Samuel Dali joins Bethany seminary community

Church of the Brethren Newsline
September 7, 2018

Samuel Dali

Samuel Dante Dali of Nigeria is serving as current international scholar in residence at Bethany Theological Seminary in Richmond, Ind. He and his wife, Rebecca, arrived the first week of August and will remain in residence through the end of December.

Samuel Dali served as president of Ekklesiyar Yan’uwa a Nigeria (Church of the Brethren in Nigeria) from 2011 to 2016, the period when EYN was most severely affected by violence from Boko Haram. A theological scholar, Dali has served as academic dean and head of the Department of Church History at the Theological College of Northern Nigeria and as chairman of its governing council. He has also held the positions of lecturer and treasurer at Kulp Bible College.

He is also known for his work in peacebuilding and advocacy with ecumenical, interfaith, and political entities in northeastern Nigeria, especially with internally displaced peoples. He has pastured the EYN congregation in the city of Jos and is a member of the Interfaith Forum against corruption. He earned a Bachelor of Arts from McPherson (Kan.) College, a Master of Theology (M.A.Th.) from Bethany, and a Ph.D. in theology and church history from the University of Birmingham (England).

Dali will attend selected classes and join discussions during his time at Bethany. He is also working on two books, the first of which addresses the political theology of Anabaptism and its historical position of refraining from involvement in government, and the challenges this poses for Nigerian society. The second will document 100 years of peaceful service and influence of the Church of the Brethren in northern Nigeria, a mission that began in 1923.

Rebecca Dali, who has received international recognition for her humanitarian work with the oppressed in Nigeria, will work on a book that recounts how women and children often suffer the brunt of insurgency and violence in northern Nigeria, drawing on her doctoral research and her work with the Centre for Caring, Empowerment, and Peace Initiatives, which she founded in 1989.

During his residency, Samuel Dali is open to speaking engagements around the denomination. To extend an invitation, contact Mark Lancaster, assistant to the president for strategic initiatives, at 765-983-1805 or lancama@bethanyseminary.edu.

Go to www.brethren.org/Newsline to subscribe to the Church of the Brethren Newsline free e-mail news service and receive church news every week.

[gt-link lang="en" label="English" widget_look="flags_name"]