Baptists to affirm South Asian Christians in the UK

The cultural contribution of South Asian Christians to the church in the UK is to be celebrated at a special event organised by the Baptist Union of Great Britain on Saturday.

Those attending The Gathering will be encouraged to take part in South Asian customs including taking their shoes off, sitting on the floor, and some simple washing before they worship.

The event, being held at Edmonton Baptist Church in North London, will feature worship and dance with a South Asian influence.

There will be seminars on Asian spirituality in Christian worship and issues affecting young Asian people and their place within the church. There will also be a special evening celebration exploring South Asian culture from 19:00 to 21:00.

Speakers at The Gathering include London Baptist Association Regional Ministers Kumar Rajagopalan and David Shosanya, General Director of BMS World Mission David Kerrigan, Tamil church youth pastor Kamal Krishnasamy and Pall Singh who leads Sanctuary, an innovative peace community in Birmingham for British Asians and those interested in exploring eastern and western spiritualities in Christ.

According to Christian charity South Asian Concern, in 2009 there could be as many as 100,000 South Asian Christians in the UK, from which it is estimated over 5,000 are Baptist.

One of the organisers of The Gathering, Kumar Rajagopalan, became a follower of Christ from a Hindu background and sees the event as an important step in recognising the contribution South Asian Christians can bring to Baptists and the church here in the UK.

"At a church where I ran a series on racial justice, one lady said to me 'I believed that white middle class culture was biblical culture until you came along'," he said.

"Baptists and Christians across the denominations are starting to see that having different forms of worship, different cultural perspectives help to expand a church community's perception and appreciation of Jesus."