The practice of prayer, with and for one another, is the first pillar of our partnership with the Iringa Diocese. If you ask our companions in Iringa, it is actually the most important practice that we share. Prayer shapes the heart and soul of our relationship with our brothers and sisters in Tanzania.
Prayer Petitions
Across the Iringa Diocese, most individual congregations pray for their companions on a weekly basis. Saint Paul Area Synod congregations can reciprocate by including prayer petitions for their companions into their weekly liturgy. Prayers can be for the general welfare of the parish or for specific individuals or special concerns that arise throughout the year.
Prayer Partners
Like pen pals, only more prayerful, a handful of Saint Paul Area Synod congregations have begun exchanging names and pictures of congregation members or families with their companions in Iringa and agree to pray for one another on a daily basis. Doing so has linked hundreds of people to one another in a shared spiritual practice. To read about one congregation’s experience doing this, read their blog.
Weekly Updates
As part of the weekly Companion News Update e-newsletter, a different congregational pairing is lifted up across the Saint Paul Area Synod to be prayed for. Even as you pray for your companions in Iringa, consider praying for other SPAS congregations and theirs. Let us be a community that supports and encourages one another in all that we do. You can also stay up-to-date through the Bega Kwa Bega blog.