May 2008

Malawi news update

Dear Friends,

Breathtaking landscape see from the new campus at Ekwendeni of the College of Theology.

Resurrection greetings from the College of Theology in the precious name of our Lord Jesus Christ! “Behold,” says the Lord, “I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?” (Isaiah 43:19). Indeed, this year has been filled with “the new” for the College of Theology. In January we moved into new facilities on our new campus at Ekwendeni. In this new location we are blessed by the breathtaking landscape of rolling hills and mountain peaks. A glimpse out of the window of office or classroom reminds us of the magnificence of the Creator who gives us these gifts of new life.

This new creation of the College of Theology campus has become a reality through the generous gifts, prayers, and encouragement of our partner churches. In addition to a new male hostel, we now also have four new classrooms. Temporarily, one of the classrooms has been converted into a library and another subdivided into administrative and faculty offices. The other two classrooms are for teaching diploma and bachelor of theology classes. As we develop and grow, we hope to build a library and an administrative office block so that all four classrooms will be for teaching.

The College of Theology's library is temporarily housed in one of the four classrooms in our new classroom building.

We are still settling in. Desks and chairs, more bookshelves and computers are needed for the library.  Many books remain in storage and need to be catalogued and shelved. Volunteers are assisting us. We have acquired a fine selection of academic books, nearly 3,000, and another 700 are on the way, thanks to all of you. These books have been generous gifts from individuals, churches, presbyteries, and a seminary book drive. Many have sacrificed to send these books at great cost through containers and air freight. Others have brought textbooks for our students when they have come to visit. Our students now have a least one textbook for almost all subjects, plus a selection of reference books for their personal libraries.

Thanks to gifts overflowing from partner churches we will soon break ground on a hostel for female students. In the past, five Synod of Livingstonia female candidates for ministry, two now ordained, have gone to Zomba Theological College, which can accommodate only five Synod of Livingstonia students each year. We hope that the new female student hostel will open doors for more women to answer the call to the ministry of the Word and Sacrament.

One of the new classroom blocks of the College of Theology.

New partnerships are also forming and there are opportunities for sister seminary relationships. Our shared ministry broadens our perspective, strengthens our service, and multiplies our gifts to inaugurate a new creation that is blessed by our diversity and established with justice, peace, and abundance for all.

The 2008 academic year also began with the inauguration of a bachelor of theology degree, now offered along with licentiate certificate and diploma in theology.  In addition, we have adopted a new semester system. In the past, students have been required to take carry an annual course load of ten to eleven courses, each course running the full three terms of the academic year. Now students have four to five courses each semester. This enables them to devote themselves to more concentrated study in fewer subject areas. This is good news.

Students receive concordances.

The College of Theology still awaits official notification of accreditation, and we ask that you keep this in prayer. Our relationship with our five constituent colleges under the umbrella of the University of Livingstonia provides us with opportunities for mutual development and growth, as we share our joys, concerns, expertise and resources. We consider it a great honor and privilege to have been included in this consortium of colleges of academic excellence. Our second class of students will graduate this November, some receiving a licentiate certificate, others a diploma in theology. Students will be assigned to congregations and begin full-time ministry. The bachelor’s degree students will remain for an additional year of course work, graduating in November 2009.

Bachelor degree students.

Amidst all the new there are still many challenges before us as a college, a church, and a nation. The nation and church remain divided along regional, tribal, denominational, and faith lines. The political scrambling for power and resources severely hinders the democratic process. The rising cost of fuel, now approximately six dollars per gallon, contributes to the rising cost of the necessities of life, including education. If you are interested in sponsoring a student, the annual cost for tuition, room, and board is now $3,000 per student. We will send you a picture of the student and open doors for you to correspond if you desire.

When the Synod of Livingstonia Assembly meets in early August we will elect new leadership. The General Secretary, the Reverend Howard Matiya Nkhoma, will be retiring. You may wish to send expressions of gratitude for his many years of faithful service. He has led the people with devotion, wisdom, and compassion.

Our hope remains in the God of wondrous surprises, who challenges our preconceived notions and blesses us with gifts of life beyond what we can imagine. And we give thanks that we share this journey with devoted people like you, who are committed to “new” ways of living as the one family of God.

Grace, peace, and blessings,

The 2008 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 23