Minute for Mission: Restoring Dignity to India's Most Oppressed

While the economic and social status of women may be improving marginally worldwide, the life of the Dalit women in India remains unchanged. “Dalit” is a word from Sanskrit and Hindi that literally means oppressed or broken. Dalits are forbidden to draw water from the common well, from entering temples, are given the leftovers thrown away by the higher caste and are barred from the right to education. 

Formerly known as “untouchables,” the Dalit women, who make up nearly 16% of the female population, face not only gender bias but also caste-based discrimination and economic injustice.

For Smitha Krishnan, this cruel existence was an everyday reality. A trained seamstress, Smitha was left as the sole provider for her family when her husband died just before India’s last tsunami. Not only did she lose her husband, but she also lost their thatched and mud house and everything in it - including her only means of making a living, her sewing machine.

“The destruction of my old sewing machine, which was my only source of income, and the death of my husband, leaving me with five kids to take care of, made life extremely tough for me and my kids,” she said.

Thanks to a grant to provide shelter and sewing machines among other essentials from Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA) to the Society for National Integration through Rural Development, or SNIRD as it’s known, Smitha and her family face a more hopeful future.  

SNIRD, a nongovernmental organization that has been instrumental in helping the people of India overcome natural and human-made disasters, has received support through Presbyterians’ gifts to One Great Hour of Sharing. Because of these generous gifts, thousands of people are able to cope with the impact of tsunamis, flooding and the Covid pandemic. 

One Great Hour of Sharing’s purpose of helping neighbors in need around the world remains constant, giving us a tangible way to share God’s love - not only through the ministries of Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, but also the Presbyterian Hunger Program and Self-Development of People.  

The collaboration between SNIRD and PDA seeks to dismantle structural racism and eradicate systemic poverty, both goals of the Matthew 25 invitation and challenge.

Smitha’s words tell the whole story.

“Because of people’s gifts to One Great Hour of Sharing, we now live in a permanent and disaster-resistant shelter, my kids are back in school, I am able to feed and clothe them, and when they get sick, I am able to take care of their medication, too,” she said. “Thank you, Presbyterian Disaster Assistance and SNIRD. And may the Lord continue to provide for those who continue to give to One Great Hour of Sharing.”

Please give what you can to One Great Hour of Sharing. When we all do a little - it adds up to a lot.

Minute for Mission: Repairers of the Breach

Kintsugi, the 15th-century Japanese art of repairing broken pottery by mending the broken areas with lacquer dusted or mixed with powdered gold or other precious metal, reminds us that when repaired, formerly broken places reveal new lines of character and beauty.  

But what of God’s world? The world God entrusted to our care? So many parts are broken, damaged by cruelty to each other, misuse of Creation or refusal to take God’s commands seriously.

In Isaiah 58, the prophet reminds us, “You shall be called repairers of the breach.” Repairers. And as we question the breaches that may have resulted from our own actions, we ponder how to repair them, creating something unique, beautiful and resilient. Which ones get attention first? How can we repair a breach that may have existed for decades or one that has only recently emerged? Where can we work for repair to reveal beautiful new veins of gold?

Your gift to One Great Hour of Sharing provides a way for those whose lives have been affected by poverty, hunger or disaster — whether natural or human-caused — to begin to repair the lives of their families and communities. It provides a way for the least of these, more often than not women and children, to become those veins of gold, binding their families and communities together in strength.   

In the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, God repaired the breach that separated us from our creator, performing a kintsugi of sorts upon us — putting the broken pieces of our lives back together while lining our broken places with the gold of God’s grace. As we follow Jesus’ example, walking alongside the most vulnerable to partner in repairing the harm inflicted upon them, we celebrate that we are the Church … together.

 

Let us pray~

Restoring God, in Jesus, you have given us the ultimate example of repairing the hurts that divide us. May our gifts and our prayers join with the most vulnerable among us to restore your people and your world. Amen.