Sumedha Outreach: Workshop for Seminary Formators

Director of Sumedha Centre, Dr. Jose Parappully, a clinical psychologist, was invited to conduct a one-day workshop for the Seminary formators of all the dioceses of Madhya Pradesh.

It was organized by Fr. Mathew Vallatt, the Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Bhopal and the Secretary of the MP Region Formator’s Forum. It was held at the Diocesan Pastoral Centre, Bhopal on December 4, 2016. There were 16 participants from nine diocese.

Dr. Parappully organized the workshop around the theme “”Formative Accompaniment & Emotional Maturation”

He focused on the kind formation process that facilitated emotional maturation. He covered the following topics in this regard:  the role of trust in healthy emotional development; Importance of meeting basic emotional needs such as relatedness, competence and autonomy; facilitation of an environment that fosters these basic needs; and the need for formators to be credible and enthusiastic about the formation process.

There was ample opportunity for participants to reflect on and share their experiences in the light of the psychological insights presented.

Participants said they found the workshop – content and process- immensely helpful.

Sumedha Facilitates Rectors and Leaders’ Meet

Sumedha Centre was invited to facilitate the annual Rectors and Leaders’ Meeting at the Salesian Provincial House, New Delhi on 7-9, September 2016. There were 29 participants.

Johnny Dominic, the Assistant Director of Sumedha Centre facilitated sessions on “Spiritual Accompaniment.” He provided an understanding of spiritual accompaniment” emphasising especially the mystical dimension of spirituality. He also explained the recent document from the Councillor General for Formation on “Personal Accompaniment of Salesians.”

Jose Parappully, the Director of Sumedha Centre, presented the revised “Periodic Assessment of Salesians in Formation (PASIF). Parappully had been involved in the construction, testing and revision of this evaluation instrument from its inception. He described the evolution of the PASIF, explained how it is to be administered and scored and conducted a practice session.

There were also sessions by other Resource Persons. K. C. John, the Economer of the Province presented a letter from the Economer General on the spirituality of stewardship. He also presented the financial status of the Province.

A. M. Jose, Director of Don Bosco Tech, presented the activities of the Organization and the possibilities that are opening up for collaboration with the government and corporates in the area of skills development.

There were report from the chairpersons of the various Provincial Commissions an also an Open Session led by the Provincial, Jose Mathew, where the participants had the opportunities to discuss various issues related to the Province.

The three day meeting ended with the Silver Jubilee Celebrations of the Priestly Ordination of two members of the Province – Hilarius Kullu and James Pazhayajpallil and that of the Religious Profession of two – Thankachan Kollapallil and Mukul Kujur.