In the Bombay Archdiocesan Synod 2001, His grace Archbishop Ivan Dias, stressed on the importance of Parish Cells. This is what the post Synodal document states: “An important and obligatory constituent of every parish is a Centre for Community Organization. It will ensure that we move towards transforming the image of the Parish from a centre of mere rituals and worship to a centre of empowerment, i.e. where we put into practice our vision of being a participatory- Servant Church, in favour of the poor and the marginalized in the Parish.”
His Grace Ivan Dias also stressed the importance of Parish’s Cells. The said Document thus says: “The Parish will also create “Cells” to respond to various needs in an organized manner. These Cells could evolve from various services responding to the felt needs and priorities on the Parish. Within a specific time frame, the Parish should decide which cells/services must be established and possibly network with existing Parish Associations with similar charisms.”
Keeping in mind the decisions and encouragement from the Synod, the Centre for Community Organization was blessed and inaugurated on 8th September 2004. This was another milestone, exactly 4 years after the inauguration of our Church. The CCO office decided to work in certain areas as per the needs and priorities of the parish, particularly keeping focus on the Parish Vision Mission : “Vibrant with the Spirit of the Risen Lord towards a Community of deeper Faith, Worship Love and Service”. Many new Cells / Committees were started and some of the existing ones strengthened.
The CCO reaches out to all the parishioners, especially the poor and marginalized, as Bishop Percy told the members of the FCCO (Federation of Centres for Community Organization) in their Consultation “The CCOs are a very powerful arm of the Church in Mumbai”. They are the social consciousness of the Parish. Today we are called to complement our works with “Empowerment”; called to humanize the human- being”.
The CCO functions in a unique way. It has not been set up as an independent organization, but as an organization of the Parish that works in collaboration and support of various Cells/Associations/Small Christian Communities, especially in matters relating to various social, economic, cultural and civic aspects. In this way, CCO aims to reach out to many needy people, especially in areas of health, education and housing in collaboration with Benevolent Fund and SVP. The CCO does the preliminary steps of filling forms, and be liaison with the Holy Spirit Hospital where the patients after being scrutinized are treated.
Various courses have been organized, like Self-Employment Training programmes, “Developing Multi-skills” in order to help the trainees to be gainfully employed, or use their skills in their day to day life.
Through the employment cell many job placements have taken place not only for Catholics but for people of other faiths as well. Regular medical services are organized by the Health Cell of our Parish by ways of camps, regular blood and sugar check- ups, talks by Doctors etc. All these events take place at the Community Centre, for the benefit of all.
The year 2007 was dedicated to the “marginalized”. We keep in mind the mission and command of Our Lord Jesus Christ “Whatsoever you do to the least of my brothers, you do unto Me” (Mathew 25:40). We want to ensure that the poor, weak, helpless and the lonely are cared for, no one would go to bed hungry, no child would be deprived of education and no one would die for lack of medical aid. Our outreach to the needy continues.. Thanks to the one per cent contribution of our parishioners to the Community Welfare Fund.
In the area of education the CCO is involved in
- Helping students to get scholarships for Minority quota – “Maulana Azad” Scholarship for girls at XI std.
- “Post Matric” Scholarship – for students studying from Std. XI to TY any stream , D.Ed, B.Ed, ITI, Vocational courses, M. Phil and Ph.D
- “Merit cum Means” Scholarship for students pursuing professional and technical undergraduate and PG courses.
CCO also caters to Matrimonials. We have a number of single girls and boys who have registered at the CCO from within and outside the parish and they are welcome to find a match after registering.
All the different programmes planned by the Cells, Associations, Groups are recorded, monitored and displayed on the notice board so that there is no clash when requirement of rooms and halls are put forward by them for their meetings and events.
The Dental Clinic has been set up in the Community Centre for the benefit of all the Parishioners, open to people of other faiths too. The clinic is hygienic and the cost of any treatment is reasonable. The clinic has on its panel, ten various doctors like Oral Surgeon, Periodontist, Orthodontist, implantologist and other BDS doctors. They carry out various jobs like Frenectomy, Operlectomy, Flap Surgery, Crown lengthening procedure (CLP), surgical extraction of wisdom tooth, one sitting Root Canal and implants and braces.
The opening of the Homeopathy Clinic is another milestone for the parish. It was inaugurated on 31st October, 2009. Our clinic, aims at giving special care to each and every patient right from examining to correct diagnosis and giving medicine for successful treatment of the ailment. Homeopathic medicine has been used to treat various ailments safely and effectively. The clinic is open to our parishioners as well as non-parishioners regardless of caste and creed.
The CCO organizes training programmes for Cells and Associations to acquire the necessary knowledge and leadership skills. We also organize Parish Association Council meetings for the Heads and Assistant heads. These meetings are held four times a year. Besides this the CCO Team meets with its Director, twice a month to review and implement our work.
Centre for Community Organization (CCO):
Contact Number: 8433605226
Email id : cco_shpand@yahoo.in
Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday (10 am to 12 Noon)
Tuesday, Thursday (6 pm to 8 pm)
Sunday – Closed
Homeopathy Clinic
Contact Number: 9930889594
Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday
Time : 6.00 pm to 7.30 pm
Dental Clinic
Contact Number: 9324384676
Day : Monday to Saturday
Time : 9.00 am to 5.00 pm
Message : Lets work together in reaching out to the poorest of the poor so that no one is left in need.