India Journal - A very brief intro to caste

One of the primary things we went to India to learn about was the caste system, and how to overcome it. It’s difficult to convey to Westerners just how pervasive the caste system is there, and how difficult it is to overcome it. The closest comparison for people in North America is racism [...]

India Journal: So this is what it feels like . . .

Toward the end of our India adventure, we made the obligatory trip to see the Taj Mahal in Agra.  Before we arrived there, some friends of ours in Delhi had been kind enough to arrange for a hotel and transportation while we were there.  This was certainly helpful, as our train didn’t arrive in Agra [...]

India Journal - a contextual approach to communion

Three weeks ago today, we were able to participate in a worship gathering called Satsung, with Truthseekers at their office in Delhi.  There were 35 or 40 people there - most of whom were seated in a circle on the floor.  Several worship songs were sung together, but they weren’t of a normal worship variety.  [...]

India Journal - How I spent my Independence Day

Upon scheduling the dates for our trip, I realized with a little bit of amusement that we would be in India on the 4th of July.  The amusement came from realizing that I would be relieved from the inner turmoil I always experience at this time of year.  Long time readers of this blog will [...]

India Journal - a little intro

Before I start telling tales about our time in India, I thought it might be helpful to frame things up a little as to what we were doing there in the first place.  From long before we began the planning for this trip, I was insistent that this wasn’t to be a mission trip.  I’m [...]

Back from India

Three weeks ago today, I and three of my friends/ministry partners from The Purple Door got on a China Airlines plane, and flew out to India.  Any regular reader of this blog was probably able to tell why things have been dark around here for the past few weeks.  I’ve mentioned the India trip [...]

It’s a bit busy ’round here

Sorry for the quiet blog of late.  It seems that multiple things are converging on me at once, which does happen.  Lately I’ve been hunkering down on some school stuff that I just plain need to get out of the way before I plunge headlong into my dissertation writing this summer.  I’m reading hundreds of [...]

A little bit about why we’re going to India

I’ve mentioned a few times over the past couple of months that a small group of us from The Purple Door will be traveling to India in June, as part of our inter::mission project. While the details of visas, travel insurance, plane tickets, immunizations, and fundraising have occupied a good bit of our time [...]

Idealism and Shame

There have been some quite lively discussions going on in various blogs I track  lately.  Mostly over gender issues in the church.  I have my own set of opinions about the role of women in ministry/church/world, and my own set of opinions about what masculinity and femininity looks like.  Everybody does.  But one of the [...]

Social Experiment on Caste

We got back to The Purple Door a little while ago, after spending a couple hours on the UW campus, in front of the student union.  We were out there doing a social experiment designed to bring awareness to the caste issue in India.  We had a TON of fun out there, talking with [...]