EYN Classroom Building to Be Dedicated

As 2018 begins, the educational partnership between Ekklesiyar Yan’uwa a Nigeria (EYN) and Bethany Theological Seminary is welcoming its first students into the classroom. Six members of EYN are enrolled in Global Perspectives on Scripture: 1 Corinthians, being held at Bethany in Richmond, Indiana. From their new technology classroom building in Jos, they are joining eleven North American students at Bethany via Zoom in real time.

To mark this milestone, a dedication for the classroom building is being held on Monday, January 8, from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. in Nigeria (4:00-6:00 a.m. EST). The ceremony will be webcast live at www.youtube.com/channel/UC92CpmN4oWKIS8jl3pGlPCw/live, and the link will be posted on Bethany’s website at www.bethanyseminary.edu/webcasts.

Bethany will be represented at the dedication ceremony by Jeff Carter, president; Mark Lancaster, executive director of institutional advancement; and Musa Mambula, international scholar in residence and member of EYN who has assisted in developing the partnership. Carter will deliver an address as part of the program. A majority of the EYN leadership and 200 dignitaries from across Nigeria will also be in attendance.

Built between July and December 2017, the technology building has two classrooms and kitchen and restroom facilities. Modeled after the technology classrooms at Bethany, each classroom has a large monitor that allows viewers to see all the Bethany students half a world away. Mounted cameras allow those in the Bethany classroom to see their Nigerian counterparts as well. The construction was made possible by the generous support of members and congregations of the Church of the Brethren. A photo gallery of the construction process is at bethanyseminary.edu/educational-partnership-with-eyn/gallery-tech-center-construction/.

The EYN leadership and Bethany representatives will also be meeting during the afternoons of January 7 and 8 to discuss ways to strengthen the educational partnership, including the establishment of an advisory committee.