Alumni
Bishop Josiah Kibira: Forty Years After Graduation
The 2014 commenement of Boston University marks the 40th anniversary of the graduation of one of the School of Theology's most important African graduates: the late Bishop Josiah Mutabuzi Kibira. Josiah Kibira graduated with an S.T.M. from the School of Theology in 1964. A pioneering local and international leader, Josiah Kibira became the first African to be elected bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Buhaya, Tanzania. He served in the World Council of Churches, and was the keynote speaker at the All Africa Conference of Churches General Assembly held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Bishop Kibira was also the first African to be elected president of the Lutheran World Federation. The memory of Bishop Kibira’s leadership is marked by the establishment in 2010 of an institution of higher education in his name, the Josiah Kibira University College in Bukoba, Tanzania. His son, Josiah Mwesigwa Kibira, is an established director and screenwriter, who in 2010 released a documentary about his father, Bishop Kibira of Bukoba: An African Lutheran. For a fuller account of Bishop Kibira's life and service, see his biography on the Dictionary of African Christian Biography, and the History of Missiology.
Alum Charles Farhadian’s Book on Conversion Released
We have just received notice that Charles Farhadian's "Oxford Handbook of Religious Conversion", which was co-authored with Lewis R. Rambo, has been released. According to the book's listing on the Amazon website, it "offers a comprehensive exploration of the dynamics of religious conversion, which for centuries has profoundly shaped societies, cultures, and individuals throughout the world. Scholars from a wide array of religions and disciplines interpret both the varieties of conversion experiences and the processes that inform this personal and communal phenomenon."
Alum Receives Book of the Year Award!
Sung-Deuk Oak’s new book, The Making of Korean Christianity, published this fall as the first of the new Baylor Studies in World Christianity monograph series, has been named “Book of the Year” by Books & Culture magazine.
You may view the announcement here.
Distinguished Alum Jerry Anderson Honored in Rome
Gerald (Jerry) Anderson (STH’55, GRS’60) met Pope Francis, gave a lecture and received an honorary Doctor of Missiology degree from the Pontifical Urbaniana University in Rome on November 14. The degree was presented to him by Cardinal Fernando Filoni, the Chancellor of the university. It was the first time an honorary degree has been given to a Protestant by this university that was founded in 1627 and is owned by the Sacred Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples. Dr. Anderson, a former UM missionary in the Philippines and president of Scarritt College in Nashville, is emeritus director of the Overseas Ministries Study Center in New Haven, CT, and resides in Hamden, CT.
Dana Robert and BU Alums at the WCF
Three of Dana Robert's former students attended the World Christianity Forum last week and got together for a photograph with her before departing. From the left are Xiyi Yao, Charles Farhadian, Dana Robert, and Sung Deuk Oak.
Alumna Anneke Stasson Presents at Missio Nexus North American Mission Leaders Conference
Anneke Stasson, a 2013 graduate of the Division of Religious and Theological Studies at Boston University, presented at the North American Mission Leaders Conference hosted by Missio Nexus in Dallas on September 19. She was invited as a representative of the Evangelical Missiological Society, a co-host of the conference, and her presentation was entitled, “Walter and Ingrid Trobisch and a Missiology of ‘Couple Power.’” Through her presentation, Stasson explored the way in which the Trobisches exemplified what Dana Robert has called “the missiology of the Christian home.” She unpacked the historical features of the missiology of the Christian home and examined the way in which the Trobisches departed from their missiological predecessors. Although the Christian home has traditionally been the domain of women missionaries, the Trobisches’ missiology of “couple power” blurred the boundaries between men’s work and women’s work. Both spouses spoke in public, wrote books, and, at least initially, both took care of the children. By talking about the Trobisches’ division of labor on the mission field and their work-family balance, Stasson aimed to get a conversation started about these issues in current evangelical mission. Her presentation was followed by a vigorous discussion about the gendered expectations of missionaries and mission agencies and the need to think creatively about our division of labor on the mission field.
Titus Presler reports from Pakistan
Rev. Dr. Titus Presler, Principal of Edwardes College in Peshawar, Pakistan, sent the following report yesterday after the horrendous slaughter of people attending All Saints' Church there. We at CGCM grieve for those killed and with those injured.
After church bombing Edwardes closes for 3 days and empathy abounds
In both grief and protest, the churches of Pakistan have declared three days of mourning and solidarity for the victims of today’s bomb blast at All Saints’ Church, Kohati Gate, Peshawar, in which it is reported that at least 150 people were killed and at least 200 were injured, many of them critically.
To its great credit, the government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the province of which Peshawar is the capital, promptly endorsed that move and declared three days of mourning in solidarity with the Christian community and stated that what it called “missionary institutions” would be closed for the three days. To its equal credit, the Federal Government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan soon followed suit.
The bombing’s impact on Edwardes College itself is considerable. We’re not sure how many of our students were killed at the church, but there are at least several. A number of alums were killed. Victims also included students and teachers at Edwardes College School, a feeder institution located on our campus. More information will be forthcoming over the next day or so.
Following is the letter that I sent out to all faculty and staff:
Dear Edwardes Community,
We are all shocked and grieving in the aftermath of the bombing at All Saints? Church, Kohati Gate, on this Sunday, Sept 22. The scale of the atrocity is terrible. News is still coming in, but it is said that about 150 people or more were killed and 200 or more were injured. The news has gone around the world.
Information is emerging, but a number of our current students were killed as were a number of Edwardes College alumni. The same is true of Edwardes College School and, of course, other church institutions throughout the city.
The churches of Pakistan have declared that all church institutions throughout the nation will be closed for three days of mourning for the dead and in solidarity with the bereaved and with the Christian community. The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Government has endorsed this closure.
Members of the Management Team have discussed the matter and are agreed on the College’s participation in this closure. Therefore as an institution of the Church of Pakistan, Edwardes College will be closed Monday-Wednesday, Sept 23-25. The present plan is to reopen on Thursday, Sept 26.
Let us join in reaching out to those who are mourning their lost loved ones.
May we all know the blessing of God in this troubled time.
Canon Titus
Followers of events in Pakistan will feel today’s attack on one religious minority resonating with other attacks on other minorities in Pakistan, most notably the attacks in January and February on Shia Muslims in Quetta, in Balochistan, in which about 200 people were killed. Unfortunately attacks on religious minorities are on the rise.
Being stateside at the moment, I first heard of today’s event in a text from a Muslim faculty member this morning: “Very sad news a blast in Kohati Gate church Peshawar. 30 casualties. May God put their souls in peace.” Missing the church reference, I responded: “Terrible. Tnks for letting me know. God bless the victims.”
My interlocutor responded: “Amen. I’m too very sad for my Christian brothers and sisters. It was a cruel incident. May God help us. Amen.” To which I replied: “Do you mean that Christians were the targets?” “I’m not sure,” he answered at that early hour. Now we know they most definitely were.
I was touched by his concern for the Christian community.
As I was by the following email from another faculty member:
Dear All:
It’s really matter of shame for all of us, what happened today at Church at Kohati Gate Peshawar.
Islam is peaceful religion, and in Islam there is no place for such people who create violence with anyone, regardless of their religion, at any cost. Personally all my sympathies are with those who suffered today. May Allah bless their souls and may they rest in heaven. At this crucial time we all are with the Christian community side by side, so please do not think you are alone.
Oh Allah forgive us. As we are not following the right path, forgive us.
Ameen.
Such ecumenical spirit is crucial in any place and time, but especially so in Peshawar and in Pakistan today. So I thank God for such compassion and generosity of spirit between people of different religions.
The Making of Korean Christianity
Dr. Sung-Deuk Oak, a School of Theology graduate in 2002, has recently published a new book on Korean Christianity, entitled: The Making of Korean Christianity: Protestant Encounters with Korean Religions, 1876-1915 (Baylor University Press, 2013). The book is the first volume of the Studies of World Christianity of Nagel Institute Calvin College and Baylor University Press.
More information on this exciting new publication can be found below:
Description:
A major catalyst for the growth of Korean Christianity occurred at the turn of the twentieth century when Western missionaries encountered the religious landscape of Korea. These first-generation missionaries have been framed as destroyers of Korean religion and culture. Yet, as Sung-Deuk Oak shows in The Making of Korean Christianity, existing Korean religious tradition also impacted the growth and character of evangelical Christianity. The melding of indigenous Korean religions and Christianity led to a highly localized Korean Christianity that flourished in the early modern era. The Making of Korean Christianity sorts fact from myth in this exhaustive examination of the local and global forces that shaped Christianity on the Korean Peninsula.
Table of Contents
Illustrations, Tables, Diagrams, and Maps
Preface and Acknowledgments
Abbreviations
Introduction
1 God: Search for the Korean Name for God, Hanănim
2 Saviors: Images of the Cross and Messianism
3 Spirits: Theories of Shamanism and Practice of Exorcism
4 Ancestors: Confucian and Christian Memorial Services
5 Messages: Chinese Literature and Korean Translations
6 Rituals: Revivals and Prayers
Conclusion
Appendix
Glossary
Bibliography
Index
Reviews:
"This groundbreaking study is the best book written on the development of Korean Christianity. Oak traces the early encounter between Protestant missionaries and Korean religions and moves the scholarship in new, deeper directions. The Making of Korean Christianity is required reading."
--Dana L. Robert, Truman Collins Professor of World Christianity and History of Mission, Boston University.
“The Making of Korean Christianity is the most comprehensive and significant contribution to the study of Protestant Christianity in Korea that has appeared in a generation. Oak challenges the received academic discourse on the first generation of Christians and shows how early Korean Protestants dealt with sophisticated issues in theology and religious practice to arrive at their own solutions in the process of cultural encounter. This book will be the principal source in English on this period of Korean Church history for many years."
--James H. Grayson, Emeritus Professor of Modern Korean Studies, The University of Sheffield.
"The Making of Korean Christianity is a remarkable book. Oak moves beyond the conventional stereotypical view of the early Christian missionaries in Korea and expounds a deeper understanding of dealing with the missionaries' encounter with indigenous Korean religions. I highly recommended this book not only for those who are interested in the history of Christianity in Korea but also for the scholars and students of Korean spirituality and religious traditions and inter-religious dialogue in Korea."
--Young-chan Ro, Professor and Chair, Department of Religious Studies and Director, Korean Studies Center, George Mason University.
Yale-Edinburgh Group meeting report by Daryl Ireland
The Yale-Edinburgh Group held its 23rd meeting in New Haven, Connecticut, June 27-29, 2013. The theme, “Health, Healing, and Medicine in the History of Christian Missions and World Christianity,” inspired diverse papers, ranging from an investigation of John Wesley’s medical advice to the use of herbal medicine in Ghanaian Christianity.
The number of participants was capped at 80, so having six people from Boston University demonstrated its prominence in the field of global Christianity. Dr. Sung-Deuk Oak (Th.D, 2002), Associate Professor at UCLA considered how Christian medical missions in Korea moved, “From the Plough of Evangelism to the Fruit of Christian Love,” during the 1920s. Also looking at Asia, Daryl Ireland investigated a mission hospital in China and asked if medicine was “Christian, Secular, or yet Something Else?” Daewon Moon pointed to the “Ruanda Mission and its Contribution to the East African Revival,” while Michele Sigg explained the prominent role women have played in “Carrying Living Water” during the fifohazana revival in Madagascar. In addition, Eva Pascal introduced a new movie on Seventh-Day Adventist medical work around the world. Gina Bellofatto, a student in the joint ThD program between Boston University and Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary also attended the conference.
Alum Profile: Casely Essamuah, Th.D. 2003
Casely Essamuah is the Global Missions and Compassionate Outreach Pastor at the Bay Area Community Church in Annapolis, Maryland. Originally from Ghana, he is an ordained minister of the Methodist Church Ghana.
He received his Th.D. from the School of Theology at Boston University in 2003. His dissertation, “Genuinely Ghanaian: A History of the Methodist Church Ghana, 1961-2000,” examined the history of the Methodist Church in Ghana from 1961, the time of its autonomy from the British Methodist Conference, to the year of 2000, focusing on the missiological issues of contextualization. In this work, he argued that contextualization was one of the most important elements in understanding the history of the Methodist Church Ghana since Ghanaians, especially Fante people, have accepted Methodism on their own terms and have reshaped it to fit their needs. His dissertation was published in 2010 with the same title.
His current research interests include contextualization, over-contextualization, African Christianity, and reverse missions of the majority (or, non-western) world to the western world. In March 2011, he received the distinction of speaking at the Henry Center’s Scripture and Ministry Series, presenting “Missionaries and Over-Contextualization.” In this lecture, he gained wide attention by arguing that the Western churches, especially those in the U.S. are suffering from an “over-contextualizing of cultural forms.” In other words, what matters in the western world, is not the lack of contextualization but over-contextualization. With this concern, he raised a question, “How do you make the gospel understood where it is such a familiar presence as to be unremarkable?”
Essamuah’s interest is not limited to a scholarly one: as an active minister, he is also interested and actively engaged in planting immigrant churches in the U.S.
Bay Area Community Church: http://www.bayareacc.org/
by Hye Jin Lee