Women's Spiritual Leadership in Africa by Faith Wambura Ngunjiri

Author:Faith Wambura Ngunjiri [Ngunjiri, Faith Wambura]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Social Science, Women's Studies, Ethnic Studies, General
ISBN: 9781438429786
Google: ikfru3xCQE8C
Publisher: SUNY Press
Published: 2010-02-23T03:56:56+00:00

Mombo was discriminated against on several counts: age, gender, and marital status. Within Christian institutions in Kenya, age is revered; being married with children is next to godliness—her experience with age and “childlessness discrimination” resonates with my own. This is a product of both African traditions, where family is of paramount importance, and mission Christianity, which advocates for women's most important work being wives and mothers. As such, even though Mombo had a master's degree, getting a job and obtaining suitable living quarters was a struggle. But Mombo was convinced that what she was doing was important—it was a compelling and divine mission to help train clergy for the church in that region of the country. Her relationship with God gave her the strength to persevere through the many struggles. Whereas she is not ordained at present, Mombo felt that it was necessary for the church to ordain women to enable them to become effective and credible leaders in the church. As such, she undertook a crusade to convince the diocese to begin ordaining women, and since she was not asking them to ordain her, she became a credible campaigner: “While in that diocese I initiated the whole dialogue on the ordination of women. Between 1985 and 1995, I spoke about it in every synod. And at first they would chase me and tell me to go away and get a husband. I made a lot of mistakes back then, coz I was young and didn't know how to play the game. I began politicking coz I realized you had to find ways to gain the men's trust. By 1990 they had agreed in principle that they would ordain women, so it was working. By the time I was leaving to go and study for my Ph.D. I knew change was inevitable.”

In spite of her many mistakes, perhaps because zeal without knowledge is a dangerous thing, Mombo managed to get the diocesan leaders to consider ordaining women. Eventually, she succeeded in convincing them, and the Anglican Church in Kenya was among the first mainline denominations to ordain women. In addition to her success with this vision, she had also managed to elevate the status of her family by building them a good house and supporting her siblings in accessing educational opportunities. Afterward, Mombo managed to get another scholarship, this time to undertake doctoral studies at Edinburgh University, Scotland, where she undertook research on women's contribution to the growth of the church in Kenya. Upon her return, she faced the challenges she had left behind; how to get a fitting job within church-related institutions: “When I returned, again, I couldn't get a job. Because I have been within the church and I wasn't one to go back to public universities, coz I felt that I had been with the church and I wanted to contribute to the church, I want[ed] to critique the church from inside. I job hunted and taught in various places for a while. Then I saw a job advert in St.

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