Magzania

This is not what I planned to blog but ... I was in a large group of GETI participants yesterday afternoon that had 30 minutes to plan an hour and a half interpretive presentation for the whole conference tonight. It was very frustrating yet revealing. It worked out to all the Europeans and Americans sitting around the table with everyone else around the periphery. The conversation mostly stayed around the table. There was no leadership and too many abstract  ideas. We quickly realized we weren't going to complete the task in the time. Emotions were high and agreement, low. Finally someone organically stepped up as the "stage manager", giving some cohesion to the ideas. Then, we had too many Americans and Europeans participating so they started to ask for only Asians and Africans. In some of these cultures, speaking up and out is not the norm. I wanted to participate but I was eventually edged out because I'm white (although I was replaced by a german). There is also ...

A journey that began five years ago with a sense of call to be a missionary in Africa, that eventually led me to serve in Montana as a Young Adult Volunteer (YAV) through the PCUSA, is now culminating in the opportunity of a lifetime! This summer I applied, and was admitted as a student to the Global Ecumenical Theological Institute 2018 from March 5-12 in Arusha, Tanzania! The selection committee was composed of members from the World Council of Churches, Lutheran World Federation, and the Network of Institutions of Higher Ecumenical Theological Education. Additionally, I received a scholarship through the YAV program/Presbyterian Mission Agency to cover the full cost. The students will arrive from different parts of the world and form a group of up to 120 advanced young students of theology. We represent a variety of countries and church traditions with an interest in gaining insights into the ecumenical movement’s current debates on understanding and practicing mission in vario...