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Rebecca serves as secretary of the African Women Theologians, a group of women from Kenya, Congo, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Tanzania. She says the objective of the group is to train women to be utilized in the church.
“Rhoda Keener [Mennonite Women USA executive director] and these sisters have been very supportive,” Rebecca says. A student at St. Paul’s United Theological College, Limuru, Kenya, she is focusing her studies on Christian-Muslim relationships. In addition to building these friendships, Mennonite Women USA has supported African women through scholarships to continue their theological education.
During her March visit to the United States, Rebecca met her pen pal for the first time since they began corresponding last summer.
“It’s not as though the contexts are the same, but there are shared issues and barriers to overcome,” says Mary Schertz, professor of New Testament at Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary in Elkhart, Ind.
The challenges include resistance to women taking on leadership roles, including ordination, and how the Bible should be interpreted in different contexts.
“It has been immensely encouraging to see younger women take up the banner of women’s faith and theology in their context,” Mary says. At her stage in life she’s beginning to think about how the next generation will carry on the work she’s passionate about. Watching Rebecca helps her trust God with the future.
Rebecca, too, has gained strength from her friendship with Mary, both on a personal and academic level.
“She’s introducing me to Greek, and she’s willing to learn about Islam,” Osiro says. They have exchanged papers they’ve written and want to learn more about one another as their busy schedules allow.
In circumstances like this, the bond happens quickly. There is little time to spare.
“Within three exchanges we … had a fairly profound connection,” Schertz says. They pray for one another, which is a blessing to both.
As in North America, some women and men in Kenya and other African countries say traditional theology and gender roles should be maintained. Rebecca disagrees.
“I don’t think it’s fair for my husband to be in the 21st century and me in the 18th,” she says. Since much of the Kenya Mennonite Church’s decisions are made by ordained persons Rebecca sees the need for women to become pastors and bishops. Yet she understands the social construction of her culture and knows change won’t happen overnight. She hopes that women theologians can use traditional folk songs and poems to gradually change gender relationships in her society and uplift women.
Rebecca notes that social circumstances facing many African Christians have already brought change. For example, in places where AIDS is on the rise church leaders must grapple with new ways of practicing long-held rituals like foot washing, where decisions about the use of latex gloves for protection are being considered.
The economic realities of many African nations can make communication difficult for these pen pals. E-mail access is expensive and not always easily accessible, says Sylvia Shirk Charles, who corresponds with Sidonie Swana of Kinshasa, Congo.
Sylvia counted on their meeting this spring to further build their relationship. Swana planned to join Rebecca and other delegates from African nations for world conference meetings in California. Swana was denied a visa to enter the United States. Now the two may have to wait three years to meet face to face at Mennonite World Conference in Paraguay.
Their relationship makes Sylvia feel “more tied to economic realities; more disturbed by the inequalities of our situations,” she says.
The two first met at the last Mennonite World Conference in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, and discovered parallels in their work at Goshen (Ind.) College and the University of Kinshasa. (Sylvia will transition from her role as campus pastor at Goshen to pastor Manhattan (N.Y.) Mennonite Fellowship this spring.)
“There is a lot to be gained for the church if we can understand in a concrete way what the Gospel means in different contexts,” Sylvia says. |