Wednesday, November 16, 2005

suNdAy sHoEs

Dear jess,

Inserted behind is a form for you to tick your religion. You may pick from these categories Buddhist, Hindu and White.

I pave my way out a church I’ve been visiting for a couple of weeks now. It’s built so amazingly that my friend says ‘the money could’ve been used to pay for 10 new churches.’ As I make my way to my friend’s car I see a few Mercedes, BM’s and an assortment of fine sweets parked near our humble car.

Its part of living a city life. Whilst some Catholic churches refuse to spend money on ceiling fans which I’m sure can cause fainting in those packed places one day, Protestants continue on the war they’ve waged against these “Christians.”

Some people come together after the young adults and head to some expensive restaurant in the city whilst some church leaders go into the project they’ve started with the family of the victims of JE, which we of course have conveniently forgotten.

Whilst we spend hundreds and thousands on singing Christmas trees so that people can come to us, others wait in the jungles and shiver with delight just because we’ve gone caroling with them.

Post Colonial Malaysia. We have inherited a white culture. Ive lived, grown, eaten, slept church. It is a place where I can sit in the aircond and laugh my heart out with people who’ve known me since I was a kid. Church is upper middle class English, with people who go there in dresses. There doesn’t seem to be a place for the poor as we walk on by with our Gucci shoes and Prada bags. Sure we don’t have anything against them, just our pretty church building might.

We battle to retain singing English hymns like it was our own culture, keep pews because we think its what should be in a church, wear a tie on a Sunday in a country that lives near the freaking Khatulistiwa and look so blankly when someone speaks in Bahasa Malaysia to the congregation.

Like I said, religion? White.

yours,
jess

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