Parish Study Forum – Boston Carmel MTC

Carmel Mar Thoma Church – Parish Study Forum

Introductory Article

The Parish Study Forum of the Carmel Mar Thoma Church in Boston has been in existence since 2013. Rev. Manoj Idiculla is the present vicar of the Church and Rev. Dr. Jesudas Athyal, Boston University School of Theology is the co-ordinator of the Parish study Forum. The parish members and their friends constitute the Forum and they meet generally on the first Sunday of every month. The participants are both teachers and learners and they follow the dictum: ’In learning you will teach and in teaching you will learn’ (Phil Collins) The synopsis of the presentation provided by the leader, along with references for further reading is circulated beforehand so that all come prepared for a lively discussion and study. The proceedings are recorded, edited and circulated. The systematic methodology over the last five years has enabled the Forum to present about 40 sessions and the regular participants have grown through it. They are enlightened and enriched. They now want to widen the horizon and pull down the walls so that these studies will be helpful to a larger number and to coming generations. It is Nelson Mandela who said, “a good head and good heart are always a formidable combination. But when you add to that a literate tongue or pen, then you have something very special”

Lighted to Lighten

Mar Thoma Church has the motto: Lighted to Lighten. The Carmel Mar Thoma Church is a faith community that is live and dynamic. It reveals its identity in being and also in what it does. There can be a tension between being and doing and if so it will lead to hypocrisy. But an enlightened faith community holds the natural harmony of what one is and what one does. Faith for such a community is what illuminates in to light. The relevance of such a community can never be realized without the authenticity of its faithfulness.

There is a myopic view that spiritual earnestness and intellectual excellence cannot exist together. This is an erroneous notion. In fact, excellence is the fruit of spirituality. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. (Prov.9:10) The only proof that we are ‘lighted’ is that we ‘lighten’. To lighten is to unveil what is true, good and beautiful in everyone and everything around. The goal of the study forum is also that. To ‘educate’ is to ‘bring up’ and to ‘bring out.’ Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam said: ‘As a teacher, it will give me great happiness, if I can transform an average student of the class to perform exceedingly well.’ Jesus remarked that the light is not to be left under a bushel. If that is done, then the light is extinguished. (Mt. 5: 15) In fact, there is no one who does not have a light hidden within him or her. The study in the study forum involves in removing the bushel under which the light is currently hid. Certainly, this is a relevant and effective ministry that every parish of the Church has to do to keep the members illumined and to empower them to fight against the forces of ignorance. Carmel Mar Thoma Church is a model in this ministry.

Remaining ‘lighted’ and accomplishing the ministry ‘to lighten’ is never an accomplished state. Light is a continuous outward flow of energy. Hence light is live and dynamic. It is in a state of dynamic engagement. With that context that light is shining and shedding its light. This nature of ‘light’ does not change but the outcome of its engagement changes and the results will vary. The Study Forum will keep its unity but it will also celebrate the differences in the resultant ministry of the numbers. We are lightened by the Divine light, the Creator God, who said, Let there be Light. (Gen 1:3) Humans are lightened by the Divine. Man and God are not two alternate poles of possibilities, but two naturally affirming resources. Jesus said, ’Apart from me you cannot do anything’ Jn. 15:4 Therefore, God and Man together constitute the wholeness of the available resources in space and time.

The Carmel Mar Thoma Church is a light in Boston. A Faith community that exists true to the essence of its spiritual tradition is also exposed to the public space where the needs of the people are confronted. There is an integration that is going on within the community whose spirituality and service are seen as the two sides of the same coin. The essence of this integration is fuelled by the ‘Study Forum’ and the resultant outcome constitutes the ‘identity’ of the Church.

Prognosis for the future:

The ‘Study Forum’ that began concentrating on the parish members of Carmel Mr Thoma Church in Boston has realized the need to widen its horizon of learning and teaching. The present thinking is to publish all the available materials for wider reading (e-reading as well) and to make it available for the future generations. This is a welcome move. With the invention of the World Wide Web (www), no human activity remains unaffected. ‘Study’ has been transformed greatly. The way we learn, teach, test, search and research has changed beyond all our imagination. In the coming years, the changes will be even greater and we will be on our way to virtual schools (Study Forums) without brick and mortar. In nut shell, study is now in a transformative face in realizing the interest and potential of learners, communities and societies. This is thus transforming not only the faith communities but also reaching out to the ministry of our local communities.

The advent of the smart phone and its massive presence has made it possible for teachers to provide lectures to the readers on their phones (if it is computer terminals, these are again available on your fingertips) They can listen to these lectures over and over again at home and other places and then gather together for reflection and discussion. Even this can be done through video cameras today. That will enable the learners to clarify their doubts and supplement the information they have gathered from the lectures. This increases the number of learners and improves the quality of learning. In turn, it gives more time for teachers to interact with the learners and they become facilitators. ‘Our mind is not a vessel to be filled but a fire to be rekindled.’ (Plutarch) Robert frost said, ‘I am not a teacher, but an awakener.’ A Study, like in the study Forum, will improve creativity and helps the members to articulate specific mode of ministry and projects. Modern study is all about innovation and practical application. That does not prevent us from using traditional methods side by side, if they are useful and effective. Modern study has become boundless and borderless and has broken all barriers of time, age and gender. The world is now flat. (Thomas L. Friedman)

Teaching and learning is a relationship. This is all the more important in a study forum. The participants can be equals but specially talented in special areas. What should happen in a study forum is the pooling of the resources for the benefit of all. Here the leaders will engage, inspire and enthuse participants by creating an attitude to learn and contribute. Great teachers will succeed in bringing out the best from such study forums. Teaching and learning has to be an enjoyable and interesting experience for both the teachers and learners. Teaching should not be direct instructions when the members get together, they should be interacting with each other. The Study Forum should be constructing things (articulating mission) or solving problems. Teaching and learning are noble. The Study Forum then is a workshop where visions are caught, missions are found, directions are set and creativity are inculcated.

I wish the Carmel Mar Thoma Study Forum all the best as you move forward. I am confident that you will progress in this publication and also in the study sessions with Dr. Jesudas Athyal as the editor and resource person. Learning is a continuous process. Albert Einstein said, ‘Wisdom is not a product of schooling but of the lifelong attempt to acquire it.’ Let us all engage in this process of study, to learn more as we live more, so that we will engage in meaningful service to the community around us and also prove to be doing good for the coming generations.

Prayer regards,

Mar Theodosius +

July 1, 2017

Dr. Geevarghese Mar Theodosius

Diocese of Bombay

Mar Thoma Church