Building Together

Earlier this month the Bega Kwa Bega community gathered to celebrate life together, in Christ, with our companions in the Iringa Diocese at the 2018 Fall Festival. We began the morning by building a tower out of jenga blocks. Called out two by two and three by three, in yellow and blue and green, individual pieces were gathered together and made one. We continued with an Invocation based (loosely) on Galatians 3...

L: In his letter to the Galatians, the Apostle Paul writes, '...you are all children of God through faith.  As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.  There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female, for, in Christ...'

C: We are all made one

L: There is no longer American nor Tanzanian, no longer Norwegian nor Swede nor German, no longer Hehe nor Maasai nor Bena, for, in Christ...

C: We are all made one

L: There is no longer rich nor poor, no longer strong nor weak, no longer the haves and the have nots, for, in Christ...

C: We are all made one

L: In our uniqueness and our specificity, with our wants and our needs and our strengths and our skills, we strive to walk side-by-side and shoulder to shoulder, for, in Christ...

C: We are all made one.

L: Amen.

This opening act was a simple reminder of what this Bega Kwa Bega relationship is all about - people of faith united across continents and cultures, made One in Christ and our common work as co-participants in God's mission.

Recommitting ourselves to that work was one of our final gestures as well. During the sending worship service participants were asked to describe actions they intend to take to further build and strengthen this relationship. People responded by saying that they would pray for their companions, support youth and young adult travelers, serve on committees, volunteer more of their time, and on and on. In order for us to learn from one another, you'll notice commitments being shared in the right-hand column of the Companion News Update in the weeks and months to come. As you read them I urge you to pause - offering prayers of encouragement for the one made the commitment and considering whether a similar action might be appropriate for you. This is how we build together.

With grace and peace,

-peter

The Rev. Peter Harrits

Director of Bega Kwa Bega & Assistant to the Bishop