Monthly Magazine June 2010
Dear Friends Have you ever heard of Sadhu Sundar Singh? He was born in the Punjab in 1889 – I am not sure if his birthplace is now in Indian Punjab or Pakistani Punjab. He might well be the most influential spiritual teacher from the East the world had known in the first half of the 20thcentury.
While at his missionary school, at the age of 15 he burnt his Bible. The next year he experienced conversion, whereupon his family threw him out of the house and disinherited him. His father saw Christianity as the religion of India’s colonial oppressors. A month later Sundar took on the lifestyle of a sadhu.
Sundar’s spirituality grew out of an intense struggle to come to terms with the key elements of his ancestral Sikh faith and his Christian faith. Recognised by their traditional yellow robes and ascetic lifestyle, sadhus (literally ‘poor men’ or ‘beggars’) forsake creature comforts to live lives of devotion and prayer. Throughout his life Sundar maintained the highest respect for the familiar expressions of devotion he had grown up with – Hindu and Buddhist, Sikh and Muslim. But his intense encounter with Christ which had led to his conversion left him forever changed and gave him an unwavering dedication to Christ. So although he never criticized any religious practice that was sincerely observed, he was always ready to relate how Yesu had touched and transformed him – the completion and fulfillment of the deepest human longings for inward and outward peace, and it was unthinkable to keep it to himself.
It was for this reason that he wandered for years at a time across the Indian subcontinent, braving the elements and enduring the attacks of anti-Christians. In Tibet in 1912 he was arrested, tossed into a dry well, and left to die – but later rescued by a mysterious stranger.
After years of traveling in India, in 1919 – 1922 he traveled to China, Malaya and Japan, to Australia, the US and Europe. It was Sundar’s understatedly simple faith and authentic practice of Christ’s teachings – something utterly out of sync with western materialistic intellectualism – that his audiences found so compelling.
In 1929 he set out on a journey into the Himalayas and never returned.
One of his translators has written: ‘The Sadhu was very reluctant to speak about himself; he was always concerned that no-one be distracted from Christ. I had an unforgettable experience in this connection. We were on a train, and a pastor traveling with us told the Sadhu that at the meeting we were to attend that evening, he wanted to introduce him to an important guest – a woman who could not find peace, although she had gone to hear many famous Christian speakers and sought their advice. The Sadhu remained quiet for a while and then, addressing the pastor, asked him almost brusquely not to introduce him to the woman. The pastor seemed offended and, though he kept quiet, the Sadhu noted his displeasure. So he explained, “This lady has something to learn, but she would not learn it if I met her. She must learn it from Christ, and he is much nearer to her – and will mean so much more to her – than any man.”’
The Church of England remembers Sadhu Sundar Singh every 20thJune, the last day in 1929 on which he was seen alive. I hope I have written enough to intrigue you to find out more about this Christian from the Punjab. If so, one opportunity is on 19thJune, at 4.30 at St Bride’s, Old Trafford, when there will be an Act of Thanksgiving, including an address by the Revd Rana Youab Khan, from the Lahore Diocese but presently working a Lambeth Palace.
Luke 10, verses 2 – 10, must have been among Sundar’s favourites; ‘The harvest is plentiful but the labourers are few; pray therefore the Lord of he harvest to send out labourers into his harvest … Carry no purse … Whatever house you enter, first say, “Peace be to this house” ..’ None of us find that easy but I think Sundar would say that he would not have found it any more possible except that he had come to know Christ through his Spirit, knew himself as His Father’s child, loved and enabled to take risks in trust.
We will all remember hearing from D, M and K W in January, telling us about their work in South East Asia, teaching English and household skills to local people, and expressing the love and truth of Christ. This month, after five months’ leave, study and speaking engagements they return to work. Do remember to pray for them. They depend on our prayers.
You may or may not know that we have recently received two legacies, each coincidentally of £1000. One legacy is from the late Mr Norman Ayrton, a resident of the parish. The other legacy is from the late Mrs Ethel Leith, who married Ronald Reith in St Thomas’ on 16 August 1965.
June dates Wednesday 9th, 7.30 at Christchurch, Chadderton: ‘Unlocking the Growth’ Seminar: simple ideas for increasing the number of people attending invitational services – the reasons why Christians don’t invite, how to overcome the wounds of the past, etc. Led by Michael Harvey, a founder of Back to Church Sunday. Wednesday 16th, 7.30 in the Vestry: Church Council. Thursday 17th, 7.30 in the Vestry: OldhamReaching Muslims – short presentation by myself followed by a prayer time. Usually attended by people from at least three churches. Saturday 19th, 4.30 at St Bride’s, Old Trafford: Giving thanks for Sadhu Sundar Singh, Indian Evangelist. Sunday 20th– Fathers’ Day.
Yours sincerely Andrew Dawson
Current priorities of St Thomas’- as agreed by Church Council, September 2004 1. Evangelism/Church Growth out of love for people and because we need new members. 2. Worship, including Sunday School, Healing, Prayer and Music. 3. Witness to Asians through individual friendships and through shared work with the community. 4. Presence, that is letting people know that C of E Christians live and/or worship on the Coppice. 5. Working with St Paul’s, as we have been requested by the Diocese.
Christian Funerals ‘For I am convinced that neither death nor life … nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord’ – St Paul to the Christians in Rome 8, 38 – 39. 11 May Barbara Hogg 79 years 17 May Roy Smith 84 years
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