The sad hallmarks of missionary activities in recent years are the perks and privileges that go with it and the opportunities such itinerant mission workers have to patronize over vulnerable people and communities in the developing world. In this process wittingly or unwittingly, they nurture clever crooks attracted by the funds that are on offer. Dr Vijeyakumar is a friend of Rev Jeyanesan and such relationships have their avenues of corrupting dimensions especially when there are no openness or transparency in how some missionary organizations function.
by Kumar Wijeyaratnam in New York
on behalf of Friends of JDCSI Overseas
(October 10, New York, Sri Lanka Guardian) Recently we heard among our Jaffna Christian friends that our bishop, the Rt Rev Dr Daniel Thiagarajah was visiting the States on an important mission encouraged by his friends in Sri Lanka and North America. The initial move had come from his friends in the Indiana Kentucky Conference. They were concerned about some events that caused a split in the church. They worked hard to enable a meeting between him and the Executive Director of the Wider Church Ministries of the United Church of Christ (WCM-UCC), Dr Cally Rogers-Witte.
A unilateral action by Dr Cally Rogers-Witte on premises that ceased to exist a hundred years ago and further indemnified in 1947 with the founding of the Church of South India (CSI) led to a whole string of problems created by a group that broke away from the Jaffna Diocese of the Church of South India (JDCSI) led by the Rev Sellathurai Jeyanesan. His peeve was that he was not elected the bishop.
This action of Dr Rogers-Witte was evocative of how a British Colonial Secretary would have encouraged a divide and rule principle, Cyprus being a good example where the minority Turks were encouraged against the majority Greeks in the movement for an independent state of Cyprus.
It was obvious Dr Rogers-Witte wanted a similar presence in the mission field in Sri Lanka helped by her colleague Dr James Vijeyakumar who literally runs her office in Cleveland, Ohio while this lady is gallivanting on what is supposed to be her official engagements and obligations in Asia and Africa on behalf of WCM-UCC.
The sad hallmarks of missionary activities in recent years are the perks and privileges that go with it and the opportunities such itinerant mission workers have to patronize over vulnerable people and communities in the developing world. In this process wittingly or unwittingly, they nurture clever crooks attracted by the funds that are on offer. Dr Vijeyakumar is a friend of Rev Jeyanesan and such relationships have their avenues of corrupting dimensions especially when there are no openness or transparency in how some missionary organizations function.
Bishop Daniel Thiagarajah accepted the invitation confident that a rapport could be created between his diocese, the JDCSI and the WCM-UCC. We found that since this was undertaken as a private meeting of both in the presence of his friends in Indianapolis, Bishop Thiagarajah paid for his travel from his personal funds while that of Dr Cally Rogers-Witte was paid by folks in Indiana. And she, for reasons best known to her wanted this as a confidential meet to which Bishop Thiagarajah agreed and he has maintained that spirit of the agreement.
We have now heard Bishop Thiagarajah, following the visit to Indianapolis, had a brief holiday with his brother-in-law and family in Toronto and returned to Sri Lanka without participating in any function, church service or going on visits purely to honour his agreement of keeping the visit under covers. Many of us were pleased that he had this meeting with Dr Cally Rogers-Witte who was the immediate cause and catalyst in the split of the JDCSI; some documents signed by her evidence this beyond any doubt.
She was totally ignorant of how the American Ceylon Mission had become part of the South Indian United Church at first and later it evolved as the JDCSI, a diocese under the discipline and government of the Synod of the Church of South India from 1947.
We understand from very reliable sources that until July 3, last year Dr Cally Rogers-Witte was virtually unawares of the American Ceylon Mission (ACM), its status in Sri Lanka and the properties that were deeded in its name; even more that the ACM is an integral part of the JDCSI. But when the Rev Jeyanesan lost his quest for the bishopric, a conspiracy seems to have been hatched spearheaded by the Rev James Vijeyakumar who appears to have told Dr Cally Rogers-Witte that the WCM-UCC had total control over the ACM properties in Sri Lanka and that Rev Jeyanesan could be helped to start a new church taking over all the ACM properties.
Even though the United Church of Christ is committed to unity, when it comes to overseas especially in the developing world, it is an American psyche to have communities divided and grasp the weaker ones and ensnare them into their control with tidbits and crumbs. Dr Cally Rogers-Witte, the lady always on the move and as one wit in Cleveland parodied about her travels, from Nepal to Babylon, Kottanchenai to Varuththalai Vilan and Vientianne to Cothambai Rotti and whatever other names one can fancy.
It is James Vijeyakumar who runs the office for her. A few days ago we were surprised to see a document signed by Dr Cally Rogers-Witte being circulated in the Internet and one source was Dr Dayalan Ambalavanar from the United Kingdom a known supporter of the Rev Jeyanesan camp. Two days later, the same document appeared in the website of the Church of the American Ceylon Mission (CACM) founded by the Rev Jeyanesan.
In the case of Dr Ambalavanar, one of the children of three sisters to have obtained scholarships for medical training in Vellore for three successive years sponsored by the JDCSI, he should be working in Sri Lanka where doctors are badly in need. Evidently, the major change Bishop Danny Thiagarajah has brought about to the church and the community is the cleaning up of the deadwoods and cobwebs of clan control and class and caste based practices and this has not been met with acceptance in certain quarters.
This internet circulation was sourced from a website of the rebel church either managed by some novices or a non-Christian who seems to have some non-democratic and pro-violence political connections according to our investigations. As far as this document is concerned there is nothing in it to say that an effort was made to create a rapport between Bishop Danny Thiagarajah and Dr Cally Rogers-Witte with the latter being the spoilsport. We have been told that Bishop Thiagarajah was taken by surprise when Dr Rogers-Witte wanted him to affirm what she had wanted to state on it; again acting unilaterally. She just failed to grasp an opportunity to help create some kind of rapport among the contending forces.
She seems to have at the very outset itself poured cold water at such expectations and made it quite clear and in a patronizing way too that she was only there to listen and as if Bishop Thiagarajah was there to beseech her blessings. Her conduct could be considered rude and even boorish for taking such a stand.
When we contacted Bishop Thiagarajah and asked him about the meeting and the document, he said that he was honour bound by the agreement not to speak about it and that stays even if the other party had violated the spirit of the meeting.
The document was obviously leaked and a walk back on the track to the source, if Dr Cally Rogers-Witte has not let it out, then it has to be possibly the Rev James Vijeyakumar. From him it must have gone to the Rev Jeyanesan currently visiting North America and the Rev Milton Solomons, the signatory to the document of July last year that said all ACM properties were now under the Church of the American Ceylon Mission (CACM).
Another source close to the CACM but who is dillydallying about going back to the JDCSI has revealed a great deal of disquiet about a large sum of money that was voted by the WCM-UCC for some tsunami relief work amounting to over Rs.9, 500, 000.00 which has not reached the JDCSI yet even after nearly four years. In the meantime JDCSI based on this vote had advanced its own funds and had completed the housing scheme treating that as a great priority.
Dr Cally Rogers-Witte appears to have questioned the Rev James Vijeyakumar about these funds who in turn has sounded the seriousness of the situation to the Rev Jeyanesan. It was over this the private document appears to have reached the hands of the Rev Jeyanesan. Others involved in this project are Dr Dhayan Chand Carr of the Global Ministries and a friend of Rev Jeyanesan, Mrs Shiranee Mills and Annappah Jeyarajan.
The leak of the document may actually be the one that will lift the lid over a number of matters that should cause much concern for many people. With Dr Cally Rogers-Witte flying around most of the time not really to the places parodied by the Cleveland wit but to real places all over Asia, South America and Africa where most of the vulnerable live and be easily patronized, her office in Cleveland, Ohio must be a den of corruption involving funds that are voted for all kinds of projects.
If this is not a reasonable speculation then where is the vote of over nine million rupees for tsunami relief work that was handled by the Rev James Vijeyakumar? It may time now to call the US Federal authorities and sound them on possible felonious practices in this area of work. - Sri Lanka Guardian
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