Listening to, Learning from and Living into
Asia’s Pain:
Guidelines for US Churches Seeking to Engage
in Tsunami Affected Areas
prepared by
Rev. Dr. Shanta Premawardhana,
Associate General Secretary for Interfaith Relations, National Council
of Churches USA,
in consultation with ecumenical leaders in Sri Lanka and Indonesia
February 26, 2005
the two-month anniversary of the tsunami
Following the deadly
tsunami that occurred in the Indian Ocean on December 26th, many
US churches have been moved to get engaged in Asia, to provide relief, aid
in development and to constructively engage in long-term relationships. Now,
two months after the tragedy, the emergency relief operations in many parts
of the affected areas are over. The Eastern Province of Sri Lanka and Aceh
Province of Indonesia where the devastation was the worst are the main
exceptions to this. The rebuilding of houses, infra-structure and businesses
is now beginning.
This rebuilding is going
to take years. Now that the television cameras have moved away from the
devastated areas, our attention will turn to other things, although
long-range need will continue. Building relationships through religious
institutions seems to be one of the best ways to maintain a continuing
commitment to rebuilding.
We hope that this
resource will be a useful guide to US churches as they venture into this
relatively unfamiliar territory.
Contributions to the
National Council of Churches, designated to the Tsunami Relief Fund
will support all the programs listed in this page and to a particular
program if you so designate. Please mail your checks to:
National Council of Churches
Tsunami Relief Fund
475 Riverside Drive #880
New York, NY 10115
You may also
contribute online via
www.faithfulamerica.org
Contents
Here is an outline of
this document, which may be read sequentially, or accessed randomly through
express links to individual sections as shown:
A. Some Important Background to
Asian Christianity.
B. Rebuilding Community Is the Number
One Priority, say Asian Church Leaders.
-- Sister Church
Relationships
-- House Building Projects
-- Micro-Credit Schemes
-- Learning from 9/11 about Interfaith
Cooperation
C. Small Scale Projects.
D. Advocacy concerns.
E. Listening to, Learning from
and Living into Asia’s Pain.
A. Some Important Background to
Asian Christianity:
-
Asian Christianity
is an ancient and mature tradition.
The Mar Thoma Church of Kerala, India dates back to St. Thomas the
apostle. While other Christian traditions have been in Asia as far back as
500 CE, some of the more recent Christian traditions date back to the 16th
century. During the colonial era the western missionary movement active in
many parts of Asia, brought a distinctly western brand of Christianity to
Asia. However, with the ending of the colonial era in the middle of the
past century, innovative forms of indigenous Asian theology, liturgy and
worship have emerged.
-
Asian Christianity
has come of age in the context of a plurality of religions.
Asia is home to the major religious
traditions of the world (and that includes Christianity and Islam). Asian
Christian history during the colonial period is filled with missiological
mistakes caused by ignorance of those of other religions and because of
exclusive theologies most missionaries espoused. Asian churches still have
to deal with the unresolved grievances of that difficult past.
For almost a century now the ecumenical movement has struggled to deal
with the awareness that among Hindus, Buddhists, Muslims and other
religious people, there are deeply devout, spiritually mature, ethically
exemplary women and men who can be deemed saintly by any measure.
Ecumenical Christians have come a long way in learning to relate with
people of other religions with love and respect. In no small measure they
look to Asian Christianity which matured in the context of religious
plurality.
-
Asian Christians
live in the context of poverty, ethnic conflicts, religious persecution,
wars, a burgeoning AIDS epidemic and the residual effects of centuries of
colonial domination. If
South and South East Asian countries experienced a “loud” tsunami on
December.26th, they have experienced many “silent” tsunamis
over the years. How to be Christian in the context of these challenges is
a question that has occupied Asian Christians for decades.
For example, in 1979, the Ecumenical Association of Third World
Theologians (EATWOT) met in Wennappuwa, Sri Lanka under the theme “Asia’s
Struggle for Full Humanity.” In this second meeting of this group, during
a discussion of its name, its chairman Dr. J. Russell Chandran (former
Principal of United Theological College, Bangalore) characterized the
Asian theological task this way. Whatever we think of the name, I think
the acronym is very appropriate: EATWOT. “Eat What?” That’s what the
people of Asia are asking. And therefore that must be the primary
theological question for us.
-
“New
Missionaries” and the difference between aid and evangelism.
The decade of the 1990s saw the arrival of US and European “missionaries”
to Asian countries in unprecedented numbers. They don’t declare themselves
to be missionaries (Asian governments generally give only a very limited
number of visas to missionaries), but as business people, English teachers
or others whose professional expertise Asian countries seek. Typically
having little appreciation or regard for the local cultures and religions
or for the economic struggles of Asian people, these New Missionaries most
often do their evangelistic work in villages. Often lacking sophistication
about the lure of gifts and money, and wanting to be generous with their
resources, they easily fall prey to the charge of using unethical means to
evangelize. This creates a backlash from the indigenous religious
community. Such violence has led to burning of churches and killing of
pastors and to dismantling interreligious relationships painstakingly
built over decades.
In the context of the tsunami there were several groups that went to
affected countries with the express intention of evangelizing while
providing aid. In Indonesia, an attempt by Virginia based World Help to
have Christian families from the US adopt 300 orphaned Muslim children so
that they may be raised Christian caused serious problems for the church
in its relationships with the majority Muslim community. In Sri Lanka, a
Waco, Texas based church’s attempt to do children’s ministry in the
context of providing aid caused similar difficulties for the church in its
relationships with the majority Buddhist community. The Anglican
Archdeacon of Galle, Sri Lanka, reported how he confronted these
missionaries asking how they would like it if he was killed and churches
were burned because they couldn’t differentiate between aid and
evangelism!
While evangelism is important and necessary, it is best left to local
Christians. Our task is to partner with them, both to help them to be the
best Christians they can be particularly in the context of this disaster
and to learn for ourselves, a new way of being Christian.
Quick
links to sections of this document:
A. Some Important Background to
Asian Christianity.
B. Rebuilding Community Is the Number
One Priority, say Asian Church Leaders.
-- Sister Church Relationships
-- House Building Projects
-- Micro-Credit Schemes
-- Learning from 9/11 about Interfaith
Cooperation
C. Small Scale
Projects.
D. Advocacy concerns.
E. Listening to, Learning from
and Living into Asia’s Pain.
B. Rebuilding Community Is the Number
One Priority, say Asian Church Leaders.
Community is what
sustains people. When they have community around them, people show a
remarkable resilience in bouncing back from disasters. The difficulty with
the devastation of the tsunami is that entire families and communities were
destroyed and displaced. Many in the helping professions come to tsunami
affected regions to provide counseling. However, when we are dealing with
people whose cultural and religious perspectives arise out of Buddhist and
Muslim traditions, western counseling won’t work. The best contribution of
US churches is in helping to create the conditions that are necessary for
the healing to take place. The number one priority is to rebuild community.
In consultation with
Asian Church leaders we are proposing four large scale projects that are
geared towards building community.
- Sister Church
Relationships
- House Building
Projects
- Micro-Credit Schemes
- Learning from 9/11
about Interfaith Cooperation
-
Sister Church
Relationships.
Sister Church Relationships provide US Churches an opportunity to build
long-term relationships with Asian churches. Since our relationships are
primarily in Sri Lanka and Indonesia we are able to help you make the
connections. Here are a few important principles of Sister Church
Relationships that came out of conversations with Sri Lankan and
Indonesian church leaders.
- Relationships are
Long Term. Even though the
aftermath of the tsunami provides an immediate opportunity to
provide relief, we are not looking for temporary relationships.
Partnership must be a two-way affair. Churches in tsunami affected regions
need to receive help right now, but as relationships develop and mature,
we are hoping that US Christians can benefit as they learn new ways of
being Christian.
- Each Relationship
Is Unique. Each sister
church relationship will be uniquely configured depending on a variety of
factors including denominational polity. For instance, a relationship with
an Anglican church may require that money should flow through diocesan
offices, while in a Baptist church it can go directly to the church. In
all cases though, (including Baptists) the primary administrative
authority is the central denominational governing body.
- Relationships Can
Be Multi-faceted. Church
to church relationship can also mean relationships between families,
pastors and other professionals within the church family, such as doctors,
teachers, social workers, business leaders etc. It can also mean
relationships between the US churches’ local school and a school in the
tsunami affected region, hospitals, businesses, governmental entities,
community organizations, religious institutions etc.
- Logistics of
Relationship Building. A
visit by a small team from the US church is a good first step to
establishing relationships. Many who live in Sri Lankan and Indonesian
cities use email. This is not common in villages, although increasingly
young people are using it. Most people have not had any need to use email.
Many are likely to feel differently if meaningful relationships are being
forged with US Christians. (Internet cafes are readily available in most
cities and towns.) Phone service is available to most areas but is
expensive (unless you use pre-paid international phone cards). A tired and
true method of communicating is the old fashioned art of writing letters.
Although it may take 2 weeks for a letter to arrive at its destination,
this is the method of communication most people are used to.
- Use Caution When
Dealing with Money.
Poverty is wide-spread in Asia. However, the dynamics of poverty are very
different in Asia than in the United States. For instance, poverty in Asia
must not be confused with unhappiness and depression. When communities are
in tact, however materially poor people might be, they have human
resources to deal with the most difficult challenges of life. This is why
the first priority is rebuilding community.
Money, on the other hand, tends to corrupt relationships, particularly
when people know that the American benefactors who are the source. While
money is needed and necessary it must be channeled through churches and
denominational offices. This also prevents persons or families within a
church getting more or less than others from their American benefactors.
That then disrupts community rather than rebuild.
-
In Sri Lanka the following opportunities
exist:
For Episcopalians:
Anglican Archdeacon Ven. Lokendra Abhayaratne of the Colombo diocese
oversees relief operations in the city of Galle and vicinity which is one
of the hardest hit areas in Sri Lanka. Several Anglican churches in the
south were affected. He is very keen to develop relationships with
Episcopal churches in the US. The Bishop of Colombo, The Rt. Rev. Duleep
de Chickera, also indicated that there are several other areas in which
Anglican churches are affected.
For Methodists:
President Elect Rev. Ebenezer Joseph said that four villages where more
than 50% of the population is Methodist are completely destroyed. He
wondered if four Methodist churches in the US might adopt a village each,
where the church can help rebuild the village. Rev. Arulraj, a Tamil
Methodist minister, pastor of Angulana Methodist Church (a Sinhala Church
in a staunchly Sinhala town), which, in itself is an unusual occurrence,
is mobilizing his Sinhala congregation to do relief work in Tamil
dominated Batticaloa in the East and would appreciate partnering with a US
church.
For Baptists:
None of the Baptist churches are in seriously affected areas. Two,
Moratuwa Baptist Church and Hendala Baptist Church are located close to
the affected areas and are heavily involved in providing relief at this
time and will likely continue to do so for a long time to come. Another
church, Nugegoda Baptist Church has identified Payagala, an affected
village and has undertaken to help provide relief and development to the
families there. All three would appreciate sister church relationships
that would partner with them in the ministry they have now begun.
-
In Indonesia:
Until questions about the future of Banda
Aceh are resolved, sister church relationships there need to be on hold.
However, there is interest in Nias Island which is 95% Christian and has
over 300 mostly Lutheran Churches, divided into four judicatory districts.
Since the island is somewhat remote, the logistics of relationship
building will be challenging. It needs to be directed through the
Communion of Churches in Jakarta.
-
House
Building Projects.
As the immediate relief operations come to an end, people are given
temporary housing assistance. Within a few months building of permanent
housing units will begin.
Church World Service is presently considering a proposal from us to enter
into a partnership of house building with Habitat for Humanity
International, their local organization in Sri Lanka and the National
Christian Council of Sri Lanka. We are exploring an “interfaith-peace
build” combining two existing Habitat models. We are working with the
affirmation that when people of different religious traditions and people
of Sinhala and Tamil communities can come together to put a hammer to a
nail to build a house for someone the result is not only a house, but
reconciled relationships. If we are able to build large numbers of houses,
where the cooperation between the ethnic groups can be shown to the public
through media, it could have a significant grass-roots influence on both
interfaith cooperation and peace between the ethnic communities.
Habitat Sri Lanka, which, over the nine years of its existence has built
over 4000 housing units in several cities of Sri Lanka, in conversation
with the government has developed several models of houses that could be
built in this present context. Habitat International has raised
significant funds and has an expert volunteer base. Churches, both in Sri
Lanka and the United States can bring the religious institutions and the
people to this collaborative effort.
This summer (June–August) it is likely
that we will be able to coordinate sending work teams of volunteers,
particularly those skilled in house building to work in Sri Lanka, and
possibly in Indonesia.
Your designated contribution will support this initiative.
-
Micro-credit Schemes.
Most people in the affected areas have lost their livelihood. Fishermen
have lost their boats and equipment and small business owners, of which
there are many, have had their businesses washed away in the tsunami. The
economies of the affected areas are in shambles.
Micro-credit is a program of providing small loans ($100-200) that has
proven to be extremely successful in many parts of the world. Micro loan
cooperatives are designed to keep recipients accountable to each other
that the pay back ratio is about 90%, which is a high rate by the
standards of the banking industry.
Church World Service is also considering partnering with Oikocredit, an
ecumenical micro-credit granting agency to provide such assistance to
people in the affected areas.
In the meantime, your designated contribution can directly support the
micro-credit schemes that are already in operation by two development
organizations in Sri Lanka: Farms Lanka and Habaraduwa Participatory
Development Foundation.
-
Learning from 9/11 about Interfaith
Cooperation.
Governments don’t easily understand the role religions play in providing
meaning, community cohesion and emotional healing following disasters.
Although in Sri Lanka and Indonesia, the Buddhist and Muslim communities
respectively wield considerable political influence there is not a strong
tradition of inter-religious cooperation in long-term projects as is
required for disaster recovery, management and preparedness.
Following the 9/11 disaster in New York, the inter-religious community
came together to create an organization called New York Disaster
Interfaith Services, NYDIS. Over the past three years, this organization
has developed significant expertise in bringing together the resources of
the faith communities to bear upon the multi-faceted needs that arise
following a disaster.
We are in conversation with NYDIS and with religious leaders in Sri Lanka
and Indonesia about taking a delegation of religious leaders from New
York, who as those who experienced an unexpected disaster are not only
able to empathize but share what they’ve learned from their experience of
interfaith cooperation following a disaster.
Your designated contribution will support this initiative.
Quick
links to sections of this document:
A. Some Important Background to
Asian Christianity.
B. Rebuilding Community Is the Number
One Priority, say Asian Church Leaders.
-- Sister Church Relationships
-- House Building Projects
-- Micro-Credit Schemes
-- Learning from 9/11 about Interfaith
Cooperation
C. Small Scale
Projects.
D. Advocacy concerns.
E. Listening to, Learning from
and Living into Asia’s Pain.
C. Small Scale Projects
For churches and
individuals that need smaller projects, here are three with whom we’ve been
most closely associated. There are, of course, many other projects that we
can find.
-
Prithipura Children’s Home.
Prithipura (City of Joy, founded by the late Rev. Bryan de Kretser, a
Presbyterian minister, is a center for differently-abled Children with 85
residents of 0-8 years old in mental age (the biological age of the oldest
resident is 44). It is the oldest and most successful interfaith venture
in Sri Lanka. The tsunami brought 3 feet of muddy water into all their
buildings destroying all their furniture, appliances and children’s
clothes. The salt water and mud even destroyed all the grass and other
vegetation in their compound. The children were saved and transported to
another facility where they will stay until the center is restored.
Included in the rebuilding plan is a retaining wall at the edge of the
property, where previously a fence separated the property from the lagoon
that is next to it. The Director told us that while the wall may not
provide real protection in the event of another tsunami, it will at least
help the children to feel safer.
Your designated contribution will support this project.
-
Rebuilding Police
Homes in Galle.
The Anglican Archdeacon of Galle, Ven. Lokendra Abhayaratne has undertaken
to repair and paint the homes of the Galle Police Officers. Since they are
the first responders in any crisis, the Archdeacon feels the need to
support them. He is looking for funds to support that project.
Your designated contribution will support this project.
-
Providing Equipment to
Schools.
Third Street Music School Settlement in New York City will hold a benefit
concert on March 13 to raise funds to supply musical instruments and other
equipment such as copy machine, science lab equipment, to replace those
that were destroyed at Anuladevi Girls’ School. We also have a list of
office and science lab equipment and furniture that were destroyed in the
tsunami.
A not-for profit organization in New York is able to provide a container
of 440 used computers to schools that are is being rebuilt following the
tsunami. We need to raise the funds that are necessary for shipping and
setting up.
Your designated contribution will support this project.
Quick
links to sections of this document:
A. Some Important Background to
Asian Christianity.
B. Rebuilding Community Is the Number
One Priority, say Asian Church Leaders.
-- Sister Church Relationships
-- House Building Projects
-- Micro-Credit Schemes
-- Learning from 9/11 about Interfaith
Cooperation
C. Small Scale
Projects.
D. Advocacy concerns.
E. Listening to, Learning from
and Living into Asia’s Pain.
D. Advocacy
concerns.
Asian Church leaders suggested that one of
the best ways we can express our solidarity is to address the advocacy
concerns that deal with needs of the poorest people. Five concerns, three
that deal with local issues in Sri Lanka and Indonesia and two that have
their roots in the United States were raised.
-
Sri Lankan government and the LTTE
controlled areas.
Despite protestations to the
contrary the Sri Lankan government is facing accusations that aid is not
getting to the LTTE controlled areas of the country particularly in the
East, which was hit hard by the tsunami. Church leaders ask that US
churches put pressure on our own government and big NGOs (Red Cross, World
Vision etc.) to put pressure on the Sri Lankan government to make sure
that aid gets to the East.
-
Is the Sri Lankan government involved in a
land grab on behalf of the tourist hotel industry?
Since scientists say that tsunamis are very rare occurrences, the new law
by the Sri Lankan government that prohibits the building of houses closer
than 200 meters from the ocean makes no sense. On the other hand, the
people who used to live close to the ocean are fishing communities, some
of the poorest people in the country. The government says that they will
be given housing away from the ocean, which creates a serious hardship,
since they need to care for and store their boats and equipment close to
where they live. Additionally, beach front property is highly desirable
for the tourist industry. Many allege that the new law is nothing but a
land grab by the government seeking to hold beach front properties in the
interest of the tourist hotel industry.
Churches and religious institutions are seeking the support of the
international community as they seek to challenge the government about
this.
-
Why is Indonesia’s
Nias Island so Remote?
When the tsunami hit Nias Island, the people in this 95% Christian island
(over 300 Lutheran churches) did not have a way to communicate with church
leaders who lived on the other side of the island. The roads are in
extremely poor condition and telecommunication is non existent except in
the main city area of the island. Someone had to ride a motor bicycle 4
hours (80 kilometers) to get the message of the tsunami to the Bishops.
Why is the central government of Indonesia not interested in developing
Nias Island? Church leaders concede that it is because Nias Island is
largely Christian.
The Communion of Churches considers one of its tasks to represent the
needs of Christians in Indonesia to the central government. They seek the
support and backing of governments, NGOs and churches as they make
representation on behalf of Nias Island to the central government.
-
Reduction/Cancellation of International Debt.
The Paris Club recently gave
Sri Lanka and Indonesia a moratorium on debt repayment. This is good but
not adequate. The international ecumenical community must press for the
Jubilee 2000 goals of debt cancellation on humanitarian grounds at least
to all tsunami affected countries.
Church leaders encourage us to
monitor this situation.
-
Dialogue with Evangelical Groups about Mission
and Evangelism.
One of the greatest threats to the Sri Lankan and Indonesian churches, who
are minority communities among Buddhist and Muslim majorities,
respectively, comes from evangelistic mission agencies that engage in
aggressive and inappropriate evangelism. While this has been a concern for
several years, following the tsunami the work of those who don’t know the
difference between aid and evangelism has caused serious problems.
Ecumenical leaders fear that as in the past, violence and arson may be
aimed at churches. Buddhist and Muslim militants don’t discriminate
between established churches and the new evangelistic groups.
We in the NCCCUSA are considering engaging
in an intra-faith Dialogue on Mission with evangelical churches and
mission agencies. The ecumenical movement having struggled with the
question of mission in multi-religious contexts for almost a century would
bring those learnings to the table. The evangelical community would bring
its passion for evangelism to the table. Asian church leaders believe that
if such a conversation can lead to new understandings of mission and
evangelism that can directly benefit Asian churches that are struggling
because of theologies and practices of mission and evangelism that belong
to the colonial era.
Quick
links to sections of this document:
A. Some Important Background to
Asian Christianity.
B. Rebuilding Community Is the Number
One Priority, say Asian Church Leaders.
-- Sister Church Relationships
-- House Building Projects
-- Micro-Credit Schemes
-- Learning from 9/11 about Interfaith
Cooperation
C. Small Scale
Projects.
D. Advocacy concerns.
E. Listening to, Learning from
and Living into Asia’s Pain.
E. Listening to, Learning from
and Living into Asia’s Pain.
This title describes a way not only of appropriately engaging with Asia, but
also of learning a different way of being Christian. As US churches venture
into Asian countries to provide tsunami relief, we hope that not only
tsunami devastated areas of Asia will benefit from such partnerships, but
that we will benefit from understanding how to be Christian in a US reality
that looks more and more like Asia.
As you go, then,
consider these attitudes:
·
Remember you are trading on
holy ground, particularly when you go to tsunami affected areas. People have
tender memories of those places where their loved ones have died, homes are
destroyed and communities are dismantled. Tread lightly and listen deeply.
·
You are going to places with
long memories and ancient traditions. Go with an open mind, with a curious
ear and a willingness to learn.
·
Avoid the temptation to
theologize (explain tragedy) too quickly. Be aware that we don’t understand
much, that a significant value in our faith is being open to mystery and
that a significant value in Asian spirituality is silence.
·
Understand that relationships
with Americans necessarily represent an imbalance of power and money.
·
Engage with people, befriend
them, work with them and bear some of the burden of their pain. Reflection
must follow action, not the other way around.
Finally, thank you for
your willingness to be engaged in relief work in Asia. For further
information, please contact:
Rev. Dr. Shanta
Premawardhana
Associate General Secretary for Interfaith Relations
National Council of Churches, USA
475 Riverside Drive, Suite 880
New York, NY 10115
Office: 212-870-2560
Cell: 646-269-7620
Email: Shanta@ncccusa.org
Quick
links to sections of this document:
A. Some Important Background to
Asian Christianity.
B. Rebuilding Community Is the Number
One Priority, say Asian Church Leaders.
-- Sister Church Relationships
-- House Building Projects
-- Micro-Credit Schemes
-- Learning from 9/11 about Interfaith
Cooperation
C. Small Scale
Projects.
D. Advocacy concerns.
E. Listening to, Learning from
and Living into Asia’s Pain.
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