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| St John's |
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| St. John's |
It was good to be back
in Vellore in July/August, though the notion of India as an assault on the senses quickly
returned. Vibrant colours, noise, heat, the smells, many pleasant, others not
so appealing. It was nearly four and a half years since I had arrived on my
first visit to India and, this time, there was a sense of familiarity as our
driver negotiated the traffic of Chennai and we started the journey to Vellore
and the guest rooms at Karigriri hospital.
It is impossible to
adequately describe the variety of experiences, but one thing that was
overwhelming was the welcome and the care with which we were taken where we needed
to be. The link between Cambridgeshire Ecumenical Council and the Diocese of
Vellore is long established and mutually valued. Having the opportunity to visit
is a real journey into the enrichment of experiencing the world church.
As a minister, one of
the things I most value in such visits is the opportunity to worship in a
different context, which always feel different, and yet there is invariably a
real sense of our oneness in Christ. Different members of the group went to
different churches.
For me, the first
Sunday took me to St John’s Church, Fort, Vellore, where the diocesan link
person, Revd. Jared Jebareuben, is the minister. St John’s is an English
language church – so I understand everything and enjoyed the opportunity to preach
without the need for translation. The hymns were traditional, including some I
have not sung for a while – ‘More about Jesus would I know,’ ‘Here, O my Lord, I
see thee face to face’. I was glad to have the opportunity to share in the
administration of Communion, though doing so in cassock and bare feet always
feels a little strange.
The second Sunday we
were away from the city in the hills at the retreat centre at Yelagiri, and
attended the church in the village, Millennium Church, so called because it was
built in 2000. Prior to that, the members of the congregation had worshipped in
homes, It is a small church, about 10 families, 25-30 people, but often attracting
visitors. The service was in Tamil, but there was nobody to translate, so the
sermon was in English, and I was assured that most people would understand! After
the service, as is typical, we had coffee and conversation, and a number of people
came and asked for prayer.
On the third Sunday I
was preaching at Rottschaefer Memorial Church, Bernicepuram, Katpadi, where the
Revd. Isaac Kadhirvelu, Vice President of the Diocese, is the minister. Apparently
this was originally a mission compound and so there are a lot of retired clergy
in the area. I find it difficult to estimate how many were present, but perhaps
200-300. This was designated the Sunday for us to visit village churches, but I
think our connection with that is that they showed a PowerPoint of their
outreach into villages during the service. We started promptly at 8.30 with
everything on screens and a large digital clock facing the preacher. It was
reasonably easy to follow what was going on though – apart from the sermon –
pretty well everything was in Tamil. Revd Isaac gave a translation of the gist
of the sermon after I had preached it, having requested a script in advance. The
service included an adult baptism, people coming forward for prayer and three
offerings. As usually happens, the church was less than half full when the
service started, but soon filled up, including the overflow seats to the back
and side, and lasted about two and a quarter hours. Afterwards we were made to
feel very welcome and I had lots of people coming to me asking for prayer and a
blessing, a humbling experience.
Aside from Sundays, we
had several other visits to churches, and were able to encounter people as we
shared worship and conversation.
A Wednesday evening
visit to St Luke’s, Chittoor, where Revd Samuel Babu is pastor, enabled us to
meet with the Women’s Fellowship (and a few men). There was lively singing and
speeches of welcome, and I learned to be ready for anything as, having thought
that one of the others had done the visitors’ bit, the pastor then asked me to
bring a reflection. As so often, the ‘service’ was followed by the provision of
a meal. I must admit to enjoying the food, not least the chicken biryani that
is so often the main feature of church meals, though, despite all the practice
of this visit, I still struggle to eat rice with my fingers.
On the second Sunday
evening, on the way back from Yelagiri to Vellore, we stopped at Ambur to spend
time with the folk at one of the churches there. Again, it was predominantly
the Women’s Fellowship who welcomed and shared with us. Many of this
congregation had broken away from a Pentecostal Church in order to join the
Church of South India, and the lively worship reflected that background. There was
also a cultural element, with music and dance and, when the women of our group,
were invited to join the dance, I was glad of the cultural conventions of India
by which it was very clear that it would be inappropriate for a man to also do
so!
One more. One Tuesday
evening we were taken to a poorer part of Vellore, and the church where Revd
Glory is pastor. Revd Glory is one of the relatively few women pastors in the
diocese, and one of the most long-serving – and what a great name for a pastor!
One of the traditions in India is the giving of garlands and shawls to honour
visitors and others. In this poorer community this pastor, who clearly cared a
great deal for her people, had made the garlands with which we were presented.
The energy and effort that this congregation put into singing and dance as they
sought to introduce us to something of their life, worship and culture was
extremely moving, and even a power cut failed to really disrupt them.
The motto of the Church
of South India is “That they all may be one”. All we shared chimed well with
that brilliant sentiment.
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