David Ofumbi
David Ofumbi (MDiv 2008) came to PSR from Uganda, where he was ordained as a deacon and, in 1997, made a priest in the Charismatic Episcopal Church. He then attended Reform Theological College, in Kampala, where in 2000 he met visiting PSR musical director Aerie Lee and found out about the seminary. He applied and was accepted, and was able to come here because of financial help from the Chinese Community United Method Church, in Oakland, and scholarships from PSR.
"I came to PSR because of its emphasis on social justice," says Ofumbi. "In Africa, the majority of the people are disadvantaged. I came here with the question, How do you tailor a ministry to reach out to the majority of the poor and neglected? Central to what I learned at PSR is the importance of context, or social location, and the need to develop an appropriate theology that addresses particular problems.
"Before, I only knew spiritual renewal of the people; now I know that our actions create structures that disenfranchise people. And as much as we need to deal with individuals, we also need to deal with the systems and the structures. This knowledge has allowed me to develop my theology in a manner that benefits the people, that empowers them. I found that social justice is basically about empowering people so that they can learn what they can do for themselves. To me, that is the centerpiece of social justice. This school has helped me to know that the social, political, and economic structures matter, and that we must address all of them as well as the individual."
