A group of young members of the St. Thomas Orthodox Cathedral, Dubai or St. Thomas Church as it was then known felt that it was crucial to form a unit of the Orthodox Christian Youth Movement in our parish to promote fellowship and to devote themselves more to their spiritual development.
Right from the very beginning, the new spiritual organization took an active part in all the activities organized by the parish including service-oriented initiatives, retreats and church functions such as Good Friday, Christmas, etc. As a unit, the Dubai OCYM unit has set in motion several path-breaking initiatives such as Edify Care to support needy students, Venal Shibhiram, a program to educate young children here on traditional and rural life in Kerala, awards to recognize social activism, art and cultural competitions and awards to encourage academic excellence in students.
All members in the Church between the age of 15 and 45 are encouraged to participate in the OCYM. Regular meetings are held every Sunday after Holy Qurbana in the office complex.
Each meeting starts with worship songs followed by the opening prayer and a speech or a class by a priest or an elder member. Bible quizzes, seminars and discussions on topics as wide-ranging as drama, literature, energy conservation, history of the church, and personal finance are held on a frequent basis. We have regular competitions in music, fancy dress, poetry writing, colouring and photography to give members opportunities to develop their innate talents.
Venal Shibhiram, our effort to introduce our children to arts and traditional culture of Kerala that was first introduced in 2004 received such an enthusiastic response from parents and the children that we did a similar program in the Sharjah parish in 2010.
We introduced the Mar Thevodosios Memorial Award for those who have done their bit to make life better for their fellow beings in the Gulf region. We have instituted merit awards for students who perform well in the Xth and XIIth Board exams. We organize Blood Donation camps on a regular basis. We have organized relief efforts in aid of natural disasters such as the earthquake in Haiti, mask donation in Kerala. With a view to enhancing the spiritual development of our members, Divya Bodhanam classes were started under the guidance of our parish priests in 2008.
Our art wing Dhwani is highly active and in the past years staged three dramas entitled "Abrahaminte Bali", “Poy Mughangal" and “Vicharana" that developed the latent acting skills of our members and entertained parish members on our Parish Day celebrations. Our Job Cell makes it a point to circulate the news of possible openings to candidates who are seeking jobs. The Library established and maintained by the youth league has a stock of over 5000 titles and continues to serve as a valuable learning resource.
With God’s grace, we continue to grow and invite more helping hands to strengthen the OCYM Dubai unit for the glory of God, the Church, and the community.