|
Friends United Meeting |
 |
May 1999
News from Friends United Meeting
Well Project Completed in Lokoyo Village
Culture vs. Gospel Debated at FTC
First Volume of Lessons in New Kenya Curriculum Project Completed
Summer 1999 Middle East Work Team
Well Project Completed in Lokoyo Village
In early March, the community in the Turkana
village of Lokoyo held a ceremony to celebrate and dedicate the opening
of a new well/pump system for the village. The well now provides the only
reliable source of fresh water in the vicinity. Prior to the well's establishment,
community members had acquired water by digging progressively deeper holes
in a nearby seasonal river, the Kawalathe. The work on the well was completed
by the Turkana Friends Mission in partnership with the Turkana Rehabilitation
Project, an agency specializing in water projects. Funds for the project
were provide through Friends United Meeting by a North Carolina donor.
"The idea for the well," according to Herman Jaika Otioko, the pastor-in-charge of the Turkana Friends Mission, "came from the people of Lokoyo. They said that if they wish to have and maintain a local school, they must be able to provide water for the children and their parents."
In partnership with the Friends Mission, the community has established an oversight committee which administers the well, and which monitors its proper use. The well pro-ject forms a part of an ongoing goal of the Turkana Friends Mission to be in touch with both the spiritual and the material needs of the communities which it serves. According to Pastor Otioko, the response from the community has been positive, with a few minor exceptions: "Just after we had completed the survey to find the best location for the well, one older lady from the community came up to me and said 'Why are you putting it here? I am an old lady. Why don't you put it just there, next to my house?'
But we explained why it needed to be located nearer the river and she understood. Overall there was much happiness. All of us, from the Turkana Friends Mission and the community alike, are very proud to see this dream achieved."
Matthew Keller
Culture vs. Gospel Debated at FTC
On Saturday, March 10, first-year students from Friends Theological College, Kaimosi (FTC) and the Kima International School of Theology (KIST) came together at FTC to participate in the first-ever FTC-KIST debate. The students debated the proposition: "African cultural values must be maintained for the Gospel to be received."
Students from the two schools were combined into teams in the debate. "The point of the debate," said Rich Davis, FTC Principal, "was not to create a competitive atmosphere between the schools, but to bring together students involved in similar studies in a cooperative, academically challenging atmosphere."
For most students, this was their first participation in a debate. "Even noting the lack of experience most students had with the format, the level of dialogue and argument was excellent," said Matthew Keller, a visiting FUM staff representative. "After the formal debate had ended, students continued to interact and to delve more deeply into the topic they had begun to discuss."
Two debates were held concurrently, one in the FTC library, the other in the classroom building. Issues such as hierarchy and patriarchy, the circumcision ritual, polygamy, inheritance, and elements of traditional religion were discussed. The results? In one debate the team affirming the proposition was declared the winner; in the other, the team taking the negative side was judged to have made the stronger arguments.
"We made it clear that our judgments were based on the strength and persuasiveness of the arguments, and how each team answered the other's arguments," said Sandy Davis, who served as a judge. "Perhaps most important was the students' engagement in critical thinking, and their overwhelmingly positive response to the debate itself, and to each other. It was truly a warm, friendly, yet academically challenging atmosphere."
First Volume of Lessons in New Kenya Curriculum Project Completed
A long-awaited project was completed on February 20, 1999, with the launching of the first volume of lessons for the Sunday Church School Curriculum for the Friends Church in Kenya.
This effort arose out of Sunday School consultations held in Kenya by Phil Baisley, Linda Brock, David Brock and Mary Glenn Hadley in 1993. The National Sunday Church School Committee was formed in 1994 and began at that time to accumulate materials and lessons from those on the committee. Each of the Kenyan yearly meetings were invited to send representatives to the committee which met four to five times a year under the chairmanship of Margaret Ngoya of Nairobi Yearly Meeting. Lessons were assigned to various representatives to prepare and then submit for the final copy.
There were several drafts, with editing done by members of the committee as well as Linda Brock, Mary Glenn Hadley, and Alexie Muzame. Most of the $2,000 for the first publication of the curriculum was donated by the United Society of Friends Women, with help from a Christian Education of Friends United Meeting. In December 1998 the first volume was approved for publication after the final editing by a committee of five educators within the committee: Jessica Ndusu, Marcellina Mirembe, Jen Oyiengo, Elizabeth Yano and Sandy Davis.
Five hundred copies of the 52-lesson curriculum inclusive of three lessons on Quaker history and some visual aids were dedicated to the work of the Lord in Sunday Schools around Kenya. The committee joined hands and hearts at the conclusion of the short ceremony led by the chairman and Meshack Musindi, committee member and general superintendent of Kakamega
Yearly Meeting, and sang praises to the Lord for what had been accomplished. The unity of the Quaker church in Kenya was evident in the cooperation of this committee in the effort to provide materials for the Sunday Church School in their churches throughout the country.
The curriculum books are now for sale through the Bookshop at the Friends Theological College. With proceeds from this volume, a second printing will be ordered so that eventually at least 2,000 village meetings around Kenya will have the curriculum. The committee continues to meet and prepare a second volume of lessons with the goal of having it completed by the end of 1999. Join with the Kenyan Friends in praise to the Lord for the donor who made the publication possible and for the work of this committee.
Rich and Sandy Davis
Summer 1999 Middle East Work Team
Max and Jane Carter from Guilford College are leading a work team to the Middle East. Landscaping, painting and general maintenance will be done at the Ramallah Friends School. In addition, sightseeing at various locations of interest such as Jacob's Well, the Dead Sea, Galilee, Bethlehem, Jerusalem, Jericho and Masada, will be a highlight. Cost of the trip is $1,700-$2000 depending on the number of participants. A $200 non-refundable deposit is due immediately to hold the airline reservations.
For more information, contact John Myers, 101 Quaker Hill Dr., Richmond IN 47374; (765) 962-7573; e-mail MyersJK@Compuserve.com.
Looking for a Children's Mission Project? Four thousand dollars is the goal for the FUM Children's Mission Project suggested for Vacation Bible School or Sunday school offerings. This money will provide improved care for newborns at the Friends Lugulu Hospital in Kenya. As the maternity unit is being renovated, this money will make it possible to purchase incubators, warmers and resuscitation equipment for use with newborns. A poster with an accompanying five-segment story, set in Lugulu, has been produced for use with the children.
The upcoming Journey in Faith adult curriculum piece will focus on Stewardship. Virginia Esch, former FUM Business Manager, provides a holistic approach to this important demonstration of our Christian faith. Look for this insert in Quaker Life next month.
The Ambassadors for Christ seminar will be held November 5-9, 1999, in Washington, D.C. Mark your calendars now and plan to send your youth, high school sophomores through college sophomores, in your meeting. Watch for further announcements.
Copyright (c) 1999 Friends United Meeting