Dearly Beloved in Christ,
Praise God for our church which deepens her roots and stretches her wings within this great land. The immigrant parents faced many difficulties to establish themselves in this foreign land. By the grace of God their children and grandchildren are doing well in their jobs and studies. Wherever our people migrated they brought their ancestral faith and practices with them. They struggled to organize themselves as a worshipping community and built churches and other facilities. The immigrant parents always cling to their upbringing values and adhere to the ancestral faith and tradition. But the succeeding younger generation tends to go to the other pole and assert themselves with the newly exposed environments. This situation brings forth harder times to immigrant parents. In such a situation church can play a greater role to understand both ends and bridge the gap. It is no way possible to keep the brought-in faith and practices intact due to external as well as internal pressures. Church’s challenge is to make them understand the situation and bring them around on a common ground. Church must have the courage to pioneer the continuity and discontinuity in the given context, Always open to listen to the pain and joy of the people, and equip them to cope up with the given situations.
In an immigrant context, children and youth are in a greater advantageous position. At the same time, they are in a vulnerable condition. There we need to take care of them very affectionately and tenderly. Constant communication with them is essential. Show them good role models through our personal and family life. Parent-to-parent and parents-to-‘children and youth’ constant communication bring home responsible and meaningful family and community life.
Being adults our challenge is to make children and youth responsible and accountable in their thought, word and deed. One has to be entrusted with responsibilities. I would rather exhort adults to entrust them with functional responsibilities in different areas. Young people can be the office bearers and members of decision making bodies of the parishes and diocese. Only through involvement and participation does one become responsible. I would like to see that our youngsters are coming forward to take up the responsibilities of the parishes and diocesan activities. Instead of an inward looking community, we have to get involved with the challenges of the wider community. Every parish must have a neighborhood ministry along with our already initiated Mexican mission and ministry among Native Americans. Ministry to children and youth under the able leadership of our student chaplains must be expanded. Let us develop a Human Resource database and utilize the expertise of our people in different capacities. Everyone feels that he/she has a role to play in the total running of the church. Only through that sort of participation can we make everyone feel at home with church life.
As a historical and liturgical church with eastern spiritual moorings we can contribute a lot to the Christian churches in this land. Clergy as well as lay people train themselves with this expectation and do the ministry for the Glory of God and for the extension of God’s Kingdom.
May God bless you,
Rt. Rev. Dr. Abraham Mar Paulos