Farewell Address to Fr. John Edappilly

I'll never try to hold you back 
I wouldn't try controlling you 
If it's what you want 
It's what I want 
I want what's best for you 
And if there's something else that you're looking for 
I'll be the first to help you try 
Believe me when I say 
It's hard to say goodbye 

Dear Rev. Dr. John Edappilly,

The above lyrics from Celine Dion’s song aptly describe the sentiments: yours and ours too! “There’s a time for everything”, says the author of the book of Ecclesiastes in the Holy Bible.  After 8 eventful years at Niscort, the time has come for you to move on. Moving on...has been your trait in life.

You moved on from the humble hamlet of Irinjalakuda in Kerala in 1963 to be a Carmelite of Mary Immaculate (CMI) priest. Almost 50 long and eventful years spent with one and only one goal- to be a humble instrument of Good News from God! You shunned mediocrity and worked hard to be a thorough scholar and professional. You hold triple masters degrees in Theology, Psychology and Theatre and Media. The Temple University, Philadelphia conferred- ‘Outstanding Academic Achievement Award’ for your PhD Dissertation titled: The Emerging Electronic Church. It was in line with your motto in life as a priest-“To help people, especially the youth to find a right perspective in life”.

Dear Fr. John, you are an acclaimed and accomplished teacher. Which is evident as you are a visiting professor at Dharmaram College, Bangalore;  Ponfifical Institute, Alwaye; Tamilnadu Theological Seminary, Madurai; and Immaculata University, Pennsylvania in the United States of America. NISCORT indeed was privileged to have such an outstanding scholar in you as its dean for the past 8 years.

NISCORT was a baby when you arrived in 2003, with only a few in-house Post Graduate Diploma programs. It was your initiative by which the institute got affiliated to Makhanlal Chaturvedi University and the students could proudly wield their Post Graduate certificates while looking for a career in media. You introduced a lot of interesting and unique study programs and appointed experts in the faculty. Facilities and opportunities were provided. You gave a direction and an impetus. It was your dream to make NISCORT one of the premier media training institutes in the country. You have worked hard and you have been advising us saying, “You have one of the best chances with the facilities second to none. Make the best use of it. There is no substitute for hard work.”

Fr.John, you possess a multi-faceted personality: very witty; highly humorous; an accomplished artist; a disciple of MS Subbalakshmi when it comes to classical singing; strict and disciplined- as if you were an army General in your previous birth; kind and considerate to the weak and vulnerable like Jesus your Master; well-focused on the goal and achieving it at all cost. Father, I can go on... but time is the constraint. But one trait that is outstanding in you is that you are an exemplary, enthusiastic, confident and committed leader. And we would love to be your disciples!

It was God’s call that brought you here and it is He now sending you to elsewhere. “Veni, vidi, vici”, were the words attributed to Julius Caesar, meaning, “I came, I saw, I conquered”. Well, you have conquered our hearts... the packed audience here is the proof enough! Every good thing comes to an end. But true love doesn’t have a happy ending, because true love never ends. We wish that you could stay with us a little longer. However the words of Robert Frost, “The woods are lovely, dark and deep...But I have promises to keep...and miles to go before I sleep”, may be coming to your mind.

Thank you Father for coming into our lives and leaving the footprints on our hearts. Best of luck for your future plans. We would like to conclude with a wish and a prayer quoting the Irish Blessing, “May the road rise up to meet you; may the wind be ever at your back; may the sun shine warm upon your face and the rain fall softly on your fields. And until we meet again, may God hold you in the hollow of His hand.

Wishing you Farewell,

We, the NISCORT Family.

Wednesday the 17^th August, 2011.