REPORT OF THE LOCAL CONGREGATIONAL EMPOWERMENT PROGRAMME FOR DALIT LIBERATION

With the mandate from the NCCI Tirunelveli Assembly, to make Dalit Liberation as the agenda of the Church, the NCCI-Commission on Dalits and Adivasis has committed to empower the local congregations to make Dalit liberation as its mission and mandate. Over the last two years two national workshops were conducted for the local congregations in Nagpur and Chennai. This year, it was decided that NCCI needs to go straight to the 50 pilot congregations, be with them, assist them and facilitate them towards Dalit liberation. A well-designed curriculum was designed with a panel of experts from the Dalit Task Force for this purpose.

As part of the Local Congregational empowerment for Dalit Liberation, the NCCI Dalit Task Force members have visited St. Paul’s CSI Church in Vellore on May 19-20, 2007. Nearly 50 people from the congregation turned up. The congregation was a semi-urban congregation. The participants in the congregation include the Pastor of the church, Rev. Sharma Nithyanandam, the Pastorate committee members, the women fellowship members, the young people in the church and the lay leaders in the church. Dr. I. John Mohan Razu, Professor from UTC, Bangalore, Rev. Issac Kadirvelu, from CSI Vellore diocese, Rev. Robert Kennedy, from CSI vellore diocese and Rev. Raj Bharath Patta, Executive Secretary NCCI-COD were the delegation that helped the local congregation. 

The programme started on the 19^th with the orientation, the objective of such a congregational empowerment and the need for the local congregation to get involved in the struggles of the people were briefed to the participants. It was more participatory , where the congregation members expressed their queries and this dialogical method helped the congregation to understand the mission of the Church to be liberation of Dalits. The Biblical response to the oppression was explained to the congregation by Dr. I.  John Mohan Razu, and that helped the congregation to analyse their own context, particularly the situation of Dalits around them, and the Biblical anlyses inspired the congregation to set the agenda of the local church towards Dalit liberation. There was a very meaningful discussion and the congregation members came up with a concrete action plan. The action plan includes the following: 

1. A Dalit Task Force was constituted locally so that the congregation can take part in the struggles of the Dalits and strives for their liberation in the context of Vellore and their surroundings.
2. That this Task Force shall meet once in every month to monitor the situation of Dalits in their context.
3. To network as a Church with other like minded movements for the cause of Dalit liberation.
4. To initiate a re-reading of Scriptures from the context of Dalits in the Church.
5. To inspire the other churches around to form similar task forces within their churches to address the issues of Dalits.
6. That the Pastorate committee shall minute that the Dalit Task Force in the Church shall function effectively.  

The local congregational empowerment for Dalit liberation was meaningful and the congregation members could feel the need to address the cause of Dalits as their top missonal priority.

Rev. Raj Bharath Patta,

Executive Secretary,

Commission on Dalits and Adivasis, NCCI.