Fourth Quarter (1970-1995).
THE PLATINUM JUBILEE
The Platinuim Jubilee is a landmark in the life or an institution or organization.
As the word indicates, it is a time of exultation and jubilation. It is
a time to sit back, and feel happy over the growth of the institution and
its achievements. People sitting at the helm of commercial and industrial
business enterprises utilize such occasions to take stock of the situation,
evaluate the progress made and prepare plans and projects for the future.
It is a useful pattern which religious
institutions may do well to copy.
LOOKING ROUND. The Jubilee should thus be an occasion for retrospection
so as to get a clear view of the ground covered, to see how much it has
succeeded in its attempts and how much it has failed. It should be an occasion
for introspection; that is, to look into itself-into the present, to find
out whether it is structurally sound, we1l-lubricated and maintained, whether
it has the necessary internal power and whether its lines of communication
are effective and efficient or whether it is only a big structure with
no effective power and controls. Finally, it should be an occasion for
looking forward so as to find a clear plan and view of the future before
it. The objectives kept in view should be made clear and intelligible to
all who are required to work for their achievement.
CELEBRATION. The Maramon Convention celebrated its Platinum Jubilee in 1970. The Convention
of that year wasitself part of the celebrations. The messages and deliberations
connected therewith show that those in charge were fully aware of the implications
and importance of the occasion and they made use of it for a review of
the progress made. Another was the publication of a Souvenir to commemorate
the occasion. In the preface to the Souvenir it is stated that it may be
considered an important historical record relating to the Convention.
THE PLATINUM JUBILEE SOUVENIR. The Souvenir throws a lot of light on the origin, aims and development
of the Convention. It contains a lot of historical details written by several
persons who had something to do with the convention as also by :a number
of detached observers. The writer is indebted to the Souvenir for much
of the historical details contained in this publication.
SPIRITUAL FRUITS OF THE CONVENTION. In an article written in it Rev. Dr. C. E. Abraham describes the spiritual
fruits of the Convention, pointing out that there are thousands living
today who would honesty say that Maramon is their spiritual birth-place.
It is a hallowed place where many have come face to face with God, dedicated
their lives at His feet and received new power and strength as Jacob did
at Bethel or Saul on the road to Damascus.
Secondly, he says that the Bible classes taken by great preachers like
the Rev. T. Walker, Dr. Stanley Jones, Rev. Paul Rees, Dr. Larsen, Miss
Ke1Jaway, Miss Grower, etc, have gone a long way in instructing and confirming
the Biblical facts and spiritual truths to thousands of people. This has
enabled them to take greater interest in Bible reading, daily meditation
and evangelistic activities.
Thirdly, the Convention has opened up new vistas of evangelism and preaching before the Christian Churches in Kerala; it has emphasized the special responsibility of the Syrian Christian Churches for preaching the Gospel to the people allover India and it has reiterated that every Christian is and ought to be a missionary. Thus the Convention has had a big hand in publicizing and developing many new concepts in evangelism which the Christian Church today has slowly begun to assimilate.
Fourthly, it provides ample opportunities for various groups like children,
youths, women, voluntary evangelists etc., to render active service in
the Convention and in various fields of Christian activity. It has demonstrated
that there is scope for much work by the womenfolk in the Convention as
well as in the wider Christian field and society.
The fact that it was under the auspices of the Convention that the Sevika
Sanghom took shape would show the importance it attaches to the development
of the services of women and the need for organizing women to assume more
responsibilities in the Church and society.
Finally, the Convention provides a convenient forum for ecumenism in action.
Though the Mar Thoma Church is an Episcopal church, it did not hesitate
to bring in missionaries from other Churches. Thus, speakers belonging
to Methodist, Baptist Congregational and Presbyterian Churches have been
invited so far along with those belonging to Protestant Churches like the
Church of England, Church of South India etc., to give messages in the
Convention. It is gratifying to note that the speakers drawn from different
Churches have avoided introducing sectarian teachings in the Convention
messages. Likewise, no sectarian distinction was made in the matter of
admission to the meetings. On the other hand the meetings were addressed
to all people irrespective of their affiliations to community,caste, creed
or sex. The Convention can be considered as an ecumenical endeavor in the
real sense of the term, attempted long before ecumenism became widely known.
THE VERY REV. K. E. OOMMEN has also described the beneficial effects of
the Convention in his article on the subject appearing in the Souvenir.
He says that the Convention is a tower of strength to the Mar Thoma Church
and its institutions, and that it was only on account of the Convention
that we got the opportunity to hear the messages of well-known speakers
from India and outside, such as Sadhu Sunder Singh, Bishop Azariah, Toyohiko
Kagawa, Dr. Stanley Jones, Dr. Bob Pears,
Dr. Paul Rees, Dr. Seamands etc
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