January 1: Drums, Dancing, and a Long night

Yesterday was a rich representation of Indian culture. Music played a large part of the day. Our first introduction was to an Indian drumline. Technically it was folk dancing and drumming, but when a bunch of men do fancy footwork in unison, shaking their hips, and beating at drums, it is clearly a drumline. They wore white tanks, white wrap pants, maroon strip of cloth around their waist, and an orange strip around their heads. They danced while beating flat drums that they strapped to one arm and cradled. One beat what looked like a bass drum, and another shook maracas. Then the cows and peacock arrived. Grown men in 2 elaborate cow costumes and one peacock shook their rear ends and flapped their wings. The entire thing was a lot of fun, especially when we joined in the dance. This folk dance has come to be used most often for funerals, but that is not their sole use.

Next we saw classical music and temple dance. Men and women played on a very large string instrument, a violin, and a couple drums. At one point, a woman sang. We also watched as a woman and two girl students did the temple dance. The girls were 8 and 10 or 11. They were dressed in very ornate and brightly colored outfits with jewelry even hanging below their noses. The teacher explained that the dances are used for worship, soothing, excitement, cooling, and even putting a child to bed. Every part of the dancer is part of the dance. The hands, arms, body position, facial expression, and even direction of the eyes are choreographed. These intricate, flowing, and beautiful dances could tell a story and left us in awe.

Yesterday evening at 9:45, we arrived at church. I still have absolutely no idea why we arrived then, because the New Year’s Eve service did not begin until 11:30. The service was entirely in Tamil, but it followed the basic familiar pattern. There were responsive readings, prayer, songs, sermon, baptism, and communion. Many of the songs were familiar tunes. Perhaps half of the hymns we recognized the tune and the other half were written locally. In another nod to the familiar, we were old later that the sermon was written to ask people to give money, though the theology was very prosperity gospel.

There were a few slight differences that I am SURE no American would mind. The length, for instance was jus a little long with the 3 HOUR SERVICE and 1 ½ HOUR SERMON. About the time there were 5 children screaming under the age of 3, I thought the sermon could do well to wrap up. Not to mention the two offerings and the split with men on the left side of the aisle and women on the right.

When it came time for communion, I was excited to be receiving it in India. To receive the elements, the men all go, followed by the women. They kneel at the rail and receive a wafer and a small cup of sickly sweet berry juice. We on the women’s side watched the men to see if we would be allowed to go forward (because of the possibility of unsafe water). The men in our group stood to go forward with the men of the church then ended up sitting back down because of a miscommunication. At that point I became very disappointed that we would be excluded because of bacteria. At the church women finished receiving the elements, our men stood back up and went forward. I was with a great sense of relief and joy that I went forward with the other women of the group to receive the elements. A comment made later by a member of the group was about a sermon they once heard. We can be afraid of the bacteria, perhaps, but these elements are blessed and at some point we must have faith. You know, here we must have faith in the physical safety of the elements, but isn’t communion a great act of faith anyway?

After the service, at about 2:30, our group was led outside where we were formally welcomed into the church. People took pictures of their children standing with us westerners. Music was played on a drum and a double-reed instrument that looked like a 3 foot oboe with holes instead of keys. We were led back inside the church and made to sit in the new rows facing the congregation. We were welcomed by name in the traditional Indian manner with very heavy necklaces made of flowers. At the end, we were each given small limes that we then handed to the pastor as we wished him a Happy New Year. It is a tradition at the New Year to greet a person in authority, like a pastor, with a lime. That pastor must have had close to 200 limes by 3:00 AM. What on earth do you do with all those limes? We should adopt this practice in the US except substitute chocolate ☺ (NOTE: We were told the next day that we were treated as a part of the church with the lime thing. If we were simply honored guests, we might have been given the limes. Instead we were given them to give to the pastor along with the congregation.)

We get back to TTS at 4 AM and had to be a breakfast by 9 to get on the bus to head into the mountains. Hopefully a few things will happen in the mountains at the fancy hotel…some rest, different food, and a hot shower.

December 31: CSI pastors!

Last night we were given the invaluable opportunity to sit and be in conversation with several Indian pastors from the Church of South India. CSI is a denomination formed from 7 denominations, including British Methodists but not United Methodists. We had ten pastors in he conversation, and the bishop came to greet us. The group of pastors and group of students were divided in half, and each group would sit in dialogue. That is 14 people in each circle. When my group of 9 students switched to the second set of 5 pastors, one of the pastors immediately started to speak with me. He was the only pastor who was retired, and I am the youngest looking of the students (though several of us are in our mid-twenties). I suspect me age is why he chose to speak to me. When we sat in the large group, he immediately introduced himself to me in particular. We were eventually given the chance to pair off and speak with the pastors. He quickly turned to me and we began to talk.

Joseph was his name and he related to me some fascinating things. He originally went to school to be a teacher, but his mentor wanted him to continue his studies and become a pastor so much hat he was given a scholarship. He then was sent by the diocese to study for a Masters of Secular Theology at Yale for a year in the 60s. After that year, he returned to India and was immediately appointed to a church. For the next 30 years, he was in ministry in a variety of churches and eventually as the Vice-chair, the pastor who is an assistant to the bishop. He says it is only by the will of God that he could have been given all those opportunities and become a pastor.

When I asked what his favorite part of ministry was, he lit up. He loves the history of the diocese. The success of the diocese goes back to one missionary who established more than 400 churches and more than 100 schools in less than 15 years. Can you imagine even doing that in a lifetime? Because of this man, Christians are educated and Christians are strong in the diocese. Rev. Joseph told me such amazing stories at missions and evangelism, and faith.

It is often said in the US that a pastor never truly retires. They officially retire but they can never actually leave the ministry. While Rev. Joseph is no longer the pastor of a church, he assists a pastor by doing all that he is asked. This can include visitation, funerals, and so much more. Isn’t it amazing how even with such difference in culture, a pastor is a pastor. They are there by the grace of God and they never stop doing God’s work.

December 30: Afternoon

The first big thing to happen today was a visit to a church in Nazareth, though not the same Nazareth I visited 2 years ago! This town was renamed when the village converted to Christianity. The church had a tall steeple, though we were told that it was supposed to be taller, but the foundation could not hold it. In side the church, there were only a few pews in the very back of the church. In front of the pews was the baptismal font. The rest of he church, all the way to the chancel, was bare. The length of the church had a red cloth to act as the aisle. On the right, women sat in pews or on the floor. On the left, men did the same. The chancel area looked like any Anglican church, but there were more lamps, candles, and Christmas lights strung up. Outside the church was a huge Christmas tree and several stars.

We went in to sit and pray, and we were invited to stay for a baptism service. The service was conducted very like an Anglican service, so we United Methodists were able to pick out parts of the service. The boy’s choir, pastors, and children to be baptized were all in white. There were hymns and a homily concerning the responsibility of the parents and godparents of the children. A baby girl and toddler boy were baptized today. As the pastor took each child, a song was sing about the Holy Spirit, and the pastor placed water on their heads three times, presumably saying the same words we use. During the service, we could pick out the creed, the baptismal vows, and the Lord’s Prayer. Isn’t it amazing the connections Christians can have all over the world through baptism!

December 30: Counseling, Clothes, and Candles

Vanakkam! (Tamil for hello)

Yesterday was quite the day. We started out with two lectures by TTS faculty. The first was on ecological issues in India. The second was on pastoral care and counseling in India. I must admit, the later lecture captured my attention and imagination. In traditional Indian family systems, all generations live together and all generations raise the children. Within the family is where most counseling took place, and it was a very directive style. The grandmother told from her experience what the grandchildren should do in a situation. Today, people move out of that type of family system, causing a loss of support and a growth in the need for counseling. Counseling is a relatively new discipline in India, and most counselors are under trained, so they counsel in the way their grandparents did instead of in the way we would learn in school. For this reason, TTS has a new and strong counseling diploma.

In the afternoon, we went in to the market in Madurai. Most of us bought outfits there. The main thing I bought was a tunic/pants/scarf outfit. I am wearing it today, and I can’t wait to show it off at home. It is so comfortable that I plan to go buy another one.

After buying clothes, we did some wandering through the market around the temple in Madurai. It reminded me of the market in Turkey, except less crowded with less pushy salespeople. That is not to say that the sales people weren’t pushy, though! It was nice to walk with men, because usually the salespeople approached the male. A little girl who was about six and a baby approached the women on the group to ask for money. We were warned not to give to beggars because people will actually mutilate babies to get pity from Westerners. To give is to support the baby mutilation industry. It was still hard to say no.

In the evening, we went to an Interreligious Christmas service. We heard some speeches about the meaning of Christmas to Muslims, Christians, and Hindus. There were presentations, and then celebrations. As our part of the celebration, we stood and sang Silent Night, Joy to the World, and Oh Holy Night, while Nick played on the guitar. Some Indians even started to clap to Joy to the World. After the presentations, we went outside for fireworks. Then we were all handed small birthday cake candles. We passed the light around and sang “We Shall Overcome” in English and in Tamil. They do that every Friday, but they did it Thursday this week for the Christmas celebration. The candles were all collected for the Friday service on peace, but we still have one among our group. A woman went to get one and handed it to Laura saying that it is a candle of peace for us to take back. Laura was quite touched.

It was quite the long day, and we woke very early this morning to head to Thomas’s village for the day. Tune in tomorrow to hear about it!

December 29: Eat and draw with your fingers

Last night at dinner, Thomas, our guide, taught us how to eat. Even though the food is often wet, rice, sauces, and breads, Indian people eat with their fingers, not silverware. So a few of us decided, when in India, eat as the Indians do! I have to say, it is rather strange to eat with your fingers when you spend so many years as a child learning to NOT eat with your fingers. In this part of India, the proper way to eat is to scoop with your four fingers and push the food in with your thumb. You are a neat eater if your palm stays clean. In other parts of India, they will pick up food with the palm.

After 2 meals eaten by hand, I am getting over my hesitancy, though we still have several people who cannot eat without their silverware.

Food is not the only place where Indians use their fingers. Some Indian women welcomed us with patterns drawn on the ground with colored ground rock. This dyed powder is dropped through their fingers on the ground in intricate colorful patterns. We were able to watch as 3 women made us this blessing (it is a blessing) in front of the door of our building. The pattern she drew for us had at least ten colors, a cross, flowers, candles, and Indian lamps. It was absolutely beautiful and mesmerizing to watch her create.

Isn’t it amazing what Indians can do with their fingers!

Today, we will go shopping and leave the comfort of the seminary. We will also go to an interreligious Christmas celebration.

December 28: LOOOONG Day

I will be posting my journal that I wrote each day in India. Since I did not have reliable internet access over there, this is the best way I can blog for you all. We went to India as a cross-cultural excursion to learn about the culture, not on a mission trip. Cross-cultural is a required course at Methodist Theological School in Ohio and a great learning experience for us! I hope you enjoy!
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I write this from my bed in the guest house at the Talmilnadu Theological Seminary in Madurai, India. It is a balmy 24 degrees Celsius (according to the last pilot we had). And it has been a looong day.

We left Columbus at noon on December 26 and arrived at Madurai at 11 AM December 28, about 36 hours later. After 4 bad flights, we finally made it. Between some very scary turbulence, a cramped plane for one of the long flights, and an unplanned landing for 3 hours to wait for visibility, we were very glad to be done with planes.

I still can’t believe we are actually in India, though the food is fairly convincing. They dulled down the spices for us, but so far the food has been very good. Our first meal here we had a lentil/rice patty with a yellow curry, toast (for the American in us), and fried egg. It helps you try new things, though, when you have only had airplane food, and that irregularly, for the last two days!

When we got off the last plane and into our vans to head to the seminary, we saw our first impressions of India. As we rode, I was stunned by how much it looks like a smaller version of Slumdog Millionaire. From shanty towns, to little street venders, the buildings look run down in our eyes. The best buildings, the ones made of stone, are worse than I can imagine living in. As we drove past the buildings, Dr. Van Meter explained that people set up wherever they can to protect their families.

The roads were teaming with people walking and on motorcycles. There were very few vehicles bigger than a rickshaw. A motorcycle could have as many as five people on it: a man, wife, and 3 kids under 7 in one case. Most people were dressed traditionally, except for some men.

We as westerners draw a lot of attention. Because our plane stopped for three hours, we only spent a couple minutes at the wedding reception. People kept taking our pictures. People wanted to shake our hands. When we greeted the new couple, we had our picture taken with them, just as everybody else did. It was when we stood in line to greet them that our pictures were taken in a way that was unusual.

For the wedding, the colors seemed to be primarily red and gold. The couple and several others were wearing this, though the bride was the most ornate. Behind the couple was a red and gold couch, though I am not sure what it was for. It was a Christian wedding.

Well, I’m exhausted, so I’ll catch you up again soon!