Title: ELCA Seminary Learns of Africa from Africa ELCA NEWS SERVICE December 18, 1997 SEMINARY LEARNS OF AFRICA FROM AFRICA FE-97-04-LS CHICAGO (ELCA) -- People had already assembled in the village center when our van rolled to a stop. A sea of mud lay between us and the waiting villagers. The rains had come, making huge gullies, but children, dogs and singing women splashed through the mud to greet us. The place was Chipinge, Zimbabwe, and these women from a rural cooperative shared the story of their hard work and harvests with seminary students from the United States. In exuberant song and dance, the women of Zvivana Cooperative in Chipinge challenged our group. By working together, with the help of the Lutheran World Federation, they are planting crops. God had sent the rains. "Tell our story in America," they sang. Theological education at Luther Seminary, St. Paul, Minn., is now as broad as the world. As part of an effort to expand the education of future pastors beyond the classroom, theological students experience global immersion for academic credit. Luther is one of eight seminaries of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. The Lutheran World Federation is a worldwide communion of 124 member churches, including the ELCA. The "Luther Seminary Program in Zimbabwe" seeks mutual transformation. American students and faculty learn first-hand the strengths and challenges of the African church. They travel in the rural areas visiting earthen dams, irrigated fields and grinding mills, all constructed and maintained by villagers, mostly women. Eighty percent of the more than 11 million people of Zimbabwe live in the rural areas. On the ground, through ordinary people, students get a clear picture of the industry, resilience and hope of Africans working together to transform their lives. The Rev. Philip C. Hirsch was in the first group of students and now serves Grace Lutheran Church, an inner city congregation in Camden, N.J. "The experience in Africa gave flesh to the understanding that my African neighbors are my brothers and sisters in Christ," Hirsch said. "It was my experiences in the cities of Africa that caused me to take a second look at the inner cities of the United States as places to serve," observed the Rev. Janice L. Larson, now at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Queens, New York. She participated in the Zimbabwe program in 1990. Luther students and faculty can study or teach in Africa, Latin America, Eastern Europe, Hong Kong, India or Pakistan. They can take part in cross-cultural programs on Indian reservations, in Appalachia and the inner cities in the United States. Coordination of these programs comes through Luther's Global Mission Institute and Office of Cross-Cultural Studies. African, Asian and Latin American students study at Luther supported by scholarships from the ELCA Division for Global Mission. One of Luther's longest-standing cross-cultural programs is in Zimbabwe, initiated by faculty member Dr. Lee Snook. Since 1986 Luther has been linked in mission education with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Zimbabwe (ELCZ). Zimbabwean Bishop Ambrose Moyo helped create the partnership. Zimbabwe (formerly Rhodesia) has been independent since 1980 and enjoys relative stability. This small English-speaking nation of about 11 million people, just north of South Africa, is an excellent location for an immersion in Africa. Dr. Jameson Kurasha of the University of Zimbabwe calls Zimbabwe, "Africa for beginners." The Rev. Daniel W. Olson, of the ELCA's Division for Global Mission, calls the program a "new model for mission that is reciprocal, a genuine partnership." The ELCA provides support for a pastoral intern at the university's Lutheran congregation in Harare. The church in Zimbabwe is moving from a mission church to a church in mission. Through a continuing presence in Harare, Luther faculty are available to teach at the university and at United Theological College. They can also be found preaching at the lively services of worship in congregations of the ELCZ. In 1996, 18 students from Luther studied in Zimbabwe from January through March. Living with African families, they studied modern church history, old testament, christology, and Christianity and culture in Zimbabwe. Their instructors were both Luther and Zimbabwean faculty. In the summer of 1997 a group of twelve students and pastors participated in a short term in Zimbabwe. Marty Tollefson from North Dakota had never traveled beyond Chicago. He was scared and nervous. On his return from immersion in Zimbabwe, Tollefson wrote, "The faces of Jesus in Africa opened my eyes, unstopped my ears, and would eventually alter my interpretation of the world. Someday, I believe, I will return to Zimbabwe because, as you know, I have family there now." Deep friendships were forged as students received the gifts of love and acceptance from their host families. "I never expected to be so welcomed that first day and all through my stay with my family," commented Steve Pannkuk. "My African mother even baked a cake that read, 'Welcome home, Steven.' Through their love and encouragement, the family strengthened my sense of call to be a pastor." Lisa Lucas, a Methodist student, reflected, "I realize that my time in Zimbabwe was not an excursion from which I have now returned wiser and changed but, instead, the beginning of a journey. This journey continues though I am back in the United States, for Zimbabwe shall be my reference in all that I do from now on." Dr. "Zik" Malaba of the University of Zimbabwe observed how the American students were perceived by their Zimbabwe hosts: "It has been important for Africans to see whites who live in black homes, whites who ride 'emergency' taxis, identifying with the transport problems of the blacks. Black Zimbabweans who have only known whites as 'boss,' had an opportunity to see whites as humans." Malaba challenged the group to return to the United States "and help in enlightening a community which is among the most ignorant in the world -- showing an Africa that is not the Africa of Somalia or Rwanda." For teachers the Zimbabwean context gave birth to a genuine community of scholars and remarkable opportunities for dialogue and study. "Teaching in the Zimbabwe program I was marvelously freed from the distractions of institutional pressures," said Professor Frederick Gaiser from Luther. "Time was available for books and ideas, but most importantly, for students," he added. "Mentoring -- small group and one-on-one conversations about the Bible, the faith, the church, people's vocations, ministry, the meaning and application of the gospel -- happened regularly in ways that are rarely available in the American culture of distraction." The program included living with host families, site visits and field trips into rural areas to look at the significant development projects assisted by the Lutheran World Federation. Luther Seminary hopes to expand the network of people who have been exposed to Zimbabwe. In 1998 the 50th anniversary assembly of the Lutheran World Feredration will be held in Harare. Luther plans to offer a program for church leaders including an introduction to ecumenism and the Zimbabwean context and study at Harare during the assembly. Learning about Africa, from Africans, in Africa. At a time when the only news from Africa tends to be bad, focusing on civil strife, refugees, poverty, disease and corruption, Luther's program affords students a different look at the vast continent. The facts have faces. In the new and disturbing African context, students see their own country from the perspective of the poor, the South, the marginalized. They also experience the vitality, resourcefulness and hospitality of ordinary Zimbabweans, going about the business of survival, usually in spite of the action or inaction of their governments. *Lois Snook wrote this article for ELCA News and Information. She is the author of "We Can Learn from Africa," a ten-year history of the Zimbabwe/Luther Seminary partnership. For information contact: Ann Hafften, Director (773) 380-2958 or [log in to unmask] http://www.elca.org/co/news/current.html