ఎస్.పి.జి. మిషన్ — ఆధునిక కాలం

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VI

THE S.P.G MISSION

: On the death of Mr. Clay in all of whom are missionaries in the field, i Before going on with the history, it will be weU service, to take a review of the work as it was left in their hands. In 1884 were there congregations, 96 Christians, and 2535 persons under instruction. congregations were scattered over a country one hundred miles from north to south, and eighty from east to west, a country divided into two sections by a range of high hiUs, and in nearly every part totally unfitted for rapid They had, nevertheless, to be shepherded— travelling. work which had to be undertaken by the three European missionaries, as there was not as yet a single Indian helper in Holy Orders. The famine of 1876-7 had left marks it took years to eradicate—school buildings and which teachers' houses were in ruins, and had to be rebuilt. There were congregations which had been decimated in that terrible year and, worst of aU, the sufferings of that time had broken the courage and the faith of many. At such a time it might have seemed the right thing to ' strengthen the be content to 115

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three A retro- were there 1884, ^^'^'• still on active baptised 3603 These things which remain.' 1

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MISSIONS IN THE TELUGU COUNTRY

ii6 Surely it was no time to ' lengthen the cords.' and the leaders Mission. of seemed ripe for advance, the movement in the villages was still in full flood and petitions for teachers came from On the other side the three missionaries every quarter. knew well by experience with what painful slowness the at home would respond Church though they knew, too, that the stirring in the valleys on either side of the Nallamalla hUls was of God. was opportunity. faith's crisis Mission looked to the future, not to the mere exigencies They the The present. of training themselves, who might be people oversight over the Indian pastoral c ergy. ^^^^^ ^^ ^^ ^.j^^g^ ^^^ ^f ,., deliberately set apart to undertake the task of organising and building up a Training College for mission teachers. What it cost those who had the spiritual needs of their people at heart to give up one of their number, may be gathered from the fact that tinuously one or the other away on sick leave ; and thus the ludicrously impossible task of ministering to over one hundred congregations, in as many scattered villages, with more than six thousand Christians and catechumens, attempted by one priest Mr. Britten was selected for the task of starting the institution, and the necessary money was new coming through the Service, Mr. James Andrew. Madras CivU

' enlarge the place of the tent,' But not so reasoned the new On everything one the side for men, the to call The The the leaders of selected men from among the trained exercise to In village congregations. ^j^g ^qq scanty band of three was for four years almost con- of the remaining two was was during those years forth- member a generosity the of of Nandyal, a

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THE

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town of some size, which lay on the route railway from Guntakal projected chosen as a convenient centre The London Society had Missionary Nandyal head-quarters from their old bungalow Mission that of hundred to allow the work to begin rupees in order immediately, and temporary mud up purposes the to serve of By the end of 1884 work was begun. rooms. The Nandyal Training Institution time to the present been the crown of the educational work of the Telugu Mission of the S.P.G. object—that mental of improving supply of tea,chers in mission service—has been steadily It has placed a good education within the adhered to. reach of every Christian boy who and shows gence signs of through he proceeds to one of the his village school, boarding-schools, and from that he is taken, on passing the necessary examination, to Nandyal. amount the secular of fullest justify, he is given a theological training to fit abilities him for the work of a teacher. and strength intelligence of through the right institution, logical college at Madras to be trained for Holy Orders.

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account the detailed of the Nandyal Training Institution It must later chapter. suffice continuous supply^ of mission

117 of the new was Bezwada, to in which to establish it. removed lately Gooty, and an to was bought four for buildings were put a church and students' from has that Nandyal, The funda- and enlarging the is of sufficient intelli- ' vocation.' After passing After receiving that instruction his A boy of exceptional character may proceed and the enter theo- history and working of wiU be given in a say that here the to which agents it^ has

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MISSIONS IN THE TELUGU COUNTRY

ii8 provided has modified the whole succeeding history of the Mission, and has rendered possible that great advance which has taken place its foundation. The prosecution of intended to be Mr. Britten's specific work. he found time to superintend another branch of the work. In the country which embraced Nandyal and the impor- town Kurnool, tant of and was teachers, it Thus, when in 1889 the Rev. H. G. Downes response. was appointed to take over eleven new work, congregations what then became the Kurnool mission district. About the same Schools for Institution was being started, an advance was made with girls. the education of girls. itself on the attention of the Mission authorities was that of providing suitable wives for the more highly educated For this purpose two boarding-schools mission agents. girls were opened, one at Kalasapad, the other for Jammalamadugu. The latter was afterwards replaced by one at Nandyal. limited in their scope, have done a most useful work. An event which took important for the results mation of a united church council Hitherto each districts. own lines, and the three three distinct missions. of the Council a common system began to be worked out.

in the Mission since the date of this important undertaking was Nevertheless, began to villages for call to make some found possible of Mr.

part

Britten's this had been formed in the Nandyal Training time that The immediate need that pressed at These two schools, though far too in the year 1887 had place This was the Mission. for- all the mission for district had developed on its districts had been virtually Now by the yearly meetings

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AR nnp a1 GSS apt 4

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#265 £4

THE CHURCH KALASAPAD.

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The High School, Nandyal

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Another useful result was that the isolated workers were brought into touch with one another. tinued to meet until in 1902 elaborately organised body called the Central Committee. Another event of the year 1887 was the consecration oftheChurchofS. Peter and S.Paul at Kalasapad. was a substantial brick building, and was the the kind in the Telugu Mission. duties had left the missionaries little time to devote to the work of building substantial churches. felt, however, that the time had come to provide, been in some places at least, a more dignified rendering for of worship than was possible Kalasapad the building of later years by similar action and the Palugurallapalli in Mutyalapad was church at Inman was Shepherd Mr. Mr. of ; money for and building raising The Telugu Mission has at the present time these four and more than two hundred churches, chapels. The numerical progress of the decade 1879-1889 may be seen from the following table Year. The work of the ten years that followed was one long unexampled overtake to struggle There was an overwhelming influx inadequate means.

119 The Council con- it was merged in a more Kalasa- This

P^"*

^ . church. of first The pressure of other It had long The chapels. in village was church followed in Mutyalapad, Nandyal, at The Kalasapad district. through the built efforts instrumental in other the churches. simple village : Catechumens. 1795 2325 1889-99. with opportunities

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MISSIONS IN THE TELUGU COUNTRY

120 of applicants for instruction, and the same tale was told The case of the new district was parti- in every district. In one year over one thousand new cularly striking. adherents were received for whom teachers were available could be ad- those and thousands mitted, themselves place to offered turned away. For such a critical period the band of workers was Messrs. Inman, Shepherd, and Britten lamentably small. But remained in the field. after another broke down under the strain of the climate and the overwhelming demands on their strength. loss of Mr. Downes in 1894 was a severe blow. enthusiastic of fruit his advance the in the of years, and Kurnool had been removed work, he was first and shortly after was obUged to leave India. mention must also be made of the Rev. A. B. Vickers. Knowing that residence shorten his earthly life, he yet volunteered to come from the Tamil country to the aid of the hard-worked Telugu After Mission. years six invalided home 1898, and a in died. The Mission suffered another great ranks of the missionaries, by the death, in 1895, of Mr. He was never ordained, but laboured for thirty Scott. first as a schoolmaster and later as an evangelist. years, Jle was a man of deep piety and a devoted worker,.

Only in that alone. district who and Madigas Malas of under were instruction the new one of recruits, The As a term a within short efforts, district round Nandyal Worn out by extraordinary. a healthier to climate, Special in the Telugu country must he was work, of faithful few months later he outside the loss,

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is possible that the very inadequacy of the staff It of clergy in one way reaUy helped the Church to find its truest lines of development. been slow to recognise the claim of its members to have a native In the Telugu ministry. of supplying the spiritual needs of impossibility sands scattered Christians of four European clergy forced The for an Indian ministry. were Tamils by The Rev. Joseph Desigachari birth. originally a Tamil-speaking Brahman. was though of Tamil origin, had Appavu, John however, Mission from the Telugu served these men having worked for some time of the order the superior in former was ordained deacon in Mr. Desigachari was transferred to another part 1890. of the country after ten years' service. has continued to work in the Mission up to the present He an represents time. entirely clergy of which it would be weU if India found a vastly Without any claim to be called learned, greater supply. his work has been characterised not only by enthusiasm but by practical sagacity. his house at Kalasapad has been the Indian fashion ; first resort of aU Christians coming to that station for help or advice, and he has won the respect of the heathen residents of the village and neighbourhood in a marked degree. Though a start was made with TamU-speaking men, jthe object aimed at was the raising up

121 Indian '^^^• In India the Church has Mission the utter thou- by means three or of attention to the material first to receive ordination The Rev. Both boyhood. his as catechists Kalasapad district, the 1885 and the latter in But Mr. Appavu admirable type of He has in a simple lived of a ministry

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MISSIONS IN THE TELUGU COUNTRY

122 among the Telugu people themselves. man of pure Telugu origin and a son of the Mission, the David Gnanabharanam, Rev. He remained in the Mission for thirteen years. there were two more 1905, however, that the first ordination of a pupil of the Training College took place, and it is to be regretted that there has not yet been a second. Indian ministry in the period under review forms one of the landmarks of the Mission. Another fresh departure during this period was the Medical ^°'''^- opening of regular medical work. at Nandyal long maintained worked himself for the benefit of the schoolboys On model a dispensary that Kalasapad was opened at under the charge of an Indian Christian who had received Similar dispensaries were afterwards medical training. opened at Mutyalapad and Nandyal, and continue to the present time. Not the least of the difficulties of this time was the

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scarcity constant scarcity under which, through the absence of of food. rain, year after year, the Mission suffered.

part it was not the scarcity which is generally known as

It was that famine. people lived just above the line of starvation, and from. month to month never knew whether they would suddenly plunge below it. there was actual famine. the Society and administered through the teachers and Work was given to the men and women, and agents.

The first clergy- was ordained in 1893. By 1900 was Indian not clergy tiU It The starting of the Mr. Britten had for a dispensary which he only. the general public for was and placed in 1893, For the most in which masses of the scarcity not In the year 1897, however, A famine fund was raised by

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n it:^^* >«^ ;:.'4.''

S. GNANAMUTHU.

THE REV.

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At the well, Nandyal

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THE S.P.G. MISSION

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food distributed in sixty-two this dark time congregations melted away as their In individual members wandered here and there in search of means Nor must of subsistence. that prosperity returned as soon as the No less than five years passed away before the ceased. first good harvest was secured. famine came the cholera. Compared with the heathen the Christians suffered slightly more But the recovered. peculiar trial of faith, as usual, for, Christians to participate in the drive away the cholera goddess to in some places the signal for we thankfully wonder cannot but which the Mission came through these various trials and recovered its vitality. The progress of the Mission 1899 appears from the following figures Year. Congregations. 1889 115 .. .. 172 1899 .. .. The last period that we have to review has witnessed in the strength of the mission the long-needed increase For the

part of this time there were as

greater staff. many as six to eight missionaries at work in the Mission. The consequence of this accession the Mission was reorganise able to to provide for future growth, and to start new methods of work;

123 to the children. villages supposed be it actual famine the wake the In of Cholera, it, and took fewer ; own brought cholera its the refusal of the sacrifices offered to the disease, was made Altogether persecution. at the manner in during the years 1889- : Baptised Catecbumens. Christians. 2325 5562 .. 3362 9471 .. 1899- ''''' of strength was that its whole system,

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MISSIONS IN THE TELUGU COUNTRY

124 A great impetus came from the support of Fresh of Madras, Dr. Whitehead. Bishop mJnts''' with a long experience of mission work under varying he quickly conditions, which for nearly fifty years had been taking place in the Telugu country, a fact His advocacy of the Mission was a principal portance. cause of the increased support which it has since received. it did more But it : question of the relation of mass movements among the out-castes to the conversion of India. that never before had the question whether in India the Church may expect to see the reception of the Gospel extend from the upper lower castes upwards been so much before the attention of students of missions. One development made possible by the increase staff has had important effects on the after history of the In 1902 the management of the internal affairs Mission. of the Mission was assumed by a of aU the districts committee of the missionaries with the Bishop as pre- Hitherto the sident. of a committee hands seen any part of the improvement great that the committee assumed a plan was devised aU the of districts was drawn up under which agents should be engaged throughout Mission the all the congregations was agreed on discipline in

the new Coming to Madras the movement recognised, in of the greatest strategical im- brought front the whole the to It is safe to say castes downwards or from the of management had been the in of whom had few Madras, in The new system was a Mission. At the same on the time old. their new responsibilities, unify the method of working to One the Mission. set of rules system one regulating of ; ; and

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THE

S.P.G. MISSION

a uniform system of finance was introduced. the most important change of all for the future develop- ment of the Church was that other committees were formed to regulate the affairs of and portions These committees consisted of districts. almost entirely of Indian Christians, both mission agents and others. Finally, a purely Indian Church Conference was constituted to advise on important questions affect- ing the spiritual and general welfare of the congregations. These far-reaching measures came gradually and have continued to tion, More will be said about them in a later present time.

chapter.

Another rendered step possible number missionaries was the the of In 1902 multiplication of districts. included Kurnool and Nandyal was divided, and each of those towns made the head-quarters of a new district. The rapid growth of congregations in this part been has already country noted. district has from the beginning had special difficulties of For one thing the climate has an unenviable its own. This notoriety fever. for its frequent changes in the English siderable periods made continuity of work on the part the impossible. missionaries of disabling to the Indian agents, and makes teachers in other parts of the Telugu Mission dread to take up a Again, the people have a reputation post in this district. for bad maimers and bad morals. widely addicted to the use

125 Perhaps the various districts into opera- force up be the to in by enlarged the and subdivision district which the of the The new Kurnool Kurnool district. has been the cause of staff, and has for con- The equally fever is They are certainly of the intoxicating toddy

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MISSIONS IN THE TELUGU COUNTRY

126 of the country. Moreover, the nearness of borders of the Hyderabad to the large number of bad a resort of who make a living by unlawful means on either side of the border frequently slip over to the other side in the hope of escaping detection. and badness the of character of the agents Naturally, when aU tried this district. the missionary in charge was most district, those who secure were The Central Committee has to mend matters by directing some of the good agents to this boundaries redistribution of district, more than any evangeUstic work. Kurnool from Nandyal, a fifth district was formed with head-quarters at Giddalur, a place conveniently situated Giddalur. on the railway, four hours from Nandyal. eighteen years of strenuous and successful who, after work at the Training another, was leave to it this new district. charge of tions in the overgrown district of Kalasapad were taken to form from the Giddalur it 1910, on the rearrangement of boundaries in recently, already referred to, a new has been that head-quarters, for the present, at Jamma- formed with Thus the Telugu lamadugu. year 191 1 with six separate organised districts.

this district State makes it the Persons characters. The badness of the climate people have reacted on the the attracted the Mission to in to avoid the likely to least wanted in other places. with some success tried supply of and more recently a quarter, the Kumool has made the sphere other, directly of Two years after the separation of Mr. Britten, Institution, was constrained to 1904 appointed to take in Nearly half the congrega- quite Finally, district. district was Mission entered on the

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A BAZAAR

IN KURNOOL.

A TODDY-BANDY GOING JCQ JiURNOOL MARKET.

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The old church, Nandyal

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THE S.P.G. MISSION

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One the most important of period was the formation of a special agency for evan- gelistic work among Sudras and for some time past, led up to this Circumstances had, missionaries District step. a noticing progressive readiness Sudras to listen to Christian teaching. mined, therefore, to form a band of men for the purpose of travelling within the whole area covered by the Mission, and preaching classes not to To make its appeal more effective, district missionary. it was decided that the provision of medical aid should be a prominent part of its work. at that time, that the Rev. S. Foskett, who had shown unusual facility in acquiring the difficult Telugu language, could be set apart to lead the new venture. commenced In the in 1903. the whole Mission was visited. Mr. Foskett went on furlough, no one being at the time available to lead the Evangelistic Band, for a necessary to disperse it its work wiU be found tion of One outcome of this effort was most encouraging. the opinion of Mr. Foskett was a definite relation between the influence the Church had had on the out-caste Malas and the new attitude of He refers with confidence to the Sudras. process of leavening which has been going on during the An extensive influence, the indirect result past years. missionaries' endeavours among of the beginning to have an efect, and

127 this Work developments of sSdraf^' higher caste people. had for some been time on the the

part

of It was deter- usually reached by the It was fortunate, just Work was five years that followed In 1908, however, when it was found

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time. fuller descrip- a

chapter.

in later In it was proved that there ' the silent the Malas, is is a noticeable fact it

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MISSIONS IN THE TELUGU COUNTRY

128 that wherever the Mission has worked longest, and wher- ever the caste people have come into more direct contact with the working of the Mission, the Sudras, and in some cases even higher caste people, are more willing to hear us and appreciate to a greater extent our endeavours to help them both physically and beginning to understand that Christianity a religion of Love, but that it has an inherent power to change the heart of man.' of the Evangelistic Band much to encourage the hope that when the Church, mainly composed as it is of Mala members, becomes stronger it will more and more draw Recent reports from district missionaries, in the Sudras. as well as the experience of the C.M.S. Mission, confirm this view. Within the years 1906-8 reinforcements reached the Mission and it was thus placed in a position of strength it had never occupied before. which An attempt made in 1908 to raise the medical work Medical work. Mission to a higher grade must receive a brief the of In that year Dr. E. F. Nivin, a fuUy qualified mention. medical man who was also in Holy Orders, was sent to He took the mission dispensaries at once in Nandyal. hand, and was making plans for the development of the work, when, at the end of a year, his health so completely broke down that he was obliged to return to England and was not allowed to return to India. The last incident of which we can speak here, but one, Women's mission- perhaps, of the most important in the whole history of ary work, the Mission, was the arrival at the end of 1910 of the two 1910. first ladies sent out to work in the S.P.G. Telugu Mission.

These are spiritually. is not only There was in the experience

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THE

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With a Christian population including over six thousand women and girls, besides thousands of inquirers, well be supposed that the need of lady missionaries had been for some time urgent. branch of work has decidedly added to the brightness of the prospect before the Mission. The latest figures available are given below to show the numerii al progress in the most recent period Year.

129 it may this new The opening of :

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MISSIONS IN THE TELUGU COUNTRY

130 is one that has outlasted many movement. But here others and stood the test If we consider this Mission we find that it has had to face a good proportion of the difficulties that confront missions : a bad climate, a country particularly anywhere in India the travel, for difficult classes, and frequent famines. been has Mission to a sistently undermanned. steadily for sixty years. difficulty, failure, and loss, there has always come, decade after decade, the statement attention. arrests fact the movement and behind the Mission. see whether, in the more detailed us to and sections of results working of a Will, higher than using men as its instruments.

of opposing circumstances. the opposition of influential Add to these that the quite remarkable degree per- it has gone on growing Yet After all records of opposition, This growth. actual of It argues some power behind It remains for description of work, we can the the trace of men, and the will