I drew the short straw and was asked to do the Alpha talk at Holy Trinity Church Clapham on How to resist evil. I think the talk was received quite well and afterwards we had a really good discussion in our group. But what really stole the show was my intro of Rowan Atkinson's skit "Welcome to Hell". He first performed it at the policemans ball in the early eighties but it contains some timeless truths. Check it out here on youtube.
Last night Irfana and I talked at Holy Trinity church Clapham common at the once a month Connect service about our trip to India with CMS in June. We shared about people who had inspired us in India, namely Lalita Edwards (CMS mission partner) and Kerygma coffee bar ministry. Both reach out to specific cultures within India - Youth and the red light district of Pune. It was great to use the Christ we share pack, which is a challenge to see Jesus through the eyes of other cultures. If Jesus is multicultural then as we get to know his church in other cultures we see more of him. The greatest challenge perhaps is to see Jesus in the different cultures on our own door step.
Jane Lee, CMS writer from Thailand, some how found time to write three articles at the recent South Asian Yoth conference as well as being the official photographer. In this picture she is relaxing with Divashli from Sri Lanka. Check them out on the CMS website on: "Can Globalisation ever be a force for good?" "A glimpse inside the modern day work houses of Globalisation" and "The disgust of the Tsunami victims at the attempt to use aid to evangelise." It's good to hear Asian voices on Globalisation on this day of Live 8.
I am now back in the UK and have started the daunting task of looking through all my photos. Wimbledon has started, Big brother is 2 weeks older and to my surprise I am on the premier radio airwaves giving the thought for each day this week (7 30am after the news) My mind is so full of all that we have seen and experienced that I think it will take many months before I can properly sort through it all in my head. Leaving that aside, what am I left with? Well my determination is not to let slip all the friends and contacts I made. I am looking forward to helping Dr Lalita in some small way writing dramas to go with her HIV Aids education material. I want to keep up to date with Paul's work in Delhi as he reaches out to young people from the Manipur community through the 
Kukies music ministry and also to pray and learn from the work of Kerygma and Jacob Isaac connecting with young people who may not normally ever go into a church. Another thing that I came to realise is that the church in India is still the main vehicle for Christian mission and ministry. On one hand this is a good thing as it hasn't lost contact with the world around, at least to the same degree as the UK church. However on the other hand as Globalisation is radically and speedily changing the youth culture and environment it is a challenge for the church to adapt rather than take it's normal stance of becoming reactionary. CMS in the UK is keen to reconnect with young people as we have neglected them in the past , so we are now forced to look to the edges. In the Indian church the edges are not so visible as it is still revered and respected by most people. However the challenge of globalisation will be to learn from the mistakes of the western church in failing to adapt to the shift in youth culture. The edges may not be visible yet in the Indian church but the edgey mission minded people are and at CMS we need to connect with these people to both learn from and encourage them to help the church take up the challenge of this massive shift in the youth culture. I think this whole thing is best illustrated by the call centres in Bangalore. Young people are being pressured to work Sundays, which means church is pushed aside. They mix with a whole new group of people and if they are free at weekends want to socialise. In one church some 200 young people 
were on the electoral role but only 15 attend the youth group. On the morning we visited this church the sermon noted the negative affect of these call centres but rather than look for ways to meet the needs of their young people and reach out to them where they are the main message was to get them back into church on Sunday. There lies the challenge of the church. Check out the India photo album or click on Jonny's pics to see the trip through his eyes and blahonline for a few more. check out his blog for more on the India trip too.
I am now sitting in the airport at Chennai (Madras) waiting to board our plane for Colombo Sri Lanka, where we will meet the others who have flown direct from Bangalore. Irfana and I had to come via Chennai because Irfana was only able to enter and exit the country from certain points. This has meant that we have been lucky enough to see another part of India and we haven't been disappointed! Chennai is bigger than Bangalore and it feels more westernised as well. However there is a real buzz here and of course being by the Bay of Bengal gives it a different flavour. The heat is perhaps the only bad point, at nearly 40 degrees yesterday it would test the stamina if you were here for a longer time. 
We visited St Thoma's Basilica and his tomb with Reeba who we met at the conference and became our guide. The church was beautiful made in white stone and lit up to give it a bit more atmosphere. After a spot of shopping we then went to the beach. This coast of course was hit by the Tsunami and apparently hundreds died. This memory was still fresh enough for Reeba to bring it to mind. She herself was at church that morning and didn't know anything about it until she got home and switched on the TV. Reeba said that for a while lots of people were afraid to go down to the beach but it seemed that that fear was now subsiding. Even though it was dark 
the beach was absolutely packed with families and young people. Children were flying kites and lots of lit up stalls were dotted around the beach selling food and offering fairground type attractions. Only a few boys were in the sea, all fully clothed and there was a real party atmosphere. This was the perfect end to say goodbye to India. It sums up for me the mood and spirit of this amazing country. It seems that in spite of all the pain and suffering which is all around the people simply love to celebrate what they have.
I am sitting in an Internet cafe/room in the centre of a monsooned Kottayam in Kerala. We travelled down here over night from Bangalore on an 15 hour train journey. Before that we had come some 4 hours from Mysore, where we got to ride on an elephant in the Mysore palace and 
then came a few feet from a crocodile on a lake in a nature reserve. You will have to see the pictures to believe it. Our train journey was fine and it was great to experience seeing India from a train and getting numerous glances from everyone as they passed our carriage. On the train we were all split up so Jonny and I went for a Wonder. We passed a group of about 20 people singing Hindu praise songs to a mini cymbal. We then brushed by a group all dressed in orange saw a man reading a Koran and a group of blue nuns in the distance. A Hindu temple, Mosque and a church all on one train. It was good to arrive in Kerala. The pace of life here seems slower and the climate is much more humid. After a brief rest we were ushered to the Bishops residence for high tea. It all felt very formal and we sat in a row facing one another waiting for the Bishop to appear. Jonny and Irfana of course had position of 
prominence on his left and his right. We talked about the churches history and CMS's hand in setting it up. It seemed that the missionaries had originally gone to work with the Syrian Orthodox church but after some 60 years after a disagreement split away and so the Anglican church became established. The Bishop was proud to tell us that he was the 11th since that time but was a little sad that his links with CMS have all but dried up. Apparently he doesn't even get a YES magazine even though he has asked for one! Both Irfana and myself sat with him and his wife for tea and it was great to chat with him more. He and his wife were very warm and opened their house to us any time. He also spoke of a desperate need for English teachers and renewed links with CMS! We mentioned Cathy Pinsents imminent arrival and said we would let his request be known. Well I am off now to find some food. Check Jonny's blog for photos and updates too.
I have finally managed to find another opportunity to get on line. I am sitting in the a very plush hotel room in Mysore. India continues to amaze me as a country of contrasts as having had no connection with the outside world for a week I now find an internet facility in my room.
The conference is now over. It finshed today with a shared communion outside. 
The delegates from Pakistan finally were able to get their visas sorted and arrived late yesterday evening (the last night of the conference) We still managed to have a great evening with them dancing Bangra on the stage. As always with conference type things the best has been just getting to know new people. It is both my hope and prayer that, like many other type events, I will not just leave this experience and lose contact with everybody. I felt very privilaged to have met and learnt about so many people in completely different places but with many shared experiences. One thing I want to be committed to do is amke available drama resources for who ever to get hold of. I led a workshop on the use of drama in 
evangelism and having seen the situation first hand in India I can really see that the visual arts is an effective communication medium for all peoples, whether from a rural village with now literacy or a high flyer with a multinatiional company. For those of you reading who were at the conference I will be writing up in the next week the "Stop" skit, which you can use and adapt as you wish. For current drama resources also check out Big Intent website where there are some freebee samples on offer and I will be adding to them in due course.
For more on our trip check out Jonny's blog as he has been using every waking hour to update it
I am sitting in a small cyber cafe above a sari shop in the middle of Bangalore. The girls are off shopping led by a very enthusiastic Irfana. We are now 3 days into the conference and there has been many things to captivate us. I think the hardest thing for everyone to get used to is the uncertainty about when things begin and end. The sessions have tended to be led from the front by older Christian leaders but very few youth. We are becoming aware that the style and flavour of the conference has an inprint of the legacy of Western Mission and it's values, something for us all to chew over!!! My view is that we cannot expect these young people to share our values even if we perceive the things they do as negative ( ie. singing 60's choruses with actions). We don't want to repeat colonialism all over again! Sure things can be improved (as they can in the west) but not on our terms. Partnership and friendship can bring trust and the ability to take learn, give and recieve from one another. What I cannot miss here is the quality and passion of Christians from all over south Asia. I have been inspired by so many conversations. I want to flag up one I had with Dr Lalita Edwards who is a CMS 
Mission Partner among the AID's community in Puna. Dr Lalita shared about the eunach community here in India. Around the streets you can see these transexuals dressed immaculately with flowing long hair and a certain style and charisma going up to people asking for money. They are a community who are both put down and feared by most people and of course the church has little to do with them in the main. Dr Lalita explained how families will often give a daughter to a Hindu Goddess of Sex in the temple where she will become a temple prostitute. As she gets older she is replaced by younger girls and is released. She often continues with Prostitution and of course AID's then becomes a reality. However families may also offer a son to the Godess. The boys are castrated and serve in the temple. When they are too old they to will be released too and so join the eunach community. People revere this community in some ways and often the eunachs are invited to dance at weddings or bless newly weds. People are also more likely to give money to eunachs as opposed to Beggers as they fear 
being cursed by them. Lalita went on that because the church will not accept them, some who have come to faith have started meeting among themselves in an emerging church community. One Church leader from Bangalore is actively involved in this work. I have much more I could share on this but time at this sitting is running out. .... Check out Jonny's website for a current photo Gallery and other thoughts about our trip. My time as run out for now. We are heading for a coffee bar outresch in town so I am sure there will be more to blog about.... Watch this space.
Have arrived in India after a gruelling journey via Sri Lanka and chennai... Haven't got time to go into detail about everything now but Jonny has written some of his impressions just to give you a flavour.
To give you a quick picture of things here I am now in a small coffee shop in the centre of 
Bangalore connected to the internet by a wireless connection. Outside the shop a man with now bottom half to his body meets and greets people coming in and out begging for money. A city of contrasts comes to mind...
Tomorrow Irfana myself and a team from CMS are off to Bangalore for the 2nd South Asian Youth Conference. 200 young people will gather from numerous countries around south Asia. I will be running a seminar at the conference on Creative Arts and Globalisation. As I have prepared for this session I've been humbled by diversity of Creative Arts in the Kerala area alone let alone India aswell. 
Here is a picture of one of Kerala's and India's oldest theatrical plays, "Kakkarissi natakom." We will be for the first week at the conference and then the second week in Kerala visiting youth projects in the diocese. I hope to get to an internet cafe to upload photos from time to time so watch this space.
www.flickr.com
|
