ELM Exhibition in the Celle City Church

Church service with Superintendent Andrea Burgk-Lempart and ELM India Secretary Ute Penzel at the exhibition opening.

Art can open up new perspectives. This became clear at the service in the Celle City Church on the last Sunday in September. On the occasion of the opening of the exhibition "Stories of Hope" with works by Dr Solomon Raj, ELM's India Secretary, Ute Penzel, gave insights into social life in India and the hopes associated with the Christian faith, especially for the Dalit caste.

"Being ambassadors of hope is a central task for Christians," said Andrea Burgk-Lempart, Superintendent of the church district of Celle, right at the beginning of the service, making a link to the theme of the exhibition, which the ELM is showing in the church until the end of October. Ute Penzel then took to the lectern for the sermon to give an idea of what it is still like to live as a member of the lowest caste in India today: "The villages are divided, the Dalits live in mud huts - in between there are a few stone houses of those who have worked in the United Arab Emirates and earned money there. Dalits have to use different wells than the rest of the village." The discrimination used to be even greater - Dalits had to walk through the village whistling so that, members of a higher caste could leave in time before being "contaminated" by an encounter. They also often wore a jug around their necks so that their saliva or nasal secretions could not "contaminate" the ground.

With this in mind, it is not surprising that many Dalits, who describe themselves as broken or fractured, feel drawn to the Christian message. "Assured of God's love, they can live freely," says Ute Penzel. Dr Solomon Raj, who was born into a Christian family in south-east India, was first a teacher, then a pastor and dedicated the later years of his almost 100-year life entirely to art. In his works he repeatedly depicted Jesus' encounters with people who were and are on the margins of society. These are, for example, refugees from what is now Bangladesh, who fled to India in the 1970s when the country was created; or, to use another example, they are people who carried around a heavy metal suitcase, as it characterised the Indian street scene for decades and "unloaded" it on Jesus. However, Solomon Raj's works also reflect Ethiopian and "Western" influences, as the artist has repeatedly lived and worked outside his home country.

After the service, visitors had the opportunity to exchange ideas and take a guided tour with Ute Penzel, who designed the exhibition together with Indra Grasekamp, ELM Secretary for Global Spirituality. During the tour, the batiks and woodcuts could be viewed up close, which prompted numerous questions. A brochure explaining the religious and cultural context of each of the 17 works is available for future visitors.

The exhibition "Stories of Hope" runs until October 31 and can be viewed from Tuesdays to Saturdays from 11 am to 5 pm and on Sundays after the church service until 1 pm.