Kwame Bediako (1945-2008), one of the founders of INFEMIT, was one of the foremost African scholars and theologians of the 20th century and served as Rector of the Akrofi-Christaller Institute for Theology, Mission and Culture in Akropong, Ghana. We interviewed his mentee and friend, Benhardt Quarshie, to learn about and highlight Bediako’s significant contributions to the Global Church.
In this article, Nina Mantalaba offers a short reflection that demonstrates the Stott-Bediako forum as process of growing and learning together despite physical distance. She weaves together her own discoveries and the questions and reflections offered by participants throughout the forum (shown on digital post-its).
Many Christians in the West emphasize peace-making and reconciliation as a way to address the ongoing Palestine-Israel conflict. While no one can deny that peace-making is surely an integral part of our mission (e.g., Matthew 5:9), the way many Christians, especially among evangelicals, approach it is problematic.
In this interview for the Stott-Bediako Forum, Julián Guamán and Peter Wigginton share stories from the Kichwa-Andean worldview that demonstrate co-existence between cultures. The Kichwa-Andean creation care narrative provides an example of how to work towards peace.
This project looks into the history and meaning of the liturgical year and highlights key symbols and elements that represent it. Simultaneously, it explores the Andean culture of Bolivia, in particular, their millenary tradition of weaving. It then juxtaposes these two studies and finds the places where similarities and differences can be drawn out, especially notions of time, seasons, festivities, traditions and art. These concepts are creatively translated into a contemporary graphic design medium with visual symbols that become systematic patterns, resembling those found in the textile art of these cultures.
Following the paths of indigenous memory allows us to understand the living memories of indigenous peoples. The indigenous peoples of Abya Yala (Latin America) have a vast memory of celebration, resistance, lament and insurgency. They have co-inhabited with the Creator Community from an ethic of reciprocity, integrality and complementarity.
Reflections from the Book of Ecclesiastes Tony Deik The founding of the State of Israel is remembered by the indigenous people of Palestine as the Nakba (catastrophe). To establish the Jewish state, the Zionists had to ethnically cleanse Palestine from … Continued