During the plenary sessions of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)’s Mission Celebration ’09 – that brought about 700 Presbyterians to Ohio to share their passion for mission work around the world – people helped to define the meaning of mission by sharing slices-of-life from their on-the-ground experiences. Don Dawson, who is director of the World Mission Initiative at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary and one of the conference planners, described this on Oct. 24 as giving “a sampling, just a taste” of what’s happening.
On that day, the presenters went a little more in depth of Presbyterian work in two areas – education in Pakistan, and development work in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Pakistan. In 1972, the Pakistani government nationalized the schools leading to a particularly dark period for the formerly-Christian schools, and education of girls while the numbers of madrasahs, or Islamic schools, greatly increased.
About a decade ago, the government began relinquishing control of the schools, presenting a big challenge to the Presbyterian Education Board of Pakistan, according to its director, Veeda Javaid. What’s happened since then in the reopening of Christian schools “is a story of hope, trust, and faith,” of persistence, courage, sacrifice and prayer, she said. “We were thinking, `We can’t do it,’ ” but then God and the Presbyterian church said “yes, it can happen,” Javaid said.
The board operates schools and hostels for about 4,000 students, including both boys and girls. About 40 percent of the students are Christian and the rest Muslim – a real-life example of interfaith connection
Forman Christian College University, that also was nationalized in 1972 and then was returned to the Presbyterian church in 2003, also has come back to life. The college in Lahore, which Presbyterian missionaries established in 1864, was widely regarded as the best educational institution in the region, was seen as “the Oxford of the subcontinent, the Harvard of the subcontinent,” said its president, Peter Armacost.
But when the government nationalized the college in 1972, there was no accountability, and “we could give you horror stories of what took place on our campus during that period,” Armacost said.
After years of prayer and negotiation “and the intervening hand of God,” the government gave the college back to the Presbyterian church in 2003. And now, after a lot of hard work, Forman Christian College is trying to be a model for interfaith harmony – with Christians and Muslims working and studying side-by-side – and to educate students in the best of the liberal arts tradition, “how to think for themselves,” Armacost said.
For many students, the chance at an education can be transformative for themselves and their communities. Armacost told of students who, having graduated from Forman, now have good enough jobs that they can afford to send others from their families to college and to support their extended families. Forman Christian College has a long history of educating people who have risen to leadership in Pakistan, including presidents, prime ministers, and other leaders of government and business.
“These are the future leaders of the Christian community of Pakistan,” Armacost said. “What happens there will have a lasting impact.”
Congo. Presbyterians have been involved in mission work in this part of Africa since the 1800s, although the shape and focus of that work has changed significantly over time, as have the political realities.
Currently, about 35 presbyteries have direct partnerships in Africa. And in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, much of the PC(USA) work involves development, done in partnership with Congolese Christians and emphasizing four key principles: those being ownership, partnership, transformation, and sustainability.
More than a dozen PC(USA) mission co-workers and national staff members helped explain this work – ranging from sewing projects to teach girls and women an income-generating craft to feeding centers for orphans and other children who otherwise might go hungry.
In these efforts, local Christian partners take the lead, generating ideas, planning the work, helping provide the resources, determining the needs. A literacy program teaches women to read and write. Agricultural development programs emphasize high-yield food commodities such as cowpeas and reforestation through planting palm seedlings, with financial support from Presbyterians in the U.S.
The projects are diverse, including income-generating projects from selling commodities, AIDS education, water purification, and much more.
“What mission does the church of today have for the world of today,” asked Mary Mikhael, president of the Near East School of Theology, preaching during closing worship.
“The world has never been more in need of hope and healing that it is now. Can the church catch the spirit of Christ? Can it provide hope for the hopeless, bread for the hungry, dignity for the marginalized? Isn’t that what Jesus went around doing?”
