| In the late 1990s, Bernie and Farsijana built a home in an all-Muslim neighborhood that is at the same time a center for community outreach and hospitality. It is called Pondok Tali Rasa.” At any given moment they share it with several other people of both Muslim and Christian faith. Their house also serves as a center for the Indonesian Women’s Coalition (KPI), which Farsijana leads in empowering women and serving the victims of natural disasters.
Bernie writes of his experience in Indonesia, "Since I was born in China and grew up in a mission family, I have had long exposure to the challenges and gifts of the church in Asia. To work as a partner with the Indonesian Church and representative of the PC(USA) is a joy and a privilege. Although it was not easy to leave an academic career in Berkeley to share the difficulties facing a Christian university in a poor and predominantly Muslim society, basically I love it. I am amazed by the richness and diversity of the church and the surrounding cultures. I love being in a position of always learning, always being surprised at God's work (in and outside the church), always struggling to catch up and participate in what God is doing in Indonesia.
“Indonesia itself constantly amazes me. It has an ancient, rich culture, more Muslims than the whole Middle East put together, and a growing church under serious pressure from the surrounding society. Since the fall of President Soeharto in 1998, Indonesia has passed through a difficult transition period, building the third-largest democratic country in the world. Unpredictable religious, social, and political energies are being released. For me to be able to walk side by side with the church and society in this revolutionary time is an exciting gift as well as a profound challenge."
On May 18, 2005, Farsijana received her Ph.D. in anthropology
and Indonesian studies from Nijmegen University in the Netherlands.
Her dissertation was titled, "Politics, Ritual and Identity
in Indonesia: A Moluccan History of Religion and social Conflict."
Farsijana also holds a master of arts degree in religion and society
from Satya Wacana University in Salatiga, Indonesia, and a bachelor's
degree in theology from the Theological Seminary, Jakarta.
She has worked as a field researcher on social change in the
Moluccas for the University of Amsterdam (1999-2000). She was
a lecturer for the Institute for Integrated Village ministry (1995)
and assistant director of the Center for Analysis and Training
in Rural Development in Tobelo, North Moluccas, Indonesia (1990-1993).
During that same period she worked with GMIH Theological College
training pastors in rural development in the North Moluccas. She
taught high school in Jakarta (1988-1989) and was a teaching assistant
in ethics at the Theological Seminary, Jakarta.
Bernie earned a B.A. in English and Asian studies from the University
of Wisconsin in Madison. He spent a year at Huemoz sur Ollon in
Switzerland on a L'Abri Fellowship. Bernie then received a diploma
from the Discipleship Training Center in Singapore and a B.D.
in theology from the University of London in England. He received
his Ph.D. in theology and ethics from the Graduate Theological
Union/University of California in Berkeley. Bernie was a Visiting
Fellow at St. Edmund's College, Cambridge University (1990) and
at the International Institute for Asian Studies (IIAS) in Amsterdam
(2001-2002), where he did research on religion, power, and violence
in Indonesia.
Bernie and Fasijana are members of First Presbyterian Church
of Berkeley as well as of the Christian Church of Java (GKJ) in
Yogyakarta, Java. they have three adult children, Jennifer Marion,
Rina, and Peter.
Birthdays:
Bernie - September 28
Farsijana - February 11 |
