Degree of Baccalaureate in Theology

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    A Traditional Luo Elder As A Pastoral Minister in Reference to I Timothy 3:1-7 (Impact on Evangelization in Luo land Kisumu)
    (Tangaza University College, 2005) Nicholas, Adongo Olonde
    Over the centuries, the Luos lived together and managed their socio-political and religious affairs internally. They had their elders who were entrusted with different duties and roles. Among the duties, these elders chaired and maintained the traditional worship. The elders became the light to the community whenever darkness fell over the entire community. The common figure, that is, Ker/Ruoth, had the duty to see to it that the community and its activity progressed smoothly. In fact, Ker/Ruoth was the highest position in the land performing the role of traditional "pastoral" ministry. The Ker had good and valuable qualities that reflected the nature and the culture of the community. In brief, the qualities are such factors as wealth to begin with. In this case, wealth was considered a factor that enabled the elders to support the less privileged. This was used to prove the degree of the person to give, that is, whether he was a cheerful giver or one whose sight did not transcend his family relations. During famine, people turned to the elder for assistance. He had to be a respected man. This respect was earned first by the manner in which the person managed his house. If he had a good wife then his home became a pillar of righteousness among his contemporaries. He had to be brave, a factor that pointed to the idea that he was able to face the invading enemy and rescue his people. Others included calmness, not unmarried, an elder son, and not a witch, a native and one whose mother was not a different tribe. Other qualities would be considered later in this work. For St. Paul in his first letter to Timothy, he outlined the qualities that a person would need to qualify in his case as a minister. These qualities are also applicable to a traditional Luo elder. For Paul, an elder had to be an irreproachable person. This necessitates the spirit of welcoming and straight forwardness. He must be married once. Marriage suffered infidelity during this time Paul wrote the letter and as such, he looked for those who followed the right teaching in marriage. Selfcontrol according to Paul made one to approach different situations with the right attitudes the situation would deserve. Hospitality was also called for in the sense of giving and welcoming, one whose heart bore no grudges. He must be one who managed his household well, not a recent convert, not a lover of money and has a good reputation. One quality considered among the Luos, especially polygamy would be seen as a point of conflict but given the mind of the community, it is as good as monogamy if not better. This was the point of clash between the early missionaries and the Luos. This intercultural clash between the idea of the missionaries and the traditional Luo leadership hastened the spread of Christianity among the Luos of Western Kenya. The traditional elders among the Luos were just as good as the ones Paul wanted to lead. A Christian leader is in some ways considered a pastoral minister, one who attends to the flock of Christ.
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    Evangelization Among the Poor Poverty: A Challenge to The Mission of The Church In Kenya (Makina Makongeni Sub-Parish)
    (Tangaza University College, 2004) Byaruhanga, Augustus
    My objective in writing this long essay is to explore the theological basis for the Church's involvement in evangelizing the poor. This has to be done following Jesus' example during his public ministry on earth. Jesus identified himself with the needy and the poor "as long as you did it to one of these little ones, you did it to me (Mt 25:40)" Jesus acted in solidarity with the poor during his entire earthly ministry. Having done pastoral work among the people of Makina Makongeni Sub-Parish for the last three years, I have come to realize that: 1-The poor need people of faith to teach them the Good News of Jesus Christ, who is the liberator, consoler, comforter and source of love. 2-For the poor to come out of their material, political and economical poverty, they need people to address the oppression and injustice they are facing. 3-The poor remind us of the role they play in God's plan and in the kingdom. The mission of the Church is no other than the mission of Jesus who was sent into the world by the Father and who sent the Holy Spirit to continue and complete his saving work. "The Church on earth is by its very nature a missionary since, according to the plan of the Father; it has its origin in the mission of the Son and the Holy Spirit". The proclamation of the Good News to those who do not know Jesus is in fact the grace and vocation of the Church, her deepest identity. The Church is the hope of the poor, the oppressed, homeless, destitute, orphans and widows of this world. Those who are suffering and weeping truly expect words and actions that bring them Good News. Through evangelization, the poor discover the true love of Jesus Christ who came to comfort and console them. Evangelization confronts poverty, injustice, oppression, exploitation and the conditions and social structures that breed these evils. The Church as Christ's body ought to continue this ministry by preaching the Good News to the poor, proclaiming the Gospel that sets the oppressed free and bringing wholeness to the broken hearted. The Church helps the poor to overcome and transcend the fear of death and believe in the life here after.
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    Human Rights Abuses: A Challenge to Evangelization In Northern Uganda.
    (Tangaza University College, 2004-11) Onegi, Samuel
    Although Uganda is party to many international human rights documents, the Constitution promulgated in October 1995, nevertheless dedicates a substantial amount of time to protecting human rights. It begins by clearly stating that human rights are inherent and cannot be granted nor removed by the government. It maintains that everyone deserves equal protection under the law free from discrimination. In the constitution, all citizens are granted the freedoms of conscience, expression, movement, religion, assembly and association. The following additional rights are also protected under the document: the right to life, the right to personal liberty, the freedom from slavery and torture, the freedom from depravation of property, the right to privacy, the right to a fair trial and the right to education. Moreover, the rights of women, children, minorities, those with disabilities and the family unit are all clearly spelled out in the document. The constitution further provides the protection of human rights that are not expressly acknowledged in the document. It empowers people to seek redress if they believe that there has been an infringement upon any of the rights protected in the document. It establishes the Uganda Human Rights Commission (UHC) to, among other things, appraise human rights conditions in Uganda, research and promote public awareness of human rights issues and propose suggestions to parliament on how human rights can be better protected in the country. However, the protracted war in Northern Uganda has caused serious human rights abuses and many people have suffered the consequences of the war. It has caused serious challenges to various stakeholders, including the church in carrying her work of evangelisation. This project seeks to devote some time looking at the challenges, which the war has caused to evangelization in Northern Uganda both at the grassroots and the national levels. Many human rights abuses have been witnessed in the past years in the north.
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    Inculturation as Means of Communication for Evangelization
    (Tangaza University College, 2006) Aazine, Nibetol Nicholas
    The Church down through her line of history has often encouraged the effective use of Mass Media to facilitate the spread of the Good News, Nevertheless, on the other hand, she has not ceased to emphasis Inculturation as another perfect model of communication in doing evangelization. Today, the most highlighted models or channels of communication used are radio, TV., Internet, newspaper, magazine, and phones. Very little emphasis is made in the use of Inculturation. Modern channels of communication would be voted by anyone as the best and fastest way of doing Evangelisation but the little defect one can quickly point out is the fact that it does not really touch the core of the human person. It only stays hanging but does not touch the real lives of the people. Needless to add that this piece of work is not in condemnation of modern models used in spreading the Good News. This paper is to point out this other effective model or channel, which has been abandon in the closet for some time now. Inculturation may sound arcane but believe it or not it one of the effective means through which Evangelisation is done. As it is often emphasized these days, evangelization is not virtually by preaching with word of mouth, listening to the radio, watching TV., but also preaching with one's life. Inculturation comes as means by which this aspect of the Good News is communicated. Inculturation actually reaches or touches the core of people's life visa vis the Gospel. This means of doing evangelization could only make sense to us if we all join in or accept it effectiveness. We all need to bring the Gospel message into our lives through our daily activities, cultures, and language so as to find a new Christ communicated to us. As already mentioned, other means of communication are not to be under estimated but to find a true Christ born and living with us. We need also to give a stronger look at inculturation, which is a more practical means of communicating a Christ who is fiilly alive among us. It is good to see the importance of these modern tools, which have so successfully wave their way through the modern mode of living, affecting and influencing our Christian lives. It is also the aspiration of everyone now to acquaint oneself with these modern means of communication. However, we should not loose sight of how to assimilate all these into the lives of people so that the Gospel message might make sense in the lives of the people. The church may be accused of being slow in pushing forward this way (Inculturation) of doing evangelization, perhaps because of the risk of loosing the message in another sense. The few areas this means has been employed effectively, tremendous impact has been made in the lives of the people. Inculturation is slowly booming and a very old word in the churches history. Much has been written about it but very little has been done about it. Believe it or not it is one of the best ways and of course the best means of communication for everyone for the gospel values to be understood properly among the people, it must find place among them. This means that the gospel values must be rooted in the lives and culture of the people.
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    Effective Communication of Vincentian Christology in Modern Kenya.
    (Tangaza University College, 2005) Musolo Ochola, John
    In the 16 th century, France witnessed the great saint of the poor, Vincent de Paul, who is said to "have done works of six saints in his life." Vincent lived during one of the most spiritually and apostolically fertile periods in European history. As a visible part of the counter-reformation ferment: Vincent joined with a number of other remarkable personalities in France who changed the religious face of the country in a space of one generation. The seed that he planted in caring for the poor centuries ago still grows in the third millennium through the work of Vincentians. In fact, that is what this paper is all about: how the work of Vincentians in Kenya today would be well mirrored to Vincent's understanding of Christ's mission. Vincent's vision of Christ was that he is the missionary of the Father, who empties himself of his condition as the Son of God in order to free his people from bondage, both corporeal and spiritual. Vincent saw the fullness of Christ's mission in the Lucan narrative 4:16-30, which is also called the "Gospel in miniature" because it foreshadows both the ministry and the fate of Jesus through out the gospel. He even took the words of Jesus "...he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor..." as the motto of his life and of the Congregation of the Mission he founded. Questions that abound in my mind include: How is this charism fulfilled through the ministry and lives of the Vincentians in Kenya today? And what can we do to truly live and propagate the same spirit of this holy man? It is now 25 years since the Vincentians first came to Kenya. After spending some time in the Congregation and having observed and reflected on the works of Vincentians, I thought it appropriate to know the charism deeply and see how it could or should affect the lives of Kenyans deeply divided along economical and social lines. Chapter one deals with the arrangement of this paper and the motivation behind it. Chapter two describes the Kenyan situation. In this chapter I make a brief historical analysis of the imbalance that we witness in Kenyan society today. I then explore the real state of affairs today and how a proper teaching to people of values espoused by Vincent can help bring about equality. Chapter three continues in the same vein, presenting the •r Christ of Vincent and calling all of us Kenyans to take a second look at what that understanding can do and what it did in the unbalanced society of France. Chapter four discusses how the media can be effectively used by Vincentians in their bid to work with and for the poor. It takes into consideration the major impact the media has today in Kenya and how it is a vital tool in highlighting the inequalities that abound all around us.