Just before his departure for Geneva, Switzerland, World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia summed up his impressions of his recently concluded visit to southern India by saying that it had been an unparalleled opportunity to experience the "vibrant life" of the churches and their local traditions.
Beginning on 13 February in Chennai with an address to the top leadership of the Church of South India (CSI) and ending on February 20 by the laying of the foundation for a multi-purpose disaster shelter in a tsunami-hit village on the Arabian Sea in southern Kerala, his visit, Kobia said, had given him "the chance to visit the churches and to interact with their old and young members"; as such, "it has been a memorable experience".The rich gamut of local cultural traditions offered many ways of honouring the WCC general secretary, ranging from acrobatic dancers at the CSI Synod headquarters in Chennai, to Dalit drummers at the offices of the Student Christian Movement in Bangalore, to a golden ceremonial cap given to Kobia at the golden jubilee celebrations of the Christian Institute for the Study of Religion and Society (CISRS) in Bangalore.
More cultural presentations followed as Kobia entered the Christian stronghold of Kerala - the largest Christian enclave in India, most of whose 6 million Christians trace their faith to the apostle Thomas, who is said to have reached the Kerala coast in AD 52 in the company of spice merchants from the Middle East.
However, one of the most spectacular receptions came at the end of Kobia's visit, in Edavanakad, a Muslim-majority fishing village 25 kms north of Kochi. With almost the entire population attending the function, dozens of women and children showered flower petals on Kobia and other church dignitaries as they walked into the village whose 200 houses had almost all been swept away or destroyed by the December 2004 tsunami.
On the site where CASA (Churches' Auxiliary for Social Action), the social action wing of 24 Orthodox and Protestant churches in India, is to build a multi-purpose disaster shelter, Kobia took up a trowel to lay some bricks in the shelter's foundations. "Though we are away from you, we will continue to be concerned about you," Kobia told the villagers.
Local political leaders acknowledged the churches' commitment to reconstruction: "The foundation that has been laid now here is a symbol of love and compassion," declared M. K. Purushothaman, a Hindu local elected member in Kerala's 140-member state legislature. V. K. Equbal, a Muslim who is the village council president, described the church workers as "angels".
With the support of Action by Churches Together (ACT) International, CASA has already handed over some 4,000 disaster-resistant houses on India's eastern coast, and has built community centres, schools and other facilities in the 52 villages in which it is working. It has also provided boats and nets for fishermen as well as livelihood training for the people affected by the tsunami.
After the speeches, young Muslim girls presented traditional bridal dances for the church dignitaries while the villagers sat with Kobia for a community lunch served on plantain leaves, Kerala style. "This is the biggest event in our village in my memory," remarked K. Valappan, an elderly fisherman.
