St. Paul's Episcopal Church

Note: after further review of our new friends’ baptism, marriage and confirmation certificates, it’s become clear that we were in error on one major account. Our friends are NOT from the Karen ethnic group. They are from the Karenni ethnic group (also from Burma).

The two groups are related and they are both in conflict with the repressive Burmese government. However, there are some significant differences. For instance, the Karenni are much less numerous and are concentrated in Kayah state, while the Karen are mainly further south in Kayin state. The Karenni have their own language, Kayah-li. Also…Karen Christians tend to be more Baptists and Anglicans, Roman Catholicism has a stronger influence among Karenni Christians.

In light of this new information, I’ve rewritten the information below. I apologize for the confusion. – Matt Ferguson

It seems appropriate that this week’s reading from 1 Kings speaks of extending an “outstretched arm” to people who come from a distant land. If you’ve been in church the past few weeks, you know that we’ve had a group of about 40 (not including little ones in the nursery!) people from Burma who have started attending services. As Father Gordon pointed out today, they speak virtually no English. There is very little we know about these new brothers and sisters who have joined us; their individual stories, their needs and relationships remain mostly a mystery. We don’t even know how they happened to come upon St. Paul’s. Yet, in spite of this significant communication barrier, they seem to have decided that St. Paul’s is where they are called to be…and we are indeed honored that they are here.

Deacon Bill has taken the lead in contacting area social services agencies and in trying to find ways to improve  communications. We have been in contact with an individual in the area who speaks English and Burmese and hope that he’ll be able to join us next Sunday to help with translation.

In the meantime, here’s what we know so far…

• Our visitors are from the Karenni (pronounced “kare-en-EE”) ethnic minority in Burma. For decades, the Karenni (who mainly come from the state of Kayah (see map) have struggled with the repressive military government in Burma, and have sought their own indpendent state. In the course of this prolongued conflict, the Karenni have been forced into refugee camps in Thailand. Read more about the Karen people here and here.
• Many of the Karen have lived in refugee camps their entire lives…of 20 years or more. This morning, our visitors presented their baptism and marriage certificates. Virtually all of the certificates were issued by Thai refugee camps.
• Our visitors seem to live in a number of areas around the City of Lansing.
• While many of our visitors seem to speak Burmese, we believe their actual native language is Kayah-li. Unfortunately, because so few people speak this language, there doesn’t appear to be much in the way of online resources for learning Kayah-li (a written form of Kayah-li was only recently devised in 1962). Right now, Burmese appears to be the most promising avenue for communication. Here and here are a couple of resources for learning some basic Burmese phrases. Also, here is a brief video.
• This excellent briefing paper by the Center for Applied Linguistics describes the situation faced by refugees at Baan Mai Nai Soi Camp #1 in Thailand – the camp where are new friends came from.
• This online book from the Cultural Orientation Resource Center gives a very good description of the overall situation in Burma and backgroundinformation on the different ethnic groups (including the Karenni).

As we learn more about our new friends – and what specific needs they have - we’ll post the information here. Please feel free to offer comments or suggestions in the comments below, on Facebook, or to me at fergus48@gmail.com

Thwa dau me (Good Bye)

Canterbury MSU invites all local Episcopal clergy and lay people who are interested in helping with CMSU events and dinners this year to come to an informational meeting at All Saints Church, East Lansing. The meeting will be at 7pm on Monday, August 31st in the All Saints undercroft. We are looking for folks who are interested in preparing a Sunday Dinner for students or helping with the Fall Feast or football parking or any other events we have scheduled for this Fall. Please email Chaplain Sarah Midzalkowski at emmsu@msu.edu or call her at 517-648-3378 with your questions. We hope to see you there!