|
LATEST SCHOOL NEWSLETTER - August 2006
|
Remember the days of old, consider the years long past; ask your father, and he will inform you; your elders, and they will tell you. Deuteronomy 32.7
To the dear friends and supporters of Msalato Theological College,
45th Anniversary Celebration
We chose the above verse because it is Msalato’s 45th birthday this year. We are remembering with grateful hearts all the dreams, the hard work, and the courage of our forefathers and mothers to get us to the good place in which we find ourselves today. As we said in our last newsletter we are already asking ourselves what we would like to look like on our fiftieth anniversary in 2011. At Bishop Mhogolo’s urging we have decided to begin celebrating our history with a 45th Anniversary Thanksgiving Service to be followed by a special dinner and an evening of unforgettable entertainment. We have cancelled the plans for the July Jumhuri concert, and instead that same line-up of singers and dancers will be on hand for our anniversary dinner in November. The tentative date is November 5th. We are inviting all previous staff and students and friends of Msalato to attend and to support us as we begin fundraising for two new classrooms and a modern library. Our goal is to raise US$ 170,000 (one hundred and seventy thousand US dollars). Stay tuned for details and invitations to follow.
Visitations by Bishop Mhogolo
We were delighted to hear of Bishop Mhogolo’s visits to old friends in the UK, including Jo Sayer and Bishop John Ball, the fruit of many of their dreams and hard work being visible on campus today. We look forward to a visit from Bishop Ball. Bishop Mhogolo also brought word from Trinity Wall Street Church in New York, New York, that the college will be the recipient of 50 new computers.
Staff Changes
Each year at this time the change in personnel appointments for the diocese are announced. This year our losses are keenly felt. The Reverend Charles Mwhihambi, who has only been here for one term since his return from obtaining a Master’s degree in the UK, has been transferred to the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit in Dodoma where he will serve as sub-dean. Charles, though only with us a short time, proved himself a faithful servant of God, not only as able teacher and preacher but also as the Dean of students. Fortunately Charles will be able to continue to teach albeit only on a part-time basis.
Charles is replacing the Reverend Moses Matonya at the Cathedral. Moses also has been a faithful and beloved part-time teacher at Msalato, but he too is leaving us. In September Moses and his wife, Ruth, will be moving to Columbus, GA, USA, to do a year of Clinical Pastoral Education. He will work in a local hospital for 30 hours per week and in a local parish for 10 hours per week. After Moses completes this year of work, he hopes to begin work on his doctoral degree.
Last but not least we are losing the Reverend Mary Sangaya, Dean of Women and full-time teacher, to the Mother’s Union where she will serve as Secretary. We congratulate her on this appointment even as we realize she will be hard to replace. She counseled and cared for the women of Msalato, and they will miss her presence among them.
Students Return
Student holidays are always a lonely time for those of us left on the campus, so it was with great excitement that we greeted the students as they drifted in through the past week. Even though we felt exhausted after graduation on June 25th and longed for a break, we are all ready to get back to normal. We are ready for the discipline of starting every day with the Office of Morning Prayer. Worship is the way we start each day, and it is the reason for our being. Dr. Chilongani has asked the staff to recommit themselves to quality teaching and good preparation of lectures for every single class so that we may become a school of academic excellence. We are aware of the awesome responsibility of preparing the servant leaders of tomorrow’s Anglican Church in the world.
Guest House
We are on target to finish the guest house by September with the roof and windows being finished last week. This small house sits at the top of the hill that leads up to the campus from the lower entrance. There is a front porch across the front with room for rocking chairs, if we can find them in Tanzania. Rocking and looking to the east at sunrise and to the west at sunset with a spectacular view of Lion Rock straight ahead to the south will be little short of heaven. There must be no more beautiful sunrises and sunsets than in the skies of East Africa. Our Creator God is very real here.
Harvest and Food Situation
There is some good news to share on this front. Because many parts of Tanzania got enough rain in the latter part of the rainy season, the price of maize in the market has come down dramatically, although still very much above the normal price. Obviously they will begin to rise again by October. We discontinued food distribution for the month of July and have not been inundated by those requesting food. The usual number of beggars persists but not hordes as we had in February through July. We are hoping that we do not need to resume feeding on a massive scale until September. We are trying to hold the line so that people do not just sit back and become dependant on Msalato to feed them, yet we do not want children going to bed hungry either. Please pray for us in this area that we may discern when and how to continue. The already overworked staff takes this on as an extracurricular activity, and it takes an enormous amount of time, not just dishing it out on distribution Saturdays, but in renting a truck, banking, buying, loading, unloading, etc.
We also have funds to support the families of students – one bag of maize (100 kilos) in September and another one in December as the students go home for their vacation. We pray that God will make it possible for students to get further support between February and May before the crops are ready for harvest.
Ordination
July 16th was the original date set for ordination, but due to Bishop Mhogolo’s extended spring travel schedule it has been postponed until September 24th. This delay has led to the more than usual anxiety for those awaiting word if they will be ordained and also for those awaiting the location of their next placement. Bishop Mhogolo has explained that this is a process that should not be rushed as he wants each candidate to have their calls discerned and to prayerfully match parishes and priests.
Container Arrival
The whole village of Msalato came out to meet the truck carrying a forty-foot container. We had talked so much and for so long about the books, the copy machine, and hospital equipment that were going to come from Atlanta that it had begun to seem like a dream. But this dream which began just over one year ago while Bishop Mhogolo was in Atlanta became reality on Friday July 14th. A long chain of men and boys unloaded the massive number of boxes and things, filling our library reading room and halls to the gills. It was a great, great day here in the village with nearly every available hand getting in onto the act at some point. Dr. Chilongani greeted the truck and the following Monday Bishop Mhogolo came to check out the contents, being especially impressed with what is shaping up to be a world-class theological library.
Urgent Need for Qualified Librarian
We have had advertisements placed all over Tanzania for over three months with no response. Qualified librarians are very hard to come by in this part of the world, but we desire to hire one, not only to catalogue the latest books, but to be in charge of our new library for which we are actively making plans at the moment (see details of the 45th Anniversary Fundraiser in the first paragraph). So if any of you know some mission-minded person with these qualifications or if any of you are qualified and are feeling the nudge to come to Africa, please email Dr. Chilongani at mtc@maf.or.tz
Principal presents theological paper at Chadwick Library in Butere, Kenya
Along with Ghana’s renowned theologian, the Reverend Professor Kwame Bediako, the principal and two others were the featured speakers at the Sixth Annual School of Theology held by AICMAR (African Institute for Contemporary Mission and Research) in Butere, Kenya. The principal’s paper was entitled Prosperity Gospel in Africa: A response from the Book of Job. The call was clearly sounded for the need for theologians of Africa to interpret the scriptures in light of their own culture. It was again pointed out that missionaries did not bring Christ to Africa, for as John the Evangelist so eloquently tells us in his Prologue in chapter one, verse 3, that all things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. The four papers presented were all excellent and will be published in the AICMAR Bulletin in 2007. Besides being stimulated at this conference to make Msalato the leading center of theological academic excellence in Africa, the principal also renewed the bonds of affection with Frances Etemesi who worked with Central Tanganyika Press for twenty years before marrying Bishop Etemesi and moving to Butere several years ago. She still considers Dickson her “Gogo son.”
Prayer Requests
- That Msalato may be a holy place where Christ’s presence is felt and where He is honored by staff and students both in word and deed.
- For our 2006 graduates who still await word of whether they will be ordained.
- For a successful beginning of a new academic year.
- For our staff, especially for our new staff that we might continue in the spirit of cooperation and community.
- For wisdom and compassion in managing the food distribution program.
- For the committee and the arrangements for the celebration of our 45th anniversary.
- That we may soon obtain a qualified full-time Christian librarian.
- That we might keep our priorities in order.
- For our president, Jakaya Kikwete, as he tries to control bribery and corruption in this magnificent country in which many people suffer from poverty and ignorance.
May the Lord be gracious unto all of you and give you peace.
Msalato Theological
