12 September 2007 or 1 Meskerem 2000
Happy New Year!
And welcome to the third millenium in Ethiopia!
Perhaps Ethiopia’s celebrations even made it to your local newspapers. If not, last night there were concerts around the city and all-night prayer meetings in many of the evangelical churches to welcome Ethiopia’s advent into the third millennium.
For a variety of reasons, the New Year’s celebrations, or at least government holidays, continue the rest of this week. Perhaps it is because today, Wednesday, is a fasting day for those in the Orthodox Church. Hence, their feasting will come tomorrow. Ramadan begins for the Muslims some time in these days. So, whether Christian, Muslim, or secularist, the turning to the third millennium is being marked by four days of holidays. To get a complete picture of “when”this turning really is, you must look at both local realities and the wider global context.
The Ethiopian Graduate School of Theology invited Christians to prepare and anticipate this passage by hosting the Millennium Lectures from 7-11 September. Dr. Dudley Woodberry, professor emeritus from Fuller Theological Seminary, spoke on Christian-Muslim relations out of his wide and long experience. Professor Woodberry described these as both the best of times and the worst of times for Christian-Muslim relations.
Dr. Tokunboh Adeyemo, former general secretary of the Alliance of Evangelicals in Africa and current director of the Center for Biblical Transformation, spoke on “Africa’s Enigma and Leadership Solution.” The enigma he addressed noted Africa’s tremendous wealth of resources over against endemic poverty. He spoke words of challenge to Ethiopian churches to step up and take responsibility for the development of this great continent. The time for blaming various influences and experiences of the past is past. The time, the opportunity, the power is available now to those who would seek Africa’s growth and development under the Lord’s anointing. While his challenge was not always easy to hear, it was a timely message as Ethiopia enters this new era in her history.
The lectures also included a presentation on “Poverty in Ethiopia” from the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church’s archbishop for Addis Ababa. His paper was presented by one of the instructors from the Orthodox Seminary here in Addis and was very well received. It was a very blessed and hopeful sign that Protestant and Orthodox were in dialogue at EGST, talking about ways to work together to address the deep-rooted poverty in this land.
As we approach one of Ethiopia’s major holidays, Meskel, towards the end of September, its coming is being heralded by the emergence of the yellow meskel flower. We move from the mold and dampness of the rainy season to the pollen of the meskel flower—not the happiest time for those with allergies. But the yellow is a welcome change from the grey dreariness of months of rain.
At EGST we have new students, a new program and new faculty. A two-year master of arts in the theological response to HIV/AIDS has begun and has a class of about 10 students. Mary Evans from the United Kingdom has joined the EGST faculty to teach Old Testament. Our missiology courses continue to draw large numbers of interested students. The program is expanding, so this semester, with help from other EGST faculty, we are offering three courses, “Biblical Foundations for Mission,” “Jesus in Islam,” and “Pauline Theology for Mission.”
As we begin new things here, we hope that many of you will be participating in the new opportunity that PC(USA) is offering and organizing in the Mission Challenge ’07. In the month of October, 48 missionaries will be visiting 144 presbyteries. If you are in a Presbyterian church, we hope you will have the chance either in your own or a neighboring congregation to hear what God is doing through Presbyterians in mission and in partnership with churches around the world. It promises to be a very special way for congregations to expand their mission involvement in practical ways and partnership with the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).
We are grateful to be in Ethiopia and to serve through the Mekane Yesus Church in the Ethiopian Graduate School of Theology thanks to the prayers and support of many churches and individuals in the PC(USA). After our short break during the summer/rainy season months, as we returned to Addis Ababa, we felt we were coming home. As one friend remarked, “That is a real confirmation of your calling!” The very best place to be is the place and the people to whom God calls us.
Gratefully,
Anne and John Wheeler-Waddell
The 2007 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 329 |
