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Welcome!

Welcome to The NEGST Letter, your regular update on how NEGST is contributing to excellence in African Christianity. If you wish to add a person to the subscription list or to unsubscribe, please let us know.

News and Views from the Nairobi Evangelical Graduate School of Theology

March 2009

Headline

From the pen of the Vice Chancellor

Dr Carew Dear Friends and NEGST family,

Greetings! I plan to “speak” with you regularly through this letter, and in other ways. In this first post to you on the NEGST Letter, I wanted to offer you some reflections on our vision to build up leaders for the church, as well as our financial situation.

The year 2008 was a real financial challenge for NEGST and we ended our financial year with a significant deficit. In one month, we had to use our overdraft facility with our bank to pay part of the salaries for the month. On the other hand, that same month was for me the capstone of the year. Let me tell you why.

On the 2nd of the month, I took part in the dedication of a three-storey dormitory for primary school children, and ground-breaking ceremony for a secondary school on an island off the Kenyan coast. The school facility, which currently is home to some 300 AIDS orphans, was founded and built Read more »

Friends of NEGST

Mustard Seed Foundation – a friend under financial pressure

The Mustard Seed Foundation (MSF) is a Christian family foundation that awards scholarships to Christians pursuing advanced educational degrees in preparation for leadership roles in both the church and society.

NEGST received more scholarship funding from MSF than any other seminary last year. In fact, because NEGST applied for and received our funding before the financial downturn, the $49,000 we received was almost as much as the total amount given to the 16 remaining African institutions combined!

NEGST recently received a letter from our Mustard Seed contact, Lonni Jackson, that stated, “I am writing to update you on how the global financial crisis has impacted our Theological Education (TE) program Read more »

Spotlight on Alumni

Interview with Peter Karanja, General Secretary of NCCK

Canon Peter Karanja is currently general secretary of the National Council of Churches in Kenya. Formerly provost of the All Saints’ Cathedral Anglican church in Nairobi, Mr. Karanja graduated in 1993 with an MDiv in general studies from NEGST.

The NEGST Letter offers you an exclusive interview with him.

NL: As general secretary of the National Council of Churches of Kenya, you are now considered to be the voice of the church in many situations. How has your training at NEGST affected this responsibility?

Karanja: My training at NEGST was the first major orientation into church life and its calling and role. Studying at NEGST was better than any exposure that I have had. It gives students a broader understanding of ministry than Read more »

We have been heard

Hidden world of pygmies in Congo revealed

Mr. Samuel Muraguri Mwangi, who graduated from NEGST in 2007, has recently published his first book, The Pygmy World: the Endangered Bambuti of Congo as a result of his master’s thesis at NEGST.

The book comes to us at a critical moment, when civil strife is rampant in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The pygmies of DRC, who are the shortest people on earth, are now an endangered species. Totally marginalized, they lack the basics of food, schools, health and medical care, clean water and clothing. Though they desire to settle and grow their own crops, they lack their own land, farming tools, seeds and basic farming skills. The book addresses the plight of these little-known pygmies in the troubled, vast Read more »

NEGST at work

NEGST establishes Kenya’s first prison chaplaincy library

On 27 February 2009, the NEGST head librarian Mr. Ephraim Mudave led a team to donate books to the Naivasha Maximum Security Prison. He was accompanied by the dean of community life Rev. Gregory Kivanguli, assistant librarian Mr. Peter Mwangi and NEGST alumnus Rev. Aquinas Anogoli.

The trip was in response to the prison chaplain’s request for assistance to establish a chaplaincy library. The inmates take theological courses by correspondence but lack Read more »

Campus Events

NEGST Celebrates International Women’s Day in style

Each year around the world, International Women’s Day (IWD) is celebrated on March 8. Hundreds of events occur throughout March to mark the economic, political and social achievements of women. The global theme for 2009 is: Women and men united to end violence against women and girls.

At NEGST, the March 11 chapel celebration was dedicated to women—their achievements and their struggles. Every woman received a rose, and the men spoke kind words of respect. Chapel included a skit depicting the multi-generational chain of violence that Read more »

In Brief

Need to Read:

Institute for the Study of African Realities (ISAR) director George Renner recommends Everything Must Change: Jesus, Global Crises, and a Revolution of Hope by Brian D. McLaren

At ISAR we believe that Christ is the answer in a revolutionary sense. We recommend Brian McLaren’s book, Everything Must Change, which presents a compelling case that shatters the dualistic thinking that tries to separate reality into “sacred” vs. “secular” domains and to render Jesus irrelevant in matters which are not typically classified as spiritual. McLaren’s cultural analysis and exegetical work help us see Jesus’ core message, which can infuse us with purpose and passion to address the economic, environmental, military, political and social dysfunction that have overtaken our world.

A Lesson Learned:

Women of Worth from Canada recently came to campus, presenting talks on the psychological effects of trauma. I knew that many in Kenya are traumatized from diverse situations and are counseled, but I learned we should put preventive measures in place to counter possible occurrence of traumatic experiences. My desire is to see our nation re-structure the systems of governance and justice to combat boulevards of trauma.

Josh Amwago, upon attending a talk presented by Carol Fick, Phd. Counselling Psch.