Posted on 07/16/2012 6:30:12 AM PDT by Cronos
As soon as she saw it, Tejinder Jit knew the old white church was the perfect place for a Hindu temple.
The former First Universalist Church of Scarborough and South Buxton is now the Maine Hindu Temple, the first community temple in Maine.
Photos by Fred J. Field/Staff Photographer
"We feel that it is a special place and the perfect place to do Hindu prayers," Jit said. "God is already existing there."
That old white church, at County and Broadturn roads, straddles the Scarborough-Buxton town line, surrounded by woods. It's everything one would expect in a traditional New England meetinghouse: tall windows, crown moldings, straight-backed pews.
But the wooden pulpit and the first few rows of pews are gone, replaced with colorful images of Hindu deities, burning incense and fresh flowers. It is a rebirth of sorts for the church, and a labor of love for a community that has longed for years to have a place in Maine to call home.
The former First Universalist Church of Scarborough and South Buxton is now the Maine Hindu Temple, the first community temple in Maine.
Jit, who owns the Tandoor Indian Restaurant in Portland, bought the building last month and members of the Hindu community went right to work cleaning and repairing the church and fellowship hall.
They have removed cobwebs, planted flowers and painted their sacred om symbol on the front of the building.
The church, originally known as the Proprietors Meeting House, was built in 1839 at what was known as Coolbroth Corner. Residents traveled as far as six miles by horse and on foot to attend meetings and worship services.
The Universalist Parish of Scarborough and South Buxton was organized in September 1891 and, by the late 1800s, a Sunday school was established at the church. The hall next to the church was built in 1914 to provide space for meetings and suppers.
The First Universalist Church of Scarborough and South Buxton was incorporated on March 16, 1914, giving the church the name by which it was known for generations.
Fred E. Moulton addressed the Friends of the Universalist Church of Scarborough and South Buxton in 1939, on the 100th anniversary of the meetinghouse.
"We love every nook and corner of this old church, one of the most beautiful places on God's earth," he said in his address.
The building was cared for by the Friends of the Meeting House before the Anchor Missionary Fellowship of Gorham began meeting in the fellowship hall in 2002.
The fellowship sold the church and hall to Jit last month for $155,000. The temple will reimburse Jit, and has so far raised $30,000 in donations from members.
While the Anchor Missionary Fellowship did some restoration of the buildings, members of the temple say much remains to be done. They are getting prices to paint the building and replace the roof.
Jit said the exterior will remain the same, but several pews were removed to allow more space for prayer. Those pews were given to a man who was baptized in the church and a neighbor whose family has a long connection to the building.
The rest will be saved, possibly to be given to the local historical society, according to members.
The temple won't open officially until fall, but members have been gathering there in prayer for the past couple of weeks.
Last Thursday night, about 15 gathered for a community kirtan, which consists of songs of praise and devotional singing with instruments.
As the sun streaming through the windows slowly dimmed, Aparna Rampalli and Sreevally Challapalli, both of Scarborough, handed out folders of prayers and sat on a carpet to pray.
At the front of the room, a large image of the Lord Ganesha dominated the altar, surrounded by food offerings, flickering lamps and smaller pictures of deities.
For more than an hour, the worshippers sang prayers in Tamil and Telugu, accompanied by the soft tinkling of bells and hand cymbals.
Standing outside as the sound of the prayers and the scent of incense drifted out the front doors, Deven Bhatt and Sandeep Gandra reflected on opening a Hindu temple in Maine.
"This is only possible because of everyone working together," said Gandra, who will serve on the temple's board of directors with Bhatt. "It's like having a home here."
The search for a location for the temple began last year, spurred by Hindus who wanted a place to gather outside of their homes without driving two hours to a temple in Boston. The temple will eventually include a cultural center for dance and language lessons.
Jit said, "It was my dream for years to have something where my kids can stay in touch with the Indian culture."
Mamta Punjabi, president of the India Association of Maine, said the state's Hindu community has been growing since she moved here in 1996. There are no official population counts, but members estimate there are close to 400 Hindus of Indian origin in Maine, primarily in Portland, South Portland and Scarborough.
Last fall, the Devali festival -- the festival of lights to mark the end of one year and the start of a new one -- drew about 450 people, Punjabi said.
More than 2 million Hindus of Indian origin live in the United States, according to the Hindu American Foundation. Of the 1 billion Hindus worldwide, 93 percent live in India.
Punjabi, who owns an Indian grocery store in South Portland, said many who move to Maine from areas of the country with larger concentrations of Indians experience a kind of culture shock because of the lack of a temple and cultural activities.
"I see people who move from different states, and the first thing they ask me is, 'Where is the nearest temple?' " she said. "It's great to tell people there's one 15 minutes away. It's a great place for the community to get together."
Punjabi has already heard good things about the temple from a friend who came from Augusta to visit.
"He said, 'You walk in there and it has so much soul to it,' " she said.
Bhatt, who was at the recent kirtan, sees the opening of the temple as an opportunity for the Hindu community and a way to continue the 173-year tradition of the building.
"This is a place of worship. How could you not continue?" he said. "The vibrations, the spirituality, are already here. Truly, I think it will be a great thing for the community."
After prayers were over Thursday, Manjula Yeety of Scarborough smiled broadly as she looked around the temple. Like the others who gathered for the kirtan, she had trouble expressing the significance of finally having a temple.
After a moment, she found the words.
"It is a dream come true for every Indian family in Maine," she said.
> I’m glad it’s a temple, not a mosque...
+1
But, on the other hand, who can tell the difference between a Hundu temple and the UUC?
Hotter, dark-skinned Indian ladies who dress well and colorfully as opposed to ugly hippie pasty shemales with long armpit and leg hair ?
I attended a Unitarian funeral some years ago. I couldn’t tell who the minister was, who the mourners were or who died. People came in, sat down, said nothing and then left.
Well, Hinduism has purpose. Unitarians are too wishy-washy for Hindus...
My thought exactly when reading the headline. Further thought: I bet the regular UU attendees could have walked in for services after the Hindus took over and never noticed a thing.
I’m glad it’s a temple, not a mosque...
&&&
Same here. And it’s actually an improvement over unitarianism.
I went to some UUC services (with my sister, okay?).
The one I remember had a sermon about “How to Greet the Sun.” Since they talked about an Aztec, Inca, or Mayan priest offering hymn to greet the sun, I wanted to stand up and ask him if that was “before or after he tears the heart out of the sacrificial victim” but was too polite to embarrass my sister that way. Besides, I needed the ride home.
When I toured the church itself (I think I was looking for the “Shining Trapezoid”), I noticed there was plenty of religious symbolism from every religion EXCEPT Christianity.
She eventually made the mistake of asking me what I thought about the UUC. I told her the truth: “You don’t have a religion there; you have some sort of group therapy.” Didn’t ever have to go back...
I have a Dutch friend who calls herself a Christian. When I asked her what church she attended she said the Unitarian. After what I had heard about the UC I asked her if they talked much about Jesus Christ. She said no, they just tell us to be good. sigh~~~~
LOL!!
GREAT andecdote!!
Especially this ...
> Since they talked about an Aztec, Inca, or Mayan priest
> offering hymn to greet the sun, I wanted to stand up and
> ask him if that was “before or after he tears the heart
> out of the sacrificial victim” but was too polite to
> embarrass my sister that way. Besides, I needed the
> ride home.
“I’m glad it’s a temple, not a mosque...”
I wonder what the Christians in Orissa would say about that sentiment?
Let me highly recommend this recipe for the (not sweet) Aztec style chocolate drink. This is an adult drink, and there are times when there is nothing quite like it.
6 ounces unsweetened baking chocolate
6 teaspoons vanilla
4 cup boiling water
ground chili pepper to taste
Grate the unsweetened chocolate into a bowl and cover it
with a little of the boiling water. Mash the mixture into
a paste. Add the rest of the water and vanilla and mix. When cool, beat with an electric mixer until frothy.
Add the chili pepper to liven up the drink.
The chocolate will not totally dissolve and will have a
grittiness to it.
About the only trouble from a Hindu Temple is that it needs to be part of an Indian cultural center area. That is, typically they are modest and peaceful affairs; but the Hindu culture has so much to offer that it is kind of unfortunate that there is not more of it around their temples.
For example, in my area there are some superb Indian restaurants, as well as small clusters of stores selling everything from garments and decor, Bollywood movies, delicacies, cooking implements and supplies and literature and non-fiction books. But these places are spread about, not centered in a shopping area.
This appalled me. It says it is a Congregational United Church of Christ organized in 1671. Well, it ain't a church that I can tell.
There was an article in Forbes recently stating that New Hampshire and Vermont were tied as the ‘least religious states’ in the country.
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