Columban Fr Tomás King with a Pakistani family from the Diocese of Hyderabad - Photo: Fr Pat Raleigh SSC
Joti Educational and Cultural Centre, or as it is usually called, Joti Centre, is the catechetical centre for the Diocese of Hyderabad. Joti (its proper spelling, Jyoti) is the Sanskrit word for light, so it hints at the importance of light as a reality and as a symbol in all religious practices. The centre was started in 1992, and over the years, it has created and published catechesis materials for schools and parishes in Urdu, Sindhi, and Parkari Kohli. The Joti team also visits schools and parishes and trains catechists, teachers, and active laypeople.
I was appointed director in 2017, and it has been my main ministry ever since. As the diocesan catechetical centre, Joti should, in theory at least, have an important role to play in the life of the diocese, especially in faith formation and catechesis. Every effort is made in all programmes, resourced by the Joti Centre itself, that the input given is holistic and integrated. It is also from the perspective of Columban mission priorities in Pakistan, Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation (JPIC), inter-religious dialogue (IRD), and inculturation and formation - in this case, of the laity. Also, the programme content is strong on Catholic social teaching, especially recent encyclicals by Pope Francis.
A BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF TWO RECENT PROGRAMMES
Last October, there was an in-service training programme for religion teachers in the diocesan schools, plus Sunday School teachers. Fifty-five people attended. Through input, creative activities, drama, song, and music, teachers were given the knowledge and skills to enable them to better form people in the faith.
Last November, we held an Advent Preparation Day, attended by more than sixty laypeople from various parishes in the diocese. Again, through word, song and creative activities, people learned more about the meaning of Advent and Christmas. The main activity was based on the Jesse tree, where the story of creation and our salvation history are played out. Hopefully, such moments do enact a little of the Joti Centre’s vision, which seeks to provide an integrated and holistic catechesis to enable people to grow in their faith, a faith that is informed and deepened through prayer, reflection, and input and which motivates people to transform themselves and others.
Catechesis, at its best, is also practical. It seeks to make the word flesh. One way the Joti Centre does that is by facilitating a medical outreach to rural villages, which started as part of the response to destructive flooding during the summer and autumn of 2022. The outreach does not discriminate - patients include Christians, Hindus, Muslims, and especially the low-caste Tribal Peoples, including Parkari Kohli, Kutchi Kohli, Sindhi Bheel, and Marwari, who suffer the most discrimination. This medical outreach programme continues two days a week. The team consists of Dr Partab Puri, nurses Br Walfred Mohan and Ms Nazia Ashiq, plus dispenser Mr Jibran Seraphine. It provides basic medical care to people who would otherwise not receive it.
On a sad note, the longest-serving staff member, Mansingh Patras, died just before Christmas, on 21 December. Mansingh trained as a catechist and, for many years, ministered to his own ethnic people, the Kutchi Kohlis. He was gifted as a catechist, being able to impart the faith in simple but profound ways, especially through telling stories and parables. He was also a good cook and keen gardener. Probably his greatest witness to his Christian faith was his acceptance of all the various ethnic Tribal Peoples that make up the church in the Hyderabad Diocese. In a land where the 5000-year-old caste system still impacts covertly on social relations, this is no small witness. He really did transcend the boundaries of his own people and reached out to all, no matter their background. May he rest in peace.
Columban Fr Tomás King lives and works in Pakistan.
Listen to "Shining brightly together"
Related links
- Read more from The Far East - June 2024
