Pilgrims at the Crossroads

Asian Indian Christians at the North American Frontier

de Anand Veeraraj, Rachel Fell McDermott

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The proposal for this book was made at a consultation held on June 7, 2006 at the Princeton Theological Seminary on the theme of “Multiplying Asian Indian Ministries in North America.” The consultation brought together over 60 Asian Indian Clergy, Lay, Women and Youth leaders from a cross-section of Protestant denominations and ministries in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Many of them are leaders in their respective Asian Indian congregations and ministries. Others have been involved with mainline white congregations that have outreach ministries to Asian Indians in their neighborhoods. A follow-up consultation was held on September 25, 2006 at the same venue. How did we come to hold these consultations in the first place? These were part of a series of consultations the New Jersey Indian Church has been holding since its inception in 1995. After a decade of existence at Princeton, the congregation made a decisive move to the present location at Kendall Park in 2005. The move not only brought us closer to the epicenter of the South Asian community concentrated in Central New Jersey, but also forced us to question the raison d’être of our ministry. We asked, “Why do we want to initiate and develop ethnically based congregations and ministries for South Asians? Is our witness to the non-Christian neighbors relevant in our day and age? How do we persuade the white and black churches to welcome non-Christians in their midst?” Answers to these questions were hard to come by. We needed conversational partners. We also felt the need to hold these conversations in academic settings and within ecumenical fellowship. Most consultations on Asian Indian ministries are held under the umbrella of multicultural-multiethnic ministries that bring Hispanics, Blacks, Orientals and other minorities together. Such consultations fail to address the needs and aspirations of South Asians, Christians or non-Christians. By all accounts, these consultations were perhaps the first of their kind that focused on Asian Indian ministries across many denominations in North America. Did we achieve what we set out to do? Not really. In spite of our sincere efforts, we did not find solutions to our existential dilemma; nor did we have the time and means to continue the conversation. Therefore, we decided to come up with proposals that would seek to continue these conversations by way of study, research, leadership training programs and resource development projects. [See reports in the appendix section]. If not for anything else, the one thing that these consultations brought to the fore was the need to hold more conversations of this type in the future. In order to continue these conversations, the participants at the June 7, 2006 consultation decided to form a working group – “Princeton Forum on Asian Indian Ministries.” One of the first projects of the Forum was to bring out a handbook on Asian Indian Ministries in North America. The volume you hold in your hand is that handbook, the first of its kind, and we proudly offer this as a down payment on all that we hope to achieve in the days to come. When the book project was proposed, it was suggested that we collect and publish papers presented at these consultations as well as invite a few participants to contribute essays. Authors who volunteered were drawn from various professions, pastors, bishops, seminary teachers, university professors, scholars, and lay and youth leaders. They wrote down what they feel passionately about and what they know from their fields of expertise. These essays reflect their hopes and fears, and the issues they confront on a daily basis in ministering to Asian Indian communities. A book of this type that contains contributions from over a dozen authors has the potential to be at cross-purposes. The Introduction by Rachel McDermott identifies an underlying theme by way of an exposition of the title in relation to the essays presented here. As you breeze through the book, you may feel that these conversations are taking place between a close circle of friends who unashamedly deplore their own parochialism, tribalism, sexism, casteism and more. Indeed, we did not mince words when it came to censuring our own foibles. Let this not put you off. It is just that we are setting our homes in order and cleaning our backyards as we seek to become a city upon a hill. The flip side of this of course is that you become privy to what ails our community and restrains our witness. Our attempt here is quite modest. We did not seek out sponsors with hefty finances to help with our efforts and publish this volume. These efforts were made by the unwavering support of a handful of friends who believed in what we do. We wish to place on record our deep gratitude to our friends and partners who supported us by prayers and financial contributions. First among these is my own congregation, the New Jersey I