The CTSA remembers and prays for Teresia Mbari Hinga.
Eternal rest grant unto Teresia, O Lord,
and let perpetual light shine upon her.
May she rest in peace. Amen.
Dr. Teresia Mbari Hinga Funeral Mass Service
Provided by Teresia Hinga's family to the CTSA through Theresa A. Yugar
Dr. Teresia Mbari Hinga’s funeral mass services are scheduled for Wednesday April 5th, 2023, 11:30am at St. Celestine Church, 3020 North 76th Court, Elmwood Park, Illinois. Officiated by Father Paul Kalenzi and Father Stan Chu Ilo.
The Kenyan funeral service is scheduled for Tuesday April 4th, 2023, in Ndumberi Kiambu.
Teresia Mbari Hinga was born January 25, 1955, as the youngest of seven children to her late parents Agnes Wairimu and Ernest Hinga in the village of Ndumberi, Kiambu in British-occupied Kenya. She was sister to her late siblings: Zita Nyambura, Norbert Kamau, Regina Wang’eri, Alphonse Mungai and Stephen Chege. She was a loving mother, grandmother, and godmother who protected her children and helped them flourish with her grand sense of humor, love of song, and faith in God. As a single mother who balanced her professional life with her home life, she is survived by her two beautiful children: son Anthony Hinga, daughter Pauline Wairimu Kenly, her son in-law Thom Kenly and her two grandchildren, Zoe and Nia Kenly, all in Chicago. In Kenya she is survived by her brother Michael Machua, her many nieces, nephews, cousins, relatives, friends, and colleagues.
Dr. Teresia Mbari Hinga earned a B.Ed. in English Literature and Religious Studies which she passed with first class honors from Kenyatta University in Nairobi, Kenya, and an M.A. in Religious Studies from Nairobi University. She earned a Ph.D. in Religious Studies/African Christianity from the University of Lancaster in England in 1990. She was an African Christian feminist who pioneered the fields of African feminist theology and ethics. Dr. Hinga was an Associate Professor of Religion at Santa Clara University, California (2005-2023). Before that, she had joined DePaul University, Chicago in 1994-2005 having previously taught at Kenyatta University in Nairobi Kenya (1987-1994).
Service for her began at home supporting family members with their financial needs for education and medical purposes.Beyond that, she was a devoted friend to her home village of Ndumberi - Kiambu, finding seed money for local farmers, planting and growing trees, facilitating training for rainwater harvesting and organic farming methods.
She was a dedicated professor of religion and a welcoming friend who mentored hundreds of students and young scholars and promoted the scholarship of fellow professors, making them feel welcomed, known and heard. Dr. Hinga was a founding member of the Circle of Concerned African Women Theologians in Accra, Ghana in 1989. She promoted the Circle throughout her career. She was also a founding member and on the executive committee of the African Association of the Study of Religion (AASR), a member of the American Academy of Religion (AAR), the Catholic Theological Society of America (CTSA), she was on the board of the Journal of Global Catholicism and a member of the Catholic Theological Ethics in the World Church (CTEWC) Network until her death.
She bowed to a protracted battle with cancer on the March 31st, 2023, at Chicago Illinois, surrounded by her family and friends after receiving all the Catholic rites by Fr. Paul Kalenzi and Fr. Stan Chu Ilo.
We would like to invite you contribute towards Dr. Teresia Mbari Hinga’s funeral expenses. Through the following methods:
Zelle: phkenly@yahoo.com or CashApp: Pauline Kenly $profTeresia2023
Dr. Hinga was born in Kenya. She received a B.Ed. in English Literature and Religious Studies from Kenyatta University in Nairobi, Kenya, and an M.A. in Religious Studies from Nairobi University, also in Kenya. She earned a Ph.D. in Religious Studies/African Christianity from the University of Lancaster in England. Her thesis on the role of women in African Christianity focused on women's power and liberation in the African Independent Church. Dr. Hinga's research focuses on religion and women's issues, particularly in Africa, African religious history, and expression in the global religious landscape, religion and public policy, and the ethics of globalization. She is a founding member of the "Circle of Concerned African Women Theologians," a pan-African association of women who study the role and impact of religion and culture on African women's lives. She is also a member of the Black Catholic Symposium of the AAR and of the Association for the Academic Study of Religion in Africa (AASR).
Dr. Hinga joined the Santa Clara University faculty in 2005 and teaches courses on women and religion, feminist theologies, African religions and society, and religion and contemporary moral issues.
Above reference provided through the The Department of Religious Studies', Santa Clara University, website (Accessed 3/31/23 < https://www.scu.edu/cas/religious-studies/faculty--staff/teresia-hinga/>
CTSA Contributions include:
"Women Healing Earth: Revisiting Rosemary Radford Ruether's Work on Moral Agency & Ecological Ethics among Women of the Global South", Proceedings of the CTSA, 72.
"A Response to Gerald M. Boodoo's 'Space of Possibility' Toward Another Possible Nonviolent World: Recognizing the Gift and Insights of 'Glo-cal' Theologies", Proceedings of the CTSA 74, 62-70.
"Bioethics & Healthcare Ethics: Prophetic Healthcare Ethics: A Panel Discussion on Catholic Women Theologians on the HIV/AIDS Pandemic", Proceedings of the CTSA 65.
"Catholic Theologies, Intrafaith Dialogue, and Pluarlism", Proceedings of the CTSA, 61.
