Global Vision
A Journey of Service in Tanzania
Missionary Tom MacPherson, about to serve as volunteers at Irente Children’s Home in Tanzania, writes about the experience on our MinistryLink.org website: “Almost 3 years ago, a group from St. John Lutheran Church, Philadelphia, traveled to Tanzania. Susan and I were blessed to be part of that group. As we prepared to go, our church family financially supported us through fundraising, encouraged us, and most of all prayed for us. We never thought it would have such a major impact on our lives.”
LWR: Budget Cuts Target Global Aid
The $60 billion in spending cuts for the current fiscal year passed by the House last week impact global relief and development, and "human lives hang in the balance," according to Lutheran World Relief. “It is incredible to imagine that in response to the next humanitarian crisis, the next Haiti or Darfur, that our country might simply fail to show up,” says LWR Director of Public Policy and Advocacy, Annalise Romoser. “But that is precisely what could happen if this bill (H.R. 1) becomes law.”
City Couple to Serve in Tanzania
It is with great joy that we announce that Tom and Susan MacPherson, members of St. John's, Philadelphia, have been confirmed for placement as volunteeer mission personnel with our companion, the North Eastern Diocese of Tanzania. The MacPhersons will serve at the Irente Childrens Home, located in the village adjacent to Lushoto where the diocesan office is located. Please pray for Tom and Susan as they prepare for their assignment and for those who are preparing to receive them.
Companion Synods: Blessed to be Church Together
Through teaching, learning, praying and worshipping, the people of our synod have been blessed to journey together as companions with the North Eastern Diocese in Tanzania and with the Silesian Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession in the Czech Republic. Joanne Carlson, Assistant to the Bishop for Global Vision and Events, writes in an update on SEPA's global companionships. The Tanzania partnership continues to grow and deepen. Unfortunately, the Silesian church, the only one of the ELCA's 135 companionships to do so, terminated the relationship in response to the 2009 Churchwide Assembly actions on sexuality.
Global Links for December 2010
Updates on Lutheran work in Haiti and Indonesia, World AIDS Day, missionary sponsorship and much more from the ELCA Global Vision staff.
November 2010 ELCA Global Links
Lutherans are responding to natural disasters in Indonesia and Nicaragua, detailed in the latest Global Links from the ELCA. Attention preachers -- a sermon contest on food and faith may win you a trip to Geneva. Check out missionary stories, AIDS Day and Advent/Christmas resources, and more...
SEKUCo to Graduate First Class
On Dec. 4, our companion Tanzanian diocese's Sebastian Kolowa University College (SEKUCo) will graduate its first class of 135 students. Thanks to generous support from individuals and congregations in the Southeastern PA Synod, the university has expanded, with more than 1,300 students enrolled this fall.
One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism, One People
"The opportunity to bring the Word of God and to baptize in the name of the Triune God in a place far away, to a people foreign to my culture, in a language not my own, was one of the highlights of my call as a pastor and a bishop," Bishop Burkat writes about her recent safari to visit our compaion synod in Tanzania. "This was truly a time when distance narrowed, offering a glimpse into God’s amazing grace!" Click to read the Bishop's message and a diary of the journey.
Tanzania Safari 2010
As I reflect on my journey (safari) in the day-to-day account that follows, I hope you will sense the great privilege it is to be joined by Christ to this diocese, and that you will see in the lives and witness of the people, the great love of God in Christ that continues to be lavished on the world.
Video visit our newest companion congregation
Our newest congregational companion, Mikanjuni Lutheran Parish, is now connected to St Luke, Devon. From the bishop's travel diary: A band greeted us as we first were asked to sign the guest book and then were escorted into the very large sanctuary. Mikanjuni had for about 11 years been a sub-parish of Kana Lutheran Parish, companion to St. John Lutheran Church, Philadelphia (Mayfair). (Read more)
