wfn.org | ELCA Seminary Learns of Africa from Africa

[Brenda Williams <BRENDAW@elca.org>]

Reply-To: ElcaNews <ELCANEWS@ELCASCO.ELCA.ORG>
ELCA NEWS SERVICE

December 18, 1997

SEMINARY LEARNS OF AFRICA FROM AFRICA
FE-97-04-LS

     CHICAGO (ELCA) -- People had already
assembled in the village center when our van
rolled to a stop.  A sea of mud lay between us and
the waiting villagers. The rains had come, making
huge gullies, but children, dogs and singing women
splashed through the mud to greet us.  The place
was Chipinge, Zimbabwe, and these women from a
rural cooperative shared the story of their hard
work and harvests with seminary students from the
United States.
     In exuberant song and dance, the women of
Zvivana Cooperative in Chipinge challenged our
group.  By working together, with the help of the
Lutheran World Federation, they are planting
crops.  God had sent the rains.  "Tell our story
in America," they sang.
     Theological education at Luther Seminary, St.
Paul, Minn., is now as broad as the world.  As
part of an effort to expand the education of
future pastors beyond the classroom, theological
students experience global immersion for academic
credit.  Luther is one of eight seminaries of the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.  The
Lutheran World Federation is a worldwide communion
of 124 member churches, including the ELCA.
     The "Luther Seminary Program in Zimbabwe"
seeks mutual transformation.  American students
and faculty learn first-hand the strengths and
challenges of the African church.  They travel in
the rural areas visiting earthen dams, irrigated
fields and grinding mills, all constructed and
maintained by villagers, mostly women.
     Eighty percent of the more than 11 million
people of Zimbabwe live in the rural areas.  On
the ground, through ordinary people, students get
a clear  picture of the industry, resilience and
hope of Africans working together to transform
their lives.
     The Rev. Philip C. Hirsch was in the first
group of students and now serves Grace Lutheran
Church, an inner city congregation in Camden, N.J.
"The experience in Africa gave flesh to the
understanding that my African neighbors are my
brothers and sisters in Christ," Hirsch said.
     "It was my experiences in the cities of
Africa that caused me to take a second look at the
inner cities of the United States as places to
serve," observed the Rev. Janice L. Larson, now at
St. Paul Lutheran Church in Queens, New York.  She
participated in the Zimbabwe program in 1990.
     Luther students and faculty can study or
teach in Africa, Latin America, Eastern Europe,
Hong Kong, India or Pakistan.  They can take part
in cross-cultural programs on Indian reservations,
in Appalachia and the inner cities in the United
States.  Coordination of these programs comes
through Luther's Global Mission Institute and
Office of Cross-Cultural Studies.
     African, Asian and Latin American students
study at Luther supported by scholarships from the
ELCA Division for Global Mission.
     One of Luther's longest-standing
cross-cultural programs is in Zimbabwe, initiated
by faculty member Dr. Lee Snook.  Since 1986
Luther has been linked in mission education with
the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Zimbabwe
(ELCZ).  Zimbabwean Bishop Ambrose Moyo helped
create the partnership.
     Zimbabwe (formerly Rhodesia) has been
independent since 1980 and enjoys relative
stability.  This small English-speaking nation of
about 11 million people, just north of South
Africa, is an excellent location for an
immersion in Africa.   Dr. Jameson Kurasha of the
University of Zimbabwe calls Zimbabwe, "Africa for
beginners."
     The Rev. Daniel W. Olson, of the ELCA's
Division for Global Mission, calls the program a
"new model for mission that is reciprocal, a
genuine partnership."  The ELCA provides support
for a pastoral intern at the university's Lutheran
congregation in Harare.  The church in Zimbabwe is
moving from a mission church to a church in
mission.
     Through a continuing presence in Harare,
Luther faculty are available to teach at the
university and at United Theological College.
They can also be found preaching at the lively
services of worship in congregations of the ELCZ.
     In 1996, 18 students from Luther studied in
Zimbabwe from January through March.  Living with
African families, they studied modern church
history, old testament, christology, and
Christianity and culture in Zimbabwe.  Their
instructors were both Luther and Zimbabwean
faculty. In the summer of 1997 a group of twelve
students and pastors participated in a short term
in Zimbabwe.
     Marty Tollefson from North Dakota had never
traveled beyond Chicago.  He was scared and
nervous. On his return from immersion in Zimbabwe,
Tollefson wrote, "The faces of Jesus in Africa
opened my eyes, unstopped my ears, and would
eventually alter my interpretation of the world.
Someday, I believe, I will return to Zimbabwe
because, as you know, I have family there now."
     Deep friendships were forged as students
received the gifts of love and acceptance from
their host families.  "I never expected to be so
welcomed that first day and all through my stay
with my family," commented Steve Pannkuk.  "My
African mother even baked a cake that read,
'Welcome home, Steven.'  Through their love and
encouragement, the family strengthened my sense of
call to be a pastor."
     Lisa Lucas, a Methodist student, reflected,
"I realize that my time in Zimbabwe was not an
excursion from which I have now returned wiser and
changed but, instead, the beginning of a journey.
This journey continues though I am back in the
United States, for Zimbabwe shall be my reference
in all that I do from now on."
     Dr. "Zik" Malaba of the University of
Zimbabwe observed how the American students were
perceived by their Zimbabwe hosts: "It has been
important for Africans to see whites who live in
black homes, whites who ride 'emergency' taxis,
identifying with the transport problems of the
blacks.  Black Zimbabweans who have only known
whites as 'boss,' had an opportunity to see whites
as humans."
     Malaba challenged the group to return to the
United States "and help in enlightening a
community which is among the most ignorant in the
world -- showing an Africa that is not the Africa
of Somalia or Rwanda."
     For teachers the Zimbabwean context gave
birth to a genuine community of scholars and
remarkable opportunities for dialogue and study.
"Teaching in the Zimbabwe program I was
marvelously freed from the distractions of
institutional pressures," said Professor Frederick
Gaiser from Luther. "Time was available for books
and ideas, but most importantly, for students," he
added.  "Mentoring -- small group and one-on-one
conversations about the Bible, the faith, the
church, people's vocations, ministry, the meaning
and application of the gospel -- happened
regularly in ways that are rarely available in the
American culture of distraction."
     The program included living with host
families, site visits and field trips into rural
areas to look at the significant development
projects assisted by the Lutheran World
Federation.
     Luther Seminary hopes to expand the network
of people who have been exposed to Zimbabwe.  In
1998 the 50th anniversary assembly of the Lutheran
World Feredration will be held in Harare.  Luther
plans to offer a program for church leaders
including an introduction to ecumenism and the
Zimbabwean context and study at Harare during the
assembly.
     Learning about Africa, from Africans, in
Africa.  At a time when the only news from Africa
tends to be bad, focusing on civil strife,
refugees, poverty, disease and corruption,
Luther's program affords students a different look
at the vast continent.  The facts have faces.  In
the new and disturbing African context, students
see their own country from the perspective of the
poor, the South, the marginalized.
     They also experience the vitality,
resourcefulness and hospitality of ordinary
Zimbabweans, going about the business of survival,
usually in spite of the action or inaction of
their governments.

     *Lois Snook wrote this article for ELCA News
and Information.  She is the author of "We Can
Learn from Africa," a ten-year history of the
Zimbabwe/Luther Seminary partnership.

For information contact:
Ann Hafften, Director (773) 380-2958 or
NEWS@ELCA.ORG
http://www.elca.org/co/news/current.html