The months of April and May have been a rich time to be in Iringa! The days are sunny and sometimes windy in Iringa Town. The rural areas in the southern highlands are still experiencing rain and muddy roads. The scenery is lush and green, and crops are on track for a good harvest. Sunflowers, hibiscus, iris, the bottle brush trees (callistemon) and more are all in bloom. God is good, all the time.
- I’m grateful for long, deep conversations I’ve had with diocese leaders and with the Bega Kwa Bega team. We have had time to share thoughts about our work together and dream of some new things to come. We’ve reviewed priorities and procedures, and we are grateful to be “on the same page, in the same book” as Pastor Msigwa likes to say.
- The BKB team has reviewed office procedures, requests, and payment processes to ensure that our practices are consistent no matter who is staffing the Iringa office. We are so grateful for our volunteers rotating in and out, with their experience and love for this work. This year, that’s Russ Hilliard and Jo Whiting for June and July, and Helen Yotter and Christy Baum for October into November. And a special thanks goes to Frank Mkocha, who steps up during times between our staffers.
- Signs of a growing capacity are all around as the Iringa Diocese lives into its vision of being “a grown and self-sustaining Lutheran church boldly proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ.” Parishes continue to grow, to pursue evangelism goals, and to take steady steps toward some big projects. Parishes are planning and implementing revenue-generating projects like avocado farms and guesthouses; the size and scope of new construction is impressive; and the diocese has been energetically raising funds for a large project on the land adjacent to the Lutheran Center.
- I’m so grateful for the schedule that our diocese friends arrange for my visits. Pastor Msigwa and I make a list of parishes to visit, projects to check on, Zoom meetings to host, and meetings to hold. Bishop Gavile gave me a schedule of parishes to visit each Sunday. The visits and communication are strengthening our companionship, both at the congregational and the synod level.
- Coming up in early June – we are hosting a Zoom meeting for congregational leaders who want to hear how we can support the rural dispensaries situated throughout the diocese. The diocese health minister, Dr. Petro Lusasi, will join friends from Shoulder to Shoulder and Global Health Ministries on the call. Want an invitation to the conversation? Contact me at kirsten.levorson@spas-elca.org.
- Meanwhile, in Minnesota, cluster leaders distributed student lists and financial reports this month. As always, please let me know if you have questions about your reports. When I review them, I am so grateful for the signs of love, commitment, ministry, and deep relationship that I see when I read between the numbers. Through your gifts, God is doing great things with this companionship.
- I am deeply grateful for the leadership of Pastor Lynda Thompson, who recently retired from her role as chair of the BKB Scholarship and Education team. Under her leadership, our education support has expanded from helping just one student at a time through secondary scholarships to also providing scholarships to students in unpartnered parishes, initiating a process for review and awarding post-secondary scholarships, developing teacher training seminars for diocese secondary school teachers, and investing in infrastructure at diocese schools (like the science labs in the item below). Thank you, Lynda, for your love and commitment to this work together! Welcome to Marie Liberda (Trinity, Stillwater), our new chairperson of the Scholarship & Education team.
- Finally, what a joy it was to host a watch party so that our Tanzanian friends could join me for the livestream of Synod Assembly! Our friends have been praying for a year that God would guide and bless the assembly and the bishop election process. On Friday and Saturday evenings starting at 5 p.m., we gathered to watch and pray late into the evening. We sent a couple short videos greeting the assembly, and when the election results were announced, a video of singing, dancing, and rejoicing as only our Tanzanian friends can do. (Click here for video 1 and here for video 2.) They send words of deep gratitude for these years of companionship under the leadership of Bishop Patricia Lull, and words of welcome to Bishop-Elect Justin Grimm. We are praying that Bishop Gavile and General Secretary Shadrack Nyaulingo can join us in Minnesota for the installation of our new bishop on Sept. 13. What a day that will be!
God is good, all the time. All the time, God is good.
Tupo Pamoja,
Kirsten Levorson
Director of Bega Kwa Bega
