also the
world we would love to see to be with kingdom
values. Whilst we continue to use traditional
methods and print media for satisfying the
emotional needs of the older generation we should
be mindful of the needs of the young people and
use the digital media to reach them. It is gratifying
to see that over the last two years the Mar Thoma
Diocese of North America and Europe has
embarked on using internet for sending daily
meditations. These meditations are mostly written
by young laypeople of the church. This is indeed a
very praiseworthy initiative. Revd Dr. Thomas
Philips, Sinai MTC, North London, is using web
casting/ skype very effectively to conduct Bibles
10

studies for the young people; he is finding a day

and time convenient to young people and using
media with which they are comfortable and
breaking into their comfort zones. A series of webbased seminars known as webinars are organized
by the World Council of Churches, in co-operation
with the National Council of the Churches of Christ
in the USA, in consultation with the Canadian
Council of Churches and with support from the
United Methodist General Board of Disciples. This
will set the scene for a major conference of mission
professionals, academics and church leaders on
Reclaiming Evangelism: Celebrating Change and
Collaboration. These are good models, which
others may be able to emulate.
Doing gospel work online may seem a strange
thing to begin with; it can certainly take you to new
places and creates new relationships in the virtual
space. However, such virtual ministry will never
replace meeting people in person on Sunday
morning worships or fellowship meetings. It has its
negative side as well as we notice in TV evangelism
and parading the Holy Communion on the box.
We are in the middle of a digital revolution that will
have an enormous impact on all our lives as the
printing press (Gutenberg 1440CE) did in the 15 th
century. Hence we need to be very careful and
disciplined in using these new technologies for
interacting with people and not exploiting people
who are emotionally vulnerable. Anyone can post
their thoughts on the social media and there is no
clearly defined source of authority of a church or a
bishop in that virtual space. In the post-modern
world the interpretation of a text depends on the
people who read it. For the postmodernists, every
presentation is a re-presentation and every author
of a book or article is dead, writer has no authority
over the text once the text is in the public domain.
It is the reader who interprets the text using
his/her cultural context. The very foundation of
authority is being challenged. Therefore, we can no
longer enjoy on the privileges of respect and
authority we have come to enjoy and respect.
Hence we should be mindful of using the modern
communication media.

time to consider the importance of the subsidiarity

principles in the management and governance of
the Mar Thoma Diaspora regions. At present, it is
the young people and women who are
marginalised and silenced through a top-down
hierarchical hegemony. We must identity these
margins and help to recover the agency of the
margins for their growth and expression of their
faith.
It is refreshing to see how Pope Francis is
effectively using twitter to reach his people and he
is leading the way; he has a twitter account in nine
languages with over 12 million followers; it is
indeed an amazing transformation. We hope that
our community will rise to the challenges of hyperconnected super highways of communication with
courtesy and discipline. Being disciplined in using
the digital communication may be counter
cultural, but that is what the Christian message is
all about; our involvement may bring the necessary
discipline in propagating the Christian message of
love under the grace of God.
The internet-based applications including
websites, blogs, facebook, podcasts, and apps are
opening up new frontiers for churchs mission,
ministry and pastoral care. Training in social
communication is an essential area where more
emphasis should be given if future ministers are to
deliver their ministry effectively; it is time to float
the pulpit to reach out to people. We also need to
find ways for intergenerational communication
that are creative, challenging and convincing. The
challenges of todays new globalized culture
demand new and deeper efforts not only to read
the signs of the times but also to see the challenges
for being a new way of being a church in the digital
age.

There are some positive things in the postmodern

way of thinking as well. They argue that what is on
the margins decide what is at the centre. Jesus
cared for people on the margins of the society, so
we should. Margins should help the centre to
formulate policies and restructure the society. It is
11

Silence of the Plant

Kingdom
Rev Dr. M. J. Joseph, Kottayam

Repeat the words of the poet Keats:

Truth is beauty,
Beauty is truth
Yes, truth does not shout,
It is silent.
Beauty does not die,
It is immortal.

Silence is golden.
The plants and the trees speak in silence.
They pray in silence.
They cook in silence.
They flower in silence.
How great is the silence of the Plant Kingdom!
There is no violence in the Plant Kingdom.
They depend on the Sun, the power of the Universe
They get dew from above;
They too smile, but the human eye is too weak to
see.
They too have hunger and thirst;
The Creator takes care of their needs in a
miraculous way.
They dont celebrate their birthday.
They bloom where they are planted.
They teach humans the ABC of forgiveness.
They give shade to the wood- cutter till they fall on
the ground.

"For even the son of Man did not

come to be served, but to serve, and
to give his life as a ransom for
many"
Mark 10.45

They call upon the tiger and the lion to give them
shelter,
They discover the depth of Mothers bosom.
There is bio-diversity under the earth,
They put humans to shame by their pluralism
under the soil!
O my dear friends!
You were not consulted when we were created by
the Lord
Do you know that we are senior to you in age!
Why dont you respect and learn from us?
Do you know that you and I have one existence?
Remember, you will not be able to live without us.

12

Mission today: Five Key

Themes
Revd Canon Philip Mounstephen

Its a great pleasure to write this short piece for the

Mar Thoma ECHO to help you reflect on mission
and outreach. For reasons which will become clear
I think this is such an important issue for members
of the Mar Thoma Church to be considering. For
myself Im delighted to be in partnership with you
and consider the calling to speak at the Maramon
Convention to be one of the great privileges of my
life.
I want to help us think about mission by looking at
six specific themes. Theme one is this: mission has
been and always will be about people. It sounds
deceptively simple, but its fundamental. Mission
is about people. Its not about technique or strategy
at least not first and foremost. Over the past 216
years CMS has enabled over 10,000 people to
engage in the process of connecting person to
person in all kinds of places, in all kinds of ways, in
order to make Jesus known. Many early
missionaries took their possessions with them in a
coffin because they had no expectation of ever
coming back, so committed were they to that
encounter with other people. It is people, singular
- and a people, plural who the Lord chooses and
uses to be about his mission.
And the members of the Mar Thoma Church are
amongst that people! Please never ask whether
God has called you to engage in mission and
outreach. He has. He has chosen you for that task.
The question is, rather, are you obeying that call?
Theme two: mission in todays world is from
everywhere to everywhere. Mission was once from
over here to over there, from North to South,
from the West to the Rest. But now we are part of

a truly global family, so mission today is not just

about people going from over here to over there:
it is from everywhere to everywhere. Mission
today is not mono-directional and inflexible, but
multi-directional and very flexible.
And you are part of that changing scene. You are
not where you are by accident. God has called you
out from the ancient heartland of the Mar Thoma
Church (where the gospel was preached long
before it ever came to my country, to England).
And he has called you out with a purpose, and that
purpose is mission. You are part of his global
people who he is deploying to make the good news
of Jesus known across the face of the world. You
are not here by accident, but by the calling of God.

Theme three is this: mission must take culture

seriously. The best description of culture I know is
this: culture is the way we do things around here.
Its the way we eat our food, live in our houses, lie
down to sleep, go to work. Its the way we go about
the simplest and the most basic things of life. For
mission to take culture seriously means that we
dont go to other people and say, Come to us and
be like us. Instead we go to other people and as
far as we can we become like them, because that
is exactly what Jesus did. He became like us, that
we might become like him. And that is the path we
are to follow. We are to humble ourselves amongst
others - not that they might become like us, but
that together we might become like Jesus.
God has spread members of the Mar Thoma
Church across the world. But do you understand
the place, and the people, to which he has called
you? You need to make the effort to do so, if you
are going to be effective in mission. Mission must
always take culture seriously.

13

Theme four follows from theme three: Europe will

be increasingly not the source but the focus of
mission. This continent which was once the source
of so much missionary activity now desperately
needs to receive mission from elsewhere in the
world. Europe is the exceptional continent: the one
continent on earth where people consider having a
religious faith to be strange, whereas in most of the
rest of the world it is perfectly normal. So we
desperately need to receive the gifts of the
worldwide church that are already here amongst
us.
But let me be honest with you. The Church in the
West has not been very good historically at
receiving those gifts, perhaps because weve not
always realised that we need them. But we do! So
please dont hesitate to reach out the hand of
friendship to local churches around you. Ask how
you can help them in their mission; how you can
work together in mission. We need you so much.

Lets move on to the final theme: mission is the

heartbeat of God. In the last few years the Church
of England has come to realise that, to quote the
words of Tim Dearborn, It is not the Church of God
that has a mission in the world; but the God of
mission who has a church in the world. Theres a
huge difference between the two attitudes. In the
first mission is just one activity of the Church:
mission is smaller than the church. In the second
its the other way round. Mission is much bigger
than the Church because its not our mission, its
Gods. Mission is Gods agenda, his heartbeat: the
bringing back of the world to himself. If mission is
bigger than the church, then it must change our
perspective. The Church of God does not set the
agenda for mission. Mission sets the agenda for the
Church of God.

involved in the mission of God it is not only the

world that will be changed. We will be too.

Revd Canon Philip Mounstephen is the

Executive Leader of the Church
Missionary Society.
He took up this role in October 2012 after five
years as chaplain of St Michael's, Paris, a large
multicultural church in the centre of the city. He
described himself as "thrilled and delighted" to
have been asked to lead the CMS community in
mission. He is deeply committed to the church
around the world. He is very much a 'people
person' - his role at St Michael's Paris brought
him into regular contact with everyone from the
homeless to ambassadors. He was a speaker at
the Maramon convention.

"Without truth there is no kindness,

without kindness the truth cannot
be told"
Tolstoy

The challenge for the Mar Thoma Church, the

challenge for every church is this: are we letting the
mission of God set the agenda for the church of
God? And if we are, just how will things change?
For we can be certain of one thing: as we get
14

"Reaching Out Sharing

Faith & Meeting Social
Needs
Revd Dr. Valson Thampu

Reaching out, or out-reach, is the genius of the

biblical faith. It is the secret of its dynamism.

In the second model, the leader is marked by his

outreach. He comes! Because he comes, there is
the assurance of redemption and transformation.
The Nazareth Manifesto (Lk. 4:18) for example, is
ridiculous in respect of the first model. i. e. the
come-to-me, but touch-me-not model.
Imagine a leader of the first model meeting with
the woman of Samaria! (Jn.4) First of all, this is a
logical impossibility. But, for the sake of argument,
let us assume that such a meeting can take place.
What would be the outcome? The woman, already
fallen, will only be exploited and degraded further.
I note this in passing only to underline the danger
hidden in the come-to-me model or the antioutreach model, which is the reigning model today.
What is the rationale for outreach? Why reach out
at all? What is the discipline of this outreach?

Out-reach is the very nature of God. Remember

how Adam and Eve went and hid themselves, after
disobeying God? They would have become anthills if God had not reached out to them! Each time
the Jews reneged and slinked away from God, he
reached out to them. This outreach is a natural
and necessary expression of the Creatorship of
God. The Creator, unlike a curator, cannot but
reach out, when any part of Creation is in peril or
decay, just as the Good Shepherd, unlike the
hireling, will reach out to the lost sheep (Jn. 10).
Incarnation is a historical expression of this outreaching-ness of God. Jesus said clearly and
emphatically that He came to seek and save the lost
(Lk. 19:10). Given that that is the quintessential
purpose of His coming into the world, we should
expect that He will sent us out, if we heed His call
and go to Him. It is, indeed, to send us out that he
calls us to Himself. It is in this sent-ness that Jesus
abides with us most powerfully (Jn. 15:4).
There are only two models of leadership in the
world. First, leaders who expect you to go to them.
Such people will make it difficult for you to reach
them, even as they expect you go to them! They
want you to go to them, but they do not want to
have you with them. They understand their
importance in terms of this contradiction. Such
leaders show off their importance or power in
terms of their inhospitality and inaccessibility.
This is inherent in the worldly idea of leadership.

Well, the thief also reaches out! So, not every

instance of outreach is spiritually valid of humanly
beneficial. Outreach has to be, as Jesus defines it,
like sheep among wolves (Mtt. 10:16). The wolf is
a symbol of unilateralism. Outreach, when it is cast
in the mould of unilateralism, becomes predatory.
The corrupt politician reaches out to the electorate
at the time of election. He is a wolf among lambs.
The lamb is the symbolic opposite of the wolf. It is,
symbolically, mutuality introduced into a world of
unilateralism. The lamb will, hence, be at peril. It
risks being ripped apart. But the lamb is,
mercifully, safe against acquiring the nature of the
wolf. The outreach of the wolf and the thief is
marked by aggressive self-interest. They live in a
world in which neighbours will be victims.
You would recall that Jesus, while calling Simon
and his brother Andrew, promised to make them
fishers of men. They were, till then, fishers of
fish. What is the difference between the two?
Fishers of fish work only for their profit. They are,
that is, unilateral. Do their outreach results in
pain and cruelty. Fishers of men reach out for the
sake, and only for the ultimate good, of his fellow
human beings. That is the hallmark of the
Christian outreach.
It is outreach of this kind that embodies the power
and possibilities of the biblical faith. Though this
has many aspects, we shall, for the time being, look
at only two of them: sharing faith and meeting
needs.
Sharing faith
15

The strategy of sharing faith is put incomparably

well by John, the Evangelist: the Word became
flesh (Jn. 1:14). It is inherent in the logic of
outreach that the self (even the Self) changes. The
willingness to change is basic to the wholeness of
outreach. Hence it is that Jesus said, He who
wishes to come after me must deny himself, take
up my cross and follow me. (Mtt. 16: 24).
Outreach, without the saving grace of self-denial,
quickly degenerates into the thief/wolf model.

plane, we live, mostly, self-exiled. We are not in

engagement with the world around us. We
marginalize ourselves. Experientially, we live
compartmentalized. Our professional life and our
faith life are poles apart. Our week days mock our
Sundays! What governs one is irrelevant, even
incompatible with the other. We are splitpersonalities and there is, alas, no wholeness in us!
How, then, can we share faith? We cannot have
faith, much less share faith!

So the Word became flesh. Not that there was

anything wrong with the Word! Even the Word has
to change itself into something else to be an agent
of outreach. If we are in Christ Jesus, we shall be a
new creation (2 Cor. 5: 17). Or, we shall be born
again (Jn. 3.3). This is the essential precondition
for our outreach to be conducive to sharing the
faith. Else, our outreach is likely to discredit the
faith.
Our educational institutions, for examples, are
embodied outreaches. At least they are meant to
be. Through them we are in engagement with those
outside of our community. Do they, as of today,
share the faith or sear the faith? Why are they, if
they are, stumbling blocks? Isnt it because the
discipline and strategy that God himself accepted
are rejected by them? If the salt has lost in
saltiness, it is good only to be cast out and trampled
underfoot by others, says Jesus.
If, as the administrator of a Christian institution, I
do not deny myself and become something other
than, or more than, an administrator as the world
understands this phenomenon, what earthly
chance there is that I will share my faith, or may
even want to share my faith, with anyone? A
Christian Principal is one who is not a stereotypical
Principal, but a missionary. To be a missionary in
the domain of education, I have to deny myself as
Principal. Only when I deny myself as Principal do
I become a Christian Principal. To be a King one
has to deny oneself. Only the Servant King can be
a true King. All else are imposters and pretenders.
Those who have ears to hear, let them hear.
The second aspect of sharing faith is dwelling
amidst or being with. The Word, would have
fallen short of the model of sharing faith even if it
had become flesh, but did not care to dwell in the
midst of people. Abide in me, and I in you, says
Jesus (Jn. 15:4). This is an area of crippling
weakness for us at the present time. On the social

The third aspect puts the spotlight on who we are,

or how others experience us. We need to live in
their midst full of grace and truth. Grace is that
God-given quality in you which enables others to
be reminded of the presence and authority of God
in interacting with you. Showing the other cheek,
for instance, is an expression of this grace. Staying
focused on the purpose God has for us in calling us
and sending us out being good and faithful
servants- is an aspect of this grace. How we deal
with difficult situations, including trials and
tribulations (Mtt.5: 11, 12), proves this grace.
Sharing faith is not a walk in the park! It cannot be
done with human abilities or enthusiasm alone. It
has to be a shared labour. In sharing faith we are
partners with Christ. This makes us a new
Creation. It imbues us with grace and truth. It
enables us to abide with people, with even the
difficult ones. It enables us to endure. Endurance
is the key to effectiveness. He who endures to the
end, says Jesus, will be saved. He will be saved
from futility and fruitlessness.
Sharing faith is not a matter of Crusades and
conventions! Remember what St. Francis of Assisi
said, Preach by all means; use words, if
necessary. The simplest, and the most effective
way of sharing is, in the words of Jesus, Come and
see. This is a far cry from the predicament of
Adam and Eve, who went into hiding! Where do we
16

stand today? Are we in a position to say to people

at large, Come and see!? Or, do we have to go and
hide and our heads in the bush of hypocrisy and
playacting?
Meeting needs.

is not power but strength. Jesus was strong,

awesomely strong; but he was powerless.
(Characteristically this was lost on those who
mocked the Crucified. They were blind to his
strength. They clamoured for a display of power!)
Power and strength seem, in this contrary world of
ours, to be incompatible. Either you have power or
you have strength. Power belongs to the order of
Mammon and strength comes from the Lord.
Strength is inner. Power is derived from external
sources, means and institutions. What stands us in
good stead is strength. The Holy Spirit is strength
of that kind: the strength that transforms adversity
into an advantage, pain into a profit, crisis into an
opportunity.
Any takers for strength?

What most people rarely realize is that meeting

needs is the measure of our relevance. The needs
all around us are pregnant with opportunities!
They comprise the matrix of our relevance. If we do
not, or cannot, respond to needs, are we not
irrelevant? The fig tree sans fruit, that Jesus
cursed? But to see and to respond to the needs of
others, we have to bridle our desires, or overcome
our covetousness. That is why the Ten
Commandments contain the Commandment, You
shall not covet. Covetousness, on the one hand,
degrades us into wolves or thieves and, on the
other, makes us blind to the needs of others. We
remain so obsessed with our own wants and
desires that are cruelly unmindful of the needs of
others (cf. The Parable of the Sheep and the Goats).
Clarity on the difference between needs and
desires is basic to the discipline of being sent out in
outreach. If we are not spiritually educated on this
distinction, we will be no better, our good
intentions notwithstanding, than fishers of fish.
We may meet needs if you like; but they will only
be our own needs; or what we think are our needs,
which may not be needs at all. How much land,
Count Leo Tolstoy asks through a short story, does
a man need? Enough to enable him to work and
live? Or enough to make him collapse and die?
Remember the Rich Fool?
God has placed us in a world of needs. And what is
more, we live in a world that denies needs and
pursues desires murderously. There is mounting
confusion everywhere on this count. Take an
illustrative example. Most people covet power: the
reason why we have kissa kursi ka. What we need

One of the basic needs that we have is the need to

understand our needs aright. This is discernment.
Consider the parable of the Lost Son. He thought
he needed the licentious, riotous freedom of the
far country. He learns the hard way that it is the
love of a father that he needs. There is really no
point in busying ourselves with meeting needs if
we are not spiritually educated about what the
needs are and we do not share that faith insight
with others. That is why Jesus gave the mandate to
his disciples, as he sent them out on their mission,
to preach and heal (Mtt. 10: 7,8). Prophetic
preaching sets people free from their slavery to the
pattern of the world which is driven by the
multiplication of desires and wants. The pattern
of the world is the substitution of needs with
desires.
All human beings have a fundamental need for
God. Man cannot live by bread alone. But we
cannot live without bread either. Hence Jesus
instruction, Give them something to eat.
Consider the profundity of this situation. It is the
Living Bread, the Bread of Eternal Life that says,
Give them something to eat! It is this balance
between the eternal and the temporal, the spiritual
and the material, the worldly and the other
worldly, the intimate and the ultimate that we
need. Nothing less will do.
Remember Jesus on the Jericho road? He stops to
ask the blind man, Bartimaeus, What is it that you

17

want me to do for you? What is it, in other words,

that you need? Thank God, he was not confused.
Rabbi, he cried out, I want to see! We have a

stand on. Seeing him boy stopped crying! That is

the power, if you like, of the beggars outreach.
How does it matter that it is accidental? The beggar
ministered to the boys need better than his father
did. Isnt this splendid irony?
How can we meet peoples needs, for Gods sake,
when we are so confused about our own needs?
Hence it is that Jesus exhorted his disciples,
Watch and pray!
* The Author is the Principal of St.
Stephens College, Delhi.

need to have our eyes opened. Everyone! If only

Christian education were to result in opening the
eyes of the blind!
It is not pray dont get me wrong- that material
needs do not matter. They do. But material needs
abound in the scope for misunderstanding. Take
your ubiquitous cell phones. How often should you
change your model? And how expensive need your
phones be? If it is to meet your need to
communicate?
Is it, really?
What is your need? Is it to communicate? Or is it
to afford a vague feel-good-factor? Or, to show off?
Or, to keep up with the Joneses? Or, is it to play
mischief? If it is to communicate, is it necessary to
invest in newer and more jazzy phones? Isnt it
more important to develop yourself so that you
have something to say when you use the phone?
To become a person whose communication will
enrich others? How will catching up with the latest
model in the market help in this respect? What is
the use in having the best communication
instrument when you have really nothing
worthwhile to communicate?

In this world you will have trouble.

But take heart! I have overcome the
world"
John 16: 33

It is through outreach that we learn to critique our

needs and to discover the needs of others. This has
a liberating effect on us. Often we remain grumpy
just because we do not know the realities of the
world we live in. We are like the boy in a poem from
yester years who kept crying because the pair of
shoes his dad bought for him was not to his liking,
until a beggar came along who had only one leg to
18

The Mar Thoma Church:

Gender Equality in the
Sacred Space
Jesudas M. Athyal.
This article discusses the wider implications of a
major milestone in womens participation in the
Mar Thoma Church (MTC). The denomination is
part of the ancient Indian Church that traces its
origin to the missionary work of Saint Thomas in
south India during the first century AD. Today
hundreds of congregations of MTC exist in the
diaspora all over the world. The Church, while
accepting at the theological level the full
participation of women in all realms, has so far
been reluctant to take administrative steps to
include women in the pastoral ministry of the
Church. MTCs response to the Lima Document
of 1982 entitled Baptism, Eucharist and Ministry
by the Commission on Faith and Order, stated:
the Mar Thoma Church presently has barriers due
to custom, culture, tradition on allowing women to
share in the ordained ministry of the church. It is
earnestly hoped that these will break down as men
develop greater consciousness of the change of
times and women become willing and open to new
challenges that God is opening before them.
Anitha Oommen at the high
altar along with the chief
celebrant, Bishop
Theodosius, and others

women in the sacred space of the high altar was

considered taboo. The event of January 4,
therefore, marked a major step in the participation
of women in the ministry of the church.
While the question of womens participation in all
realms of the church seems to be a settled matter
in most mainline Protestant churches, this
continues to be debated vigorously in the Roman
Catholic and Orthodox churches. Like the
churches of Indian origin, the Catholic and
Orthodox churches too do not ordain women as
priests, though they follow a less rigid approach
with regard to the presence of women at the high
altar. Both the traditions have a long history of
women serving as acolytes and, in certain cases, as
deacons. According to the Catholic scholar Phyllis
Zagano, women as deacons is not a concept for the
future but for the present, for today. Pope
Francis too has emphasized that understanding
womens participation in the Church cannot be
limited to the acolyte, to the president of Caritas
[and] the catechist. Instead, what is needed today,
according to him, is a more profound theology of
women. The Orthodox churches in many parts of
the world, till a few centuries ago, had the practice
of female deacons though, for a number of reasons,
it fell into disuse. The practice, however, has
neither been abolished by canon or a council nor
completely disappeared. The Inter-Orthodox
Theological Consultation that met in Rhodes,
Greece in 1988 noted that deaconess were
ordained within the sanctuary during the Divine
Liturgy with two prayers: she received the orarion
(the deacons stole) and received Holy Communion
at the altar. The consultation affirmed the need to
revive the practice of women deacons.
Anitha along with the bishop and
clergy

Under the reform movement initiated by Dr.

Geevarghese Mar Theodosius, the current bishop
of the Mar Thoma Churchs Diocese of North
America and Europe, the Rev. Sam Panicker, the
Vicar of the Carmel Mar Thoma Church (Hudson,
MA) assigned Ms. Anitha Oommen, a member of
the congregation, to be the Deacon for the Holy
Communion service on Sunday, January 4, 2015.
This was, perhaps, the first time that a woman
served as the deacon (atmaya sishrushakan / lay
minister) for the regular Holy Communion service
in a parish church of MTC, as the very entry of

Even though the notion that women are inferior to

men is a deeply rooted tradition in many parts of
the world, modernization and secularization have
challenged to a certain degree the patriarchal
structures of the West. The waves of change have
influenced the traditional patriarchal structures of
19

India as well, but religion there seems to be the last

bastion of male dominance. On the one hand,
under the impact of modernization and
urbanization, many Indian women have moved out
of the house and into the professional space.
Women today enjoy an equal status with men in
most areas of the secular life. The religious
structures, however, is where the age-old
traditions are reinforced and solidified. Even the
Indians in the West, who lead highly successful

and professional lives in the secular world, are seen

to fall back on tradition translated here as
casteist and patriarchal values in the religious
sphere. As George Zachariah put it, the
association between Patriarchy and Casteism
based on notions of purity and pollution has
influenced the doctrines and the ecclesial practices
of the Indian churches. [See the Keynote Address
presented at the seminar of the American Academy
of Religion in Chennai (India) on the theme,
Identity and Social Distinctions among Indian
Christians, at Home and in the Diaspora: Some
Theological Reflections," on July 19, 2014
(unpublished).]

much remains to be accomplished, this, truly, is a

moment for celebration and thanksgiving.
Jesudas Athyal is a Visiting Researcher at the
Boston University School of Theology and a
member of the Mar Thoma Church; he represents
the Church in the Inter-faith Commission of the
National Council of Churches. This article was
originally
published
in
patheos.com:

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/religionnow/2015/
03/the-mar-thoma-church-gender-equality-in-thesacred-space/#ixzz3V9ExjbbS

Be holy, because I am holy"

1Peter 1:15

What happened on January 4 was historic, at least

as far as the Indian churches are concerned. The
church in the diaspora has managed to pose a
challenge, howsoever insignificant, to the age-old
stranglehold of patriarchal supremacy in the
churches of Indian origin. If the resistance of the
Indian churches to gender equality in the sacred
space is rooted more in the religious tradition of
purity and pollution than in the reformed Christian
values, does it also follow that the churches in the
diaspora, that are at the intersection between the
Eastern and Western values, can provide the
favourable ground for a feminist reinterpretation
of Christian ministry? Questions remain, but an
important step in gender equality in the sacred
space has been attempted and achieved. Though
20

Lent Talks by Lord Leslie

Griffiths
[Lord Griffiths was a past president of the
Methodist Church and elevated to the
House of Lords in 2005, and he sits on the
Labour benches. The following is a
summarised version of five Lent talks that
he gave to the Churches Together
Ecumenical body in North London in
2015. Dr. Zac Varghese]

The 2015 Lent talks were given by the Revd Dr

Leslie Griffiths on the theme I believe in One, Holy
Catholic, Apostolic, Evangelical, Charismatic,
Radical and Liberal Church. The main thrust of
the theme was that over the centuries various
churches and groups confiscated and owned these
Spirit-filled words for their own exclusive needs
and for controlling members of the churches, and
directing them in various ways. The five weeks
journey with Lord Griffiths was an amazing
liberating experience to realise that one does not
have to move out of ones denomination to declare
without hesitation that one belongs to one holy,
catholic, apostolic, charismatic, radical and liberal
church.
On the first week, the discussions centred on: One
Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church. He
introduced the Trinitarian, differentiated unity of
oneness and the unity in diversity. Disunity is a
flagrant violation of our faith in Christ. We need to
cling to everything that we have got. Church has
not changed with the change. There were seven
Ecumenical Councils, but the model of the
Ecumenical Council of unity is the Ecumenical
Council of Jerusalem in Acts 15 when the need for
circumcision was removed. We may have to give up
something that we most cherish. Creeds excluded
many more people than they included; creeds have

limits. There were linguistic issues in reaching

consensus over the final agreements on the Nicene
Creed. It may become more of a hindrance than a
help.
On holiness, he said that holiness is the right
relationship with God. Holiness is an interior
elated state; holiness is a set-apart sacred
experience. But it has been thought of in other
terms, too, such as standing out, chosen, not
contaminated with other people, keeping distinct,
racial purity and not intermarrying and so forth.
There is a pejorative way of thinking of holiness,
too, an elevated way having the pretence of purity,
and having outward practices of devotion, to have
certain purity laws. But holiness is not an outward
thing; it is a sincere and humble relationship with
God. It is being part of a holy people at the disposal
of others, but not the membership of an exclusive
club. The Methodist view of perfection, activists
serving the world, was mentioned. Holiness also
means one is called upon to serve.
Moving on to the word catholic he explained that
when capitalized, Catholic refers to the Catholic
Church. With a lower-case c, catholic means
universal and inclusive.
When the early
Christians used the term catholic, they were not
referring to any particular church, denomination,
rite, or communion. They were simply referring to
all true believers in the Lord Jesus Christ.
On the Apostolic Church, Lord Griffiths had the
following to say: an apostle is someone who is
sent. A missionary church is an apostolic church.
Apostolic succession became an issue for many
denominations to establish the validity of their
three-fold ministry of bishops, priests and
deacons. In the English context, bishops were
ordained before the physical separation of the
Church by Henry VIII. The apostolic succession
continued. Reformation is not about establishing
a new church, but going back to the origin of the
Church in apostolic times.
The second talk was about the Church being
evangelical. He quoted from William Blake, The
cistern contains; the fountain overflows, to
emphasise the imperatives involved in the
evangelical urge to preach the gospel of Christ, very
much like a fountain that overflowing under the
guidance of the Holy Spirit. Evangelicalism varies
with different confessions and denominations. He
talked about various confessions, such as the
21

Westminster and Augsburg confessions of the

Reformed and Lutheran traditions. He traced the
problems of the inerrancy of the Bible and biblical
literalism. God reconciled man through Jesus
Christ and not the other way round; God is the one
taking the initiative and knocking at the door, but
the handle is inside the door as in the famous
painting of The Light of the World at St Pauls
Cathedral. Some evangelical enterprises have a
habit of making cost-benefit analysis in terms of
money spent in terms of individuals saved. There
is a certain danger in TV evangelism and in big
crusades. Hell-fire preachers try to drive people to
the arms of our Lord through fear. The emphasis
should be on winning people and not driving them.
We should think not only about the salvation of the
individual soul but of the whole community. We
should see the social need in the context of Gods
unconditional love for all mankind. It is not about
preaching the Gospel, but living it. Our neighbour
will know whether we are a Christian or not.

The third
week was about a Radical Church. He described
the difference between fundamentalism and
radicalism. Fundamentalism is inorganic and it is
set in stone or under concrete slabs with their
inbuilt inflexibility and rigidity. On the other hand,
radicalism is organic and it is a movement. He
spent time on explaining the revival movement in
Latin America and liberation theology. There are
various types of Christian radicalism. Dietrich
Bonhoeffers religion-less Christianity and his
emphasis on costly grace is an important aspect of
Christian radicalism. Pope John XXIII and
Vatican II are important, too, in this respect.
Radicalism is about going underneath, watering
the roots, and transforming. Pope Franciss
approach in having a bias for the poor is also
important. Radicalism should be rooted in the
Gospel. A Gospel-centred watering the roots is
necessary for Christian nurturing.

The talk on the fourth week was on the charismatic

or Pentecostal church. Pentecostalism is a form of
Christianity that emphasizes the work of the Holy
Spirit, the gifts and fruit of the Spirit. He traced
the history and development of Pentecostalism in
Wales through the early work of Evan Roberts
from 1904. He developed the practise of hwyl,
which is excited preaching in an emotional and
engaging way to move and make people commit to
God. 100 years before this James Buckley started
a revival movement in Wales. Pentecostalism is a
very successful and fast growing movement; more
than 14% of Christians world-wide have
Pentecostal/Charismatic affiliations. Speaking in
tongues is considered to be very significant in the
charismatic movement. St Paul gives guidelines
about speaking in tongues and other the gifts of the
Spirit in Romans, 1 Corinthians, Ephesians, and
Galatians. One should consider the question: is
there a floating authority for giving the Holy Spirit
the authority for ones own intentions and ideas.
Sometimes people take things for granted and then
there is the danger of mannerisms and traditions
remaining after the power of the Spirit has gone.
We should try to hang on to the timeless truth in
our mainstream churches. Why do charismatic
Christians feel compelled to leave the mainline
churches to express their charismatic experiences?
The final week was on the liberal church. He traced
the historical development of Enlightenment and
liberal thinking in Europe through the work of
Ren Descartes; Descartes established discourse
method to explain realities with mathematical
precision and scientific evidence. I think therefore
I am is his famous dictum. Physics replaced
metaphysics. Alexander Pope said, The proper
study of mankind is man. The Church was against
scientific innovations in earlier centuries;
scientists were thought to be heretics. Pope
Benedict XVI rehabilitated Galileo in 2008.
The historical critical method of studying the Bible
was discussed; there is also a liberal way of
interpreting the Bible, but at times it can be risky
position. He explained the JEDP way of studying
the Pentateuch. Some errors crept into the Bible
through copying errors. One should be careful
about literal interpretation of the Bible, too. The
capacity of the Bible to interpret itself was
discussed, which is a surprising experience when
studying the Bible. Sometimes for giving emphasis
on a point, some selected references may be used
22

at the exclusion of others. To illustrate this point

Lord Griffiths pointed out James, brother of Jesus,
using the Greek version of Amos for supporting the
stand of Peter and Paul on circumcision for the
Gentiles during the Council of Jerusalem.
Sometimes people are tempted to introduce
personal bias into interpreting the Bible; this is one
danger of becoming too liberal. One should be
careful in preserving the timeless truth while
adapting to the times.

Repetition and
Recollection
Dr. Zac Varghese, London

These weekly lectures were followed by searching

questions and very rewarding answers. Attendance
of kept on increasing from week one, which is a
measure of the quality and satisfaction derived
from these talks.

"Who is wise and understanding

among you? Let him show it by
good life, by deeds done in humility
that comes from wisdom"
James 2: 13

The title of this short meditation is based on a

quotation from the Danish Philosopher, Soren
Kierkegaard. In his essay on Repetition he wrote:
Repetition and recollection are same movements,
only in opposite directions; for what is recollected
has been, is repeated backwards, whereas
repetition (properly so called) is recollected
forwards. Therefore repetition, if it is possible,
makes a man happy, whereas recollection makes
him unhappy. This is not an easy quotation to
understand because of the way it is constructed.
The important aspect is the forward and backward
movements of memory of various incidents in
ones life. Mere recollection is just a memory
check, possibly a mental exercise. Forward
movement of recollection is an active re-enactment
of an experience long forgotten. What does this
mean?
One may have a recollection of ones wedding on a
wedding anniversary celebration, but it is a totally
different experience to live out the moment of the
very first meeting of ones lifes soul mate and
partner. Life would be amazing and magical if one
can repeat and live out that beautiful, magnetic,
emotional moment of that first meeting again and
again. This may be also true of the birth of a child
and such experiences. For few, it may be possible
to remember the inexplicable joy of obtaining a
perfect ten during a mathematical exercise or
obtaining a first rank. Our inability to recollect
these events in a forward movement is the
beginning of a tension in many relationships.

23

God. It is to this heaven He always invites us to

enter. He is at the door knocking to come in and
share the experience of travelling forward with us.
He is willing and ready to walk with, but are we
ready and willing to walk with Jesus? This sort of
awareness helps us to bring a new life and
dimension into all relationships. This is the
Liturgy after the Liturgy; it is the Eucharistic
experience of everyday living; it is simply and
experience of receiving, thanking, breaking, and
sharing. This is indeed the everyday theology of
life.
Recollection is a journey from here to there, in a
backward direction, a return journey; but
repetition is a journey from there to here and now;
it is in the now we live and love and have our being.
It is the magical transformation of being-for-itself
to being-for-others experience. It is that
momentous decision to live within the life of the
other, a lifelong friendship of a divine kind. It is a
forward journey; we are leaping back to the
beginning of time and starting that journey again.
Such experiences are not measured or
remembered in chronological time, but they are
timeless kairos moments.
Greeks have two
understanding about time, chronos and kairos;
chronos is quantitative, measured in seconds,
minutes, and hours; whereas kairos is qualitative;
it is a timeless experience. We forget time when we
have a really good time with a friend. Further, it
refers to a right, perfect moment. We can become
a timeless traveller through chronos time of
traveling from here to those golden perfect
moments in our lives. This is reliving in absolute
joyfulness. This what St. Paul probably had in
mind when he wrote to Thessalonians, Be joyful
always; pray continually; give thanks in all
circumstances, for this is Gods will for you in
Christ Jesus (1Thessalonians 5: 16).

"You give them something to eat"

Luke 9: 13

The point is that it is not possible to embrace the

repetition of an entire life because there are
situations and incidents we may want to forget or
edit out. This editing out is repentance and
kneeling on our knees and asking forgiveness to
our God. The good news is that God in His
abundant mercy is always willing to wipe out these
transgressions; it is God who is in control of the
delete button. The redness of our sins are wiped
out with His blood on the Cross to make us as white
as snow, and He gives us the freedom to start
reliving all the golden moments under the grace of
24

News & Reports

Hermon MTC, Midlands, UK Parish Day Celebration

Hermon Mar Thoma Church, Midlands, UK

celebrated its 8th Parish day on Saturday 9th May
2015. The celebrations started with a Holy
Communion service followed by a common
meeting. The Vicar Rev.Vinoj Varghese in his
presidential address, encouraged the congregation
to uphold the spiritual nourishment in the journey
of faith of our parish. The chief guest Fr. Joseph
Mathew S. J. (Ignatian Spirituality Center,
St.Beuno's Retreat Centre, North Wales)
inaugurated the meeting by lighting the lamp.
Throughout his inaugural speech, he emphasized
that Jesus is our friend and that we must
acknowledge this and use our relationship with
Jesus to the full. It was an opportunity for our
parishioners to come together in celebration. The
Parish day report was presented by the secretary:
Giboy George. The presentation by Sunday school
children and songs by the church choir were
highlights of the day. The trophies for the recently
held 4th Hermon Mar Thoma Badminton

Tournament, organised by the Youth Fellowship

were also distributed during the meeting. VicePresident Dr.Sunny Thomas welcomed the
congregation and Trustee Mr. Thomas Abraham
gave the vote of thanks. An excellent lunch was
shared by all at the end.
Giboy George, Secretary.

Golden Jubilee of the

Ordination of Revd Dr. M. J.
Joseph and The Golden
Beams
The Mar Thoma Church is grateful to God for the
ministry of Revd Dr. M. J. Joseph for his ministry
for the Last fifty years. His friends from all parts
of the world have gathered at Valiakavu, Ranni,
Kerala, on 28th June 2015 to celebrate the Golden
Jubilee of his ordination and for releasing the
Festschrift volume, The Golden Beam. Many
dignitaries spoke during the public meeting
including Rt. Revd Geevarghese Mar Athanasius,
Professor P.J. Kurien (Deputy Chairman of the
Rajya Sabha) and Justice K.T. Thomas and Dr.
Mathews Chunakara.

25

The Golden Beams is

a splendid Festschrift
volume brought out to
thank God for the
ministry of Revd Dr.
M.J. Joseph.
It is
interesting to look at
the list of dignitaries
who have contributed
to this volume and their
amazing insights on
achens transparent life. We thank the editors,
Professor Dr.J.Jegadish Gandhi and very Revd
Cherian Thomas for their splendid efforts. He has
God-given talents to diffuse into the lives of his
friends and live within them; it is an ability to cross
walls and boundaries without an effort. Dr. P. J.
Alexander wrote: "When I look around today and
see a jostling array of red belts, tired and retired, I
wish we had the large heartedness to recognize
Achens merit unique and considerable
achievements all round, and intrinsic finesse as
exemplified in his job performance everywhere
even if seniority did not help his claims. Achen has
stoically accepted the stark neglect, without trying
to push his claim with his usual grace." Achen has
faithfully accepted the motto of the church,
Lighted to Lighten; he reflected the Light that fell
on him from a very young age. This book tells the
story of how achen became a blessing for the
church and for many others in the ecumenical and
eco-spiritual arenas. A gift is not a gift if it is not
shared. Achen happily shared his gifts and
blessings generously. The Golden Beams is a true
record on how to do the servant ministry as a
disciple of the Triune God. We recommend this
book to our readers. May Achen continue to bring
blessings to many and may achen and his family
enjoy good health and happiness.
This book is published by CSS, Tiruvalla, Kerala
(Price rupees 300, $25)
Email:csspublications@dataone.in

The Editorial Board

The First Mar Thoma

Congregation in Wales
The 1st of April 2015 will be remembered among
the Marthomites in South Wales as a momentous
occasion. It was on this day, with the blessings
of Rt. Revd Dr. Geevarghese Mar Theodosius
Episcopa, that the Cardiff Mar Thoma
Congregation was officially declared an
independent congregation within the Northern
America & Europe Diocese. The inaugural service
was held on the same day with the celebrant being
Rt. Revd Euyakim Mar Coorilos Episcopa, who
incidentally was also the celebrant for the first Mar
Thoma Worship in Wales back in March 2008.
Representative of Mar Thoma Churches from UK
were represented in the inaugural service and
conveyed their best wishes.
The Cardiff Mar Thoma Congregation started out
as a prayer group of the St Thomas Mar Thoma
Church, Bristol. A few members would regularly
travel to Bristol to attend the worship service there
in the early noughties. A first prayer meeting was
held in September 2006 with the vicar Rev Benu
John presiding and since then prayer meetings
have been conducted once every month in Cardiff.
Sunday school, with a handful of students, and the
first worship service in Cardiff commenced in
March 2008 under the able leadership of Revd Dr.
Abraham Mathew. Today the Sunday school has
30 students and is conducted regularly every
Sunday. VBS has also been conducted with around
50 60 students participating over the last 3 years.
A second worship service every month and divine
service every other Sunday also commenced under
the stewardship of Revd KP Johnson. The
congregation presently has approximately 25
active families and meets at the Trinity Methodist
Church, Cardiff for worship and other related
activities. The members are also in close fellowship
with the Methodist community and other ethnic
minority Christians who worship at the same
church. An active Sevika Sangham has also been in
existence conducting regular prayer meetings once
every week since the past 3 years.
The congregation owes a debt of gratitude to the
mother Parish, St Thomas Bristol and The Trinity
Methodist Church, Cardiff for their support and
nurture over the past years and most importantly,
26

to the Almighty for the abundance of grace

received. The members request your continued
prayers during these early and challenging days of
its existence.

The VBS started at 9:30 am with Rev Thomas

Philip Achens message on Samuelss story where
he mentioned to the children about how God

Report Compiled by Mr. Zac Abraham and Mr.

Jaffey Chacko

Sinai Mar Thoma Church

Sunday school VBS
2015
Harrow, North West London.
Mrs. Jency Sharlay Varghese
Teach me your way Lord,
I will walk in your truth;
unite my heart to fear
your
name
(Psalms
86:11).
The Sinai MTC Sunday School had the opportunity
to organize its first one day VBS on 30 May 2015.
The theme for the VBS was One Direction which
aimed at teaching the children that Jesus is the
only way to God the Father. There were 30 children
from various denominations who participated in
the event. Each child was given t-shirts and Sunday
school badges; these were designed by Mr.
Santhosh and Mrs. Mini Santosh. The children
were divided into 3 groups according to the age seniors, juniors and sub juniors. The groups were

led by Mr. Abraham Mathews, Mrs. Mini

Santhosh, Mr. Ray Koshy, Mrs. Lindy Koshy, Mrs.
Shiny Ashley & Miss Sonia Mathew.

speaks to them through parents, teachers, friends

and family. He also advised children to allow God
to work His ways in them. After Achens message
the Sunday school teachers led the children with
sing song session where the children were taught
new songs including the theme song We walk in
One Direction which was composed by our parish
member Mr. Sharlay Varghese. Children were then
dispersed into their respective groups and had
activities like role plays, drawing, storytelling,
crafts, colouring, bible study, group discussion for
senior groups. Lunch and refreshments were also
provided by our parish members Mr. Saji Samuel
and Mrs Liji Samuel. The session ended with
children reflecting upon the theme. Overall it was
a very fruitful and a blessed day for not only the
children but was also encouraging for the parents
who were able to the see their children full of
energy and enthusiasm even at the end of the day.
On Sunday 31 May 2015 after the service, the
children presented an action song based on the
VBS theme song We walk in One Direction and
also each group gave a report on the group
activities during the VBS day. This was followed by
prize and compliment distribution to the children
to motivate and reward them for their
participation. Everyone in the parish commended
on the efforts of the teachers and children who
participated in the VBS. Sinai Mar Thoma Church
is grateful to our achen for his leadership, the
teachers and volunteers for their efforts in making
this first VBS a grand success. We thank God for
our beautiful children.

27

Alisha A Lighthouse of Faith

Alisha, the daughter of Rajeev and Beena Jacob,
members of the St Thomas MTC, Bristol, UK was
called to be with the LORD at 12 PM on June 28,
aged 12. She was their second child along with her
sisters Amisha and Anisha.

the pain was unbearable and said, Jesus suffered

so much on the cross without pain killers. She
always greeted everyone with the most beautiful
radiating smile even during her most painful
times. What astonished anyone visiting was her
incredible faith and love for Jesus, along with the
faith of her family. She would boldly, without
inhibitions encourage her relatives, neighbours,
school teachers and friends to go to church and
meet with Jesus!
On June 25, she went into a coma, but came out of
it the next day in the midst of much prayer.
However once back, she wanted to see all her loved
ones and friends and would repeatedly hug them
while waving goodbye with both hands. For three
days amidst prayer, she would sit late into the
night and talk to those around her. The night
before she passed away, she said to her father, The
angels are gathering all around! On the morning
of June 28, she had breakfast, drank water from
her favourite school bottle and said she wanted to
sleep. With no outward indication of pain or any
discomfort she passed away in extraordinary
peace.

She was diagnosed with cancer in September last

year and was given two weeks to live in December.
Amidst the prayers of many throughout the
parishes in the UK and those around the world, she
had an incredible encounter with Jesus alongside
Michael, the archangel, where she was given a
sword by the Lord to fight against a force of
darkness that afflicted her. She recovered
miraculously and started attending church and
even went back to school. During the months that
followed, she would have regular experiences of
visiting heaven and being with Jesus. Having little
prior knowledge of the Book of Revelation in the
Bible, she described in detail the river of life that
flows through heaven, language of the angels, the
trees, flowers, animals, gates of heaven and the
throne room. She recounted the incredible peace in
that place and would say to her family that she
wanted to be there. She explained how whenever
Jesus came, numerous angels would gather in a
train of pair formation, before and behind Him. He
would always smile, hug and kiss her every time
she met Him. He showed her His nail pierced
hands and also revealed the Last Supper, and the
times before His crucifixion. Such were her
revelations that she refused to take pain killers till

Her incredible journey of faith and love with

amazing revelations of Jesus and heaven stands as
a towering testimony to this generation and is an
inspiration to all whose lives, she touched, and
continues to reach.
May we one day join with her and with our LORD
Jesus Christ! May her soul rest in peace!

Bristol Mar Thoma Church

28

ECHO Garden
Appachan..Now youre gone
Hannah Lydia Ord*

It seems so strange, now youre gone,

So quick, so fast, and now youre gone.

How many times by the window, have I seen you

say hello,
How many times have I heard you crack jokes,
before you had to go.
How many times is it now, that I have seen you
pray?
As your body left your soul, on that sad and
fateful day.
It seems so strange, now youre gone,
So quick, so fast, and now youre gone.
How many times, have I seen your toothy smile?
How many times now, have I seen your jumper
style?
How many times, have I seen you eat Ammachis
curry?
But now youre gone , left us behind , in what
seems such a hurry.
It seems so strange, now youre gone,
so quick, so fast ,and now youre gone.
Death comes so quickly, and snatches cruelly,
But I am happy for you, truly.
As you stand, and watch me from above,
Throughout your life, spreading laughter as well
as love.
At peace, at rest, with many others,
Fathers, sisters, mothers, brothers

I say to you all, and all that can hear,

My Appachan, he rests right here.
A guardian angel for all to see,
Up there in heaven, guiding me.
It seems so strange, now youre gone,
Thank you God for his life, thats been so
loved, and long.

* Miss Hannah Lydia Ord is the granddaughter of late Mr.

John Thomas (Johnny), she read this poem, most movingly,
at the funeral service of Johnny. She is 12 years old and
highly talented. She is in her first year at senior School. On
April 9th Hannah won a Scottish BAFTA New Talent
Award for Best Actress for a short film Last Night in
Edinburgh.
Mr. John Thomas (Johnny), who has died in March, in
Harrow, London, aged 84, was a well-loved member of the
Mar Thoma community in the United Kingdom. He was a
pioneer, who contributed much for building a Mar Thoma
Church in the United Kingdom. The church honoured him
through the presence of Rt. Revd Dr. Euyakim Mar Coorilos,
and the bishop spoke and highlighted his contributions. We
had an uplifting funeral service conducted by Revd. Dr.
Thomas Philips and other Priests of the Mar Thoma Church.
Representatives from various parishes spoke of the
generous contributions of this kind gentleman; it was a
fitting tribute and memorial to him in the presence of a
large gathering. We offer our condolences to Mrs.
Kunjanjamma Thomas and the family and may his soul rest
in peace.

29