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Feature Article

From Generation to Generation

Twenty-five years after the American Revolution, Congregationalists and Presbyterians worked together to send missionaries to the westward-moving frontier; eleven years later they sent missionaries to Asia. Thus in 1812 began the worldwide missionary enterprise.

One of the first tasks a missionary undertook after arriving in a foreign country was to learn the language and to translate the Bible into that language. Today, missionaries and persons from national churches are still engaged in this activity. Another task, of course, was to establish worshiping communities and to build churches. Today, members of the national church evangelize, develop churches and in some instances send out missionaries.

Embangweni School for the Deaf-Malawi Embangweni mission has recently established a school for the deaf, one of only three in the country. Funds for the construction were provided by Marion Medical Mission in Illinois and Brentwood Presbyterian Church in California.	Chogoria Girls' Primary Boarding School-Kenya The Chogoria compound is home to the Chogoria Girls' Primary Boarding School, a Presbyterian institution that provides boarding and education to 500 girls, some as young as ten years old.

Because Presbyterians and Congregationalists, or as we say, those of the Reformed tradition, have always believed in the priesthood of all believers and have valued enlightened minds, education was another basic task of the missionary. Often missionaries built primary and secondary schools next to church buildings and in many cases they established seminaries, colleges, medical schools and universities, which today are premier institutions. Now, as then, Presbyterians believe that every Christian has the right and responsibility to develop gifts given by God for service. Presbyterians also understand that in order to discern these gifts, form opinions and be active members of the Christian community, as well as active citizens, a person needs to be able to reflect intelligently on Holy Scripture.

Place and Time Shape Education

During the past 190 years, educational mission has taken different forms depending on the context. For example, in many parts of the world, such as Egypt and Pakistan, schools were established for girls and women who previously had been denied education. When women were denied admission to medical school in India, a medical school was begun for them that today is a leading institution in all of Asia---Vellore Medical Center. Literacy projects were undertaken in villages of Africa; in Guatemala a seminary was decentralized so that men and women could attain a theological education without leaving their villages. Hundreds of schools, colleges and seminaries have been established around the world to develop the minds of young people and adults for service to God.

Between the two great wars, the Presbyterian Church sent thousands of missionaries abroad, but after World War II, with the end of colonialism and the rise of nationalism, the educational enterprise was changed in many ways. In some cases nationals were well educated and could take charge of the schools; in other cases public education made it unnecessary for churches to maintain schools. The Presbyterian Church valued ending dependent relationships in order for churches to stand on their own, so over a period of time most of the property and ownership of schools was transferred from the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) to partner churches. Facing new responsibilities, partner churches declared that their first priority was the education of their leaders.

After this momentous change, three ways of continuing global education were articulated by the Worldwide Ministries Division of our denomination: we would send mission personnel, invited by partner churches, to help train leaders; we would support educational programs and institutions of these churches; and we would help train leaders of partner churches. The training of leaders of partner churches worldwide is administered by the office of Global Education and International Development of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), with the Reverend David Maxwell as its coordinator.

PC(USA) Involvement

Helping to train leaders of partner churches is accomplished mainly through grants. Sometimes a small grant assists a person to attend a conference. However, the largest amount of scholarship aid goes to help leaders earn advanced degrees, so that in turn, they are equipped to educate others and lead them in the holy task of being Christ's disciples in and to the world. The manner by which a leader and a grant are matched follows a logical path. A partner church identifies a leader whose ministry would be enhanced by training. The leader is encouraged to choose an institution of higher education located in her home country or a country similar to her own to lessen cultural and economic shock. She promises to return to the home country. When all is in order, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) makes the grant and keeps in touch with the student.

Five- Year History of Grant Recipients

Year	Number of Leaders Educated	Number of Representative countries	Amount Granted
1997	99	41	$512,106
1998*	208	31	$523,077
1999*	150	35	$483,000
2000	69	35	$408,808
2001	85	36	$486,383

*Includes persons who received small grants for attending conferences

Our changing world continues to provide new opportunities for educational mission. For example, as a result of the end of Soviet Union hegemony, the "stan countries" of Central Asia-specifically Kazakhastan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan-are now engaging in church development and will need help in educating leaders who have a solid foundation in biblical and theological training. So, the mission enterprise begun so many years ago to take the gospel to the world is now also in the hands of partner churches in Asia, Latin America, the Middle East, Africa and Europe. Together we strengthen each other and through our wealth as North American Presbyterians we provide for the education of leaders worldwide. Much more can be done. A greater commitment on our part will have far reaching consequences for ensuring that the present generation has enlightened leaders who use their gifts for building up the body of Christ and for the strengthening of nations.

Barbara Roche is a retired Presbyterian minister and former editor of Horizons from 1988 to 1998.

Rising Through Tragedy to Teach

Some spiritual journeys are beyond our comprehension. In the early 1990s,when Elisée Musemakweli went to study theology in Belgium, his home country, Rwanda, was in the midst of a civil war. Then, in 1994, came news of a massacre of incomprehensible proportions---his house had been plundered and his mother, two brothers and seven of his brothers' children had been killed. Said Elisée at the time, "In spite of our faith, we do not understand the sense of the deaths of my mother, brothers, relatives and many other fellow-countrymen. It is so painful and cruel that we cannot comprehend it."

At that point in his studies, Elisée was in the midst of writing a dissertation on the theology and preaching of theologian Paul Tillich, but with the unbelievable news from home (by now 20 members of his extended family had been killed) he could no longer continue his studies. On July 29, 1994 he wrote to the office of Global Education and Leadership Development in Louisville.

"I cannot hide from you the fact that this tragedy of the Rwandan people has not only afflicted me in my inmost life, but has also affected my academic work. Assiduity on the work has diminished . . . . My wife, Josephine, and I feel totally depressed and don't know what to do."

It was then that the president of the Presbyterian Church of Rwanda, Dr. Andrew Karamaga, called Elisée home to help with the work of healing and reconstruction. Elisée needed time out from his studies and the best cure for his depression was to go home and help others take control of their lives. Elisée did a remarkable job and in 1998 returned to complete his doctorate. On May 18, 1999, he sent the following letter to Louisville.

"I am glad to announce that I publicly defended my doctoral dissertation . . . . I passed the test (Grande distinction in the French and Belgian Education System, which may be translated: Great Distinction.)"

He then specifically addressed his "Dear friends in Louisville, I want to share my joy with you because you have been with me and my family, spiritually and financially, from beginning up to now. This success is also yours."

To learn more of Elisée's story or the stories of other global Christian leaders, read And God Gave the Increase, edited by June Ramage Rogers. to order call Presbyterian Distribution Service, 800/524-2612, and request item #74-32-098-001.

Here's What You Can Do

Names of students are available from the office of Global Education and International Development, 888/728-7228, ext 5631; pwmarcum@ctr.pcusa.org. Or visit the PC(USA)'s Web site to learn more, www.pcusa.org/globaled

· Pray for students, many of whom live without their families during their course of study
· Write a letter of encouragement to a student
· Consider financial support of a student
· Support one or all of the four Extra Commitment Opportunity (ECO) accounts for international leaders:

ECO 132342 International Leadership Development Support
ECO 051818 International Women's Leadership Development
ECO 051817 International Leadership Development for Places Where Christians are Minorities
ECO 051816 International Leadership Development for Leaders of Developing Church Movements

Make checks payable to Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and send to Central Receiving Office, Section 300, Louisville, KY 40289. On memo section of check it is essential to include ECO number and title.

Brave, Intelligent and Committed

In the farthest northeast corner of India, bordering on the country
of Myanmar, is the state of Mizoram. Its population is 99 percent Christian and nearly two thirds of those are Presbyterian. Since the introduction of Christianity in 1894, members of Lalrinanwini Ralte's family have been Presbyterian. Rina, as she is called by her friends, grew up in the hills and mountains famous for their cool breezes. Intelligent, strong, personable and witty, Rina, in her youth, committed herself to the gospel and responded to God's call to serve.

Like her two brothers, Rina graduated from seminary, but unlike them she could not be ordained or have a pastorate. Radicalized by this denial, she is a critic of any system that prevents women from full participation and she courageously stands for her beliefs.

Fortunately, the India National Council of Churches called her to work in Christian education. As her commitment to the status of women in India deepened, she received scholarship assistance to study in the United States. Through a grant from the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Rina enrolled in the Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where she earned a doctor of ministry degree, writing a dissertation on feminist liberation theology.

After her return to India, she was asked by the United Theological College in Bangalore to convene a women's studies department and because of its success she was named its director. Thousands of women in India are interested in theology and Rina reaches out to them through conferences, articles, books and teaching, bringing them the radical good news of the gospel that change for the betterment of women is God's will.

A Singular Couple

Nine years ago, a young couple from Syria, Roseangela and Riad Jarjour, received grants to study at McCormick Theological Seminary in Chicago. At the time they were codirectors of Aiya Napa conference center in Cyprus, which still provides a haven outside the turmoil of the Middle East for Christians to talk not only with each other, but also with Muslims. Roseangela earned a degree in Christian education and Riad earned a doctor of ministry degree. Each has gone on to assume significant responsibilities for the life of the church in the Middle East where fifteen million Christians live out their faith.

Roseangela Jarjour, among her many tasks, takes primary responsibility for training church school teachers and youth leaders in Lebanon,

Syria, Egypt and Sudan, working with Episcopal, Lutheran and several Reformed Churches in the region. She was elected general secretary of the Fellowship of Middle East Evangelical Churches in 1991, an umbrella organization of those churches, and served on the Central Committee of the World Council of Churches.

In 1994, Riad Jarjour was elected general secretary of the Middle East Council of Churches. His responsibilities encompass the cooperative efforts of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox and Protestant churches. Together, Roseangela and Riad offer the hospitality of their home in Cyprus to many visitors to the Middle East, including in 1999 the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. George Carey, who said, "Their separate and joint contributions to church unity in the troubled Middle East are increasingly important as Christian presence has become more and more of an issue, and some have retreated into the particularity of church identity, as opposed to the unity of the church."

To learn more of Riad and Roseangela's story or the stories of other global Christian leaders, read And God Gave the Increase, edited by June Ramage Rogers. to order call Presbyterian Distribution Service, 800/524-2612, and request item #74-32-098-001.

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