Darren and Elisabeth Kennedy
Evangelical Theological Seminary
8 Al-Sikka Al-Beda Street
Abbasiyya, Cairo
Egypt
Email: Elisabeth and Darren Kennedy

One of the tales in The Thousand and One Nights includes a character claiming, "Travelers tell that there is nothing on the face of the earth fairer than Cairo." While this burgeoning city faces many challenges as it enters the twenty-first century, the character’s claim rings true for Darren and Elisabeth Kennedy, mission personnel serving with the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). Here, among Cairo’s 17 million people, these two are experiencing the grace of serving Christ in Egypt’s vibrant Coptic Evangelical Church.

Darren and Elisabeth are both professors at the Evangelical Theological Seminary in Cairo. Darren teaches in the theology department and Elisabeth teaches in the biblical studies and practical theology department. They are training pastors and lay leaders for ministry in the Coptic Evangelical Church, which is the largest Protestant denomination in the Middle East. The seminary has over 150 full-time students and has been training church leaders for ministry in Egypt and many other Arab countries since its inception in 1863. Classes are conducted primarily in Arabic.

Darren is teaching classes on the theology of Karl Barth, Third World theologians, Presbyterian doctrine, and theology for lay people. Elisabeth teaches Greek, Hebrew, and Old Testament courses. During the summer, both Darren and Elisabeth participate in visitation to churches and presbyteries throughout Egypt as a part of an effort to strengthen the ties between the seminary and congregational life of the church. They also help with the field education program and pastoral guidance of seminary students.

Elisabeth is well acquainted with mission service, having grown up as a child of missionary parents in the country of Jordan. She spent the first 17 years of her life in Jordan, where she attended Arabic schools and became fluent in the language and the customs of Arabic culture.

Letters from
Darren and Elisabeth Kennedy

• June 2008
• December 2007
• October 2007
• May 2007
• November 2006
• July 2006
• March 2006
• November 2005
• August 2005
• November 2004
• August 2004
• February 2004
• November 2003
• May 2003
• September 2002
• December 2001
• August 2001
• March 2001
• November 2000
• July 2000
• February 2000
• November 1999

Darren and Elisabeth met during their college years at Princeton University. Both were concentrating their studies on Middle East affairs, and their common love for Arab literature and politics helped cement a friendship that grew into a romance. Darren received a BA in political economy and Elisabeth received her BA in comparative literature. They were married in 1996 and entered Princeton Theological Seminary together where they both received their MDiv degrees in 1999. A career in mission was a dream for both, but no details had filled out the picture yet.

After their first year of seminary, Darren and Elisabeth spent a summer in Egypt as Global Volunteers through the PC(USA), working with children and youth at the Kulali Evangelical Church in Cairo. Their involvement with the Coptic Evangelical Church of Egypt (founded 150 years ago by Presbyterian missionaries) established a deep connection that was to grow into a call. Working closely with Egyptian pastors, Elisabeth and Darren spent the summer immersed in inner-city ministry and gaining exposure, through visitation and interviews, to the general framework of the larger church and its mission throughout Egypt.

That summer, Darren and Elisabeth asked numerous pastors and church leaders in Egypt what the needs of the church were, and whether American missionaries could help meet these needs. The answer that came back again and again was that the Egyptian church needed assistance with leadership training and development. A love for teaching and a passion for theological education and the growth of the church led Darren and Elisabeth to pray over the next two years that God would provide an opportunity for them to serve as theological educators in the Middle East. During the remainder of their time at seminary, Darren did a field education internship doing mission interpretation for the Medical Benevolence Foundation in Presbyterian churches throughout New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania. Elisabeth was the mission coordinator for Westerly Road Church in Princeton, New Jersey, administering the mission program of the church and the church’s support system for missionaries.

Darren and Elisabeth both spent time at Village Presbyterian Church in Prairie Village, Kansas, where Darren was raised, as youth summer staff and Darren as the senior high director. Darren and Elisabeth were both ordained to the ministry of Word and Sacrament at Village Presbyterian Church in Kansas City and are minister members of Heartland Presbytery. During seminary the Kennedys attended and were active at the First Presbyterian Church of Moorestown, New Jersey.

The Kennedys' two sons were born in Cairo, Calvin during their first term of service and Samuel during their second. The boys receive Arabic-language schooling and live with their parents on the seminary campus in the heart of the city.

Birthdays:
Darren - October 6
Elisabeth - September 28
Calvin - May 20, 2000
Samuel - November 16, 2003