More stories from South India

Joining Hands at Pentecost: A Vision for Transformation

The work of the Holy Spirit in Christian history is nowadays reduced to an emotional, pietistic and personal drama that is empty of social witness — which is exactly the opposite of the experience depicted in scripture of the phenomenon of Pentecost in the life of the early church.

In the Book of Acts, the Pentecost experience and its consequent transformation calls into question the way we do mission and the way we relate to less fortunate sisters and brothers in the Third World. With Pentecost fast approaching, it is important for the Joining Hands networks worldwide to reflect on how we relate to our sisters and brothers in the Third World. To me, Joining Hands is an attempt to open ourselves to the power of the Holy Spirit. Read the rest of this story.

South India: Chetana (dynamic force of life)

A Lenten Invitation: Joining Hands in Prayer

Recycling Lives in India

A Dalit woman holds her child at a Chethana gathering. Photo by Lionel Derenoncourt, coordinator of the Joining Hands Initiative.

All of her life, Rukumni has known she is considered to be disposable in Indian society. A mother of two daughters, she was abandoned by her husband. A Dalit, she is treated as an outcast, as untouchable. In India’s caste system, Dalits aren’t even a part of the strict Hindu social ladder. She is triply oppressed. She is poor, female and Dalit. And therefore, disposable. Rukumni’s only employable skill is that of a farm laborer and those jobs are in short supply since big agri-businesses are putting small farmers out of production. Learn more about Rukumni's story.