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Ethiopian Partnership Committee
A subcommittee
of
Worldwide Ministries
Shenandoah Presbytery
Photo By Howard Simmons
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The Committee's Mission
The Ethiopian Partnership Committee
is a Sub-Committee of the World Wide Ministries Committee
(WWM). Through the WWM, the Partnership Sub-Committee
is charged with the following responsibilities:
- Preparing
prayer requests for regular prayer for our Partner
Synod.
- Planning
visits and interactions with the partners.
- Serving
as a link to missionaries from Shenandoah Presbytery
to Illubabor.
- Providing
information and publicity about the Partnership utilizing
Partnership web site and Presbytery communication tools.
- Making
budget requests to support these efforts and monitoring
the expenditures.
- Plan
regular celebrations of the Partnership.
Many opportunities are
available for learning and supporting the Partnership
activities and events. Use the links shown in the left
column here to learn about the history of the Partnership,
about Ethiopia's history and customs, about the iCARE Program
and the Gore Home for Children, and to read stories written
by past travelers to Ethiopia.
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What Is a Partnership?
As several churches
in IBS seek partners and churches in Shenandoah consider
forming partnerships we should give some thought to what we
as Shenandoah churches have to offer and what we seek in a partnership.
We are all seeking fellowship with Christians in other areas and
countries. Sharing experiences in our faith and worshiping
with others and our partners is a major part of and essential
to any Christian partnership. Each side of the partnership
has a wealth of unique Christian experiences; though we Americans often
feel we benefit more from sharing the experiences of others than from
relating our own experiences, the dialog interchange is important.
Clearly we may enrich our own faith experience by working with fellow
Christians in different cultures. Partnerships offer the opportunity
for each of us to grow in our faith journey through exposure to faith
experiences others.
American churches are
blessed with an abundance of financial resources and I
believe it is imperative that we find productive ways to share
this wealth with others. At the same time the abundance
of dollars creates a situation where we may suppress our partners’
growth toward financial independence and in fact we may actively
foster financial dependence. First, we must listen to
our partners and seek their input as to which projects need external
funding and ask them to prioritize their various projects.
As individual churches and as a Presbytery we are unlikely to be
able to support all the projects and dreams of our partners.
We need to look at their prioritized needs and seek ways to fund those
that we reasonably can help. It is of utmost importance that
we listen to our partners’ leadership with their extensive local experience
and not try to impose western ideals and methods on a divergent culture.
Secondly, we need to critically look at our own goals in giving
financial support. Are we really looking for projects that
benefit IBS and our partners or we looking at projects that make us
feel good? American churches have traditionally funded new
church construction, but the infrastructure necessary to support
a congregation is also vitally important, though not as attractive
or as easy to fund. Office buildings, computers, generators
and dependable power, and other infrastructure may be equally necessary
to grow and nurture a congregation. However necessary, funding
infrastructure is not as glamorous as new church construction.
Finally, short term fixes often have positive immediate impact but
we need to look for projects that will significantly impact the
larger community in 5 or even 25 years. We can not ignore the
hunger and famine present today, but what benefits more, giving a
family a fish or teaching the bread winner to fish for him/herself.
Education and infrastructure development can empower the congregation
to make long term changes in the community and may promote financial
independence. Short term fixes often may make us feel good while
having only limited impact in the larger and longer term view.
So what can we offer
that reaps long term benefit for both individuals and congregations
on each side of the partnership? The answer is simply
PRAYER and sharing prayer concerns. Prayer is the constant
denominator in the requests from IBS churches. Each of
us can include our partners in our individual and corporate prayers
on a regular basis. On the last day of one of my trips to
Mettu I was asked to visit the home of a young carpenter who was almost
bedridden with a mysterious paralysis and back pain. He had
been to a major teaching hospital in Addis Ababa and no cause or diagnosis
could be determined. I examined the young man, looked at his
x-rays and hospital reports and it was obvious I had no good answer
for him and had no more insight into his problem than his other physicians.
After talking with him and his family and expressing my frustration
and ignorance, I got up to leave. He stopped me and said: “
Will you pray for me?” He made no request for pain medications
or money, short term fixes I could easily supply. He asked only
for prayer! We need to remember his example when we consider
partnership requests and our own needs and motives in working within
the partnership. It is through sharing fellowship, our experiences,
meals, worship and maybe most importantly our prayers that we may
grow in faith both individually and collectively.
Dr. Bill Burslem, Ethiopian Partnership
Committee, Shenandoah Presbytery. |
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