Church in Chennai

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has about 30 congregations in India, mostly in the south. The Hyderabad area has the biggest concentration of members. In Chennai there are two congregations: one small, mostly Indian and one which is much larger and sprinkled with a few ex-pats.

As I've traveled and lived in Europe, Africa, the U.S. east coast, and now India, one of the most comforting things for me is to be able to connect to a group of local people who largely share similar values and moral codes. Amidst the sea of incomprehensible differences in language, culture, food, customs, etc. the church is one place I can go to feel something familiar. It provides an instant network, community, and resources. Even if I don't always understand the language being spoken, there is a feeling of peace, security, implicit trust, common association, and the knowledge that each of us, as individuals, are striving to be better. The local congregation provides me with instant friends and contacts that can help me navigate the culture as well as great opportunities to serve and really get to know the daily details of the lives of the people. So often, ex-pats live in a different world than those who surround them; they isolate themselves to specific upscale restaurants and foreign enclaves and associate primarily with others who are like them, never really getting to know the culture in which they are living. Being part of the church community helps me to overcome some of the cultural distance, to feel a kinship with the local people, to be of greater service, and to have a refugee that feels almost like home.



The sign for the church (Chennai Second Branch). It is easy to miss if you don't know where to look.


The congregation meets on the first floor of this building.


Some of the members and missionaries in the branch.

More pictures can be found here.