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PRESBYTERIAN
WINTER 2023
presbyterian.ca
Mission Staff to Nepal
By the Rev. Lora Nafziger, PCC mission staff with United Mission to Nepal
I keep a journal of poetry, and one of my favourite poets is Mary Oliver. She has been an important companion to me, along with her instructions for life: “Pay atten- tion/Be astonished/tell about it.” And her description of these three things we need to be able to do: “love what is mortal/and hold it against your bones knowing/that your own life depends on it/and when the time comes to let it go/ let it go.” These have been impor- tant guides to me.
These words also describe the decision that my spouse, Mitch, and I made to accept positions with the United Mission to Nepal
(UMN) in Kathmandu, begin- ning in January 2024. We heard almost simultaneously an invita- tion to consider an appointment with UMN from The Presbyterian Church in Canada to provide pas- toral care and counselling to the expatriate community working for UMN, while Mitch learned that the school he had been teaching in for over 20 years was closing. Those two events opened new space and possibility within us.
We began taking next steps: checking in with our kids and my dear pastoral colleagues, with our families and a few close discern- ing friends. We walked through each open door, and every hurdle was gently put aside until we ar- rived at a place of trepidation and delight with job offers, housing
options and funding pieces all lin- ing up in unexpected ways. There is so much gentle confirmation of the rightness of this for us, even amid the difficulty of leaving a community that has loved us so deeply it is painful to say good- bye. I do think this means that our hearts and spirits are working well, loving well, and paying at- tention well.
We would be joining a journey that I would say is a part of a larger Christian journey. The ex- pansion of the “people of God” in the Hebrew Bible was primar- ily enacted through biological reproduction. But those relations are not the ones we expect—al- ways there is someone outside, always a relative on the margins, and Jesus continues that expan- sive model of kinship, and one is adopted into the family of God through decision and actions. And so, in our leaving and our arriving, we adopt each other literally and figuratively.
The community of faith and connection grows. And the Reign of God comes to pass, if we only pay attention and tell about it. We come to see the Reign of God pre- sent and in those around us. But it is something to work toward, a
The Rev. Lora Nafziger and her family.
longing and ever-present move- ment toward a world where the structures of evil and division no longer exist—a new earth and a new heaven, where Peter’s vision comes to pass and we know that the commandments to love one another result in mutuality and justice as the norms for living, and are not only ethics of the idealistic or the weak. It is the world where
Connection
United Mission to Nepal
Established in 1954, UMN is a long-standing partner of the PCC. It is a cooperative effort between the people of Nepal and a large number of faith-based organizations from nearly 20 countries on four continents. UMN strives to help all Nepalis achieve a fuller life through medical and community development programs.
God flourishes and is apparent in the moments of the incarnation, in relationality and communion, in coming together in diversity. This is what we hope for in our leaving and our coming. May we in our place, and you in yours, be part of the ongoing work of God.
And may we remember to “Pay attention/Be astonished/tell about it,” wherever we find ourselves.
A story to be remembered
Continued from page 37
was Nigeria’s problem, McDon- ald said, “But Pierre, if thousands of people in Québec were being bombed, were dying and being starved by their own country, would you want the rest of the world to just stand by?”
Operations Lights Out is a lit- tle known but inspiring story—a true, gritty, Good Samaritan re- sponse that saved over a million people. It’s a story to be remem- bered, to talk about, to change us.
Possible discussion questions
• The film’s host, Angela On- uora, grew up in Nigerian schools and claims that the story of the Biafran War was deliberately excluded from history class. Why do you think this happens? Can you think of parallels in our own Canadian history?
• What motivates people to fight for others who are vulnerable and suffering? What evidence is there of suffering in today’s world and in our community? How can we move from con- cern to action?
• The Rev. Dr. Richard Fee comments on the unusual alliance between a group of Christian relief workers and a gun-runner pilot, which blurred the line between humanitarianism and milita- rism. Is it wise and ethical to use dubious methods for a
A war victim in a Biafra hospital in 1968. There was a tragic scarcity of bandages, disinfectants and medicines of all kinds, which the churches attempted to help with through airlifts. PHOTO CREDITS: THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH ARCHIVES
How to watch the film
Operation Lights Out may be rented for a small fee from Vimeo, an on-demand video service. It is 1.5 hours long and the executive producers are Angela Nnenne Onuora, the Rev. Dr. Richard Fee and Dr. John Obiora Onuora.
greater good?
As a result of the Biafran War,
several non-governmental agen- cies, including Doctors Without Borders, arose and put in place international protocols of stand- ards for the protection and care of vulnerable populations in times of war and disaster. When you re- member disasters—either small or large—where have you seen good arise from tragedy?
Damaged buildings after an air raid on a town in Biafra, 1968.