South Asian Forum of the Evangelical Alliance Newsletter
Issue 21: December 2015
The South Asian Forum (SAF) is a grouping within the Evangelical Alliance, it was set up to provide a place for South Asian Christians in the UK to encourage, support and equip each other for mission, and to represent their concerns to government, media and the wider Church. With the support of both individual members and church members totalling more than 20,000 people, SAF is steadily growing. Visit southasianforum.co.uk to get involved in supporting
Interview with Rahil Patel
Author of Found by Love, A Hindu Priest encounters Jesus Christ What is your background? My origins are from Gujarat, India. I was born in Nairobi, Kenya but just a few months after my birth my parents moved to England. I’ve spent most of my life here. Academics and sports was a priority within my family and so from a very young age a lot of my time was spent trying to excel in these two spheres. My schooling in north west London was filled with Christian teaching, but for generations my family have worshiped a variety of Hindu gods. For a few years I migrated between these two faiths. What drew you to Hinduism? My parents have always had a house shrine and so engagement in Hindu rituals at home was a daily occurrence. Watching my mother fully engrossed in the mornings and evenings in front of the shrine enabled me to grasp that God would always be central in my life and so it would be a Hindu God and no other. Both parents were very involved during the weekends at the local Hindu temple. By tradition I was expected to follow this trend and so by my very early teens I didn’t have a choice. I was encouraged to develop my social circle around the temple community – which were all Gujarati – and hence allow my school to provide an academic angle only. As the temple and its community became such a huge part of my life, the various aspects attached to it began to grow on me and I liked it. I found that the temple helped me to get away from day to day problems at home as well. It was a place where I found peace from a very early age. There was a certain atmosphere of calm as I engaged in the activities, service and rituals. What made you want to become a Hindu Priest? I was gifted in speaking and so I was asked to lead youth activities, which opened the door for some of my week day evenings to be at the temple as well. The more time I spent at the temple the more it held a major part in my heart and life.
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The culture, the theology, my friends and the Hindu priests who came from India began to shape and mould my thought life. At the age of 16 the guru (spiritual leader) of the whole organisation came to London and I was asked to speak to 3,000 people in the congregation. He was very impressed and very quickly suggested that I should be a priest as I would be able to offer a lot to promote Hinduism. The guru was God to me and all in the community. He gave me a lot of attention and recognition within a short while and I was fascinated by his mystical personality. This fascination and recognition increased, which led to my passion to become a priest. What were your experiences of being a Hindu priest? There were certain disciplines and ways of life as a Hindu priest that help in my walk with the Lord today. Years of celibacy, fasting and staying away from gossip help to keep my mind in a fairly well focused position. There are certain pilgrimage places in India that hold quite a mystical atmosphere. My guru also had a mystical presence about him. But the deeper challenge in my soul was that I never felt nourished, fulfilled or complete. Amidst all the rituals and various meditations, there was always a sense of something missing deep down within me. A deeper need for a love that I was unaware yet yearning for. My life as a Hindu priest was about earning God’s love through rules, regulations and rituals. I never knew that it was about a relationship. I kept striving and performing. This led to a deeper level of fear and anxiety even though I could preach with confidence to thousands at one time. What made you turn to Christ? I was travelling a lot. Almost once a week I was in Europe and I visited America quite a bit. I’ve always been a wanderer and so after my meetings and prayer rituals I would walk around beautiful cities where I had developed a congregation. This led to me walking inside beautiful churches to acknowledge the wonderful art and architecture. After some time, I noticed these visits began to go beyond the art as I recognised that there was a distinctive and very attractive presence. Something deep within me began to beautifully stir as I stared at paintings of Jesus or just sit and ‘be’ in ‘his’ atmosphere. It was touching deep places where my guru or meditations could not reach. After 20 years of search and struggle I finally resigned as a priest and decided to park spirituality completely. In my despair I had forgotten about my secret attraction to Jesus Christ. I was disappointed with the way I had wasted my life searching for God until one Sunday – only three weeks after resigning – I walked into a church en route to the west end. I wanted to sit and enjoy the atmosphere and as I entered into the main door the presence and peace of Christ fell on me with such nourishing warmth. On that day without any mind wrestling I gave my life to Jesus.
continued...
SAF profiles its work, partners and resources in the quarterly Newsletter and on our website southasianforum.co.uk What is your book about? What do you hope it will achieve?
journey. Just grab what you can carry, and go. We don’t even know for sure there was a donkey.
My book is about my search for true and perfect love. We are designed to be loved by a Father. It’s about having a love relationship with Him and not a lifestyle riddled with rules. The book encompasses my early childhood, my priestly years where I filled the gap of that deeply needed love with recognition, talents, meditations, rules and rituals until I had a powerful love encounter with the risen Jesus Christ. After the encounter the book covers how the Lord took me on a deep inner journey where I had to work on my identity as a son and not seeking affirmation anywhere else. It narrates the Lord’s desire to make me whole and rooted in Him only and that journey still continues. My deep desire is that whoever reads the book has a powerful encounter with the love of Christ and a deeper revelation that only He can reach the deepest needs of our soul. My hope is that the reader finds a relationship with God and not a theology about Him. We need His tangible presence every day to nourish, refresh and complete us all Found by Love by Rahil Patel is out on 22 January 2016. You can pre-order at: amazon.co.uk/Found-Love-PriestEncounters-Christ/dp/190972842X
Christmas and the Book of Boaz This year we have witnessed a flood of refugees pouring north through Europe, seeking sanctuary from war, political and religious persecution and lives of misery. Some will have left everything behind and only taken with them what they could carry. This reminds us of another perilous journey some two thousand years ago. The gospel of Matthew seems to suggest that Jesus was no longer a tiny baby when the magi arrived to worship him, as the despotic King Herod decided to kill all the boys in Bethlehem under the age of two. Joseph, a carpenter by trade, would have set up a workshop in the town by then, filled with a range of essential tools that he had built up since their arrival and the birth of the child. When the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph and told him to flee because Herod’s soldiers were on their way, Matthew tells us that Joseph got up and they fled ‘that night’. No time to sell the workshop. No time to rent out the house. No time to even bake for the
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Then there was the journey to Egypt. Can you imagine the fear that Joseph and Mary must have felt? They had never been to Egypt. They didn’t know the way. They didn’t speak Egyptian. They were unprepared for a journey through barren wasteland with a toddler in tow. If only the angel had given them a few days warning. But no, this child was destined to feel the pain of humanity, and it was all starting as a refugee in a foreign land. It may be that they managed to tag along with a caravan on the trading route, but, with no warning, they certainly had not booked in advance. We don’t know what happened to them in Egypt, except that they survived, and managed to make the even longer return journey to their hometown of Nazareth a few years later, to start all over again. I rather doubt that they were welcomed with open arms by the Egyptians, and, with no job, no Egyptian language and a small child, they certainly would have needed the gold given to them by the wise men to survive. Let’s imagine that somehow the holy family had been teleported into 21st century Britain instead of first century Egypt. How would they, as asylum seekers, have fared? Could they have proven Herod’s political persecution of the child? After all, what threat was a toddler of low birth? And who told Joseph to flee? Really? Pull the other one! You don’t even have an arrest warrant. And where did you get that gold? Now, that is funny. Their chances of being granted asylum in the UK would have been zero, and they would have been put on a plane back to Israel at the first opportunity. Not to Bethlehem or Nazareth, where there is no airport, but to Jerusalem, and right into the arms of Herod. Jesus was an asylum seeker. He would have known from his parents just what they had to go through in their search for sanctuary. He would have been able to identify with those in The Book of Boaz who, likewise, fled manic dictators, torture and persecution to find a place of peace in a foreign land. And I suspect he would have been – and is today – angry at the way they and many others are treated in a system that neither welcomes nor wants the stranger in its midst. The Book of Boaz is published by Instant Apostle and available from Christian bookshops and online retailers. amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1909728179
Wishes you a Merry Christmas
South Asian Forum of the Evangelical Alliance
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Campaign for UK to recognise Pakistani Christian situation deteriorating
Forced to leave her family and home because of leprosy
According to the independently audited World Watch Monitor report, every major South Asian country is in the top 50 list of countries with the worst record of persecution of Christians, but only one is in the top 10. Pakistan is at Number 8 (India 21, Bangladesh 43, Sri Lanka 44). Mostly poor and illiterate, many Christians exist in conditions close to slavery, even those not in ‘bonded labour’. They are restricted to the most menial jobs – sanitation work, cleaning and farm labour. Vulnerable to landlords and employers, some of whom pressure them to convert to Islam – and in at least two cases raped the two year old daughter when the father refused to convert – they are trapped in poverty where drugs and crime are all too convenient sources of income or escape. The situation is worsening, the driving force being, of course, the increasing radicalisation of Pakistani society. The Taliban and other radical groups are increasingly influential, and now ISIS – recently the Pakistani Army warned ISIS is planning a wave of attacks on churches and Christians.
When Kalpana Yadav arrived at Nav Narman leprosy colony carrying a small suitcase, she was a frightened young woman who thought she had no future.
Along with the normal persecution – blasphemy charge threats, particularly against Christians who are successful and not behaving in ways fitting their ‘dhimmi’ designation, job discrimination, police bribe-taking and torture, sexual assaults, kidnap and forced conversions – Christians face a government who officially has a quota of jobs reserved for minorities, but in practice restricts them to the ‘traditional’ sanitation jobs, sometimes advertising them as ‘non-Muslim’. There have been many incidents of mobs attacking Christian areas, burning homes and trying to lynch Christians. In the aftermath of the recent double suicide bombing of two Lahore churches, a few Christians rioted, and a handful of activists seized two terrorist gunmen who had been part of the attack and beat and burnt them alive. The Pakistani media and government said the victims were ‘innocent Muslims’ and incited hatred against Christians. Reports claim the police were beating up any man with a cross in their car, raiding Christian homes and sexually attacking the women. The media and government hadn’t reacted that way when an innocent Christian couple were similarly beaten and burnt alive in a village a few months before, nor when the same was done to a Christian teenage boy in Lahore shortly after the bombings. The British Pakistani Christian Association (BCPA) is doing as much as they can to help as funds permit. Currently they are helping look after the orphans of the couple who were burned alive, as well as the family of two sisters who have been gang-raped. They are also helping Pakistani Christian asylum seekers in Thailand. They are campaigning to change the Home Office’s official policy statement that Christians in Pakistan are not persecuted, but merely ‘discriminated against’. This not only affects Christians seeking asylum in the UK, but elsewhere, as other organisations, such as the UNHCR in Thailand, use it as a basis for not prioritising Christian’s claims. BPCA invites you to sign their petition petitionbuzz.com/ petitions/save-pak-christians and also write to your MP or the Home Office.
Cast out by her family, in order to protect the marriage prospects of her younger sister, Kalpana was heartbroken and alone. At the leprosy colony in Naini, in Uttar Pradesh India, they asked no questions. From her clawed hand and deformed feet, it was apparent to residents that the frightened young woman who stood before them needed compassion and urgent treatment. They found her a room, fed her and made her comfortable. The next morning she was taken to a nearby leprosy hospital to see a specialist who prescribed multidrug therapy (MDT) – a combination of three drugs she had to take for 12 months. This would eventually cure her leprosy. However, the damage already done to her hands and feet was too severe to reverse. Kalpana said: “It broke my heart to leave home, but I had no choice, they didn’t want me.” Today Kalpana is a confident woman who is optimistic about her future, thanks to the support she received - made possible with your gifts. At the leprosy colony she met and married a young man and the now couple have three daughters and two sons. Yet Kalpana says she thinks of her family every day. “I still feel the pain of the day I left, like it was yesterday,” she said. “No one stopped me. I could never forget how it felt to be rejected.” Kalpana now runs a small business with a group of women, selling bangles, tea and other items from a wooden hut on the banks of the river Ganges. She is also part of a self-help group set up by The Leprosy Mission to support others like her. “I’ve come a long way since I was rejected by my family,” she said. “When I first arrived here I could not have imagined, even in my dreams, that life could be this good. “With the support of those who are helping us, I’m certain life will get even better.” The Leprosy Mission England and Wales supports projects in 11 countries across Asia and Africa and is committed to breaking the chains of leprosy, enabling people like Kalpana to attain dignity, healing and life in all its fullness. Inspired by the love of Jesus, The Leprosy Mission England and Wales seeks to demonstrate his message through love and compassion towards all affected by leprosy. For more details visit their website and sign the United4change petition to repeal ancient anti leprosy laws in India, which still discriminate and marginalise the poor. leprosymission.org.uk
SAF profiles its work, partners and resources in the quarterly Newsletter and on our website southasianforum.co.uk
Invites you to join a
You are invited to attend the training event teaching you how to run a ‘Discovering Jesus through Asian eyes’ course, sponsored by the Leprosy Mission England and Wales
Pastors’ Tour of India 30 March—13 April 2016
cost £750
Discovering
Saturday 23 January 2016: 9:30am – 1pm Held at St Stephen’s Parish Church, 313 Sinfin Lane, Sinfin, Derby, DE24 9GP 9.30am registration for a 10.00am start Donations of £10 kindly requested (lunch is provided) ‘Discovering Jesus through Asian eyes’ course is an exciting new outreach resource, published by The Good Book Company, for churches and Christian organisations who want to build relationships with Asian communities.
The South Asian Concern Pastors’ Tour is designed to help church leaders better understand the background and culture of the people who make up their community. Meet local pastors
Explore Delhi
Learn how the indigenous church is growing
Experience the River Ganges at Varanasi
Discover where your community originates
See the Golden Temple at Amritsar
Be inspired in your outreach
Take in the sights of Agra (Taj Mahal)
Spend time in prayer and reflection
Savour Punjabi food and hospitality
Price includes tour guides, accommodation, transfers, sightseeing and most meals. Individuals are responsible for their own international flights, vaccinations, travel insurance and visa application.
This new course has been developed by the South Asian Forum of the Evangelical Alliance in partnership with a wide range of organisations, churches and individuals that have supported, advised and encouraged the development of this resource. The training will provide you with useful facts and information on Asian beliefs and attitudes to Jesus and the Christian faith and how to invite people to the course.
For further information please contact Manoj Raithatha e. m.raithatha@eauk.org t. 07932 463 591 www.discovering-jesus.com
Click here to register
South Asian Concern exists to encourage, equip and enable followers of Christ to be more effective in leadership, mission and outreach amongst South Asians. T: +44 (0)20 7683 0618 E: info@southasianconcern.org.uk www.southasianconcern.org Registered Charity No: 1002270
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