"Fun" at a General Body Meeting
I'm finding out that the most difficult part of learning more about our Orthodox faith is the realization that our current Church has such a long, long way to actually become Orthodox.
Every church I know is plagued by the same common signs of laziness, ignorance or just plain stupidity. And it's usually the male gender at fault.
Men sitting down in the basement talking and drinking coffee when Qurbana is going on. The Secretary or Trustee (always a man, per our Victorian age Constitution) posting printouts of who gave their subscription. Men lining up to receive the Qurbana first before the women.
The other is the "Pothayogam", or General Body Meetings. Today was an important general body meeting in our Church to elect new members of the committee for 2008. So important that about 30% of the church was empty, and many more left before the final blessing from the prest.
That was sarcastic, in case anyone missed it. And the sad truth is it's those 30% who should be providing leadership for the Church, but are instead just fed up and frustrated with the administration, organization and "constitution" to the point they attend Qurbana and go home.
I attended to provide support for the decision to appoint a Youth Minister ... ended up losing my temper and yelling at some guy giving a speech in Malayalam that was being cheered by a crowd of ignorant, lazy and stupid men at the back of the church. Sadly, the children in the front were absorbing all this like a sponge ...
My Achen, some of the other good uncles in the Church and the MGOCSM leaders calmed me down. With calmer mind, I later explained my humble opinion on the need using my own story, my kids and the unselfish and loving guidance the Seminarians and others have provided. I also apologized for losing my temper, especially to those children.
But, 10 hours later, still demoralized ... is this really all our Church will be? These "elections" are rigged worse than a City of Chicago election. Committees are always skewed to reflect the most dominant clique in the Church. And this is a domino effect as all ideas to focus energy of the Church on Christ and spreading the word will be shot down, with people quoting from "the constitution".
I miss the simplicity of Aju Achen's Holy Cross Mission Church ... this is what is needed in every major city. When the solution is as simple as prayer and focus on Christ, why do we Malayalees make it so darn difficult?
Would Christ prefer the $4 million dollar building or the organization of a soup kitchen out of the basement of the existing Church?
Or, if a member of the Church fell into unfortunate circumstance, is the message of Christ to gossip and spread stories, or feel genuine compassion as if this was your brother or sister and do whatever it takes to help?
Is Christmas Carols and Perunaals the highlight of a Church calendar year?
We often criticize our parent's generation, but the sad reality is this is the year 2007 and the failure is really on us. Until the group of like-minded Christians finally stand together and with the support of a strong priest state enough is enough ... not sure how our Indian Orthodox Church fulfills our mission.
If anyone is reading this, please pray for us in Chicago in 2008.
Every church I know is plagued by the same common signs of laziness, ignorance or just plain stupidity. And it's usually the male gender at fault.
Men sitting down in the basement talking and drinking coffee when Qurbana is going on. The Secretary or Trustee (always a man, per our Victorian age Constitution) posting printouts of who gave their subscription. Men lining up to receive the Qurbana first before the women.
The other is the "Pothayogam", or General Body Meetings. Today was an important general body meeting in our Church to elect new members of the committee for 2008. So important that about 30% of the church was empty, and many more left before the final blessing from the prest.
That was sarcastic, in case anyone missed it. And the sad truth is it's those 30% who should be providing leadership for the Church, but are instead just fed up and frustrated with the administration, organization and "constitution" to the point they attend Qurbana and go home.
I attended to provide support for the decision to appoint a Youth Minister ... ended up losing my temper and yelling at some guy giving a speech in Malayalam that was being cheered by a crowd of ignorant, lazy and stupid men at the back of the church. Sadly, the children in the front were absorbing all this like a sponge ...
My Achen, some of the other good uncles in the Church and the MGOCSM leaders calmed me down. With calmer mind, I later explained my humble opinion on the need using my own story, my kids and the unselfish and loving guidance the Seminarians and others have provided. I also apologized for losing my temper, especially to those children.
But, 10 hours later, still demoralized ... is this really all our Church will be? These "elections" are rigged worse than a City of Chicago election. Committees are always skewed to reflect the most dominant clique in the Church. And this is a domino effect as all ideas to focus energy of the Church on Christ and spreading the word will be shot down, with people quoting from "the constitution".
I miss the simplicity of Aju Achen's Holy Cross Mission Church ... this is what is needed in every major city. When the solution is as simple as prayer and focus on Christ, why do we Malayalees make it so darn difficult?
Would Christ prefer the $4 million dollar building or the organization of a soup kitchen out of the basement of the existing Church?
Or, if a member of the Church fell into unfortunate circumstance, is the message of Christ to gossip and spread stories, or feel genuine compassion as if this was your brother or sister and do whatever it takes to help?
Is Christmas Carols and Perunaals the highlight of a Church calendar year?
We often criticize our parent's generation, but the sad reality is this is the year 2007 and the failure is really on us. Until the group of like-minded Christians finally stand together and with the support of a strong priest state enough is enough ... not sure how our Indian Orthodox Church fulfills our mission.
If anyone is reading this, please pray for us in Chicago in 2008.
Comments
try not to expect one grand revolution all at once, take delight in the small moral victories when you can find them
Throw in the Hulk Hogan ripping off the shirt as well for a finale. One look at my steel body would at least stop the clapping from the uncles in the back bench of our Church :)