Morristown church helps transform schoolhouse in India into treasure

Lenten project in 2000 blossoms into a dream come true

By Minhaj Hassan • Daily Record • August 16, 2008

MORRISTOWN -- Back in 2000, students from the St. Peter's Episcopal Church Sunday school sent their Lent money to the poverty-stricken South India village of Kothapallimitta.

Their note to the local pastors read, "Please use this money to do something good for the children of Kothapallimitta."

The idea of a school was born, and St. Peter's has been instrumental in seeing that dream become a reality over the past eight years.

Kothapallimitta, a rural village about three hours from Madras, has served as an experiment where old racial tensions are subsiding, thanks to the school that was completed nearly a year ago with funding from the Morristown church on South Street.

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A joyous night at St. Peter's

by George!

Mention "untouchables" and most Americans probably think of a gangster movie starring Kevin Costner. But the term means misery and suffering for millions in India, where the lowest of that country's castes, the Dalits, or "Untouchables," have little hope of escaping poverty.

St. Peter's Episcopal Church in Morristown is trying to make a dent in that system, however. On Tuesday the congregation celebrated the completion of a school in Kothapallimitta, in South India.

Since it began in 2000, the St. Peter's English Medium School has grown from 21 students to about 300. Most are Dalits whose prospects for a good education otherwise would have been slim.

"The most important impact is they know they are not alone," said the Right Rev. Prince Singh, the newly appointed Bishop of Rochester who helped launch the $190,000 school project while he was a priest at St. Peter's.

"There's something about being in a place where the system tells you you are nobody," the bishop continued. "People internalize it and believe it. But when others say you are a child of God, there is a new community that emerges. Hope begins to come real."

St. Peter's was joined in this "companionship" project by St. Alban's Episcopal Church in Oakland.

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Visiting India

(From "Mission Trips," pp 4-5)

On Aug. 4, more than 1,000 people gathered for the dedication of the new St. Peter’s English Medium School building in Kothapallimitta, India, a village about three hours outside of Chennai (formerly called Madras). Those gathered included companions from the United States: five people from St.Alban’s, Oakland, and eight from St. Peter’s, Morristown. Along with the local church in Kothapallimitta, these churches helped to conceive and build this primary school. The school provides education for those children previously known as “untouchables,” who otherwise would not be afforded an education. Also attending the ceremony were the bishop of Madras, the state minister of law and education, local clergy, government officials and other dignitaries.Mention "untouchables" and most Americans probably think of a gangster movie starring Kevin Costner. But the term means misery and suffering for millions in India, where the lowest of that country's castes, the Dalits, or "Untouchables," have little hope of escaping poverty.

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Strengthening the connection

By Maurice Seaton

Parishioners of St. Alban's Episcopal Church, Oakland/Franklin Lakes (Diocese of Newark, http://www.stalbans-ofl.dioceseofnewark.org) are also growing in global mission. A new phase has begun in their relationship with the rural community of Kothapallimitta (village on a hill) in South India. To bridge the distance, the churches are conducting Bible study by video exchange. Each congregation is studying the same biblical passages and videotaping the discussions. After translation, the tapes are exchanged. There is anticipation as each community awaits its companion's tape. This is a novel way a congregation with limited resources can deepen a relationship.

The Rev. Prince Singh, rector of St. Alban's, was ordained in South India where 80 percent of Christians are Dalits (untouchables). He helped establish the relationship with Kothapallimitta three years ago. St. Alban's is a suburban, middle-class congregation in New Jersey with about 100 people in church on Sunday, including a growing number of young families. Together with a neighboring Episcopal church, they are funding the construction of a school for 300 children in Kothapallimitta. Part of the $200,000 project is complete, and 100 children already attend school.

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A taste of rural India

College students experience the joys and dangers of mission work

By Sharon Sheridan

After graduating high school, Michael Haslett spent a month in Southeast India as part of a companion relationship between his New Jersey parish and a rural Indian pastorate.

"The trip just completely changed me," he says. And from the moment he arrived back at a U.S. airport, he was determined to return.

This summer, he did, with the help of an outreach grant from his home parish, St. Peter's Episcopal Church in Morristown. He spent much of his time volunteering at St. Peter's English Medium School, Kothapallimitta, which St. Peter's helped found.

Joining Haslett was Danielle Allatta, another St. Peter's graduate. She had missed the chance to join Haslett on his first trip in 2001. "It was like a dream that I hadn't completed," she says.

In a chance e-mail, the friends discovered each was planning a summer mission trip to India. They decided to go together.

The visit proved a profound cultural experience, highlighting the joys and difficulties of mission work in a developing nation. Allatta came home early after suffering serious illness and spending a week in a diocesan hospital. Yet she remains upbeat about the trip, even talking about "next time."

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