Just for Fun

"Million Dollar Arm" is the latest feel good film about India.  A true story about recruiting young men from India to play baseball in the US, thereby creating a billion new fans for baseball.  It is sad, funny, triumphant, and stars  John Hamm.  And much of it is filmed in India.  I loved it.

India Mission Network

Looks like four of us Long Islanders will work on resurrecting the India Mission Network.  We met yesterday with staff of the PCUSA Office at the United Nations and by conference call with General Assembly staff in Louisville to share our concerns about human and civil rights for Christian and Moslem people in India; particularly Dalits and particularly in North India.  The purpose of the meeting was to bring the current political situation to their attention so they would be in a position to reach out to UN partners to express our concerns in the event of  further violence directed at these two minorities.

The two hour discussion led to an agreement to reach out to potential India Network partners who share our concerns and are interested in playing a role in support of our Christian partners in the Church of North India.
Other avenues to explore are: interfaith dialogue, both here in the USA and in India
an Overture to the General Assembly which meets in Portland, OR  in 2016
Submission of a report from CNI to the Human Rights Council of the United Nations (which meets every 4 years)

Pastor Jimmy Hulsey and I are members of the Long Island Council of Churches and I am a member of the Interfaith Dialogue Committee.  We have a meeting scheduled with the National Council of Churches in early July which may give us some further direction for interfaith dialogue.  So we will start with that.

Bat Theology

Strange how things you never heard of until recently, come up again.  Bat Theology, though, has a title that commands attention.  I first heard it in my Hinduism class at Stony Brook as part of a wealth of information I couldn't quite keep up with.  And I remember it because Bat is the name my Grandaughter planned to and did call her baby brother.
Bat Theology is from one of Jashua Kavi's many poems that express the desolation of people who are outcast.  He lived from 1891 to 1956 and was a contemporary of many of the great names in India's fight for Independence such as Gandhi, Nehru, Ambedkar.  His poems bring to light how society in general and religion in particular have provided justification for enslaving so much of humanity.  All men and women should be free to live with dignity and the respect of their fellow man.  He tells the story of every person who is caste out in a way that everyone recognizes, with words that touch hearts and minds.

Speaking of India...

Just returned from a whirlwind Smartour of Greece accompanied by my daughter, Erica, husband, Gerard, and friends Pat and Brian.  We started with island hopping and then a land segment.  Towards the end I got to talking to several folks about India Journey with Grace.  Folks were very interested, and for once no one was totally dismissive of the idea of travel there.  I did meet a woman who had been on the Smartours India trip and who had positive feedback about the tour and India.

We had excellent guides, especially for the land segment which included many of the important archeological sites.  One thing I found off putting, however, was the frequent reference to the Greek civilization being so far ahead of all others "in the known world".  Clearly, there were other known worlds on other continents over two thousand years ago.

Meanwhile, back in India, the voting was completed and Modi won with an impressive majority.  He has begun by inviting his counterpart in Pakistan to attend his swearing in ceremony, which seems to me a politically courageous thing to do. He has been invited to visit the US by Obama, the ban on his travel here having been lifted.  It will be interesting to see how this new direction for India plays out. What will be the effect of a move towards a more consciously Hindu, as opposed to a secular state?

Hindi and Hinduism

Taking a course at SUNY Stony Brook on Hinduism.  Luckily, I am able to audit as an adult learner, but the reading list is the same, no matter what.  I don't take exams or do a paper, so it is all good except for the time committment; three mornings a week a 9:00 AM.  Yikes!

I was inspired to take it  by my Hindi teacher who has been giving me private lessons since October., and who is the instructor for the class. I met him by chance at a yoga class.  Little by little, learning Hindi is taking place.  My disinclination to study does get in the way, compounded by the time spent on the Hinduism class.  The answer to the question "Is it worth it?" has yet to be answered. I would  like to be able to participate in simple conversation and know what is going on around me.

Indian Christians Demand Equal Rights

I have not finished the narrative about our October 2013 trip, having saved the best for last.  And then Thanksgiving and Christmas came and yada, yada, yada.  It was a case of saving the best (I always think Darjeeling is the best) for last.  But now I have received information about a matter of great importance and concern that must be shared.

On December 11, 2013 a rally of Indian Christians to demand equal rights for Dalit Christians and Muslims was held at Jantar Mantar in Delhi.  The group consisted of representatives from the Catholic Bishops' Conference of India, the National Council of Dalit Christians, the National Council of Churches in India and the Church of North India.  The issue is one of long standing.  Dalit Christians and Muslims are not accorded their rights under the Scheduled Caste provisions of the Constitution which accords educational and employment reservation status to Hindu, Sikh, and Buddhist Dalits.

This peaceful delegation of hundreds of Christian leaders from across North India was led by Mr. Alwin Masih, General Secretary of the Church of North India.   The group was met with dirty water canons and a caning charge by Delhi Police and many members of the group were detained for hours.  This is the first time after November 27, 1997 that bishops and religious leaders were arrested for embracing and supporting the Dalit cause and the first time when they were lathi charged and water canonned.

The following day a delegation met with Dr. Manmohan Singh, Prime Minister of India to apprise him of the situation and to put forth the anguish and pain the community is going through due to the denial of basic democratic rights to Dalit Christians and Muslims.  The Prime Minister gave them a patient hearing and assured them the matter would be brought before the Cabinet Committee.

We stand in solidarity with our brothers, sisters and friends in the Church of North India and will report on further developments.

Doing Church in Chennai

The Reverends D.C. and Deborah Premraj are co-Pastors of the Church of South India Redeemer Church in Kilpauk, a residential area of Chennai.  This is a huge church with a large and diverse congregation.  Our own Pastor Tim was invited to participate in the Sunday morning Tamil service and had brought his own ecclesiastic garb.  Our group was seated up front, directly across from the chorus, all the better to enjoy their enthusiasm as they sang hymns familiar and new.  It also meant we had to be on our best church behavior during the entire service which included a very long sermon in Tamil.  Most moving was a laying on of hand segment for prayer requests.  Pastor Tim was able to participate as Pastor D. C. heard requests and translated them into English.  Tim prayed for the person, with D.C. providing a translation for the person.  The requests were certainly similar to those expressed every Sunday at home, but the individual touch and clear statement of the need along with prayer was very powerful.

We had some time to meet with the Pastors and other key staff after the service to learn about their work which impacts the surrounding community.  Of course there was tea, but also the most delicious cake one can imagine.  (My piece was chocolate with a chocolate ganache and whipped mocha filling.  I remember this cake as vividly as anything which probably says more about me than the cake itself.)  Members are lawyers, doctors, teachers and professionals and folks who live in nearby slums in dire poverty.  Conscious efforts are made to integrate all members into the church family.  Communion is served each week with juice made by slum dwellers.  In this way they are a vital part of the communion service.  Physicians rotate weekly to provide a free health clinic after the last Sunday service.  Free medications are provided as needed, but most importantly there is someone is listen to the health concerns of congregants.  For many this is the first time in their lives they have really been listened to with care and concern.

We were introduced to their vocational training programs through the beautiful and well made gifts we received.  Many of the bags we ladies received were put into use immediately and will be used for a long time to come.  My own bag is very fancy and made of black satiny material covered with tasteful design in black beads and sequins.  It definitely required many hours of painstaking work.  I was thrilled to learn about the training program and thankful that we could make a contribution towards the purchase of supplies.

A third area of outreach we witnessed firsthand was a house council meeting.  The congregation is divided up into groups of families of all backgrounds who meet regularly (Can't remember for sure, maybe weekly) to talk about their challenges and joys.  The life wisdom shared by members is not dependent upon wealth or education and gives everyone a chance to help and be helped.

We paid a visit to St. Thomas Mount where relics of the Saint credited with bringing Christianity to India are housed within a Catholic church.  The area affords beautiful views of the surrounding area in a serene and contempletive setting and does justice to the saint and the miraculous work he performed.

In speaking with Reverend D.C. Pramraj, I learned that Christianity is accepted and Christians more numerous than in the north.  Because of St. Thomas and early adoption of Christianity it has become an accepted religion as opposed to the struggles and dangers faced by missionaries in the north.  Christians in the north continue to experience persecution in many forms.  And Dalit Christians, who make up 90% of all Christians, are discriminated against through the very constitution which is supposed to uphold human rights.

For me, the most moving church experience occurred Saturday night after a very long day of sightseeing, sitting in traffic and shopping til we dropped.  On our way back to the hotel Daya had the bus stop outside a gate with a CSI (Church of South India) sign.  We all groaned, some inwardly, some outwardly.  As it turned the church was open for a group of youth who were rehearsing hymns for the service the next day.  This was a small, humble church, much like the McGaw Memorial Church in Etah.  Electricity went out during practice, we got a chanced to talk with the kids and Daya had a blast singing with them.  I think they had a blast too.  Somehow, the Pastor was called, the Elders showed up and tea was served out on the front stoop/veranda.  Tears flowed.  And still do.