QV News Letter June 2011

8/6/2019 QV News Letter June 2011

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Quo vadis

Organic vegetable from ourown garden,Quo Vadis Graamam The development of the ruralproject Quo Vadis Graamam iscontinuing. Now the kitchengarden is slowly beginning tosupply organic garden freshvegetables to the Roots Café.

Allready tomatoes, brinjal andchilly had been harvested.

Sangamam atBuildingRelationships

AcrossBorders

FRONT DESK IN QUO VADIS TO RECEIVE GUESVimala Prasanna who has been on the staff of Quo Vadis for the past two years looking after Library and CulturalDialogue is presently taking up the Host position to Welcome the guests. She is also the secretary for the Director

Visitors to Quo Vadis are nowreceived in a newly establishedreception area. Ms. Vimala isreceiving newcomers and old friendswith helpful assistance from thereception. Everyday a number ofvisitors come to Quo Vadis with manydifferent requests. Some are lookingfor accommodation, a good meal inthe Roots Café, a clean toilet or amoment of rest from the noise anddust of the streets of Tiruvannamalai.

Many of the guests are interested Inknowing more about dialogue andthe programs of the center. Vimalahas been working for more than 2years in Quo Vadis, mainly with thelibrary and cultural dialogue. She hasalso participated in a three monthtraining course in Denmark.

Apart from the work in the receptionarea she will also be assisting thedirector in his daily work. Vimala is a

theologian trained in TamilTheological Seminary and is recentlyappointed as an evangelist in ArcotLutheran Church, which is the rststep in the process of becoming apastor. As an evangelist Vimala isassisting in various tasks in a villagecongregation.

Vimala is married to Rev. Prasannawho is a pastor in ALC. You arewelcome to contact Vimala on QuoVadis new central telephone number+91 9244918999

I n t e r f a i t h D i a l o g u e C e n t e r



Sweating over the ViolinThrough the hot month of May,Quo Vadis initiated a uniqueopportunity for summer holiday.Every day violin classes wereconducted in ALC LebanonCampus, near Quo Vadis.

The reputed violin masterMr. Henry Durairaj graciouslyoffered the opportunity to learnto play the Queen of musicalinstruments the violin.

Every day from 8 to 11 am andagain from 4 to 7 pm the violinstudents would practice.

The hot and hard month oftraining was rounded off during

a grand concert in LebanonCampus on .

The violin students exhibitedtheir skills for more than 200audience including the leadersof the Church. Skits promotingInterfaith harmony wereperformed by the MembersDialogue Dialogue Forum in thebeautifully arranged stage

QUO VADIS HARMONY



The Dialogue Expedition - A jointinitiative of IKON, Areopagos &Impact

The Dialogue expedition. The projectformerly known as “Western Youth inthe East” is resurrected in a newform. The rst expedition arrived in

India in the last months of 2010 afterspending time in Tao Fong Sang adialogue center in Hong Kong.During their stay in Quo Vadis themembers of the expedition wasengaged in dialogue in the center aswell as weekly visits to Quo VadisGraamam. The expedition was alsoengaged in social work and inschools. (Photo at the Bottom, Fromleft: Aron, Karsten, David, Natalie,

Christina and Maria)

Volunteers

Anne-Caroline Nicolas (26) is fromSwitzerland where she has beworking in different ofces as anexecutive assistant and ofcemanager. During her time in QuoVadis from May to July 2011 she hasused her experience form her formerwork to help Quo Vadis establish a

front desk and reception area. AnneCaroline has also helped in differentsocial projects connected to the

Arcot Lutheran Church.

Sargunam (42) is a student fromTamil Theological Seminary inMadurai. He spend 3 month as aintern student in Quo Vadis from Juneto August 2011. Sargunam isoriginally from Konoor in the NIlgiris. “During my time in Quo Vadis I havebeen inspired for my future work as apastor in CSI. I think it is important torelate to people of other faith in loveand compassion. During myparticipation in full moon walk,temple visit, the silent guru ShivaShakti Ammayar and visit toSuriyalingam Swami I haveexperienced that we can learn muchfrom neighbours of other faith.” saysSargunam. Sargunam is married andhas two boys.

Rebekka Steinvig (28) is studyingcommunication at RoskildeUniversity, Denmark and spend thelast month of 2010 as a volunteer inQuo Vadis. During her stay Rebekkaconducted the survey “Westerners inTiruvannamalai” and helped QuoVadis get a better understanding ofthe community of Westerners.Rebekka was also in charge of a artproject were artists from Chennai anda group of village children produced anumber of artpieces of the theme“citizenship”. The art was exhibited inthe town hall in Copenhagen.

From top: Rebekka Steinvig,Sargunam & Anne CarolineQuo Vadis has also becomea place of learning andgaining experinces.People from many parts ofthe World come to QuoVadis to volunteer.Seminaries like UTCBangalore, TTS Maduraiand Gurukul Chennai sendtheir stundents for

Practical Exposure andfor their Internships.

VOLUNTEERS



Can dialogue be about laughing

together? In the last months of 2010

visitors to Quo Vadis could witness anoisy and unusual form of yoga. Mandawho is a laughing yoga instructor, trainedby the founder of the laughter yogamovement, was conducting laughter yogatwice a week on the Quo Vadis rooftop.

Laughter yoga is the brainchild of Dr.Madan Kataria, a Physician from Mumbai,India, who launched the rst LaughterClub at a Park on March 13, 1995, withmerely a handful of persons. Today, it hasbecome a worldwide phenomenon withmore than 6000 Social Laughter Clubs inabout 60 countries.

Laughter Yoga combines UnconditionalLaughter with Yogic Breathing(Pranayama). Anyone can Laugh for NoReason, without relying on humor, jokes

or comedy. Laughter is simulated as abody exercise in a group; with eyecontact and childlike playfulness, it soonturns into real and contagious laughter.The concept of Laughter Yoga is based

on a scientic fact that the body cannotdifferentiate between fake and reallaughter. One gets the same physiologicaland psychological benets.

The goal of Laughter Yoga is to bringgood health, joy and world peace throughLaughter. Laughter is universal with nolanguage and cultural barriers. LaughterYoga Clubs are fast growing into a

worldwide community of like-mindedpeople who believe in unconditional Love,Laughter and Fellowship. Every rstSunday of May is celebrated as WorldLaughter Day. In the year 2000, nearly10,000 people laughed together inCopenhagen, Denmark to set a GuinnessBook Record.

Quo Vadis facilitated laughter yoga toencourage peace and understandingbetween people of different faith, cultureand traditions. “Much violence could beprevented, if we could only laugh at each

othersdifferences” says Joshua Peter,Quo Vadis director.

Read more about laughter yoga onwww.laughteryoga.org

LAUGHTERYOGA

Ordination and commissioning service :On June 19 th Arcot Lutheran Church wascelebrating the ordination of 6 newPastors and 5 new Reverend Candidates(the rst step towards ordination aspastor). Mr. Petersen Priyakumar whohas been working in Quo Vadis for the

past 2 years has been Commissioned with Dheenan and Dani . Jeeva was givenOrdination. Petersen will continue hiswork as part of the Quo Vadis staffespecially afliated to the Eco villageproject Quo Vadis Graamam. On top ofthis Petersen will receive training inpastoral ministry underder the guidance ofRev. Joshua Peter in his newcongregation.(In photp: Bishop R.D. Vijayakumar commissioning Petersen Priyakumar)

Witness to the Prince of Peace: Evangelism and dialogue in India, Madagascar, Tanzania and Denmark. Is the ti tle of a small book

recently published by Danmission. One of the key questions raised by the contributing authors is “How is it possible to continue invitingpeople into the Kingdom of God in a way that respects and honors other faith traditions?” The book is the result of a conference on theissue held in Nairobi, Kenya in 2009, were Quo Vadis was represented. Among the articles of the book is also a contribution by the directorof Quo Vadis, Rev. Joshua Peter, titled Come! See! A Possible Alternate Mission Paradigm for Engaging in Evangelism.

“The former go-tell paradigm focuses on preaching the word. To go out to others is easy, where as to invite others to come and see mypersonal life as a Christian might prove to be even more difcult.” writes Joshua Peter in his article. Witness to the Prince of Peace is forsale at Quo Vadis reception.

http://www.laughteryoga.org/

http://www.laughteryoga.org/



Why did you come to Tiruvannamalai ?

Quo Vadis and Danmission have carried out a surveyamong the many Westerners who are coming toTiruvannamalai in search of spirituality. Ms. RebekkaSteinvig who is a student of communication inRoskilde University, Denmark, and working part timefor Danmission carried out a number of interviewswith Westerners in the months of October toDecember 2010.

“I was very surprised to see how positive I was receivedamong the Westerners in Quo Vadis and in the Cafés in the areaaround the Ashram. Everybody I met was very eager to talk tome and share their stories and what has brought them toTiruvannamalai” says Rebekka. She continues: “TheWesterners come to Tiruvannamalai for spiritual reasons. Theydid not nd the spiritual answers they were seeking in theChurches in the West. Most of the people I talked to came froma Christian background, but have more or

less left the established Church. They come to Tiruvannamalai

to seek a genuine spirituality which they seem to nd inRamana Ashram and among the different spiritual mastersand gurus who are available in and around

Tiruvannamalai. Many of the people I talked tocame to be in the presence of Mooji or ShivaShakti Ammayar.”

An interesting point is that many of the people Italked to do not have a problem with Jesus, but

more with the way the established Churches arecommunicating the teachings of Jesus. This is a big

challenge for the Churches and I believe that Quo Vadishas an important role to play in the dialogue between theChurch and the Western seekers,” says Rebekka.

New Administration in PlaceThe Arcot Lutheran Church hasthe newly elected ChurchBoard Members in place from 20.11.2010 who eventuallyelected the Office Bearersand the Executive Committee

who would run and administerthe Church with theleadership of the Bishop ALCfor the next three years.

NEW CHURCH BOARDPIONEERING STRATEGIC PLAN IN ALC

THE OFFICERS OF ALC:

From Left: Mr. B. Jesuadian, Secretary, Rev. P. Nallados,Property Ofcer, Rt. Rev. R.D. Vijayakumar, Bishop,Rev. V.Samuel Kennady, Education Board Chairman ,Rev. VVJ Gurunathan, Treasurer ALC

The survey “Westerners in Tiruvannamalai” is available from the Quo Vadis reception.



SHANTIVANAM

EXPOSURE

Living in the ashramDialogueforum living inthe simple accomodation ofShantivanam ashram.

From top: Meditating inthe temple, taking part inthe daily duties of theashram kitchen, sharinglife and faith in theteahut.

Right: Farther George indialogue with the group.

Dialogue Forum in Shantivanam:

The forest of peace. During the summer holidays inMay 2011, the new dialogue forum had their rstexposure to the Christian ashram Shantivanam orSaccitannda Ashram near Trichy. Shantivanam is apioneer in inculturating Chirstianity in India.

The dialogue forum stayed in simple huts and followedthe daily routine in the ashram, starting with morningmass. Through the day there are times for work, prayerand silence, but also for sharing and dialogue. Fr.Georges, the prior of the ashram was giving guidedmeditation and 4 O’clock talks where the dialogueforum members had an interaction with him and raiseda number of questions about the theology and

practices in Shantivanam.

In the 5 daily prayers, traditional Indian rituals likechanting, singing bahjans , and performing arathi ispracticed. During prayer and mass the participants aregiven kum kum powder, sandal paste and viburthi which can be applied in the forehead. These ritualsgave reason for fruitful and interesting dialogue amongthe members of the dialogue forum.



Visit from DanishCongregationsIn February 2011, Quo Vadis had agroup of visitors from 2congregations in Denmark calledGrejs and Sindbjerg. Thesecongregations have been supportingthe dialogue work for the past coupleof years and were now eager towitness it with their own eyes. Theleader of the group Rev. Anne Dolmeris also the vice president ofDanmission and has been visitingIndia a couple of times.The group members came from manydifferent walks of life, most of theretired. The eldest being Dr. Troels at75. The group had number ofinterfaith experiences in and around

Tiruvannamalai and several visits tovillages.From the evaluation : We reallyenjoyed staying around Quo Vadis. Itseemed like an oasis – a peacefulspot in the midst of poverty andnoise. We enjoyed the good food andserved in the Roots Café.We especially enjoyed the visit in theTiruvannamalai temple and otherreligious spots and the walks on andaround the mountain in the morning.

Especially meeting High PriestShankar of the TiruvannamalaiTemple and being witness to thefriendship between a Christian pastorand a Hindu priest taught ussomething important about themeaning of dialogue.

We appreciated our own meetings onthe roofs, our morning/eveningprayers and the papers, some of thegroup members had prepared.Meetings with different people in andaround Quo Vadis has made a greatimpression. Also participation in theSunday service in the village withbaptism and conrmation and theprivate visits in homes of thecongregation members, was anunforgettable experience. (In photo:Rev. Anne Dolmer and group in

Tiruvannamalai Temple andoverlooking the temple from Skanda Ashram)

Spending the day inQuo Vadis GraamamOne of the highlights ofthe visit was a one dayexposure to the villageproject Quo Vadis Graamam.

Breakfast was taken in aroadsiderestaurren and theday was spend withgardening and dialogue.(Photos from top: Rev AnneDolemer in dialogue withPastor Selavaraj,

VILLAGE LIFE



In January 2010 Quo Vadisonce again hosted Mrs. EleBonde from Denmark. Mrs.Ele is trained a a deacon andan instructor of biblical drama.Biblical drama is a way ofliving the biblical storiesthrough drama. In a smallgroup, the members will actone of the stories of the biblein order to get new insightsabout the biblical texts andtheir own life.

During her stay in Quo VadisMrs. Ele conducted biblicaldrama with pastors of the

Arcot Lutheran Church,visitors to Quo Vadis, Indians,Westerners and also the staffat the center. By acting asone of the characters from thebiblical stories it is possible tosee many new dimensions of

biblical stories that one haveheard or read many times.Suddenly the story speaks toyou in the place you are inyour life at the moment. “Thisis a completely new thing tome. Even though I have readthe biblical stories many timesI suddenly feel that is is newto me and gives meaning for

me in my life.” said one of theyoung pastors whoexperienced biblical drama.

Mrs. Ele Bonde and herhusband Rev. Steen Bondealso con ducted a servicewhere th e participants haduse some of the techniques ofbiblical drama. They will becoming back to Quo Vadis inthe beginning of 2012.

BIBLICAL DRAMAwith Ele Bonde from Denmark

Newsletter for Quo VadisInterfaith Dialogue Center

58 Chengam Road, RamanaNagar 601 603 Tiruvannamalai,Tamil Nadu, India.

Phone +91 9244918999Fax +91 4175 237 185Director: Rev. A. Joshua Peter

www.quov adisinterfaith.com

[email protected]

Contact usfor group visits. Accommodation facilitiesavailable at “The Nest – Quo Vadis Guesthouse”D.M. Lebanon Campus, Vettavallam Rd.

Regular programs: Dialogue forums meetingweekly, Roots Cafe, Coffee break dialogue, QuoVadis Graamam (village), Fullmoon walk aroundTiruvannamalai mountain, Film eveningsfollowed by discussion, Childrens Film club,Christia n meditation (Sunday 6:30pm), interfaithex posures, hosting of guests from across theGlobe.

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.quovadisinterfaith.com/










QV News Letter June 2011

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