Debbie Chase  |
Thursday, June 3, at 6:00 p.m. CPC will host a dinner for Debbie Chase, a Presbyterian mission co-worker in Malawi. Debbie will share with us from her experiences in the mission field.
If you can help with the dinner -- setup, cleanup, food preparation -- please contact Amber Hodgen at amberhodgen@verizon.net.Debbie
has been under appointment as a mission co-worker since 1999. She serves in
Ekwendeni, Malawi, as an administrator and lecturer at the University of
Livingstonia, College of Theology, a seminary of the Synod of Livingstonia,
Church of Central Africa Presbyterian (CCAP).
The
Synod of Livingstonia serves the northern region of Malawi through its 130
congregations, 500 primary schools, five secondary schools, and three
hospitals, and through its development and relief work and evangelism programs.
The Synod has only 105 ministers to serve the needs of 610,000 members and
their communities. That's a ratio of church members to ministers of 5,800 to 1.
And the need for more ministers is even greater than the numbers may suggest,
since new churches are forming to meet the rapid growth in membership. The need
for more ministers of the Word and Sacrament is crucial.
In
April, 2003, the Synod of Livingstonia established the College of Theology to
train ministers to meet this great need. Debbie was involved in the planning
and inauguration of the college and now serves as dean of academic affairs and
lecturer of Old Testament, systematic theology, and pastoral psychology. She
also preaches and administers the sacraments at various churches of the Synod
of Livingstonia.
Debbie's
work with the Synod is born of the Mutual Ministry Covenant of Eastern Oklahoma
Presbytery (of which Debbie is a minister member) with the Synod of
Livingstonia. In 1998 the Synod of Livingstonia invited Eastern Oklahoma
Presbytery to send a clergywoman to help open doors for the ordination of women
in Malawi to the ministry of the Word and Sacrament. In September 1999 Debbie
responded to this call.
From
September 1999 to March 2003 Debbie served the Synod of Livingstonia as clergy
advisor to the Synod on women's issues. In this capacity she was associate
pastor of the Zolozolo CCAP congregation in Mzuzu and on staff at the Synod's
Lay Training Center in Ekwendeni. Her work focused on teaching lay leaders and
pastors, which led to her serving in her present position as dean and lecturer
at University of Livingstonia, College of Theology.
Malawi
is acclaimed at be the "warm heart of Africa." Its people are warm and gracious
and, despite great adversity, they are filled with the spirit of the living
God. Malawi has 11 million people. One million of them are orphaned children
due to HIV/AIDS and malaria. The church plays a vital role in giving people
reason to hope under such formidable circumstances.
Born
in Appleton, Wisconsin, Debbie graduated from the University of Wisconsin, Madison,
with a bachelor's degree in sociology. She worked for eight years as a
counselor and social worker before attending Austin Presbyterian Theological
Seminary. She later transferred to Princeton Theological Seminary, from which
she received a master of divinity degree.
Debbie
has served churches in Michigan and Oklahoma and has been involved with her
presbytery's partnership with the Synod of Livingstonia since its inception.
