Leading by example in Rwanda

PC(USA) mission co-worker models the life of a servant-leader

August 23, 2017

Rwanda is known for the genocide that swept the country more than 23 years ago, leaving the nation with an impoverished and traumatized population. But Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) mission co-worker Kay Day is focused on the future, not the past. And she believes the thoughtful theological leaders she and others are working to train will build the future.

Kay Day

Day works as a professor of theology (biblical interpretation and homiletics) at Protestant University in Rwanda. The institution is supported by five Protestant denominations, including the Presbyterian Church of Rwanda, a PC(USA) mission partner. The school opened in 2010, but its roots go back to the founding of the School of Theology of Butare years earlier. Students study divinity, education and community development. The school strives to produce graduates who will contribute to Rwanda’s spiritual, intellectual and socioeconomic life and become pillars of reconciliation, mutual respect and societal development.

The Rev. Elisee Musemakwelli, vice chancellor of the university, believes Day models the teachings of Christ inside and outside the classroom and is helping to grow the church. “Youth are present and participating in the activities of church,” he said from his office in Kigali. He called the PC(USA) partnership “a blessing” and said, “Day is a valuable member of our community.”

Day works to model servant leadership for her students, but emphasizes that Jesus is the one and only true leader of the church. “We are following him,” she said. “He was a servant leader. We need leaders to follow that example.”

Video URL:  https://vimeo.com/220502150

Prior to serving in Rwanda, Day was a mission co-worker in Malawi. She holds a bachelor of arts degree in English from Geneva College in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, a master of divinity from Pittsburgh Theological Seminary and a master’s in English from Duquesne University in Pittsburgh. She is a member of Pittsburgh Presbytery.

Kathy Melvin, Director of Mission Communications, Presbyterian Mission Agency

Today’s Focus:  Rwanda

Let us join in prayer for:

PC(USA) Agencies’ Staff

Rhonda Martin, PW                                                                                       
Dina Martinez, PMA                                   

Let us pray:

God of peace and unity, fill us with your Spirit so we may be agents of peace and unity for all those with whom we come in contact. May we experience fully the peace of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Daily Readings

Morning Psalms 15; 147:1-11
First Reading 2 Samuel 18:19-33
Second Reading Acts 23:23-35
Gospel Reading Mark 12:13-27
Evening Psalms 48; 4