Kochi: In connection with the celebration of Earth Hour, Malankara Orthodox Church of the southern Indian state of Kerala has instructed its faithful to reach church for Mass this Sunday on foot or on cycles and to avoid private vehicles. As for those travelling longer distances, the church has advised public transport.
“Our objective is to conserve energy and reduce pollution. We believe that we have the responsibility to hand over the resources of the earth to the next generation without inflicting much damage to them,” said Prof P C Alias, public relations officer, Malankara Orthodox Church. “When we communicated with believers, many, especially youth, accepted it with much enthusiasm,” he said.
The appeal has gone out to all dioceses and parishes of this denomination across the world including US, Malaysia and Australia. But, the church would be focusing mainly on around 1,200 parishes in Kerala as it can directly monitor these parishes. “It is not an order but an appeal by the church. All parishioners should come to church walking or use cycles. But the ailing can use private vehicles,” Alias said. Church authorities have started speaking directly to as many faithful as possible to make the event a success.
Earlier, Malankara Orthodox Church had introduced “cyber fast” as part Holy Week celebrations leading up to Easter – it involved staying away from cell phones, internet and television and was, surprisingly, a big hit among the youth. The church is planning to extend the duration of cyber fast from this year onwards.
source: Times of India