These Sacred Threads...Living in the threads of life that hold us together
Feb 21
by Elpis in Places 0 comments

Mountaintops and Taj

Before leaving India, I did not get an opportunity to post about our last day with the ALC, Wednesday. It was a mountaintop experience. Literally. I had asked about their perspective on the missionaries who planted the church in India. I have always struggled with the work of missionaries in the world – they are portrayed as abusive, insensitive, culturally obstructive. The arch of conversation paints a negative picture. Not here. So I asked. I was given a response that was reverent and thankful. It was filled with awe and gratitude for the risks and the gifts they brought. As I posted earlier, it was the protestant missionaries who brought the opportunity for freedom from caste oppression. They lived their faith – they did it right. Loving. Respecting. Healing. Pastor Theophilus basically said: Missionaries came here when there was nothing – they brought roads, health care, English, hope for escaping our status.They lived the sacrifical life. They took care of us holistically. They gave their lives for us. We have highest regard for the missionaries. They came, they lived, they loved, and they stayed. And then he showed us. Helga Johansen was a missionary for 31 years. She was the […]
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Feb 13
by Elpis in Places 2 comments

Tuesday Tidbits…

Good evening from Siloam Guest House! Everyone is ok, though the dehydration/exhaustion/travelers fun stuff is making the rounds. Fortunately, we have Dr Alan, Dr John, and, of course, super nurse Karen. They make room calls. Tuesday morning we worshiped in a local congregation, but those pictures and stories will need to wait a bit (see previous post, Soap, Soup, and Salvation). Another sst of beautiful schoolchildren greeted us with all their hearts. At Siloam Boarding School, the girls put on a program for us, complete with singing and tumbling. That’s Pastor Janne, who many in Northern Illinois know, in one picture; Bishop Clements in another. Pastor Janne and Pastor Theophilus at Siloam have been our day to day guides-caretakers-question answerers-and all around wonder workers. Most of the group went to a church/boarding school this evening, and our medical team did a clinic of basic checks for a number of the children. Karen reports that they were not malnourished – a tribute to their teachers and caregivers, who are making the most of very tough conditions. Pastor Reed and Deaconness Cheryl led the other kids in singing and playing with the soccer balls we brought. Another region of the diocese tomorrow. […]
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Feb 13
by Elpis in Places 1 comments

Justice and mercy…

If any of you thought this group was going on vacation: sorry. There is an intensity to these days that is hard to describe. We are visiting as many places as possible and trying to take in the stories, the longings, the hopes, the celebrations, the fears. Bishop Socrates said several times yesterday that the ALC and Church of India had two gifts to teach the rest of the church: ecumenism and dialogue. Just from what I’ve seen, I’d add justice. One way to pursue justice is through education, and the Danish mission did that. Educating everyone. The DM Sec School at Thiruvannamalai has been respected as one of the best schools in the state for decades. It is the biggest school in the region (and in the Arcot Lutheran Church) with 1500 students, less than half of what it has had in the past. A priority on education has spread, and the number of schools has increased. The school is run by the ALC, the teachers paid for by the government, with Christianity as part of daily life there. Only 5% of the students are Christian. The church’s Office of Dalit Concerns is right by the school. Look up […]
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Feb 13
by Elpis in Places 1 comments

Some pictures…

because I’m too exhausted right now to post…
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Feb 12
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Soap, Soup, and Salvation

(Reposting from day 1 – it got lost somehow) Soap. Soup. Salvation. That’s what the pastor at Broadway/Arcot Lutheran Church in Chennai told Karen today. It is what our Grandfathers did. We do the same thing. Soap – provide healing, care, personal needs, loving our neighbors as Christ told us to do. Caring for them in the most basic of ways. Soup – feeding the body, and so many of them around Chennai need food. Living authentic, genuine love for others. Salvation – and when they ask why, telling them it is because Christ told us to. It doesn’t have the fancy affect of lights and music and big, publicity laden plans. Soap, soup, and salvation. It is simple. It is hard, because it involves genuine love and relationship and ongoing commitment. There is no hook. It is for the long haul, because you aren’t tricking or demanding anything in return; you are just being who you are. A follower of Christ with a genuine heart for the world. It took years for Arcot Lutheran Church on Broadway (the congregation after which the diocese is named) to receive even one person by baptism. Those same 5 initial missionaries simply kept […]
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Feb 12
by Elpis in Places 0 comments

Companions on the road…

All over the place! My impression is that Sunday was a great day for all. However, the schedule has been so full that we haven’t had a chance to tell stories yet. And – yes – some of those stories must wait. But there are some pictures that don’t have to. Karen and I worshiped at Bethesda in Kallachuruchi; Elyse needed a breathing day. The afternoon brought a visit to Danish Mission Hospital, once the largest hospital in the region. For a variety of reasons, it has since fallen on hard times. It is a priority of the current to resurrect this ministry, and whenever someone visits, he takes them on a walk through the entire campus. It gives one a sense of just how large this place once was, and the massive task before them. We left some medical donation supplies The partner church of Faith Rochelle, Jubilee Church, welcomed us all, but especially John and Esther Prabhakar, who have worshiped there when John volunteered at the hospital. If all of the welcomes and flowers and gifts and drum parades hadn’t already shown us, a reception in the evening made it completely clear. It was formal; every pastor of […]
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Feb 11
by Elpis in Places 1 comments

Imagine

I have a warning for all of you: we now expect to be greeted by a drum corps, dancers, songs, and flowers everywhere we go. If you can make that happen, feel free. That was, in essence, our day. In between we heard stories of schools and building churches and faith and hope and possibility. We saw boarding homes for orphans or semi-orphans where the children are loved and safe. We were delighted by dances at the teachers college run by the Arcot Lutheran Church. We were given sugar cane. We paused at a church that is finishing its building and one that is just starting. And each place came with a story. Can you imagine what it takes for the poorest and lowest caste people of a society to raise the money, buy land, and set about building? Holy Cross can. The cornerstone was first laid 10 years ago when Bishop Wollersheim was here. The layout of the coming building is now set, markers and signs designating every room and wall laid out carefully in a field. With pride they showed around this dream, and with pride they told us how hard it has been to get to this […]
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Feb 09
by Elpis in Places 0 comments

Let the children come…

Or at least, Lord, show us where to find them. A full day here. Very warm and beautiful – oh, wait, I probably shouldn’t mention that since I hear there’s a touch of snow at home. 😜 We were at a wonderful event this morning, but stories will have to wait until we get back. What I can share is that we delighted in the gifts anf hospitality of many, many beautiful and energetic children. A grade school. A middle school. Preschoolers joined the middle school kids and smiled and hid and kept trying to catch us looking at them. Children everywhere. They greeted us with flowers. They performed folk dances. They rushed to shake our hands and practice a little English. They sent presents back for the students at Alpine Academy in Rockford. They tried to be next in line as Karen introduced the to a kaleidoscope. And they rushed at Cole, Heide, Elyse, and Dakota as they handed out candy. Love everywhere. Some of these students were at day school simply for education. Others are orphans, living and learning right where they are. Many are dalit – the untouchables who otherwise might be already begging for food. But […]
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Feb 09
by Elpis in Places 2 comments

Tsunamis and Barettes

You read that right. Tsunamis and barrettes. After an official welcome and visit to the Arcot Lutheran Church offices in Cuddalore, we drove further south along the Bay of Bengal to Parangipettai. Search back in your memory to 2004, when most of us first learned what tsunamis could do. This area along the ocean was devastated. People, communities, livelihoods washed away. Some of the most vulnerable in the world had to start over from less that scratch. The world stepped up. And ALC did some incredible organizing and helping at that time. Lutheran Disaster Relief worked with them and the ELCA raised millions of dollars. Today we saw what the long range work of that money has been able to do. The ALC Community College, built with those funds, provides one year training programs for nurses assistants, 2 cycle and 4 cycle mechanics, and tailoring. That training goes to those who cannot go through more education, due to finances, social mobility, family concerns, or simply because school has not worked for them. They are people of the least opportunities in a region that has struggled to recover. Now they will become sold employed or engaged in public health work or […]
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Feb 07
by Elpis in Places 1 comments

Arrived!

The Northern Illinois Synod pilgrims have made it to New Delhi and are crashed at our hotel for the night. We head back to the airport early for a domestic flight to Chennai in the Tamil Nadu district and begin our time with the Arcot Lutheran Church. More to come when we have more to say than “We survived the plane rides!”  
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