Indonesia’s church topic at seminary

BANGOR — The Bangor Theological Seminary will feature an address on the church in Indonesia by the Rev. Dr. John Campbell-Nelson, titled, “Our Common Humanity: Learning from a Third World Church,” at its opening convocation at 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 10.

“You can learn much more about Christianity when you see and experience how it develops in a context different to your own,” Campbell-Nelson said.

Campbell-Nelson worked with the Timorese, a small agrarian and cattle raising tribal culture in Timor, Indonesia, from 1983 to 1995.

Indonesia, the fourth-largest country in the world, has the largest Muslim population of any country. It has experienced a severe economic crisis after the fall of President Suharto in May. Nearly 50 percent of the population lives below the poverty line.

Now on leave of absence, Campbell-Nelson serves as pastor of Robbins Memorial Congregational Church and Whately Congregational Church, both in Massachusetts. He is a graduate of the School of Theology at Claremont, Calif., and is an editor and contributor to six books published in Indonesia.

Campbell-Nelson has been a member of the theology faculty of Artha Wacana Christian University in Timor, Indonesia, and a minister of the Evangelical Protestant Church of Timor since 1983. He and his wife, Karen, are missionaries of the Common Board of Global Ministries of the United Church of Christ and the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).

The Campbell-Nelsons will return to Indonesia in January 1999.