To all the Parish SCC Coordinators, Archdiocese of Bombay
My dear Collaborators,
On Sunday, June 26, we celebrated LAITY SUNDAY in our Archdiocese. I prayed for you in a very special way as you are the driving force of all the SCC activities and programmes that take place in your parish communities, not forgetting the sacrifices you make from time to time, attending meetings at the parish level, deanery level and Archdiocesan level. I appreciate all that you do on my behalf in your SCCs and at the parish level. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. I request you to express my sentiments of gratitude to all the SCC Animators and Community Coordinators of your parish.
THANK YOU also for having attended the Parish SCC Coordinators’ meeting in person on Sunday, June 19 at Our Lady of Salvation Church Hall, Dadar. We had a record turnout – 96% attendance – in spite of it being a rainy day. God bless you for your enthusiastic spirit.
My thanks to all of you for having motivated your Community Coordinators and Animators to undertake the Synod Questionnaire to the cluster families, Core Groups and Steering Committee meetings. Your positive spirit has helped the Church of Bombay to listen to the “voices” of the people particularly from the grassroots.
As we enter this new month of July, the first thought that comes to mind is the celebration of Parents’ Day. Since last year, Pope Francis has advised that we celebrate July 26 as the World Day for Grandparents and Elderly. Keeping this in mind, Ms Candida Mendoza has prepared a simple yet thought-provoking reflection paper (download here). May I request you to disseminate it to all the SCC Animators and Coordinators so that the paper reaches all the cluster families. Please make it a point to reflect on the paper in your Core Groups, Steering Committee and Cluster families. Fr Ajit Tellis, Priest in-charge of St Anthony of Padua Church, Kalwa has been kind enough to translate it into Marathi.
July is filled with several important dates: July 03 – Solemnity of St Thomas, Apostle of India and Faith Formation Sunday; July 16 – Our Lady of Mt Carmel; July 28 – St Alphonsa; July 31 – Feast of St Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Society of Jesus. May we continue to call on the intercession of the saints as we strive towards building communities of love in our Archdiocese.
May I now request all of you to take action on the following:
a) Cluster meetings: As mentioned to you during the recently concluded Parish SCC Coordinators’ meeting, please organise cluster meetings in your SCCs. This was mandated in the SCC Evaluation Report 2018.
b) Steering Committee meetings: Please start having the monthly/bimonthly/quarterly Steering Committee meetings. The Minutes of the meeting may be sent to bombayscc@gmail.com. An official reply will be sent to you.
c) Quarterly Reports: Please motivate all your SCC Animators and Coordinators to keep a Minutes’ book of the monthly Core Group and Cluster meetings. This will help in preparing the Quarterly Reports for the following periods:
July to September (to reach the SCC Office by October 15) October to December (to reach the SCC Office by January 15) January to March (to reach the SCC Office by April 15)
d) SKILLS FOR SCC ANIMATORS’ Training Programme: There are still a few seats available for the training programme. May I request you to motivate your SCC Animators and Coordinators to register on https://tinyurl.com/ycr3ba8h as soon as possible, but not later than July 03. This residential programme is subsidized by the Archdiocese, and is offered at only Rs 2000.00 per head (cheque to be made in favour of SAMAJ SEVA KENDRA). Receipts will be handed over personally to the participants on July 09.
e) NO ONE IN WANT: Please keep your eyes and ears wide open to ensure that no one is suffering or in need in your SCCs. We must live as brothers and sisters, irrespective of caste, colour or creed, and reach out to all, ensuring that no one is in want (Archdiocesan SCC Vision Statement).
f) SYNOD PRAYER: May I request you to make it a point and pray the enclosed Synod Prayer in your families daily and during the SCC meetings (cluster/Core Group/ Steering Committee)
Thank you and with every good wish,
Yours in Christ,
✠Barthol Barretto Auxiliary Bishop of Bombay & Bishop in-charge of SCCs, Archdiocese of Bombay
June 30, 2022
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