February 19 is the date of East Shore service based on Khasi Unitarianism! Come get a close-up view through language, photos, and short videos taken last October.
Imagine smiling Khasi school children eagerly singing hymns in their Unitarian church, later proudly showing us their games and dances while parents and teachers looked on with pride. Our Khasi Unitarian partners in NE India are incredible human beings who gave us joy as they poured out their generous hospitality and genuine love for fellow Unitarians! We stayed with them for two glorious weeks last October (2016).
It seemed almost miraculous that all eight of us “pilgrims” from East Shore arrived within hours of each other at the nearest reliable airport- in Guwahati, Assam. These are East Shore members Roger and Fran Corn, Doug and Emma Strombom, Karen McManus, John Chmaj, and Barb Clagett plus Edmunds UUC member Vicki Roberts-Gassler. We loaded our luggage in two “Sumo” vans and were driven up the long, twisty road to Shillong, the capital of Meghalaya and the headquarters of the Unitarian Union of NE India. Unitarian friends in Shillong – all of them church leaders – met us for dinner at our hotel, and we immediately dived into deep conversation. Of the eight of us pilgrims, five had come before. The three newcomers fit right in.
After a few days exploring, we headed out to “our” village of Kharang, about a two-hour drive. Students at the Friendship School – dressed in red plaid uniforms – sang a song in English for us and later put on amazing dramatic performances for us. They built the school with funds for materials donated by our Bellevue WA church. We annually raise enough money to pay for teacher salaries at the Friendship School as well.
Staying in private homes in two towns – Kharang and Smit – we ate delicious meals together, provided by hosts and a crew of young adults. In one home where there were “squat” toilets, our host built a kind of “throne” over the ceramic floor toilet, even adding a blue toilet seat on top. What a gift for all of us!
The days were packed with lots of spontaneous teaching, music-making, game-playing, and late-night conversations. We visited four different schools in the area, as well as an orphanage with 21 students founded by American Unitarians. After a couple of rehearsal sessions in jazz and folk singing, we led the students in a rousing joint concert!
At our two partner churches – on consecutive Sundays – we put on the whole service, complete with translated programs, hymn-singing, a reading, a prayer, a sermon, special offertory music, and a jazz postlude. The simple sanctuaries were packed in both cases!
One Saturday we saw incredible support of Unitarianism when attending back-to-back services in a town in the West Khasi Hills, several hours west of Shillong, where only a couple of Unitarian families had lived. Working with these families, the Unitarian leadership in the church put on two long but very engaging services in a building close to the main road of the town. About 600 people attended, many of whom we knew from our partner congregations. Maybe a quarter of them were being introduced to Unitarianism for the first time. The basic message – delivered by several powerful Unitarian ministers and leaders – was that no one needed to live in despair and hopelessness now, waiting for a better life after death. Life could be lived fully here and now! We knew we were in the presence of people actually LIVING OUT Unitarian principles of love and community. Having little materially did not get in the way of the Khasis living with joy and generosity. What a privilege to be with them.