In a colorful rite that honored the traditions of both the Christian and Hindu faiths in India, some 260 participants gathered for an Indian Rite Mass on January 19 at St. John's Pro-Cathedral.
    

Bishop Chester Talton, who attended the service, read a statement from Bishop J. Jon Bruno that offered friendship to the Hindu people of the Indian community and apologized for past harsh treatment of the Indian people by Christians. Swami Sarvadevananda, a leader of the local Hindu community, accepted the apology with thanks for three years of Hindu-Episcopal dialogue through a program founded by the Rev. Gwynne Guibord, diocesan ecumenical/interfaith officer, who also assisted at the service. (Guibord is pictured at right with Bishop Talton, at rear, and Swami Sarvadevananda.
    

Mass was celebrated by the Rev. Karen MacQueen, assisting priest at St. Paul's Church, Pomona, who also preached. She noted that the Christian minister Martin Luther King, Jr., and the Hindu philosopher and activist Mohandes Gandhi,  two of the most influential religious figures of the 20th century, drew from each other's work to promote nonviolence as a powerful agent for change.
    

During the service, trays of flowers were offered to God, as is traditional in India. At the Eucharist, Hindu attendees were invited forward to take a flower as a sign of friendship: Indian Christians, some of whom were also in traditional garb, took part in the Eucharist.
   

Indian, Orthodox and tradition Western church music were offered by the choir of St. John's and two Indian bands.