Read letters from Debbie Blane
March 2012
February 2012
January 12, 2012
October 2011
September 4, 2011
August 2011
July 2011
June 2011
May 3, 2011
April 28, 2011
March 23, 2011
February 22, 2011
November 20, 2010
September 1, 2010
August 22, 2010
July 2010
May 14, 2010
April 24, 2010
March 7, 2010
February 15, 2010
January 17, 2010
December 17, 2009
November 25, 2009
For older letters, contact Mission Connections
The Rev. Debbie Blane
Presbyterian Church of Sudan (PCOS)
C/O Nile Theological College
P.O. Box 40
Malakal
Upper Nile Province
South Sudan
Email: Debbie Blane
Blog: Debbie’s Journey Continues
Subscribe to Debbie Blane's letters
Debbie serves a lecturer in theology at Nile Theological College (NTC) in Malakal, Republic of South Sudan. She teaches a wide range of programs to prepare pastors to serve in Presbyterian churches.
After Sudan gained independence in 1956, conflict gripped the nation until — through the courageous struggle of the Sudanese people — the Comprehensive Peace agreement was signed in 2005. This agreement gave the people of South Sudan the chance to determine whether they wanted to become a separate nation; they voted overwhelmingly to do so in January 2011.
NTC was founded in 1991 by two Presbyterian churches, the Sudan Evangelical Presbyterian Church, which has its roots in Egypt, and the Presbyterian Church of the Sudan. Together they provide a Christian witness of hope to this deeply troubled nation. NTC provides training and education in English and Arabic for the churches of Sudan, principally in the northern region of Sudan.
Prior to accepting the call to serve in Sudan, Debbie worked for two years (2007-2009) with the Amity program in China. She was assigned to the China Pharmaceutical University in Nanjing, China, where she taught oral English to first- and second-year English majors.
“I did not see China coming,” writes Debbie. “I felt called to international ministry and to college campus ministry. Teaching English is a bit off the beaten path for a minister, but what I found in my student teaching experience at St. Michael’s College is that when I am with the students it feels as it did when I was at Trinity Lutheran College in a pastoral role — natural and fulfilling. I do not stop being a minister while teaching English; I am just doing God’s work in a different setting.”
Download a prayer card that lifts up the work of Debbie Blane and partners in Sudan
Prior to her departure for China, Debbie held an uncompensated position at Trinity Lutheran College as assistant to the Biblical Studies Department, where she did pastoral care, mentoring and vocational counseling for preseminary students. Prior to this call, Debbie describes herself as a “full-time mom and student,” having returned to college in 1992 and to seminary in 1997.
Debbie has a Master of Divinity from Fuller Theological Seminary in Seattle, Washington, and a bachelor’s in Biblical studies from Trinity Lutheran College in Issaquah, Washington. To prepare for her work with Amity, she studied in the Applied Linguistics Department at St. Michael’s College in Burlington, Vermont, in the English as a Second Language diploma program.
Debbie was ordained to the ministry of Word and Sacrament on September 29, 2002, by the Presbytery of Cascades.
She is the mother of two adult children, a son, Andrew, who works for a cell phone company in Sammamish, Washington, and a daughter, Elizabeth, a college student, who was married to James Fischl two days before Debbie left for her ESL training in Vermont. Debbie co-officiated at Elizabeth and James’ wedding.
Birthday: August 26