Sabbatical - Day 12

At TTS. Begin day at 8 with open air worship celebrating Pongal, the harvest festival of thanksgiving to God. Thanks are giving to God for harvest, and His provision through nature. Without nature we cannot live. We remember the struggles of farmers. A cow is tethered to a tree; we celebrate farming.

 It also celebrates friendship, remembering past friendship, celebrating being one family with no discrimination. Tomorrow this will be the focus with Cow Pongal   It is a Tamilian national celebration across religions. It is especially celebrated by Hindus and Christians. It coincides with other celebrations of different names in the other states of India.

Last night we drove through town with celebrations well under way, Hindu pilgrims making their way to the Temple, walking up to 100 miles, 10 miles per day. Sugar canes are bought and waved, and I presume eaten.

Today, the young people pretend to be a family where Pongal is explained and Pongal cooked (we tasted some yesterday- delicious). There is folk singing and dance including Tamil folk-instruments. We are reminded that as we help the poor we serve God. We conclude with communion but we use nuts in place of bread, juice I think from sugar cane with ginger for wine. This is used for special celebrations, with the same spiritual meaning.

      

A new pot is made and painted for the first fruits of harvest

Pongal is also a delicious food, made in the pot. Here some queue up to enjoy it. 

Afterwards, a tour round the campus led by Jaya Karan who is bursar and teaches social analysis. The campus is built as a traditional village.

Various views:

The Dalit Resource Centre has been very influential

 in helping develop Dalit leadership in society

and developing Dalit art

Spot the ecological emphases

We discover more of how committed TTS are to the poor, especially the Dalit. They have encouraged the development of Dalit leadership and art through a Dalit Resource Centre. I hear of two theologians to explore: James Massey and A P Nirmal.

A stimulating conversation in the afternoon with the Principal J. David Rajendran, and several staff and students. The integrity of Newbigin as someone always for the poor came across, not least in stories about him. We heard debate that perhaps CSI needs to rediscover this passion for the poor, though in our experience it is very much this. But our experience is limited. 

We are privileged to spend further time in conversation with the Principal afterwards.

In the evening a wonderful outing to a Sound and Light at the palace of Tirumalai Naik (1623-1659).

It tells something of the history of his reign including the flowering of art and the welcoming of different faith traditions. Stephen Neill speaks of this period in his history of the church in India. His reign coincided with the mission of Robert Nobili who had arrived as a young Jesuit in Goa in 1605. Madurai became the centre for his mission. Neill writes (A History of Christianity in India - The Beginnings to 1707, p 260) that there "began a career marked by originality unsurpassed by any missionary in India before or after his time." Nobili determined to "as far as was possible, [to] become a Brahman for their sakes." (p281). Neil notes that Tirumai Naik "intended to make himself a great conqueror. To this end he assembled a considerable army... The people of the area suffered severely from the recurrent famines which were due at least in part to his military ambitions. The gerenal atmosphere of suspicion and uncertainty was unfavourable to amicable discussion with Hindus and to the extension of the Christian congregation."

Newbigin in "The Gospel in  Pluralist Society' discusses Robert Nobili and notes that "[a] daring effort at contextualisation has, [in the view of later generations of Indian Christians], betrayed the gospel" because of Nobili's acceptance of the caste system. Newbigin has a helpful discussion of indigenisation / contextualisation. (pp142ff)

The evening finished with a very enjoyable meal out together. The restaurant is celebrating Pongal; and we also celebrate Ginny's birthday.

A carved celebration of Pongal in a melon, with the skilled artist 

Sabbatical - Day 19 Friday

I feel as if I am treading in the steps of Bishops. Everywhere are references to Lesslie Newbigin (especially churches dedicated by him - he is mentioned in a plaque shown on the first photo below). At the wedding was the Bishop of Tirunelvely, the position once held by Stephen Neill.

[Wikipedia: "Stephen Charles Neill (1900–1984) was a Anglican missionary, bishop, and scholar from Scotland. He was proficient in a number of languages including Greek, Latin and Tamil. He was educated and later worked in Trinity College, Cambridge. He moved to Tamil Nadu and assumed as bishop of Tirunelveli.

"He believed in unification of all churches in South India and communion beyond denominations. He wrote several books on theology and church history.

"Neill retired to Wycliffe Hall, Oxford but still regularly visited America on preaching and lecture tours. It was at this time he authored his magnum opus History of Christianity in India among many other of his works. He could achieve this task since he suffered from insomnia which kept him awake most of the night allowing him to write more."]

I also watched a video of Archbishop Rowan William's visit to Chennai in October, including his sermon at St Peter's, where I am to preach on Sunday (also at Kingsbury, see below).

Yesterday I visited St Matthias Church. Entering seemed like entering an English church moved to Chennai; the memorials spoke of great missionaries of the past including one who came to India when young and died aged 83 in the early 19th cenury, having completed 60 years. The present building was completed in 1826 but a previous building links us to French friars. The plaque on the floor near the entrance speaks of SPCK, a vital part of early missionary work here (see the photograph below).

We also visited two of Jeyaseelan's Pastorate churches - Kingsbury Memorial Church (Vysarpadi, Chennai), of Orthodox tradition (I hadn't realised that Orthodox churches had become part of CSI)...

The baptistry, for adult baptisms. There is a font inside for babies etc.

And St John's, which Jeyaseelan's described as more of a chapel...

Interesting conversation about touching. Prayers of blessing are valued ie making the sign of a cross on someone's forehead with a prayer of blessing.

Touching is important:
- as valuing an Untouchable as a brother or sister in Christ
- as overcoming the colonial supremacy of a white person, who would not touch someone.

On occasion, white people are touched simply out of curiosity. Basically, leaving aside those at the YWCA, I am not seeing any other white people. This reflects the fact that we are not visiting the normal tourist spots.

I will read the Gospel's references to the touching of Christ in a new light.

I enquired if progress is being made in overcoming the caste system. At a surface level, yes, I was told, but underneath no. It is engrained. A pastor tells me it is worse than apartheid, The government and the church (and no doubt others) take a stand, but in practice, I am told, people live by it. He says it makes no difference if a person has made a success of life, is wealthy, or is well-educated. I am though aware that this is only one person's view of how things are.

Lunch was at the home of one of the wonderful people we are getting to know, together with their wider family.

A shack we went past in the car in one of the slum areas... All I meet seem outwardly content but I am told that people worry - about food, clothes.

Sabbatical: Day 2

Some years ago, when living in Southend, and getting involved with Hope for Southend, I was exploring ways in which Christians has sought to engage with culture. One person I was instead in was William Carey. I read, The Legacy of William Carey by Vishal and Ruth Mangalwadi. Carey was involved in social reform in India. It is interesting that Bishop Lesslie Newbigin, who has been so important in the UK in just this area of Christian life, was formed by his experiences in India.

Today I have been reading Stephen Neill's history of Christianity in India, including the coming of the Jesuits in the 16th century. In a very mixed story of 'Light and Shadows it is interesting how on the positive side, there were stories of 'acts of mercy', deeds which gave flesh to teaching, from the 'Misericordia' - a lay movement echoing that founded in Lisbon some years earlier. A Brahman, Neill relates, said that there were two causes of conversion to Christian faith: seeing works of charity, and the reading of spiritual books. (Neill, 220).

There was not an evangelistic aim and was directed to the needs of the Portuguese. Whatever may said about this limited aim, nevertheless, the compassion was noticed and had an impact, without parallel in European Asiatic colonies until modern times (Neill, 122, quoting Prof. C R Boxer).

It will be interesting to see whether it is possible to trace any link to William Carey and / or the modern Indian church. This applies both to the deeds of the Misericordia and also the Jesuit's emphasis on teaching.

Yesterday I met my supervisor for the first time. A very helpful conversation gave me one theme which might help hold all my thinking and questions together. Or to put it another way, I have a new hero to emulate in my learning: St Thomas, who came with his questions but also bowed to the revelation of Christ. As I keep bumping into the figure of Thomas in all my reading, he will be a hero I will be continually reminded of and glad to learn from. I also determine to immerse myself in India, to allow myself to be overwhelmed by it.

More formally, I am aware that Indian Christians I have met in Harlow have a lively faith and are well-taught in Christian things. Their faith is generally more vibrant than that of Christians in the UK. So I will be asking what is distinctive about The Church of South India's liturgy, its worship and spirituality that we can learn from in Harlow.

A closing thought: Where do we find true knowledge? Is it in encounters with others, supremely God in Christ, or is it from the Tree of Knowledge?: