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Jun 14 2015 : The Times of India (Mumbai)Devotees of all faiths go for
counselling at city churchNergish SunavalaMumbai:Mahim Centre Opened A Year
Ago For Devotees
Every Wednesday, over 50,000 devotees throng the St Michael's Novena services
hoping for miraculous cures. Many crawl down the central aisle cradling wax
babies, kidneys and candles. Around 100 of these supplicants also drop in at
the church's counselling centre, which was set up last year.
During the 30-minute sessions with the Mahim church's 38 trained counsellors,
these wax offerings take the shape of grittier human problems like infertility,
kidney failure and unrequited love. The church decided to offer this service
for free upon realizing that devotees were also craving human contact.
Even Hindu and Muslim devotees--about 40% of congregants on Wednesday are from
other faiths--wanted to give confession because they desperately needed someone
to confide in.
“Many would come to us after the service and even say , `We want to commit
suicide,“ recalls parish priest Father Simon Borges. “We realized counseling is
the need of the hour.“ Raj, who was at the church last week, waited to speak to
a counselor about his marital troubles. “People have very few meaningful
relationships today , which is why there's such a crowd at temples, mosques and
churches,“ he says. “Counseling makes you introspect.“ Strains from a Novena
service waft up to the counselling centre located on the first floor of St
Michael's in Mahim. In the chapel below, thousands of devotees of all faiths
chant, “Pray for us O Mother of Perpetual Succor.“ The counselling centre was
opened last year by the authorities upon realizing that besides a spiritual
connection, congregants were also craving human contact.
Janice, for instance, was troubled because she couldn't convince her three sons
and husband to accompany her to church. Additionally, her eldest is putting on
weight and refuses to get out of bed till 2pm. Her counsellor, 74-year-old
Vilma Duarte, could offer few solutions but Janice was far more chipper after
their chat. “My problems are not half as bad as those faced by other people,“
she says.While counselling at the church centre, Duarte has seen a gamut of
problems including alcoholism and other addictions, parents troubled by
interfaith marriages, depression caused by unemployment and troublesome in-laws.
Ten years ago, the church roped in parishion ers to help with the increasing
demand for counselling and even sent them for a three-month course at St
Xavier's College. But it was only last year that the the Nitya Sahaya
Counselling Centre was set up. Besides the 38 counsellors who volunteer for a
small stipend at the free centre, there are also two priests on call, who bless
people of all faiths and hear confessions of Christian devotees. The centre was
the brainchild of par ish priest Fr Simon Borges, who believes that counselling
is a logical extension of the confession sacrament.“The real father of
psychology is the man, who invented confession because he understood the value
of unburdening oneself,“ says Borges. To make the centre a reality, Borges
collaborated with Father Godfrey D'Sa, the director of Prafulta Psychological
Services, to find counsellors with the requisite qualifications. “All of them
have completed at least a basic course in counselling,“ says D'Sa. “We are
trying to remove the stigma around counselling. People believe that they should
only ask for help if they have a serious problem, but all of us need help in
our lives.There is no shame in asking for it.“
Many counsellors have thrown up lucrative professions and chosen to come to
this field because it's far more rewarding. Deepali Pandya, for instance, was
once a fashion designer, while Gregory Lobo worked as a banker. The joy really
lies in being able to follow up with old patients and track the impact of
counselling on their lives. For instance, Fiona, who asked that her last name
not be used, treated a suicidal lady, who later returned when she was in a
happier place with a cake and a Thank You card. In another instance, she helped
a boy, whose marks had fallen in school by introducing short breaks in his
schedule. “His mother was forcing him to study for hours at a stretch and his
marks had dipped,“ she explains. “When he passed the tenth grade with 89%, I
was the first person he called.“
(Names of devotees changed)
