India Trip: Feb. 26 – 28

From Rev. Abhi Janamanchi:

We arrived in Shillong, Meghalaya after a long and exhausting journey from Hyderabad by plane and car. The car ride itself took nearly four hours from Guwahati airport and involved going up a long winding road. The road was crammed with coal trucks spewing black smoke from their exhaust pipes. After avoiding many a head-on crash with inches to spare, we arrived at the hotel dusty, dirty, and even, a little high after inhaling some of those noxious fumes. Everyone was glad to be alive!

On Sunday, we worshiped at the Madan Laban church in Shillong. The service featured hymns in English and Khasi, lighting of the chalice, a reading from the Psalms, the Lord’s prayer, and a prayer. The sermon was delivered by UUA President, Rev. Peter Morales. In his sermon, Peter talked about crossing borders; physical borders, cultural borders, social borders, and spiritual borders. He said, “To live is to cross borders of the spirit.” He invited us to reflect on our spiritual journeys and see what spiritual borders we had crossed; what experiences had changed us; and, where we think we might be headed in our spiritual journey. He lifted up the story of Hajjom Kissor Singh, founder of Khasi Unitarianism, who rejected the orthodoxy of Calvinism on his own and through a process of study and reflection, crossed the border into Unitarianism on his own.


Peter reminded us that crossing borders is a central theme of liberal religion be it Khasi Unitarianism or Unitarian Universalism. “We have always been a people, who, at our best, have been open to new insight, to new experience, to new challenges. If we cease to change, if we cease to cross spiritual borders, then we abandon what is at the core of our spirituality.” He concluded his sermon by exhorting us to work closely and journey together as spiritual partners.

In the afternoon, we attended another worship service at the Unitarian church of Nongthimai where I was the guest preacher. The highlight of the service for several of us was hearing the children's choir sing one of the hymns accompanied by an amazing young keyboardist. I asked Allen how he felt worshiping with the Khasi Unitarians. He said, “Even though it was a different place, a different language, and different people, I felt completely at home. I was spiritually moved and felt happy being with people who shared a common heritage.” After the service, we were invited to have tea at the home of a well respected Khasi Unitarian family, the Nongbris. People were deeply moved by the wonderful hospitality of the host family. Maya, in the meantime, was whisked away to the minister’s home by his daughters for a play date. Allen and Lisa had a tough time getting her back to the hotel. Maya shared with me later that people mistook her to be one of the local girls from the church and started speaking to her in Khasi. That made her really happy because she felt at home in the Khasi Hills.

The next morning, we visited the Margaret Barr Memorial School in Lawsothun. The warm welcome we received from the children, the teachers, and others gathered at the school brought tears to our eyes. The children pinned a corsage on each of us and greeted us with “Khublei,” which is Khasi for “welcome.” The president of the managing committee organized a wonderful program which included singing of songs by the children, a few speeches by local dignitaries, and a surprise birthday celebration for Jeannie Shimer. We distributed the beautiful scarves and also the school supplies donated by our members. Later, we met with the school’s managing committee and received an update on student enrollment, budget priorities for the current school year, and building plans. We discussed the possibility of creating a memorandum of understanding between the school and UUC that would seek to clarify expectations and help create a stronger and more sustaining relationship for the future. It was hard saying goodbye to all the wonderful children and their teachers. We promised to return soon.

We have so much to learn from our Khasi Unitarian brothers and sisters. They have much to teach us about how our liberal religious faith can express itself in different ways and yet remain true to our core values of freedom, dignity, compassion, justice, and love.

We departed Shillong our hearts full.
“To Nangroi” (Keep on Progressing)!
Abhi