21.08.2017
Dublin University Mission to Chota Nagpur Visit Renews Old Links
The University of Dublin is unique today in having two university–based Missions. Both were founded on the basis of practical Christian service during the last quarter of the nineteenth century by students and staff in Trinity College. They are Dublin University Far Eastern Mission and Dublin University Mission to Chota Nagpur. The first of these related to Fukien Province in China, more recently to Taiwan and today relates to both Taiwan and Hong Kong and Macau; the second relates to the Diocese of Chota Nagpur in North Eastern India. The chairperson and the secretary of Dublin University Mission to Chota Nagpur, Archbishop Michael Jackson and the Revd Steve Brunn, have spent nine days in Ranchi and Hazaribagh where the focus of the Mission has been and where the footfall of the Mission historically has been. They have visited schools and colleges, hospitals and nursing institutions along with the diocesan theological college. Their hope is that as Dublin University and the Church of Ireland engage afresh with DUMCN there will be a vibrant two–way exchange of experience between India and Ireland. Throughout the visit, Archbishop Michael Jackson has been writing daily reports.
Day 9: FROM HAZARIBAGH TO RANCHI 18 August 2017
Just before we left Hazaribagh, we had an opportunity to visit once again St Columba’s Hospital. On this visit we saw all the wards, as yesterday we had the chance to meet the staff and to see the operating theatres and clinics. We saw the plaque which details the people and churches who sponsored the Private Wards in the hospital from the Church of Ireland in the 1970s: in memoriam Dr and Mrs Shannon; Derriaghy Parish Ward; Kilwarlin Parish Ward; Termonaguirke Parish Ward; St James’ Parish Ward; St Columba’s Parish Knock Ward; Lisnaskea Parish Ward; Clogher Diocese Ward; Hillsborough Presbyterian Church Ward; Pearl Jackson Ward; Zion Parish Ward; in memoriam Michael Ferrar; Brackaville Parish Ward; Ferns Diocese Ward. All of these wards are on the second floor of the hospital.
The journey from Hazaribagh to Ranchi showed that this region is rich in minerals. There is much evidence of iron ore and of coal and there are many brick–works dotted throughout the countryside. During the evening we were received in Bishop Westcott Girls’ School where we enjoyed an extensive cultural programme after being warmly welcomed by the Principal, Miss Jacob, the Head Girl and the staff and students. The School is on the same site as Bishop Westcott Boys’ School and they are companion schools, with students from both schools sharing some classes in the final years of their education. Established in 1921 by Bishop Westcott as an Anglican foundation, it now has a student cohort of 2119 with 450 boarders, 63 teaching staff and over 100 support staff. There are four Houses in the school: White, Blue and, added more recently, Faith and Joy. The Head Girl, Deputy Head Girl and Senior Prefects organized and ran the whole cultural programme. It consisted of traditional Indian and tribal dance along with contemporary music. The Head Girl told us that what we need is ‘ethnic energy’ and that the memory of it remains forever; having watched it in action, we can only agree she was quite correct. Addressing the school community, the archbishop spoke about the Greek maxim from The Delphic Oracle: Know yourself, and the Hebrew maxim from The Scriptures: The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Particularly in an educational context, both of these taken together bring an understanding of the relationship of self and community and the need that each has of the other. The Reverend Steve Brunn spoke of being transformed by the renewal of your mind, describing education as a key to doors that might never open otherwise; he went on to quote the hymn: Will your anchor hold in the storms of life? saying that education is a great key and an anchor in the storms of life today. He concluded by speaking of his delight in seeing that in India people go to school and love it. This was a very positive way to conclude what had been an inspiring afternoon created by the girls themselves.
We proceeded to The Bishop’s Lodge where we met with the bishop of Chota Nagpur and dined with him and his guests. It has been used as a Bishop’s Residence since 1870, and even before Chota Nagpur was created as a separate diocese out of the diocese of Calcutta. It gave us the opportunity to thank him and his diocesan team for a most interesting and illuminating programme of visitation and experience in the diocese as it is today. We had visited urban and rural programmes; we had seen the relationship that the diocese has built with the tribal peoples through painstaking outreach programmes and through the work of licensed Catechists to complement the work of ordained clergy; we had seen the joy in believing of faithful rural communities who still held in deep respect the Missionaries of DUMCN. We had met with those who run schools and colleges and healthcare institutions; we had seen both the fruit of developments in Ranchi and the hopes for developments in Hazaribagh. We had heard of the pressures and trials of church life in India today. Most of all, we were given the opportunity in both cities to connect afresh with the spirit of the Missionaries from The Dublin University Mission to Chota Nagpur who so long ago established themselves as servants of God and servants of their neighbour (instinctively holding together what today’s missiologists call missio Dei and missio humanitatis)in a seamless relationship of care and dignity through following the example of Jesus Christ on earth. That example was and is to teach and to heal.
We concluded the evening by issuing an invitation to the bishop to visit Dublin in 2018 and to bring with him those whom he felt would best serve the emerging positive partnership of the diocese of Chota Nagpur and DUMCN in reciprocal mission.
Day 8: FURTHER INSTITUTIONS IN HAZARIBAGH ASSOCIATED WITH DUMCN 17 August 2017
Our second day in Hazaribagh gave us a wider picture of the institutions that have derived both origin and inspiration from DUMCN. Our first visit was to St Kieran’s School for Girls where Miss Elizabeth Ferrar was a teacher and where DUMCN has sponsored the building of one of the floors in The Students’ Hostel. St Kieran’s has 900 students today, of whom 151 live in The Student Hostel. Those who live on campus attend Morning and Evening Prayer in the chapel. The Middle School has seven teaching and one administrative staff; the High School has seven teaching and three administrative staff. The school caters for Years 1–10 and Years 11 and 12 are completed in St Columba’s College. The Principal spoke of the spirit of co–operation on the part of everyone and the environment in the school as being conducive to learning. The school has completed its boundary wall (something essential to the security of staff and pupils and to ensuring that the land remains in the hands of CNI diocese of Chota Nagpur) and is engaged in repairing its chapel where a tree fell on the roof. The Holy Communion Table, the Cross and the Candle Sticks were all made from local materials by DUMCN Missionaries; the originals are still intact, in use and beautiful. The school is urgently in need of building a School Hall large enough for the whole school to fit into it for cultural activities and for other activities when it is raining heavily during the Monsoon Season. In 1920 DUMCN Missionaries came to Hazaribagh and established an orphanage to educate and to help poor and needy children. It was upgraded to a Middle School and then to a High School. From the beginning, its aim was to enable poor children to be self–dependent, honest and better citizens. They participate today in Guiding, cultural programmes, painting and essay competitions, sports and science exhibitions. Pupils go on to be teachers, doctors, nurses, engineers and to serve in the Indian Police Services and Indian Administrative Services. The archbishop spoke of the relationship of education, partnership and friendship to one another. Steve reminded the pupils that they were blessed by the dedication of teachers and staff and spoke of the strong desire of DUMCN to partner with St Kieran’s and to work together.
St Columba’s College was founded in 1899 by DUMCN. Today, well into the third century of its existence, it comprises some 12,000 students and is a co–educational constituent unit of Vinoba Bhave University, Hazaribagh. Its Principal is the Reverend Dr SK Toppo and there are four members of the diocesan clergy on the staff. A very broad range of scientific and technological subjects in particular is taught. In 1925 Mahatma Gandhi delivered an historic lecture on social service in The Bishop Whitley Memorial Hall. In 1904 St Columba’s awarded BA degrees and from 1972 has also awarded MA degrees. The College stands in 160 acres of land and new building works were in train while we were there. The archbishop spoke to a wide range of students about the role of education in developing self–respect and civic responsibilities. He spoke also of his admiration for the students who were living out an inherited tradition in the modern world and were equipping themselves for citizenship in tomorrow’s world of a rapidly changing India.
St Columba’s Hospital is in its one hundred and twenty fifth year in 2017. It was a wonderful time to visit the iconic hospital that is synonymous with the DUMCN as are St Columba’s College and St Columba’s School. We met key staff and personnel and the name of Dr Maureen Murphy among others is still held in very high regard. The archbishop and Steve were invited to lead worship in the Hospital Chapel that is in the heart of the hospital building. The archbishop spoke of service and care and teaching as lying deep within the life and ministry of Jesus Christ. He also thanked all the staff of today for the magnificent work they seek to continue to do in the most trying of circumstances. He presented a small stained glass window of St Patrick to the Hospital Manager and blessed the congregation of around twenty people. This hospital needs significant investment and a considerable amount of work, prayer and love. Everyone recognizes this. Our hope and prayer is that DUMCN, the Friends of St Columba’s Hazaribagh and the Church of Ireland in general will urgently row in behind a significant project we will plan to develop the hospital. The care that is offered by the nursing staff is recognized by everyone in the area as second to none. The hospital has been given permission to set up the Nursing School again. We need to run with these opportunities.
St Stephen’s School and Church were our final places to visit today. The School has a membership of more than 1500 pupils who were assembled in the open air to meet us. The school was founded in 1991 by the diocese of Chota Nagpur CNI, although DUMCN has no formal association with the school then or now. The school boasts exceptional academic and sporting prowess and its alumni make their way into respected positions in Indian society. There are sixty teaching and non–teaching staff. The school is interested in building an auditorium, in carrying out upgrades in educational innovation and in bringing about exchange programmes. Addressing the whole school community, the archbishop spoke of the juxtaposition of Christmas Day and The Feast of Stephen. The one spoke of birth as new life and the other of martyrdom as new life. He encouraged to pupils to try to interpret and to implement the sacrifice of others and their own sacrifice as a dynamic force that will give new life in society. He encouraged them also to be peace–builders and to stand firm against evil and warfare. The school gave every impression of being a vibrant and dynamic co–educational community. In St Stephen’s Church we saw a tablet detailing alphabetically all those who had contributed so faithfully over many years from DUMCN to Hazaribagh. A name that stood out is that of Bishop Willis.
Day 7: FROM RANCHI TO HAZARIBAGH 16 August 2017
After breakfast, we set off for Hazaribagh. This was the early centre of DUMCN work, not least on account of the fact that it was a place of strategic military importance in the nineteenth century. It is the one Indian place–name most readily associated by members of the Church of Ireland with DUMCN. It brings to mind names like Elizabeth Ferrar, Brian Harvey and Billy Marshall. As the name of St Patrick evokes the Irish connection in Kamdara, so the name of St Columba evokes the Irish connection in Hazaribagh.
Our visit began in St Stephen’s Church which was built by Missionaries from DUMCN. The church stands on fifty–three acres by the side of the main road and has some three thousand parishioners today. From there we went with the rector, the Reverend Jawar Marish Guria, to Hamilton Primary School at Rabindrapat Road. Established in 1893 by DUMCN, it received Governmental recognition in 1980. The current Headmaster was appointed in 2008. There are four teachers in all with one hundred and two pupils today and the school is co–educational. The school is named after an Irish priest, The Reverend Mr Hamilton, who was rector of St Stephen’s and subsequently became dean of St Paul’s Cathedral, Ranchi.
From there we moved to The Elizabeth School where the pupils sang a Welcome Song wishing us long life and a safe journey. The school was established in 1912 under the patronage of St Brigid and the name was changed in 1936 to be called The Elizabeth School. It was built by DUMCN and today the school family numbers ninety–five. There is need for six teachers but at present only four of these positions are filled. The school is a primary school and caters for children who are genuinely poor. It stands in need of two new classrooms and significant repairs, as does Hamilton Primary School. We were fervently requested to pray for the school. We visited each class and had a lively interaction with the pupils. The School took part in the Independence Day March Past in Hazaribagh yesterday. Those in Class 8 were looking forward to going to St Columba’s Mission High School when they left this School.
St Columba’s High School, our final port of call for today, is co–educational. On arrival, we were greeted by a choir consisting of boys and girls who sang their own song:
We welcome you in our land,
We welcome you in St Columba’s
We love Ireland!
The School began on 16th April 1895 with eight teachers and just six students. As the Principal and Staff expressed it to us: ‘With the motto: Show thyself approved unto God,
Dublin University Mission of Ireland stepped in to show us the way, to progress in our journey, from the darkness of illiteracy to the light of education.’ The first principal was The Reverend JA Murray and the second was the Reverend Herbert Pakenham–Walsh who was subsequently Warden of Bishop Cotton Boys’ School, Bangalore 1907–1914 and became first bishop of Assam. Today’s principal is Mrs Lily Bahalin Surin. The current enrolment is 402, of whom 290 are boys and 112 girls. Pupils have progressed to be teachers, doctors, professors, engineers, police officers and government ministers. The school is grateful for the ‘spark from Ireland’ as they expressed it.
It is little wonder that Hazaribagh to this day is affectionately known as ‘Second Dublin.’
Day 6: INDEPENDENCE DAY (71st ANNIVERSARY) RANCHI 15 August 2017
On the stroke of midnight, fireworks heralded the celebrations of Indian Independence Day 2017. They could be heard right across Ranchi, as I imagine they were heard throughout the length and breadth of India. August 15th this year is the seventy–first Anniversary of Indian Independence, when the Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, partitioning British India into two new independent dominions of India and Pakistan and given Royal Assent on July 18th 1947, came into being and took tangible effect. When daylight dawned, there was a mood of celebration right across the city. Interestingly, no meat is sold anywhere in India on Independence Day in order to give the butchers also a holiday.
The archbishop and the Reverend Steve Brunn went early in the morning to St Margaret’s High School Grounds, Ranchi where they, together with the officers of the diocese and the bishop, were greeted by a welcome dance performed by the students of St Paul’s College. The Indian Flag was hoisted by the bishop of Chota Nagpur, the Right Reverend B.B. Baskey, and those present sang the National Anthem. Prayers were offered for the wellbeing of India and her peoples by the Diocesan Treasurer, the Reverend Arun Barwa who remembers with great pride Miss Elizabeth Ferrar teaching in his home school of Kamdara. We proceeded to the auditorium in St Margaret’s High School. The cultural programme consisted of songs, dances, skits and choreography. Not only was the standard of performance consistently high, but the range of performance was most interesting as young people grappled with what is meant by Indian Independence in the context of contemporary India. One of the performances poignantly considered the issues connected with violence against women both in the home and in public places. Others explored the religious tensions in India around the time of Independence and the role of Mahatma Gandhi in seeking to resolve such tensions across religions. Schools competed eagerly and passionately for the prizes.
The schools and colleges taking part were the following: St Michael’s School for Blind, Ranchi; St Margaret’s UP School, Ranchi; St Paul’s Primary School, Ranchi; St Peter’s High School, Kanke; Arnold School of Nursing; SPG Mission School, Chutia; St Paul’s Boy’s School, Ranchi; St Barnabas Nursing College (BSc), Ranchi; SPG Mission School, Doranda; SPGWPTT College, Ranchi; St Margaret’s Girls’ High School, Ranchi; St Paul’s College, Ranchi; St Paul’s Middle School, Ranchi; Miss Whipham Middle School, Ranchi; St Margaret’s College Hostel, Ranchi; SPG Middle School, Kanke; Miss Whipham Girls’ High School, Ranchi.
The archbishop was given the opportunity to address the gathering of over one thousand five hundred people, mostly students. He began by congratulating all participants on an outstanding display of colour and of talent, of skill and of imagination. His remarks concerned the relationship between independence and freedom as befitted Independence Day. Taking a text from St John 8.32: The truth will set you free, he spoke of various types of freedom: freedom to create, freedom to construct and freedom to contribute. Freedom to create is essential to both responsibility and development; freedom to construct is essential to a just society; freedom to contribute is essential to interdependence and community building. All of these types of freedom assist with current and future citizenship and are deeply relevant to education today. Steve spoke positively and encouragingly about the way in which Jesus had refused to let his disciples restrain the children from coming to him. He went on to applaud the students on their commitment to their institutions and their country and he concluded by voicing his excitement about developing the work between the two dioceses through DUMCN.
Day 5: FURTHER VISITS TO RURAL AND TRIBAL AREAS 14 August 2017
Today consisted of visiting Kamdara, around one and a half hours by car from Ranchi, where there are the following institutions in the diocese of Chota Nagpur: St Patrick’s Church, Glossop Memorial High School and Epiphany Boys’ and Girls’ Middle Schools. This is an area where the Reverend Dr Kenneth Kennedy also conducted his ministry, having been sent there by Bishop Westcott. His combination of medical, theological and pastoral skills, combined with his significant linguistic capacity in the local language of Mundari, to the extent that he was a major contributor to the translation of the New Testament into the native tongue, made him eminently suitable. He also founded the educational complex in Murhu, to which girls were taken from Kamdara from time to time to escape malaria. There he established the schools for boys and girls and a hospital and a church on the Kamdara model. Today’s diocese of Chota Nagpur is very appreciative of the foundations laid by DUMCN in these fields and the structural work of both Dr Kennedy and Miss Elizabeth Ferrar.
Kamdara to this day has a Boys’ Middle School and a Girls’ Middle School both named after The Epiphany. It also has a co–educational High School, named after the Reverend Mr Glossop, a successor of Dr Kennedy as rector, who died following valiant work in saving drowning children from a capsized boat crossing the nearby river. The hospital, which Dr Kennedy also founded, is now closed. The Girls’ Middle School was founded in 1921 on land he acquired from Mr Padman Singh. The girls who live in the hostel while attending school to this day do their own cooking and washing of clothes as well as keeping the hostel clean. The mission bungalow that he built in 1920 is still used as the rectory today. Malaria was rife and claimed the lives of a significant number of pupils living in the hostel which was for this reason transferred to another part of the compound. In 1962 Miss Elizabeth Ferrar from Dublin became Secretary of the school as Bishop’s Representative until 1965 when she was replaced by the Reverend ED Heustan and his family. She did pioneering work in re–structuring education in the whole area and in writing a Guide to Confirmation that was translated into many Indian languages and widely used. The school thrives today with seven teachers and 444 pupils. The absence of a High School was rectified in 1952 when the school opened in January and it was given Governmental approval in 1965 largely through the persistence and determination of Miss Ferrar. It has eleven teachers and 756 pupils, 410 boys and 346 girls.
St Patrick’s Church was the brainchild of Dr Kennedy who was determined that there be a substantial church by the side of the road leading from Ranchi to Simdega. In 1926 the foundation–stone of the church was laid by the Archbishop of Calcutta, the Most Reverend Robert Milman, and the church completed and dedicated on March 17th 1927, hence its dedication to St Patrick. This pastorate has grown from nine congregations to its current number of thirteen. The twelve foreign missionaries who contributed to the flourishing of this community performed what a local man described to us as their three–dimensional tasks: education, treatment and propagation of The Gospel. To date seventeen indigenous pastors have served this pastorate.
Day 4: St PAUL’S CATHEDRAL RANCHI AND BISHOP WESTCOTT BOYS’ SCHOOL NAMKOM 13 August 2017
By the time we reached the cathedral at 8am for the 8.30am celebration of Holy Communion, there had already been The Hindi Service, and a second Hindi Service was due to follow the English Service later in the morning. The cathedral clergy are responsible for seven services in the cathedral and its surrounding parishes Sunday by Sunday. The 8.30am congregation numbered 450 with a substantial choir and the bishop of Chota Nagpur was celebrant. The cathedral, dedicated to St Paul, was built in 1870. The archbishop was invited to preach and the Lectionary was that of the Tenth Sunday after Pentecost. The archbishop took as his theme the guidance of the ignorant and wayward – that is ourselves – by Jesus the great High Priest to the throne of grace. From Exodus he drew out the theme of a covenant of goodness and response between God and the children of Israel and God’s naming them a royal priesthood and a holy nation. The Epistle from Hebrews defined afresh the character of High Priesthood for the Christian through the self–sacrifice of Jesus Christ and through the life of teaching and healing that itself characterised the earthly life of the same Jesus Christ. St Matthew’s Gospel spoke of the yoke being easy and the burden light. The archbishop suggested that the spirit of mission and Godly adventure that inspired the early members of DUMCN in coming to Chota Nagpur to serve in teaching and in healing was of a piece with the person of Jesus Christ and still forms the core of the new and reciprocal mission and ministry that will unfold through DUMCN today with the diocese. The Reverend Steve Brunn was also given an opportunity to bring the greetings of Dublin University.
During the evening there was a reception in Bishop Westcott Boy’s School. This involved the archbishop unveiling two plaques to commemorate his visit, one for The School and one for the cathedral. There followed a reception at which the combined forces of the pupils of Bishop Westcott Boys’ School and Bishop Westcott Girls’ School sang and performed tribal dances and delivered a colourful and lively cultural programme. Dinner was served to a large number of guests of Mr Thornton, the Principal. The archbishop and Steve were again granted an opportunity to address pupils and staff and to congratulate and encourage the pupils in their studies and in the celebration of their culture.
Day 3: VISITING FURTHER DIOCESAN INSTITUTIONS IN RURAL AND TRIBAL PARTS OF THE DIOCESE 12 August 2017
This day had a different feel to it, although there was significant continuity with the day we spent visiting the diocesan institutions in Ranchi itself on Thursday. We were fortunate to be accompanied throughout by the diocesan bishop and members of his diocesan team. We travelled for approximately an hour and a half to reach the rural areas in order to begin our visits to communities and schools. The tribal people, who are not part of the Indian caste system, live in the rural areas and 85% of the occupation of the people is agricultural in character. The diocese trains both catechists and clergy for such work of ministry and mission today, in two distinct colleges, Bishop Hubback Theological College, Ranchi and The Catechist Training College, Hembrom. Interestingly, we were not able to visit the latter as the students are currently on annual leave to assist their families with farm work and harvesting as they come from the tribal areas.
Our first visit was to St Luke’s Schools and Church in Maranghada, Khunti where the church is built on a high rocky promontory with a commanding view of the surrounding countryside. The church, constructed in the third quarter of the nineteenth century, is also known as The Whitely Memorial Church because of Bishop Whitely, first bishop of Chota Nagpur, who supervised its construction while still serving as a priest. There had first been a small church in the marketplace of the town and today’s church was built when the congregation outgrew its first home. Growth is a major consideration in understanding the life of the Diocese of Chota Nagpur. It was in this area that the Agrarian Movement took root and the missionaries were strongly supportive of this. The Movement was led by Birsa Munda, a native of the area, and he was hailed as a freedom fighter. Ranchi Airport is named after him. Three bishops of Chota Nagpur have come from this place. More recently, Jaipal Singh Munda was brought from this area by a missionary to study in Oxford where he excelled in hockey, becoming an Oxford Blue and he subsequently led India to Olympic Gold in the sport. He then became a parliamentarian in the Delhi Parliament and spoke frequently for democracy from the perspective of the tribals of whom he was one. DUMCN supports thirty students in St Luke’s School where both the archbishop and Steve spoke on being proud to be local and on the privilege of education. They also took questions from pupils and staff. St Luke’s is among secondary schools in the tribal area that teach Hindi, Sanskrit and English.
We next visited Bishop Westcott School, Soeko, a co–educational school celebrating its silver jubilee this year and set in the midst of its village in the tribal area. The school was inaugurated by a former bishop of the diocese, Bishop Terom, who was the first Indian bishop of Chota Nagpur, deliberately to be an English–medium school in order to facilitate the pupils from tribal areas in preparing themselves for life in a fast–moving and rapidly–changing world. It began its life on July 1st 1992 and today flourishes with a wide–ranging local student population. The pupils led the visitors to the school in worship and the archbishop spoke to them about the inspiration we must derive from the future as well as from the past in understanding education as a preparation for citizenship.
Our third port of call was the complex of schools in Murhu for the education of girls under the patronage of St Luke and of boys under the patronage of St John and St John’s Church. There is also St Luke’s Hospital, currently not in use. The Reverend Kenneth Kennedy, a DUMCN Missionary, was pivotal in the development of Murhu, its schools and its church. He trained both as a doctor and as a priest in Dublin University before going to India with the Mission and staying on with SPG. He served as bishop of the diocese from 1926 to 1936. There are 460 girl students and 339 boy students in Murhu. The afternoon culminated in an act of worship in St John’s Church. It had been built by the Reverend Kenneth Kennedy and was packed by members of the community. It was inspiring to hear those gathered in the church say The Lord’s Prayer each in his/her own native tongue and very spiritually moving to be there in the name of DUMCN. Characteristically, the afternoon finished with tea. The Bishop’s Visitation Book made interesting reading around recent confirmations. The following numbers of confirmands were recorded for this one rural church: 66 in 2014; 66 in 2015; 75 in 2016; 99 in 2017. This is a significant response to God’s call to discipleship and belonging, by anyone’s standards.
Day 2: VISITING DIOCESAN INSTITUTIONS IN RANCHI 11 August 2017
The focus of attention on the first full day was on diocesan institutions in Ranchi, the capital of the state and seat of the bishop of Chota Nagpur, Church of North India. These institutions include: The Bishop Hubback Theological College; SPG Women’s Primary Teachers Education College; St Michael’s School for the Blind; St Barnabas Hospital; Dr Arnold Eates School of Nursing; St Barnabas Hospital College of Nursing.
Our first visit was to The Bishop Hubback Theological College where ordinands are trained to serve in the Chota Nagpur Diocese. They invited us to worship with them and each told us his personal story. In the worship, they sang, in one of their tribal languages, hymns that spoke of the calming of the storm by Jesus in St Mark 4 and the unending praise of the Lord by the angels in Revelation 4. The ordinands learn a trade in their final year of study. They also grow the vegetables for the college and tend the garden, keep it clean and do the cooking as well as being responsible for their own rooms and washing. Degrees offered are BTh and BD and the college has an urgent need to upgrade the library to comply with the syllabus of the Senate of Serampore University. They collaborate with The Lutheran Theological Seminary for parts of teaching and learning, while retaining a focus on the tribal context.
Next we visited St Michael’s School for Blind Children. It receives support from Templebreedy Parish, diocese of Cork, among other sources. The students offered Welcome Song and Dance. The range of achievements of the students over many student generations is significant and impressive in sport, in music and in education, in the civil service and in law. St Barnabas’ Hospital, our next port of call, has gone through a major transformation in recent times and its association with DUMCN dates back to 1903. Today’s hospital has over one hundred staff and urgently seeks to develop new facilities to enable it to be a leading hospital in Ranchi. As a Christian hospital, it is not able directly to access any Government funding. Because of the complexities of Indian society, particularly the caste system, Christians have led the way in nursing care from the very beginning. Their spirit of service is enshrined in following the way of Christ and sharing Christ’s sense of care and healing through clinical, scientific and technological means today. Nursing itself was inspired directly by the missionaries in India. The College is awaiting final accreditation of its BSc degree in nursing by Ranchi University and would hope to partner in whatever way possible with the School of Nursing in Dublin University. The Teacher Training College, founded by SPG in 1910, is where Bishop Basil Baskey joined us. Appropriately, he is the chairperson of the college. The motto of the college is an inspiring one: Service for building a new life. The students have lectures daily from 8am until 2.30pm. They are all women and their philosophy is clear and direct: the empowerment of one woman can change a family and society itself. One of the dances they performed was a depiction of the powerful hymn: O the deep, deep love of Jesus.
This initial experience of a very few of the 150 institutions run by the diocese has opened up ways in which DUMCN can engage staff and students in Trinity College, ordinands in the Church of Ireland Theological College along with members of the Church of Ireland country–wide in practical projects of reciprocal mission in Chota Nagpur Diocese. It will be possible for individuals, parishes and dioceses of the Church of Ireland who want to be associated with such exciting possibilities to do so for the future.
Day 1: ARRIVAL IN RANCHI 10 August 2017
The archbishop, chairperson of DUMCN, arrived from Nagpur where he had been participating in a Consultation on Inter Faith Approaches to Disability Issues in India in The Pallotine Conference Centre (7–9 August). During that time he also met with the bishop of Nagpur (Bishop Paul Dupare) and the diocesan clergy. The Reverend Steve Brunn, chaplain of Trinity College, and Secretary of DUMCN, had arrived in Ranchi on the previous day.
Steve, together with Members of the Diocesan Clergy and Lay Team of Chota Nagpur Diocese, met the archbishop at Ranchi Airport. There followed a meeting over lunch where the local church leaders (Diocesan Secretary, Diocesan Vice–President, Diocesan Treasurer, Diocesan Secretary for Education, Diocesan Registrar, Director of the Diocesan Catechist School and others) briefed the archbishop and Steve on aspects of diocesan life and of on–going work supported by DUMCN. They explained that the Diocese of Chota Nagpur is set in the state of Jharkhand with a population of 31.9 million people. They described the range of diocesan life as consisting in some seventy parishes and one hundred and fifty congregations; ministering to a wide range of tribal peoples with a broad diversity of languages; taking responsibility for healthcare and educational institutions, both primary and secondary and sensitive to the needs of people whatever their economic standing. The third strand of outreach into the society is agricultural development programmes, as 85% of the population of the state is involved in agriculture.
The archbishop and Steve then went to The Bishop Westcott Boys’ School, Namkom where they were received and welcomed by The Principal, Mr RI Thornton, Mrs Horo and her team and her son Mr David Horo who was invaluable to us throughout the visit. The School was founded in 1927 by The Right Reverend Foss Westcott, bishop of Chota Nagpur and Bishop Westcott subsequently became Metropolitan of India, Ceylon and Burma. The archbishop and Steve will be based in the school during their time in Chota Nagpur.