The Ethiopian Church Journal Blog

Liberty to Captives And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. [Jesus] unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written, The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor. And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. And he began to say to them, Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing. Luke 4:17-21 [T]hat through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery. Hebrews 2:14-15 To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and t

Rembrandt, 1627 Then [Jesus] said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” And he told them this parable:  “The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop. He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’ “Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’ “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’ “This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God.” [Luke 12: 15-21]

A Hamlin Tribe by the Rivers of Ethiopia: Book Review By Mitiku Adisu   A 1958 ad in The Lancet read: "A gynecologist wanted to set up a school of midwifery for nurses in the Princess Tsehai Memorial Hospital in Addis Ababa." Reginald Hamlin [d. 1993], a New Zealander, his obstetrician Australian wife Catherine, and their 6-year-old son Richard answered the call.The prospects for decent pay were not promising, but they came anyhow because they loved Jesus and had a burning desire to help the poor. This is 53 years ago and counting!   In 1974, the Hamlins established a separate hospital to fully focus on fistula patients; a fistula is when obstructed labor tears the bladder and the uterus. Women in this situation were effectively pushed to the margins of society for the rest of their brief lives, until the Hamlins began their work. And then, one by one, they came to find relief from pain and shame, and an abiding hope in Christ. Every year, sufferers by the hundreds tra