Giving women a voice in church

By Jane GitauStanding at just over five feet four inches tall, Nyambura Njoroge meets me at the doorway, extending a hand of welcome into her temporary Nairobi office. Her hair is neatly braided and she is wearing a flowing embroidered kitenge and leather sandals. "Karibu," she says as she ushers me into the room with a warm smile.We have at most two hours before Nyambura leaves for Geneva, Switzerland, her base for the last decade or so. And so we settle quickly into a discussion on her passion — women and the church. As the Project Coordinator for Ecumenical HIV and Aids Initiative in Africa of the Geneva-based World Council of Churches, Nyambura offers "life-affirming words, words that speak healing and wholeness to all who are afflicted and condemned to death." Gradually, the church is realising that HIV is more than a medical issue that cannot be ignored and that it is wrong to stigmatise those it afflicts. Nyambura says theological reflection helps in Biblical care and counselling of those infected and affected."It helps us take action in a different way and be more creative. My journey of theological reflection has shaped me and helped me grow in life. It is now helping me deal with Aids positively and with hope," she says. First woman ordainedIt is a journey that began in earnest on September 5, 1982, when she became the first woman to be ordained by the Presbyterian Church of East Africa (PCEA). As a pioneer, she had to work hard to discover the many dedicated, but un-ordained women to mentor and also to be mentored by. She also quickly learnt that when you are a pioneer, others look out for mistakes. She recalls the sneers she received in Harare, Zimbabwe, at the 1992 All Africa Conference of Churches (AACC) Assembly, when she used the case of Pia Njoki, the woman blinded by her husband in a fit of rage so she wouldn’t see other men. She was accused of washing dirty linen in public."We had all cried for Pia. When I wrote my doctoral dissertation, the issue of domestic violence had come up. So what was the dirty linen that I was washing at the Assembly?" she asks.Contributions of pioneersShe was the first Kenyan woman to research and document the contributions of the pioneering Presbyterian Church women who stood up against female genital mutilation in 1928 and later, highlighted the rape of students at St Kizito High School. "Newspapers are good at covering these issues, but what do we do with those reports to change our society for the better?" she asks. Not many women realise that sexist, patriarchal traditions, practices and beliefs remain in the church and society. And women’s response to them, even in Church ministry, has been shaped through the eyes of men. Speaking out to offer an alternative perspective then makes one the odd one out and is frowned upon. "Dismantling patriarchy is a job description in church ministry and I could not fit in the male model of ministry," Nyambura says.So, she charted her own course off the beaten track and looks out for others on the journey. She now has many doors open for her and she wants to give back by mentoring upcoming theologians globally. Concerned women theologiansShe has discovered, she says, that encouraging other women is a ministry in itself. To this end, she was instrumental in the launch of the Circle of Concerned African Women Theologians who began to gather in 1989 for the purpose of contributing towards the creation of African theological literature with a bias on gender analysis and perspectives. They have written on domestic violence, sexuality and harmful cultural practices in an attempt to respond to the deep cry for justice, dignity and life. Lately, they have concentrated on the HIV and Aids pandemic through such themes as Sex, Stigma and HIV and Aids: African Women Challenging Religion, Culture and Social Practices and The Girl Child, African Women, Religion and HIV and Aids: Gender Perspectives.Lauded as a catalyst for theological education around the world, Nyambura says preparing ministers needs more attention. The scale and approach of counselling in the era of HIV and Aids has magnified that. There is need to review how clergy and those who want to become counsellors are trained. She emphasises the growth of theological institutions has to be seen in the context of societal growth. As demand for higher education grows, there is need to diversify the curriculum in theological schools to serve the needs and address the challenges emerging.Valued as a childBorn Nyambura Githanji to a Presbyterian minister’s family, she was raised in a home where all the nine daughters were valued and empowered through education and Christian teaching. Her mother was a midwife but was the centre of Christianity in the home. As a midwife and a pastors’ wife, she counselled many people. In her clinic, men would confide in her as she talked with wives. It is this that inspired her to counselling and helping others. Being a church minister has never been easy and it is always tougher for women. Even at ten years old, Nyambura was clear of the obstacles that lay between her and her dream profession — the church itself. That was why in response to her father’s question about ambition she told him as only a child could, "A teacher, but if the church ordained a woman, a church minister." For fulfilling that promise she saw her father cry on the day she was ordained. When the presiding pastor asked him why he was crying he said, "Because I had never imagined any of my children becoming a minister." He believed Kenya needed more educated ministers and urged his daughter to further her education, especially to earn a PhD. Nyambura has been married to Ephraim Njoroge for more than 30 years.Supportive husband"He is my anchor, through good days and difficult days. He is very supportive as we have grown together and transformed individually," she says.To her it is a ‘mystery’ to have walked together thus far, aware that many marriages are unstable because of the dynamic of the employed wife.Indeed, it is he who had to pack his engineer’s toolbox and follow his globe-trotting wife half way round the world. Their adult daughter Jeri lives with them in Geneva. Last year, the couple’s son Njuguna passed away. The family maintains close contact with his widow Stephanie.

Giving women a voice in church

Get Full Access for Ksh299/Week.

Stand With Bold Journalism.
Stand With The Standard.

Related Topics

Popular this week

Latest Stories

The Standard Insider

Digger Classified

GET OUR NEWSLETTER

CONNECT WITH US

FOR THE LATEST JOB ADVERTS

DIGGER JOBS

Digger Motors

Digger Real Estate

Giving women a voice in church

Get Full Access for Ksh299/Week.

Stand With Bold Journalism. Stand With The Standard.

Related Topics

Trending Now

Popular this week

Latest Stories

The Standard Insider

Digger Classified

GET OUR NEWSLETTER

CONNECT WITH US

FOR THE LATEST JOB ADVERTS

Stand With Bold Journalism.
Stand With The Standard.