Pray with Indonesia, December 7, 2025

Lectionary Selection: Matthew 24:36-44

Prayers for Indonesia

Dear God, the Holy and blessed Trinity, we pray for Indonesia.

We thank you for the gift of this beautiful country and for blessing us with diversity. Please bless Indonesia, so that it truly lives up to its motto, Bhinneka Tunggal Ika (Unity in Diversity). Often, our people embrace “unity in uniformity.” This situation leads to conflict and a perpetual cycle of violence. Please grant us your grace for the victims and survivors of violence throughout Indonesian history and their families. Please strengthen marginalized groups excluded from society, who must endure multiple layers of oppression in the postcolonial context. Pour out your wisdom to the leaders of the nation and churches in Indonesia to stand in solidarity with the reality of oppression that continues to this day.

We pray for our university, Universitas Kristen Duta Wacana (Duta Wacana Christian University/UKDW) in Yogyakarta. May UKDW continue to be blessed to be a blessing, in our active and transformative waiting for the coming of Christ as presented in Matthew 24:36-44.

We pray for seven faculties and sixteen study programs in UKDW and the twelve supporting church synods of UKDW. We also pray for the plan of UKDW to build an Academic Hospital and expand the second Campus in Sedayu, Bantul Regency, Yogyakarta. We also ask for God’s blessings so that the annual student intake can meet the specified target number.

May the ministry, education, and community service of UKDW and all its supporting church synods be blessed by your grace. May your grace always guide all of us, from now until forever. AMEN.

Mission Moment from Indonesia

Universitas Kristen Duta Wacana (Duta Wacana Christian University/UKDW) was founded in 1985 as an extension of the Duta Wacana Theological College, customarily referred to as STTh Duta Wacana. UKDW has demonstrated its achievements by upgrading its Higher Education Accreditation status from “A” to UNGGUL, the highest level in Indonesia, by the National Accreditation Board for Higher Education (BAN-PT). UKDW prides itself on its numerous study programs that have achieved high accreditation, affirming the quality standards of higher education it implements.

Support for UKDW comes not only from the government but also from the churches. There are twelve supporting church synods of UKDW: the synod of the Javanese Christian Church (GKJ), the Pasundan Christian Church (GKP), the Indonesian Christian Church in the regions of West Java, East Java, and Central Java (GKI SW Jawa Barat, Jawa Tengah, and Jawa Timur), the Protestant Church in the Western part of Indonesia (GPIB), the Christian Church of Sumba (GKS), the Christian Church of Southern Sumatera (GKSBS), the Protestant Christian Church in Bali (GKPB), the East Jawa Christian Church (GKJ), the Muria Christian Church in Indonesia (GKMI), and the Evangelical Church in Java (GITJ).

Currently, UKDW has seven faculties and sixteen study programs. On October 30, 2023, UKDW laid the groundwork, marking the start of construction on the second campus in Sedayu, Bantul Regency, Yogyakarta, which spans an area of nearly ten hectares. The plan is to build an Academic Hospital and expand the second Campus on this land. This physical infrastructure is expected to support the implementation of UKDW’s strategic plan as a trusted and sustainable educational institution.

UKDW is well known for prioritizing the values of an inclusive, transformative, and sustainable Christian university, fostering the development of a humanistic, cultured, and adaptive generation in a pluralistic world through the integration of Christian values, science, and technology. In the spirit of Christian contextual theology, UKDW continues to conduct impactful research that supports humanitarian values, engages in community service, and implements and disseminates science and technology for community development. It is hoped that UKDW can build an academic community that embodies Christian values within Indonesia’s rich cultural heritage and maintains a global perspective.

UKDW has an especial connection with Global Ministries, and the United Church of Christ as Professor Tjaard G. Hommes and Anne Hommes taught at Duta Wacana for twelve years as missionaries from the United Church Board for World Ministries. Upon their retirement from Duta Wacana, Tjaard and Anne Hommes have created an endowment for supporting theological students from Duta Wacana and other theological schools and churches in Indonesia.

As a female pastor and professor from UKDW, I have personally reflected on my understanding of mission. I understand that the true mission is to “give life to all,” welcoming all people and fellow creatures (beyond anthropocentric boundaries). In this mission, God challenges all attempts to exert dominance within oppressive power relations. This understanding of mission aligns with the partnership with the Disciples of Christ and the United Church of Christ through Global Ministries. I received a scholarship for my PhD progam at Fordham University, New York, USA. This year, I completed my studies with very satisfying results. As the first woman pastor to earn a PhD, a doctoral degree from abroad in my church synod, my achievements undoubtedly have a significant impact on the church synod and on UKDW, which educates future church, school, and community leaders, especially those from the twelve supporting synods.

Furthermore, my dissertation will also be published in English, as I have received a special award for it. Of course, its impact will be significant for me, GPIB, UKDW, the Disciples of Christ, and the United Church of Christ, as well as for the people I serve, and in the global context. My dissertation examines transgenerational femimemories (feminist memories) from the first to the third generation in the context of human rights violations in Indonesia (the 1965 Tragedy) and its implications for Christian religious education. In the dissertation writing, I also focus on reflexivity as I track my own journey, agency, and authority in a church setting that has been hostile to women’s leadership and in a social setting marked by a struggle for and against women’s full social equality. This aligns with God’s mission to welcome all as a gift in God’s grace.

Prayer and Mission Moment written by Rev. Jeniffer F. P. Wowor, PhD., an Assistant Professor of Christian Religious Education and Practical Theology, with the Faculty of Theology, Universitas Kristen Duta Wacana, Yogyakarta, and a pastor with the Gereja Protestan di Indonesia bagian Barat (GPIB, the Protestant Church in the Western part of Indonesia).

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