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Zomi people honor missionary
Zomi people honor missionary
by: BILL SHERMAN World Religion Writer
Saturday, October 16, 2010
10/16/2010 6:13:25 AM
Some 1,280 Zomi people,
natives of Chin State in northwest Myanmar, met in Tulsa last week to
celebrate the 100th anniversary of the arrival of the first Christian
missionary to their people.
"It was a very emotional day for all of us," said Chin Do Kham, who chaired the event.
"We were thanking God, and thanking the missionaries, and thanking Americans for sending missionaries to us."
The Cope Centennial Jubilee Celebration USA, held at Tulsa Marriott
Southern Hills, drew people from around the United States. It honored
the Rev. Joseph H. Cope, who arrived among the Zomi people on Nov. 1,
1910.
Cope learned the Zomi language, developed a written form of it using
English letters, and translated the New Testament and Psalms into Zomi.
He died and was buried there in 1938.
"He didn't just bring us the Gospel, he brought us civilization," Kham said.
The Zomis in Myanmar are now 95 percent Christian, a minority group in a nation that is 87 percent Buddhist.
Among the special guests at the Tulsa celebration were the Rev. Ernest
Flores, pastor of Second Baptist Church in Germantown, Pa., which sent
Cope to Myanmar 100 years ago; the Rev. Khup Khen Pau, who pastors a
church Cope founded there; and Robert Cope and Christine Cope Dudley,
grandchildren of the missionary.
Kham said when he arrived in Tulsa in 1990 to attend Oral Roberts
University, he was the only Zomi in Tulsa, and one of only a dozen or so
in the United States.
Now, Tulsa has 900 Zomi people, and has become the de facto capital of the Zomis in the United States.
He is president of Zomi Community USA, an organization founded to help
Zomi people retain their identity, language and culture while
integrating into American society. He said 4,500 Zomis live in the U.S.,
most of them religious or political refugees.
He plans to attend the upcoming Cope centennial celebration in Myanmar, expected to draw 40,000 to 50,000 people.
Original Print Headline: Zomi people celebrate first Christian missionary
Bill Sherman 581-8398
bill.sherman@tulsaworld.com
Associate Images:
Chin Do Kham, (right), interviews Robert and Christine Cope, grandchildren
of the Rev. Joseph Cope, the first missionary to the Zomi people in Chin
State, Myanmar, during the 100th anniversary celebration of Cope's
arrival in that area. Courtesy
src: http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=11&articl...
Newspaper Hard Copy Scan: CCJ News @ Tulsa World.pdf
Video: http://www.zomi.net/video/cope-centennial-jubilee
by: BILL SHERMAN World Religion Writer
Saturday, October 16, 2010
10/16/2010 6:13:25 AM
Some 1,280 Zomi people,
natives of Chin State in northwest Myanmar, met in Tulsa last week to
celebrate the 100th anniversary of the arrival of the first Christian
missionary to their people.
"It was a very emotional day for all of us," said Chin Do Kham, who chaired the event.
"We were thanking God, and thanking the missionaries, and thanking Americans for sending missionaries to us."
The Cope Centennial Jubilee Celebration USA, held at Tulsa Marriott
Southern Hills, drew people from around the United States. It honored
the Rev. Joseph H. Cope, who arrived among the Zomi people on Nov. 1,
1910.
Cope learned the Zomi language, developed a written form of it using
English letters, and translated the New Testament and Psalms into Zomi.
He died and was buried there in 1938.
"He didn't just bring us the Gospel, he brought us civilization," Kham said.
The Zomis in Myanmar are now 95 percent Christian, a minority group in a nation that is 87 percent Buddhist.
Among the special guests at the Tulsa celebration were the Rev. Ernest
Flores, pastor of Second Baptist Church in Germantown, Pa., which sent
Cope to Myanmar 100 years ago; the Rev. Khup Khen Pau, who pastors a
church Cope founded there; and Robert Cope and Christine Cope Dudley,
grandchildren of the missionary.
Kham said when he arrived in Tulsa in 1990 to attend Oral Roberts
University, he was the only Zomi in Tulsa, and one of only a dozen or so
in the United States.
Now, Tulsa has 900 Zomi people, and has become the de facto capital of the Zomis in the United States.
He is president of Zomi Community USA, an organization founded to help
Zomi people retain their identity, language and culture while
integrating into American society. He said 4,500 Zomis live in the U.S.,
most of them religious or political refugees.
He plans to attend the upcoming Cope centennial celebration in Myanmar, expected to draw 40,000 to 50,000 people.
Original Print Headline: Zomi people celebrate first Christian missionary
Bill Sherman 581-8398
bill.sherman@tulsaworld.com
Associate Images:
Chin Do Kham, (right), interviews Robert and Christine Cope, grandchildren
of the Rev. Joseph Cope, the first missionary to the Zomi people in Chin
State, Myanmar, during the 100th anniversary celebration of Cope's
arrival in that area. Courtesy
src: http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=11&articl...
Newspaper Hard Copy Scan: CCJ News @ Tulsa World.pdf
Video: http://www.zomi.net/video/cope-centennial-jubilee
Comment
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Comment by Cingbawi on October 23, 2010 at 6:51pm
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Zomi vai thupi lua hi. Hih bang i Zomi te hong lamto Pasian in minthanna ngah ta hen. A sem a bawl, aki pia khia khempeuh pahtak huai hi.
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