Professorial lecture of Dr. George Zachariah

The professorial lecture of Dr. George Zachariah will be be held on Wednesday, June 22, 2016 at the Tagore Hall, UTC at 4:30 P.M. Dr. George Zachariah will lecture on the topic "The Vocation of Theological Education In the Context of Fascism and Conformism". Dr. Gladson Jathanna will respond to the lecture and Rev. Dr. Allan Palanna will moderate the session. Tea and snacks will be served at 4:15 P.M. All are welcome.

Rev. K.M.David passes away

Rev. K.M. David, a senior priest of the Marthoma Syrian Church and father of Ms. Anshi Zachariah and father in law of Dr. George Zachariah passed away into God's eternal abode yesterday evening. The funeral service will be held on Monday at 3:30 P.M. at the St. Thomas Marthoma Syrian Church, Kalamassery, Kerala.

College day held in UTC

The 105th College Day of the UTC was held yesterday in the Charles Ranson Hall at 4:30 P.M. The director of CISRS Rev. Dr. Vincent Rajkumar was the chief guest.

Rev. Dr. John Samuel Raj, Principal

The principal Rev. Dr. John Samuel Raj gave the gyst of the college activities and what is being planned for the year ahead. He also outlined the work of different departments in the college and what all areas the college is concentrating on.

Rev. Dr. Vincent Rajkumar, Director, CISRS

The College Day was celebrated with fanfare and college prizes for the Bachelor of Divinity and Master of Theology courses were given away. The chief guest Rev. Dr. Vincent Rajkumar concentrated his speech on theological education. He said that Theological Education is an engagement with God in preparing disciples for God's mission. God's mission is to transform the world. But when God is replaced by Church as the center of mission, mission becomes the work of pulling people into the church.

Group song

Theological formation according to the CISRS director should enable students to find where God is present in our times. Theological education is not to produce a new labor force for the church; but to prepare disciples for God's mission. Ministerial formation is to equip students with ministerial skills with kingdom values. It is to understand the world as God understands the world.

Mr. Anil Kumar

The chief guest and his wife Ms. Rani Rajkumar gave away the college prizes to the students. Rev. Jeyakumar, the Carey Society Vice President prayed, Mr. Calvin Sushith Ambler, the Carey society secretary and Mr Anil Kumar, the College day co-ordinator and Rev. Lalawmpuia Hauhnar, the Registrar of UTC were present and  Dr. George Zachariah, the College Day convenor gave the vote of thanks.

Photos- Mr. Benedict Immanuel, BD I.

 

Diploma in Eco-Justice Ministries

 

The Department of Theology and Ethics cordially invites you to the inauguration  of the Eco- Justice Ministries Diploma programme on Saturday, the 17th of January 2014 at 9:45 AM in the Ziegenbalg Chapel. It is a one year global online diploma course jointly offered by the Council for World Mission (CWM) and the department of Theology and Ethics of the UTC.

More information about the diploma programme is available with the co-ordinator of the programme Dr. Allan Palanna @ allan_samuel@rediffmail.com

Interaction with Dalit Christian Colony

The BD students doing a course on Dalit Theology had a meaningful exposure to a dalit colony known as ‘Christian Colony’ in Kalinayakahalli, about 60 kms from Bangalore, Karnataka on 24^th November, 2013. This was arranged as a part of the Dalit Theology course on behalf of the Department of Theology and Ethics of the United Theological College by Dr. George Zachariah and Rev. Raj Bharath Patta, the course instructors. The students from the Student Christian Movement in India also joined the exposure. The intention of this visit was to give a wider exposure to the life and spirituality of rural Dalit Christians so as to understand the dalit realities which would help the students in their discourses of doing Dalit Theology from the perspective of the Dalits and Dalit Christians.

The session began by participating in the communion worship service in the village church followed by group discussions about various aspects and issues of the local Dalit Christians in general and dalits in general. Rev. Raj Bharath Patta, lead the students through a profound exposure to the Christian dalit issues and thus helped in understanding the importance of Dalit Christian realities in doing Dalit Theology. Rev. Rueben Manohar, a UTC alumnus and pastor in this congregation in Kalinayakahalli was instrumental in explaining the life-style, Christian faith and spirituality and issues pertaining to the Dalit Christian realities. Later the students visited the dalit colony and interacted with the people to know better about the dalit life and spirituality. The students discussed the issues that caught their attention and sought clarifications and insights from Rev. Raj Bharath Patta and Rev. Rueben Manohar. The visit was very helpful for the students in forming and articulating theology from the dalit perspective and thus addressing the issues of oppression, alienation, marginalization and humiliation. 

The students felt that this exposure gave a better understanding about the life realities and situations of rural dalit Christians and expressed sincere gratitude to the course instructors, Dr. George Zachariah and Rev. Raj Bharath Patta and to the SCMI for organizing such a meaningful exposure. It was also suggested that more such exposures could help in doing theology in dalit and subaltern perspectives in a better way.

Photos and report- Paul Karunakar, BD III

JK

UTC principal's tea and covenant service

The opening of the new academic year was rung in with the principal's tea and covenant service yesterday evening. The session started with prayer by Rev. Dr. Allan Palanna. The principal, Rev. Dr. John Samuel Raj welcomed the students, staff and faculty members and  introduced the new faculty member, registrar and librarian along with their families. Announcements were made by chair persons and those in charge of several responsibilites. The opening session was concluded with prayer. The covenant service followed the tea and opening session.

The new Ethics professor Dr. George Zachariah and his family

The new Registrar Rev. Lalawmpuia Hauhnar and his family

The new librarian Mr. Samuel Raj and his wife

Dr. George Zachariah

Dr. George Zachariah joined the United Theological College, Bangalore as a teaching faculty in the department of Theology and Ethics on 1^st June, 2013. Born and raised in a Mar Thoma family in Kerala, he was nurtured in Christian faith by his family and the Church. During his college days, he got the opportunity to be part of the Student Christian Movement, which widened his perspectives and deepened his commitment to God and God’s world. This new awareness enabled him to dedicate his life to full time ministry witnessing Christ in solidarity with the marginalized in their search for a new world.

After completing his post-graduation in Commerce from the Mahatma Gandhi University, Kottayam, Dr. Zachariah joined AWAZ, a Christian social action group, and worked among the landless people in the villages of Chattisgarh for three years, organizing them through trade unions and peasant movements. It was a journey of vocational discernment in communion with people at the margins, re-imagining the public witness of the Church, informed by the politics and spirituality of radical societal engagements.  In 1990, he accepted the call to serve the Student Christian Movement of India, Kerala Region, and served SCM as program secretary for three years.  

George Zachariah’s decision to do formal theological studies brought him to the United Theological College, Bangalore in 1993, and he completed his BD studies in 1997. After serving the M.M. Thomas Center in Thiruvalla, Kerala as coordinator and the Theological Literature Council as editor for a short period, he decided to continue his advanced theological studies in the area of Christian Ethics in the United States of America and joined the Union Theological Seminary, New York for STM. Zachariah earned his Ph.D. with distinction in the field of Systematic Theology with special emphasis in Christian Ethics from the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, IL, USA, in 2006. His Dissertation was entitled “Towards a Subaltern Earth Ethics: Narmada Bachao Andolan as Text.”

On completion of his doctoral studies, Dr. Zachariah returned to India and served the Gurukul Lutheran Theological College and Research Institute, Chennai as faculty in the department of theology and ethics for seven years. During that period he held several responsibilities such as head of the department of theology and ethics, staff-in-charge of the Martin Luther Library, and dean of Graduate Studies. He also served as the editor of Gurukul Journal of Theological Studies for a term of three years, and brought out six issues of the journal on various themes. During this period Zachariah also actively participated in the programs of The Senate of Serampore College (University). He was part of the BD Curriculum Revision process and served on the editorial committee. Currently he is a member of the board of studies.

George Zachariah has got sufficient opportunities to present papers at various national and international consultations organized by ecumenical bodies such as the World Council of Churches, Christian Conference of Asia, Council for World Mission, and the Lutheran World Federation. The Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago and the Chicago Center for Global Ministries invited him to give the 2010 Scherer Lecture. In 2012, he served as visiting scholar at the Goettingen University, Germany in the Intercultural Theology Program. His recent publications include Alternatives Unincorporated: Earth Ethics from the Grassroots, (London: Equinox Press, 2011) and Gospel in a Groaning World: Climate Injustice and Public Witness (Nagpur/Tiruvalla: NCCI/CSS, 2012). His current research areas include Ethical Reflections on Climate Injustice, Human Sexuality, and HIV and AIDS.  

His wife Anshi Zachariah is a theologically trained social worker. Since 2006, she has been working with a faith-based NGO among people living with HIV and AIDS. They are blessed with two daughters; Amritha Mariam (I PUC, Mount Carmel College) and Aruna Elizabeth (IVth Standard, St. Johns High School).

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