Why our Churches can never change

Church needs to move ahead in technology. No where in the world, religion and technology combined to form a positive energy and India's Church is no exception.

The young brigade of Ahmedabad Church promised moon but seems to be realizing now that it is too late to make changes.

Change is never constant. But there should be a beginning to change. Change may not be in the guard of honor but in the way we work and interact and disseminate information.

Churches still maintain registers, the age old custom that never changed its colour even in this Facebook and Twitter era. It still give manual receipts and keeps manual accounts because no one wants change.

In churches constant remained unchanged. The root cause of animosity between members are lack of transparency. How can this transparency get imbibed into the Church. Only technology can change. But what is the ideal technology?

Well, this is the question no one have answers to. Many feel computing machines are answer to these complex issues. On the contrary they are not. Merely having a CPU and Monitor doesn't solve the problem. The answer is in the question itself.

Age doesn't matter. What matters is the aptitude to change. The willingness to adapt to changed situations. The road ahead towards work empowerment.

Many friends who joined this group (facebook.com/ahmedabadchurch) have asked this question of why we need a FB or Blog. The answer is in the question itself.

This is not the beginning of change. A blog or FB page cannot bring change. What can bring change is your opinion. The strong urge to speak out. The zeal towards transparency.

Forget Speak Asia, welcome Speak Church. Forget Facebook, welcome Faithbook

Syria Christians fear for religious freedom

By Mariam Karouny
Syria's minority Christians are watching the protests sweeping their country with trepidation, fearing their religious freedom could be threatened if President Bashar al-Assad's autocratic but secular rule is overthrown.

Sunni Muslims form a majority in Syria, but under four decades of rule by Assad's minority Alawites the country's varied religious groups have enjoyed the right to practice their faith.

Calls for Muslim prayers ring out alongside church bells in Damascus, where the apostle Paul started his ministry and Christians have worshipped for two millennia.

But for many Syrian Christians, the flight of their brethren from sectarian conflict in neighboring Iraq and recent attacks on Christians in Egypt have highlighted the dangers they fear they will face if Assad succumbs to the wave of uprisings sweeping the Arab world.
"Definitely the Christians in Syria support Bashar al-Assad. They hope that this storm will not spread," Yohana Ibrahim, the Syriac Orthodox Archbishop of Aleppo, told Reuters.

Protests erupted in Syria two months ago, triggered by anger and frustration at widespread corruption and lack of freedom in the country ruled with an iron fist by the Assad family for nearly half a century.

Although some Christians may be participating in the protests, church institutions have not supported them.

Christians contacted by Reuters said they backed calls for reform but not the demands for "regime change," which they said could fragment Syria and give the upper hand possibly to Islamist groups that would deny them religious freedom.

"The Christians in Syria -- whether Orthodox, Armenians, Maronites, Anglicans, Assyrians or Catholics -- consider themselves first (Syrian) citizens, the sons of the land," said Habib Afram, president of the Syriac League.

"The general atmosphere from the churches' positions and from Christian figures is fixed on stability and security because religious freedom is absolutely guaranteed in Syria," he said.

"RULED BY THE MILITARY OR THE TURBAN"
Syria's Christian community is believed to make up around six percent of the population, down from 10 percent at the middle of the last century.
Christians have equal rights -- and the same restriction on political freedom -- as Muslims, apart from a constitutional stipulation that the president must be a Muslim.

"Our ethnicity or language may not be recognized and we are not allowed to form a party, but this is the case of all Syrians," a church source said, adding that the choice for minorities in the Middle East was "to be ruled by the military or the turban of a cleric."
In a region where minorities face growing challenges, and where tensions between Sunni Muslims and Shi'ite Muslims are on the rise, Syria still feels like a refuge to many Christians.

Iraqi Christians have frequently been targeted in violence which followed the U.S. invasion in 2003. Fifty two people were killed in an assault on a Baghdad cathedral last October.

In Egypt, where a popular uprising overthrew strongman Hosni Mubarak in February, 12 people died in a Cairo suburb last week in fighting sparked by rumors that Christians had abducted a woman who converted to Islam.

"The change that came at the hand of the American army in Iraq did not protect the Christians and the change that came from the people in Egypt could not protect the Christians," the source said.

"Minorities are paying the price in these revolutions."
Some Christians detect the same sectarianism in chants at recent Syrian protests.

Samer Lahham, who runs ecumenical relations at the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate in Damascus, said the fact that protests have broken out mainly after weekly Muslim prayers -- which offer a rare chance for Syrians to gather legally -- had lent a "religious identity" to the demonstrations.
"Christians cannot be part of such action, although they support tangible reformations at different levels, slowly but steadily," he said. "They fear the hidden plan is to transform Syria into a religious system governed by those who... do not have the culture of accepting the other," said Lahham.

Assad's father, Hafez, crushed an armed uprising by Islamists belonging to the Muslim Brotherhood group in the early 1980s. Islamic influence has spread in society since then, as elsewhere in the Middle East, with the government seeking to co-opt moderate Muslim leaders.

Ibrahim said that the churches are not encouraging people to take part in demonstrations nor to be involved in acts seen hostile to Assad's rule.
"In every speech we talk about awareness and that we should be vigilant to stay away from what could affect our presence."

"We have the same views (as protesters) against corruption and bribery, and with reforms but all of these demands should not lead me to participate in ruining my home and destroying my country," Ibrahim said.

"I can guarantee that 80 percent of the people come to the church to hear what the church say about (protests), and they commit (to its position)," the archbishop added.

Courtesy : Reuters

Youth wasting time in SMS and chatting

Widespread availability of cheap unlimited text message plans has resulted in transformation in communication patterns of youngsters in India. Evidently, text messaging has become preferred mode of communication for majority of youngsters in India. Texting has surpassed rest of the forms of daily interaction amongst youngsters like face-to-face conversations, voice calling, social networking, instant messaging, sending e-mails etc. Apparently, 60 per cent of youngsters in India send/receive over 125 text messages daily to interact with their peer group, according to a study undertaken by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM).

ASSOCHAM carried out a study on “Communication patterns of young India” under the aegis of ASSOCHAM Social Development Foundation (ASDF) during January 2011 to April 2011 in the cities of Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, Chandigarh, Lucknow, Ahmedabad, Patna, Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru and Jaipur. ASSOCHAM representatives interacted with as many as 2,000 youngsters (around 200 in each city). The sample included almost an equal number of males and females in the age group of 12-20 years.

Releasing findings of ASSOCHAM study, Mr. D.S. Rawat, Secretary General, ASSOCHAM said, “Sending and receiving text messages has become primary means of communication, so much so that excessive texting has become an obsession amongst youngsters.”

“But, excessive texting is leading to a number of problems for our kids as they are developing problems like insomnia, depression, lack of eating, isolation etc. Besides, according to reports of chamber’s analysis prolonged engagement with such an activity can lead to diseases like brain tumor, infertility etc.”, added Mr. Rawat.

Youngsters in Delhi-NCR emerged on top with almost 70 per cent of them saying that they send between 100-125 text messages daily and over 3,000 texts each month. 15 per cent said that they send/receive between 75-100 texts daily, 10 per cent respondents said that they send/receive over 50 text messages per day and a meagre 5 per cent respondents said that they exchange around 30-40 texts with their entourage.

According to ASSOCHAM study, in Delhi-NCR 55 per cent of girls send/receive around 100-125 text messages per day. Of the remaining, 20 per cent girls said that they exchange around 80-100 text messages daily, 15 per cent said that they daily send/receive around 40-50 texts everyday and 10 per cent said that they exchange around 10-15 texts each day.

Around 45 per cent of boys said that they exchange 100 plus text messages with their folks almost everyday. 25 per cent said that they send/receive around 75-100 texts daily, whereas, 20 per cent said they send/receive around 50-70 messages every day. Merely 10 per cent exchange less than 50 messages daily, says the survey.

Youngsters in Delhi spend around Rs. 1,000 to Rs. 1,500 every month only on SMS packages considering text messaging a preferred mode of communication as it can be carried out under the nose of their parents, teachers, guardians and other authority figures, says ASSOCHAM survey. Besides, it is still a more economical form of communication.

Of the 200 youngsters interviewed in Delhi, 85 per cent said that they own a cell phone and rest 15 per cent either use their parents’ or their siblings’ cell phones to interact with their friends via text messages.

70 per cent of school/college going kids in Delhi-NCR said that they exchange 5-10 text messages with their class fellows during a typical class, even though usage of cell phones was prohibited.

Around 60 per cent of youngsters in Delhi-NCR admitted that they text while driving, considering it as multi-tasking. ASSOCHAM in its analysis has found that risk of an accident exceeds sharply surpassing dangers of other driving distractions. Besides, the chamber in its analysis has also found that risk of a car crash or a collision increases by 30 times in case of texting while driving then when not texting, as drivers typically take their eyes off from the road for nearly 5 seconds to send or receive text messages.

Almost 90 per cent of those interviewed in Delhi-NCR admitted that they sleep with their cell phone lying next to them and thus, keep slightly awake most of the time during their sleep. According to chamber’s analysis, texting at the time of sleep is causing diseases like insomnia, anxiety amongst youngsters as they exchange text messages every night. Majority of respondents admitted that they are often awakened by a phone call or a text message after going to bed and the lack of sleep has been affecting their work and progress.

Around 80 per cent of youngsters in the city said that they check their phones every few seconds to see if they have received any message and due to constant fast typing on cell phone’s keypad at times they feel severe pain in area between thumb & wrist which throbs constantly.

65 per cent of respondents in Delhi-NCR said that they surf internet on their cell phones and thus, browse social-networking sites, download songs etc. instead of staying glued to their laptops, desktops for their daily internet dose.

According to the ASSOCHAM analysis, the popularity of text messaging in India has risen dramatically as compared to 2006 when a youngster on an average used to send around 5-10 text messages daily as there were not enough of cheap messaging deals provided by telecom companies back then and it has risen to almost 125 text messages per day during the course of last 5 years.

Reflect, don’t rejoice at Osama death: Vatican

The Vatican said the killing of al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden, a man who sowed division and hatred and who caused “innumerable” deaths, should prompt serious reflection about one’s responsibility before God, not rejoicing.
The Vatican statement May 2 came the day after President Barack Obama announced that U.S. forces had killed bin Laden in an attack on his hideout in northwest Pakistan, CNS reports.
In several U.S. cities, the news prompted street demonstrations and expressions of jubilation.
Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, the Vatican spokesman, released a brief written statement reacting to the news.
“Osama bin Laden, as we all know, bore the most serious responsibility for spreading divisions and hatred among populations, causing the deaths of innumerable people, and manipulating religions to this end,” Father Lombardi said.
“In the face of a man’s death, a Christian never rejoices, but reflects on the serious responsibilities of each person before God and before men, and hopes and works so that every event may be the occasion for the further growth of peace and not of hatred,” the spokesman said.

Source: Catholic News Service