Tennesseans Help Continue the Dream at Africa University

United Methodist missionary Larry Kies checks on cattle at Africa University's dairy farm in Mutare, Zimbabwe. The 32-member Pisgah United Methodist Church near Dresden, Tenn., has raised $1,000 to help support the dairy, which helps feed students, faculty and staff at the university. A UMNS photo by Mike DuBose.

By Cathy Farmer and Tom McAnally*

United Methodists in Nashville, Memphis and middle Tennessee are coming together in two significant events to help continue the dream at Africa University. A Nashville area celebration is planned Saturday night, September 6, at First United Methodist Church in Murray, Ky., to honor the late Mickey Carpenter, a clergyman in the Memphis Conference, and his wife Marsha Dorgan, whose passion for United Methodism's African University has transcended the distance between the two continents.

In addition, nine United Methodist churches in Middle Tennessee and one in Kentucky will participate in an Africa University Saturation Event Sunday, September 7.

With her husband’s enthusiastic support, Dorgan, an agriculturist, traveled to the campus in Zimbabwe where she proposed and helped develop a “Dream Dairy” and made plans for an innovative “Dream Farm.” The Dream Dairy, related to the school’s Faculty (College) of Agriculture and Natural Resources, has already proven valuable during difficult economic times by supplying milk and other products to the students and faculty.

Now, after Carpenter’s recent tragic death, United Methodists of the Memphis and Tennessee Annual Conferences are being offered the opportunity to “help continue the dream.”

Carpenter, who served as a pastor and district superintendent in the the Paris District of the United Methodist Church drowned in April while fishing at Bush Lake, near Huntington. He was 60. He and Marsha, married 33 years, have twin girls.

Speaking about the upcoming celebration, Dorgan said, “I hope everyone will come and listen to the speakers talk about Africa University, what it does, who it prepares for life, and what some graduates have done, so that they can understand where the money goes when they pay their apportionment for Africa University.”

She explained that 70 percent of the AU students are on financial aid or full scholarships. About 1,300 students are currently enrolled and more than 2,700 have graduated since classes began in 1992.

“I believe students at Africa University today are the future leaders of the continent of Africa tomorrow,” she said. “Some of our graduates have already gone on to serve in responsible governmental positions."

Dorgan is hoping for a full house--500 to 600 people--at the celebration in Murray. “Those who come will have the opportunity to see what the university does and how they can be part of making a difference in the future.”

Clergy and lay people from across the two-conference area are invited to participate in the event being sponsored by Nashville Area and the Development Office of Africa University. Among guest speakers will be Fanuel Tagwira, interim vice-chancellor of AU and dean of its Faculty of Agriculture and Natural Resources and an AU graduate.

Money raised at the celebration will go to the Dream Farm, a demonstration and training project for farmers, or to an endowed scholarship in the Faculty of Agriculture and Natural Resources. Congregations and individual donors are asked to mark their check for either the Dr. Mickey Carpenter Scholarship Fund or the Dream Farm.

Sunday's saturation event will be in the form of sermons, presentations in classes, or in congregational mission moments. Connecting with the bi-annual meeting of the Africa University Advisory Development Committee, several committee members will be speaking at the following United Methodist congregations in middle Tennessee: Bethlehem Franklin, Belmont, Christ Church Franklin, Connell Memorial, First Church Franklin, First Church Hendersonville, First Church Murfreesboro, Forest Hills, and Madison Street.

Prof. Fanuel Tagwira will speak at First Church, Murray, Ky. Among other presenters are Bishop Ernest Lyght, Rev. Yollande S. Mavund, , James H. Salley, Elaine Jenkins, and Rev. Lloyd Rollins. Their purpose is to thank the congregations for their support and to introduce the university to others. Presenters want to emphasize the success of AU and its critical role in the future of Africa and explain why Tennessee Christians should care about what happens globally.

About Africa University
Africa University, located in Old Mutare, Zimbabwe, is a private, Pan-African institution. An extraordinary example of good news out of Africa, the United Methodist-related university has produced more than 2,400 graduates in its brief, 15-year life, however many people don't even know it exists. The university is not only thriving, it is spreading wings, making partnerships with major institutions including St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Methodist Health Care of Memphis, and Chevron of Africa.

In 1984, two African bishops, with the support of thousands of African Methodists, issued a call to create Africa University. It opened in 1992 with 40 students in 10 temporary buildings.

The university has expanded dramatically over the years. It is unique with 25 African countries represented among the 1,300-member student body, 32 buildings on campus, including student residences, staff and faculty housing, and 119 faculty and staff from 14 countries. It offers bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Agriculture and Natural Resources, Education, Humanities and Social Sciences, Health Sciences, Management and Administration, and Theology.

Africa University is supported by individuals and congregations across the globe. To attend one of the saturation events, please contact the Africa University Development Office at 615.340.7438; email: audevoffice@gbhem.org. To learn more about Africa University, log on to http://www.africau.edu/.

*Farmer is Director of Communications for the Memphis Conference. McAnally is retired director of United Methodist News Service.

Getting There
The Dream Farm project event will be on Saturday, Sept. 6, 2008 at 6 p.m. with reception to follow. First United Methodist Church, 503 Maple Street, Murray, Kentucky. All are welcome.