TID-5: Idukki Diocese of IOC: The rollercoaster over the last 25 years

TID-5: Idukki Diocese of IOC: The rollercoaster over the last 25 years

I am sure the tone of the last article (the golden era) does not match
with the initial tone for the series (the financially backward). One
can ask if the start was considered 'golden' why we have ended in this
state. Where did we go off track?

To understand the current state of Idukki diocese, we have to look at
the last 25 years of its existence as Idukki diocese. Based on ups and
downs, the 25 years can be divided into three time periods.

1. The Golden Era: (1982-1992): This is the time period under the
leadership of H.G. Barnabas thirumeni. This time period extends from
the formation of Idukki diocese to the time when H.G. Barnabas
thirumeni left the Idukki diocese to take his new assignment. As seen
in the previous article, this period saw that foundation of Idukki
diocese being laid. The emphasis was on creating congregations,
building churches in the most rural and financially challenged areas
thereby creating the opportunity for people to receive the body and
blood of Christ.

2. The Blackout era: (1992-2005): This is the time period in which
there was no permanent full time metropolitan to lead Idukki diocese.
A time that the people of Idukki was abandoned like the lost sheep
without a Shepard. In the absence of a good administration, Idukki
diocese started to decay in all respects. The weaknesses in
administration led to the weakness in spiritual growth. When IOC's
concern for the people of Idukki dipped lower than the lowest
standards, we started loosing people to other denominations. Our
churches started to shrink. We lost the momentum that H.G. Barnabas
thirumeni had painstakingly accomplished. We will discuss specific
details in later articles.

3. The Revitalizing era: (2005-till date): The time period under the
leadership of H.G. Augen Mar Dionysius, the current metropolitan of
Idukki diocese. After many years of wandering as the lost sheep,
heavenly father answered the prayers of the people of Idukki. A
vibrant Shepard at last took over the ruins of Idukki diocese and
started his journey in search of the lost sheep. The Shepard had a
very clear focus: regain the lost glory of Idukki diocese and reach
out to the lost sheep by providing them all assistance for their
spiritual growth. The Shepard worked and continues to work feverishly
towards this goal. His efforts started to revitalize Idukki diocese
once again. The decay of Idukki came to an end, new life started to
emerge. At last the people of Idukki diocese saw a ray of hope.

One of the greatest blessings that heavenly father has showered on IOC
is in the form of its recovery from the deep downs to greater heights
during the most difficult times. In the next few articles, we will
look at why we had a roller coaster ride over the last 25 years and
the role of IOC in the 'good' and 'not so good days' of Idukki
diocese.

To be continued…

Next Article: TID-6: Idukki Diocese and IOC: What did we do right?

Thanks,
Rajesh Vargheese
http://www.stgregoriosaustin.org/

TID-4: Idukki Diocese of IOC: The Genesis

TID-4: Idukki Diocese of IOC: The Genesis

The Idukki diocese of the IOC was formed in 1982, within 10 years
after the birth of Idukki district. The IOC had an early start in
Idukki being the first denomination to setup a diocese in Idukki to
care for the faithful of Idukki.

The challenges of the terrains, weather, the lack of infrastructure
and the labor pains of being the first denomination to reach out did
not deter the first metropolitan of Idukki, H.G Mathews Mar Barnabas
thirumeni from walking miles and miles to lay the foundation of Idukki
diocese. The simplicity and capabilities of thirumeni was a perfect
fit for Idukki and its people. Though many others looking from outside
were upset to see thirumeni traveling in the local buses, thirumeni
had one aim in mind: the betterment and the spiritual growth of the
people of Idukki.

The time that H.G Barnabas thirumeni was the metropolitan of Idukki
diocese was probably the golden era of Idukki. Thirumeni built
churches in remote places for people who could have never done it
otherwise due to their financial challenges. Thirumeni gave the
spiritual and organizational structure for the Idukki diocese. Apart
from the churches, and a small aramana (along with the chapel) that
were established in Idukki, thirumeni started a mission hospital for
treating the poor patients. This is still the only charitable
initiative of IOC to this date in Idukki.

The greatness of H.G Barnabas thirumeni is in the fact that even after
he left the Idukki diocese, he continues to shoulder the Idukki
diocese by funding them to make more things happen. Many of the
churches in Idukki have only one or two Sunday services a month.
Thirumeni's dream is to increase the number of services in these
churches every month. For churches that have only one service a month,
thirumeni helps to make it twice a month and so on.

The people of Idukki have great respect for H.G Barnabas thirumeni to
this day for his selfless efforts in Idukki. [The good words that I am
writing about H.G Barnabas thirumeni should not be mistaken as
'sugaring' of our diocesan bishop (American diocese).] These
impressions and words are not based on stage speakers, but are based
on the feelings of the local people. I want to highlight one specific
observation that I made during casual talks with people of Idukki.
Even though the people of Idukki are very happy with their current
bishop (H.G. Augen Mar Dionysius), and have great words for his
initiatives, they rarely talk about Idukki's achievements without
mentioning the name of H.G Barnabas thirumeni. They never seem to
forget the great work thirumeni started 25 years ago.

The genesis of Idukki will not be complete without mentioning the
people who worked tirelessly along with thirumeni, the clergy from
kottayam who traveled all the way to Idukki to take care of the
spiritual needs of the people of Idukki and everyone who helped
nurture the Idukki diocese in its early days.

All in all, a great start for the Idukki diocese of IOC.

To be continued…

Next Article: TID-5: Idukki Diocese: The rollercoaster over the last 25 years

Thanks,
Rajesh Vargheese
http://www.stgregoriosaustin.org/

The Idukki Diary (TID): Continuing the Series after the Sunset

The Idukki Diary (TID): Continuing the Series after the Sunset

The primary goal of 'The Idukki Diary' (TID) series was to create
awareness about the challenges of Idukki diocese. Until article 3 of
the series, we had a vibrant Shepard who was aggressively working for
the betterment of Idukki Diocese. All we had to do was to support him
and strengthen his arms to reach farther goals. We had the hope that
as long as we do our part, Idukki diocese surely would become the
'Success story of IOC'.

In the past, Idukki diocese has been at the crossroads of success and
failures multiple times. And at these crossroads, we had taken the
road of success at times and the roads of failures at other times. To
give us the bigger picture, I had articles (article 5 and later) in
the series that looks at both sides of the coin on how Idukki diocese
was treated by us at times in the past.

I am sure at least some might not like the critic viewpoint; but I
want to assure you that there are reasons why the articles would be
vocal on our small failures in addition to our success moments. The
reasons were

1. To get a clear perspective of the state of Idukki diocese that H.G.
Augen Mar Dionysius thirumeni inherited and why such a situation had
happened.

2. To acknowledge the sacrifices that thirumeni made while accepting
the role of the Metropolitan of Idukki diocese and how our efforts
were needed to sustain his role.

3. To funnel more effort and focus from all angles to make up for the
neglect of Idukki diocese over the years.

4. To understand the development that has occurred in Idukki during
the last few years and how we can keep it going.

On June 06, 2007, Idukki diocese had its greatest shock of its
lifetime. The modern day Architect of Idukki diocese, H.G. Augen Mar
Dionysius passed away leaving behind a lot of unfulfilled dreams for
Idukki diocese. The sun had set on Idukki.

Never ever did I think that we would be at the crossroads of success
and failures once again so quickly. Never even in my dreams, did I
ever think of a situation where thirumeni was not there to keep the
wheels of Idukki rolling.

And at this moment, I believe we probably want to add one more aim to
our list: to avoid repeating our journey on the roads of failure by
not making the right decision at the crossroads.

We have a responsibility to keep the wheels of Idukki rolling and
realizing the dreams of thirumeni. We and especially our leadership
must be sensitive to the needs of Idukki and must execute on the
vision that thirumeni had for the Idukki diocese.

As we are currently breathing through the moments of decision making,
I would like to bring the challenges of Idukki diocese quickly through
the 'The Idukki Diary' series. The series would appear more frequently
that its current frequency of a week. I request everyone to join the
discussion and to be the voice of Idukki. For those who tuned in late,
the archives of TID part 1-3 are available in the ICON archives or at
http://idukkidiocese.blogspot.com/

The series would continue with the assumption that thirumeni is
running the show in Idukki because as soon as we take him out of the
picture, many things might not hold true. Also the words on thirumeni
were based on the true impressions I had written when he was alive and
is not based on the emotions after he passed away.

It's our humble request to everyone to be the voice of Idukki in your
own positions. Please provide feedback to your leaders so that we can
quickly find bishops to take over the wonderful work of thirumeni and
steer it to completion.

Thirumeni was a perfect fit for Idukki diocese. It might be difficult,
but not impossible to find a replacement for the leadership of Idukki
diocese. If we look at the characteristics of the ideal fit for the
leader of Idukki diocese, it is really interesting. It is not the
'education' that people look for, but it is the 'empathy' that the
people look for. It is not the 'Doctorate' that matters, but it is the
'Down to earth Service' that matters. It is not the 'Theology' that
you work with, but it is the 'Tears of the poor' that you work with.

It's extremely important for the IOC leadership to act quickly in
appointing the right leadership for Idukki diocese. If we don't do the
right things, we will inherit one more Ankamaly diocese. If we do the
right things, we will continue to have the Idukki diocese of
2005-2007. The choice is obvious, but where we end up will be decided
by the actions of our leadership.

May the prayers of Dionysius thirumeni and his sacrifices guide us in
these crucial moments. May heavenly father give our leaders the needed
strength to overcome all challenges.

Thanks,
Rajesh Vargheese
http://www.stgregoriosaustin.org/