Mumbai Writers’ Vision Workshop
A one day Mumbai Writer's Vision Workshop was organised by Mr LInus D'Lima, Social Engineer and Advocate Loy D'Souza, Convenor - Christian Legal Association at Vinayalaya, Jesuit Training Centre, Andheri, Mumbai on November 8, 2010.
Twenty-one aspiring writers from various churches and walks of life participated in this event.
The theme of the workshop was on Creative Christian Writing.
Rev. Dr. J.N. Manokaran, Managing Director - Trainers of Pastors International Coalition (TOPIC) India led the workshop by sharing a short presentation from David and Goliath. He portrayed media as a challenge similar to Goliath. In fact, Goliath provoked the Identity, Faith and Zeal of David that resulted in the defeat and death of Goliath. God is looking for Davids in each generation to counter Goliaths. The presentation demonstrated how to look at Scripture text from different perspective.
Rev Dr Manokaran challenged the participants to think about writing in the media from a biblical perspective. He presented God as a Writer who commissions his people to write - writers as God’s prophets and writing as a God's mission. From history he showed how thinkers and writers like Marx, Darwin, Freud shaped secular world view and Ambedkar and Periyar shaped the political view in India. He screened a short film on John Calvin, a theologian who influenced and shaped the prosperous economy of Geneva .
He shared how biblical narratives like Joseph could be applied to feeding the hungry; Esther stopping ethnic cleansing of Jews; Prophet confronting King Ahab for encroaching and grabbing the land of a commoner…etc. The participants were challenged to write on a few themes. The budding writers shared their struggles in the process of writing. For some it was poetry, for others it was short stories or non-fiction. Many were unable to connect Scriptures to their writings.
“I never understood God as a writer" stated Mr Gordon DSouza, President - Bombay Catholic Sabha.
“This was a powerful demonstration of biblical basis for Christian writers,” expressed one of the delegates. An elderly person now felt confident to share God's Word through Facebook.
A year long online mentoring is available to the interested participants.
The next Workshop will be conducted next year.
