Sunday School Musings

Police Kohhran was the name of our church growing up. One of the kids in our church was embarrassed by it so she’d tell people she was Catholic. For the simple reason that she was not seen in either a Baptist or Presbyterian Church and had no current experience to speak of. I can’t blame her. Police Church is not a real church at all.

In Luangmual, Lunglei, we followed a more Baptist tradition. In Mualvum, Kolasib, it was more Presbyterian. But the underlying feature was that if the Commandant was a regular church-goer, he was more than likely to be Chairman of the church as well.

I honestly thought I was beyond this whole makeshift worship system by the time we moved to Aizawl and we attended proper Sunday Schools in Armed Veng Presbyterian Church. It was not bad either. I actually really enjoyed the Vocational Bible Schools, if not the actual services as much. Then my parents shipped me off to boarding. So I spent three years attending Sabbath Schools at SDA Inter College Roorkee, and the next two years attending Methodist church with Mount Carmel, Anand Niketan. I didn’t attend much church in college. I attended a few during Uni and again, this time, it was back to a Fellowship with the Delhi Mizo Inkhawm.

I don’t attend church very religiously so I was hoping to do that when I started working. But it turned out it was a cultivated ethic. And I discovered that I didn’t have much of it. I didn’t attend much church beyond Sunday Schools even when I started living on my own. Besides, for the past few years, the closest church to me had been Keifangtlang Presby. Church and while it is a proper church, it is a very small church and 90% of the members were people I worked with at office. There was no escape from nothing. So I never really enjoyed it. Not the fault of the church. Just my own issues. But it was ever present.

I mean – honestly. Think about it. The entire congregation usually stagnated at 25 (give or take a few) persons. The full strength was 41 adult members in Sunday School when I left in May. Even the tithe rarely amounted to five hundred rupees in a single service. Contrast that to Leitan Presby. Church which I attend now; it has about 794 (give or take a few) adult members in Sunday School and the tithe climbs up to 19-21K in a single service. There is no comparison that is fair. So I won’t make it. But believe me – there is comfort in numbers. And ease in anonymity.

In Mizo we say to follow the path with more footfall. I wonder how true that holds for church as well.