HISTORY OF THE
FELLOWSHIP OF THE LEAST COIN
It was 1956, and Presbyterian Women in the Presbyterian Church, U.S.A., one of the predecessor denominations for the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), invited a group of seven women to travel to South Asia for a Pacific Mission Team. It was quite a few years after World War II; the area was still suffering from war, and Presbyterian Women “felt the urge to and seek reconciliation with the people in these war-torn areas.1
Margaret Shannon, Presbyterian Women, led the group. Shanti Solomon of the United Church of Northern India was one member of the team. The group traveled from the United States to Japan, Philippines and Korea. Before they reached Korea, Shanti Solomon (a native of India) was not able to secure a visa to visit Korea. She, thus, stayed behind in the Philippines. At the urging of Solomon, the group went on to Korea.
India and Korea were not on good terms because the prime minister of India, a neutral country, had been asked by the United Nations Organization to settle the boundary question between North and South Korea. Inasmuch as Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru drew the boundary line at the 38th parallel between North and South Korea, this particular division upset South Korea.
The relations between India and Korea became extremely strained; thus, Shanti Solomon was not able to acquire a visa to enter the country of Korea. Shanti Solomon says that she had even forgotten that her prime minister had not been in accord with the sending of a UN force to fight in the Korean War. The political situation in her country had now become personal to Shanti Solomon.
As Solomon stayed behind in the Philippines, she began thinking how could she reduce the “political” to the personal. “If only we could get people to turn to peace in their own situations, that would be a start,”2 she said.
She began thinking about what women could do within their sphere of influence to help bring about peace and reconciliation. The idea came to her of women around the world praying for peace. She also thought of having some practical action accompany the prayers. Each woman could give the “least coin” in her country each time she prayed for peace, justice and reconciliation.
When the team returned to the Philippines, she told them of her idea – prayer transcending every national boundary and each woman giving of her least coin. Each woman, no matter of her economic status, could give the “least” coin of the currency of her country each time she prayed.
Beginning with women in Asia and women in the United States, the Fellowship of the Least Coin began. The movement soon expanded, and women in many countries around the world joined in this Fellowship. At the present time, an International Committee for the Fellowship of the Least Coin serves as the conduit for administering, interpreting and promoting the funds.
Representatives come from each region of the world as well as representatives of ecumenical global women’s organizations. In 2006, as we celebrate fifty years of the Fellowship of the Least Coin, the movement has expanded to over eighty countries. It is important to note that the amount given yearly from a given country is never published -- only the total amount. Each region of the world shares equally in the receiving of grants.
Shanti Solomon said “...the movement of the FLC [Fellowship of the Least Coin] now rolls on in its own way gathering new interpretations as it grows and spreads.”3 The vision and legacy of the late Shanti Solomon lives on as we enter the 50th year of the movement. The interpretation may vary slightly, but one must always remember the symbolic nature of the least coin and the prayer, which accompanies it.
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1 Shanti Solomon, A Legend and Legacy,
p. 34, 1977.
2Ibid. 37
3Ibid. 42