The mission of OFM is to provide ministry education in places where such education is hard to get.  Classes have started in Geita, an African town around 100 kilometers south and west of Mwanza.  Geita contains the only working gold mine in Tanzania.  The gold mine is a big operation.

There are two Anglican churches in Geita itself, a larger one in the center of the city, a smaller one on the outskirts, and many other Anglican churches in the surrounding area.  I teach at the larger church in Geita, Christ the King, whose pastor is named Mathias.  He is the biggest supporter of the classes.  I currently stay with a local family.

The classes are held in the church itself.  High temperatures often drive us outside to under a large shade tree. Rain occasionally drives us back into the church.  There are 20 students, none of who speak any English, all who come from different Anglican churches in the area.  All students are evangelists, each pastoring a church under the infrequent and distant supervision of a priest-pastor.  From the data sheets I collected, the highest education level attained was 7th grade by the way we measure.  Only by grace, by some knowledge of Scripture, and by personal hard work do they succeed as pastors.

One day, I asked some questions of my students.  All 20 of them are lay people, evangelists and church teachers.   Priests rarely come to their churches. All the students normally lead Sunday services, doing a service of the Word.  In reality, they are the pastors. I asked each to describe the ministry at their church, how many members they had, and what was their average Sunday attendance.  These 18 people pastor over 2,500 people and collectively serve an average of 2,000 people on Sunday.  In one way, they may be big enough to qualify as a diocese in the new Anglican Province in North America!

An important moment occurred on Tuesday. I had perceived some feelings of inferiority among my students and I was asked, “Why is it that some parishes are pastored by priests and some parishes are pastored by evangelists?”   I thought – Oh this is an important question.  Lord, help me to give them your answer.

The reply, “In the Anglican Communion, the churches of most countries do not have evangelists in the same way as you do.  In those countries, almost every parish has a priest who is supposed to be the evangelist.  Here in Africa, you do not have enough priests for all parish churches because the education system cannot support the development of all those who might be called by God to be a priest.  Yet, God wants to provide ministry and leadership for his people.  In Lake Victoria, a boat without a rudder wanders aimlessly about, subject to every wind and wave, and cannot complete the journey.  A church without leadership and ministry is like a boat without a rudder on Lake Victoria.  So, God gives a gift to each parish without a priest; He gives them an evangelist to lead the church.”  They beamed.

Initially, class was very hard for them.  Translation makes progress slow.  Lack of ministry education makes most material new.  Prior bad teaching and bad assumptions means that they have to unlearn some things they thought they knew.  There were many misconceptions about Trinity, Virgin Birth, Dual nature of Christ, and others.  Changing such misconceptions is a big challenge, but they work at it.

The Holy Spirit moved mid-week. The students began to understand better.  They became more participative.  They thought and answered questions and discussed issues.  One lady evangelist witnessed to me how she thought that God had touched her life in the class and I was able to affirm that it was God.

Thursday, I met Rev Donat and nine other priests who were visiting from the Diocese of Gahini in Rwanda, and here in Geita for an evangelization crusade.  They must have talked to someone here because they asked if I would come to Rwanda and teach.  I gave them my card and asked them to contact me after I returned to America.

The ministry is working.  One week has been successfully completed.  The students have learned much new material about what the beliefs of the church are and what is ordained ministry.  Two more weeks of instruction will follow.

I congratulate the people of Christ Community Anglican Church in Liberty KY on the completion of the second phase of their building construction, doubling the size of their nave. Now God can fill it.  See pictures of the expanded church.  The link may be found on the MSJ website.

Thank you God.  Thank you people of God.  Your prayers and financial support are bearing fruit here in East Africa.  The teachers of God’s people are being taught.  Without you, all this does not happen.  This ministry, the students in Africa, the rural church in Africa all rely on you and all thank you. Asante sana!

Fr Francis Wardega MSJ
Mission Station Geita, Republic of Tanzania

Jambo!  My first mission trip was in the summer of 2000 when I traveled to Kenya under Bishop Weeks and Hugh Kaiser.  Over the years, I have made many friends there, among them a young man, now ordained a priest, serving in Nairobi.  We have kept in touch via e-mail, occasional phone calls, and now Facebook.

This trip, I traveled across the border from Tanzania to Kenya to visit these friends.  Crossing an African border at 10 PM at night required departing from the bus, leaving Tanzania through its immigration station there, walking 100 meters across no mans land in the dark, and entering Kenya, without a Kenyan visa!  The visa was procured upon arrival after the border officials sweated me a bit. .

As I shared with many old friends in Kenya, I heard many phrases – “You taught us new things we never knew” and “Becoming a priest became a calling from God, not another job” and “We are different because of your teaching – still different after so many years.”  In one place I was told that there are now ten babies named Francis, Patricia, or Mary.  And one cow named Francis too.

There were many questions.  “How is Patricia?” and “How is Bishop Fick?” and “How is Bishop Weeks and Hugh Kaiser?”  There was much good remembering stories of the past.

These visits gave me time to acclimate to temperature and time differences before starting the main ministry in Tanzania this trip.  The original plan for the main ministry was to teach two weeks to new students, and one week to old students, all in the Tanzanian Diocese of Victoria Nyanza on Lake Victoria.  When the Bishop sent out the invitations, he expected 15 new students but over 50 signed up.   Evidently, the old students talked about their initial experiences in the classes and encouraged new students to enroll.

So, the plan will be changed.  All classes scheduled for old students this trip will be cancelled.  Instead, I will teach two groups of new students, splitting the total group of new students in half, and splitting the total time too.  Why is this important to the African church?

In many Anglican Dioceses in Africa, their statistics say something like this:  45 priests; 93 churches.  What does this mean?  It means that ordained priests serve only 45 churches.  Evangelists lead the remainder of the churches.  These evangelists are young men, on fire for the Lord, passionate in their ministry of the Word, but uneducated in parish ministry, uneducated in life, uneducated in school subjects, and doing the best that they can.  Over the years, many evangelists go on to ordination.

Such men are hungry for pastoral training.  They are excited by the opportunities to learn basic Christian teachings, ethos of ordained ministry, liturgy, sacrament, Scripture and preaching.  They have realized that parish ministry is more than an altar call. Matthew 28:20 “teaching them to observe all that I commanded you.”  Ephesians 4:12 “to equip the saints for the work of the ministry, for building up the body of Christ.”

The Bishop is excited.  The new students are excited.  I am excited too.

Logistical obstacles will be overcome.  More food will be purchased.  We will work longer hours.  And the legacy of the teaching done by OFM will take deep, deep root in the present and future of this diocese.  The work will not be spectacular healing services that will fill soccer stadiums; but it will be basic, personal teaching for young church leaders who will make a difference here. The Bishop has entrusted his young men, the future of the diocese, to this ministry.

Thank you so much to all of you who are praying – keep praying!  More teachers are needed here in Africa!  Also, thank you so much to all of you who donated money to make this trip possible, and are still donating money to keep the ministry alive.  You know who you are.  We could never be grateful enough.

Tonight, I will rest, listening to BBC News on my new little worldwide radio, a gift from a supporting parish.  Tomorrow I will visit other old friends.  Sunday, I will celebrate liturgy in a little, rural, Anglican church.  Next week, I will return to Mwanza in Tanzania, and begin the main ministry.

Mungu arabariki! May God bless you.

Fr Francis Wardega
Missionary Priest in Africa
Missionary Society of St John

Dispatch One from East Africa, November 2009

Matt. 28:19-20  “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit,  teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the world. Amen.”

Most Christians recognize that quote from the Great Commission.  Part of verse 20, “teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you,” is one of the foundation Words of the Lord for OFM.  Another Word of the Lord that is part of the Scriptural foundation of OFM, is found  in Ephesians 4:12: “to equip the holy ones for the work of ministry, to build up the Body of Christ.”  That is what OFM does in Africa.  Not glamorous, not fancy, just basic ministry work.

God’s call sent me to Africa for the eighth time.  The journey went from Cleveland to New York City to Dubai on the Persian Gulf above Saudi Arabia, to Dar es Salaam on the Indian Ocean coast of Tanzania, to Mwanza in Tanzania on the shore of Lake Victoria, all by air, four flights.  The journey continued with an eight hour bus trip across the Kenyan border, to Rabour, to visit an old friend and examine the legacy of four teaching trips there several years ago.  Leave Cleveland on Sunday; arrive in Rabour on Wednesday.

After six days in Rabour, return to Mwanza and work under the authority of Anglican bishop, Rt Rev Boniface Kwangu, of the Diocese of Victoria Nyanza (DVN).

I will teach for two weeks to around twenty new clergy and lay leaders.  I will teach them about the beliefs, teachings and practices of the Faith; also introduce them to the ethos of ordained ministry, to liturgy, to sacraments, to preaching, and to Scripture.  Most of these adult students were ordained with little or no ministry education because of the immediate great needs there.  Our instruction is for the church leaders and teachers who will teach others.  The students soak up the instruction like a sponge.

I will also teach advanced topics to around twenty different students to whom I taught the basic subjects listed above , on my last trip to Mwanza.  Advanced topics include pastoral theology, and in depth instruction on the Trinity, on the Incarnation, and on Grace.  This will be a challenge for them – one they will work hard at and succeed.

Thanks be to God and thanks be to you for sending me on this work.   I pledge the most ministry to Him for His people and the most ministry to you for your donated dollar.  Please continue to pray for blessings, protection and sustenance for this work.  Please continue your financial support to keep this ministry alive.  I can be contacted in Africa at e-mail address:  jambofrfrancis@yahoo.com

Fr Francis Wardega
Canon Missioner to East Africa
Missionary Society of St John
Forward in Faith, Anglican Church

In the turbulent times of the Anglican Church, mission ministry in Africa has suffered.  African churches are most often Scripturally faithful.  Their faithfulness puts the Africans at odds with those parts of the Anglican Church which are not Scripturally faithful, but revisionist in their application of the Gospel message.  Without financial support from revisionist Anglican churches, African churches suffer.  Bible colleges close.  Ministry to the poor, to those orphaned, and to victims of HIV/Aids, suffers.  In many cases, financial aid from revisionist churches comes with conditions that African churches find unfaithful as they see it.

So, times are hard, again.  OFM cannot replace those lost dollars.  OFM tries to help Africans themselves to do what needs to be done, through education of church leaders.  We ask you to pray for the work of OFM, which suffers in these times of economic hardship.

Prayer:

O God of unchangeable power and eternal light, look favorably on that wonderful and sacred mystery of your Church, especially your mission ministry of OFM.  By the effectual working of your providence, carry out in tranquility your plan for salvation; let the whole world see and know that things which were cast down are now being raised up , and things which had grown old are being made new, and that all things are being brought to their perfection by Him through whom all things were made, your Son Jesus Christ our Lord; who lives and reigns with you,

in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

AMEN.

Dispatch 5 – Last Dispatch for this trip  From Station Dar es Salaam in Tanzania

Dodoma Class Picture

The work finished with five days of teaching at Buigiri Bible School. The plan was that I would ride back and forth in Bp Chidawali’s Toyota Hiace minivan. The plan fell apart when the minivan fell apart. I ended up making the journey to/from the school in what is called a “dolla-dolla” a small bus. A small crowded bus with all seats and the aisle full.

My Bus

A small crowded bus with all seats and the aisle full that often included people and chickens and ducks! Thank God cows were so big that they required two tickets! Because the law prohibits standing in the aisle, the people doing so would sit on the floor whenever we were stopped at a police checkpoint.

Classes ran much better than the minivan. There were seven full time students, one child, and one frequent drop in student. Their names were Timoth, Rhoda (and her five year old son, Nicodemus), Leticia, Aloyce, Japheth, Sospeter, Enoch, and Eliah.

Final Exam Taking

Who were they? One person described himself as a part time priest and a part time peasant. (In Tanzania, every July 7 is a holiday called Peasants’ Day) Another person was a carpenter. Most lived in simple mud and stick huts with dirt floors, no electricity, and cooked outside over an open fire.

Buigiri School

Their Anglican faith was the bright light in their life. They learned the basic beliefs and practices and teachings of the historic Anglican Christian Church. They had many misconceptions. They also learned of the ethos of ordained ministry and how that is different from that of an independent minister. Their excitement grew every day. They sensed what was happening – they were learning new things and understanding them. It was making a differencein their thinking. The class on ordained ministry was especially moving to the priests, life changing. They were eager to return to the their parishes and deaneries and pass on what they had learned.

On Sunday Aug 31, I celebrated the liturgy and preached at Christ the King Cathedral in Dodoma, with Bishop Chidawali.

Bishop Chidawali

Actually, the Holy Spirit celebrated. In very clear ways, the Holy Spirit affirmed the complete love of the Father for the people there, poor, hot, struggling, people of God. It was glorious. Music here was different than in Mwanza – a different rhythm, mainly in minor keys, almost a mournful, wailing tone.

Dispatch 4 From Dodoma Station Tanzania

Liturgy team, St Peter Anglican Church Igogo, Fr Richard & Fr Francis and others

Summer 2008 Fr Francis Wardega

This week was a time of transition. The work finished for this year in Mwanza. There was a journey to Dodoma. Then the work for this year began in Dodoma.

For this trip, the teaching work finished in Mwanza, Diocese of Victoria-Nyanza. It has been well received. The eleven clergy students saw their ministry transformed not just by new knowledge, but also by new

Bishop Boniface Kwangu

values and attitudes and deeper ways of thinking and evaluating. Renewed priesthood. All from the Scriptures. The men witnessed to that renewed priesthood as we celebrated the closing of class in worship and song. One spoke of how he didn’t know how much he didn’t know. Another spoke of a journey from a ministry of laws and rules to a ministry of love and service. Another spoke of loneliness as a priest alone in a distant village and how he now had brothers to work with. Many mobile phone numbers were exchanged and many pictures taken. Over and over again, “thank you for coming. Come again! Stay longer! We will tell our brothers!” Handshakes were replaced by hugs.

Other service in Mwanza. Assisting in the eight day diocesan spiritual revival – the first one in sixteen years, led by retired Bishop Alpha Mohamed and Lay Canon David Hodge, both former Muslims. New blessings, new healings, and new freedoms of “Roho Mtafitika” – the Holy Spirit. Parish visits to St John in Nyamanoro and to St Peter in Igogo. Both parishes are searching for twin parishes in America – to become friends with. Any St John’s Parish or St Peter’s Parish out there want a friend in Africa?

At the APA Synod in Belleville, a deacon from St Stephen in Louisville gave his own pectoral cross to bless a brother in Tanzania. Rev Captain Nestor Muheta, secretary to Bishop Kwangu, now sports a new pectoral cross and says thank you!

The work of renewal in this diocese continues. SOMA-UK has arrived in this diocese in Mwanza to further clergy knowledge of Anglican ministry. We all met together to share, plan and pray – Bishop Boniface, Bishop Alpha, Canon Hodge, SOMA Team (2 Anglican Priests and wives from England, two Anglican priests and wives from Uganda), and me. (SOMA – Sharing of Ministries Abroad – international Anglican Mission

SOMA UK Team & Fr Francis

ministry)

Bus journey to Dodoma – 12 hours in the bus! Five hours on bumpy and dusty roads, the rest on paved roads. Many Africans on the bus wrapped themselves in special cloths they brought – wish I had known that – DUST! Arrive exhausted in Dodoma – met by Bp Chidawali and friends. Taken to hotel – a place of rest – very acceptable. Shower, eight hours sleep and morning devotions gave renewed strength! Met with Fr Elia, principal of Buigiri Bible School to plan course of instruction.

Class has started. Students included uneducated clergy and some others preparing for ordination and leadership and teaching. Seven full time students in the class, including the wife of a pastor who leads a church school and a young single woman who is preparing for a ministry in teaching. Initial classes went well and people were amazed at how much they learned. Their hope – my visit will give new life to the school. The school received with joy the donation from APA Holy Spirit Church in Alabama.

Thank you for your support. God and you make this possible. Please keep on supporting this mission. Please sustain this good ministry. It works!

Fr Francis Wardega Office of Foreign Missions

Missionary Priest in Africa 18401 Canal Rd

www.connectionkenya.wordpress.com Clinton Twp MI 48038

E-mail: jambofrfrancis@yahoo.com USA-248-345-2651

Proud members of Class #1, Nyakato School of Theology

Dispatch 3 From Station Mwanza in Tanzania

Pastor Erasto puzzles about the deeper meaning of Ezekiel chapter 37. Notice the copious notes that he has taken in his notebook.

Summer 2008 Fr Francis Wardega

For many, mission ministry has a sort of exotic glamour to it. Such work includes large crowds, healing services, hospitals built, schools visited, and similar events. Such work is very good and very blessed. This ministry is different. We teach. We teach the teachers. We teach the preachers. We teach the leaders. We teach the ones who had no real prior opportunity to learn. There are many such people in Africa.

The bulk of the work is done daily. The schedule: teach 9 am to 7 pm. Teach ministry subjects to the depth that they are useful to the leaders of the parish. Do this every day, less an occasional rest day. The students quickly adapt to the schedule. They write down more notes than is needed. They listen and ask insightful questions. This is a two-week investment in a life that bears fruit in a parish for the next twenty to thirty years. Not glamorous – just effective.

This week, we finished up the class on Ordained Ministry and moved into Fundamentals of Sacred Scripture. Then we ended with Sacramental Theology. These eleven students are different. They have absorbed so much. They talk about different things. They have a whole new and deeper appreciation of the Bible and their personal Bible. Everyone preached once and was affirmed and critiqued. They want more. “Can you stay for three months?” Sorry. They were very proud to pose for their class picture.

As available, I go to local churches to meet the people there and celebrate the liturgy. Last Sunday, I visited St John in Nyamanoro. I preached in both Sunday liturgies. Each service had a 25 person choir, a different choir for each service. They worship with contemporary African worship music, choreographed. It is Motown gone Jesus! Such music keeps the young people in the Anglican Church instead of being attracted to other, more seeker friendly churches.

The work this trip will soon be finished in this diocese, until next year. Next on the schedule is a ten hour bus journey to Dodoma, the national capital in the center of the country where I will be working with Bishop Daudi Chidawali again. I will be teaching at his Bible College in Buigiri where I taught last year.

One unusual experience. I was invited to dine with Bishop Kwangu and a visiting bishop. As we sat and

Fr Francis preaches at St John Parish in Nyemanoro, Sunday Aug 17

talked, I realized that somehow, many red fire ants crawling on me. I tried to be a good guest as long as I could but the others noticed my discomfort. I ended up trying to stand still while two Anglican bishops and one bishop’s wife killed so many ants that were feasting on me! That was my lesson in humility that day.

Thank you for your support. God and you make this possible. Please keep on supporting this mission. Please sustain this good ministry. It works!

Fr Francis Wardega Office of Foreign Missions

Missionary Priest in Africa 18401 Canal Rd

www.connectionkenya.wordpress.com Clinton Twp MI 48038

Africa e-mail: jambofrfrancis@yahoo.com

]]> http://connectionkenya.wordpress.com/2008/08/23/tanzania-2008-dispatch-3/feed/ 0 connectionkenya Proud members of Class #1, Nyakato School of Theology Pastor Erasto puzzles about the deeper meaning of Ezekiel chapter 37. Notice the copious notes that he has taken in his notebook. Fr Francis preaches at St John Parish in Nyemanoro, Sunday Aug 17 http://connectionkenya.wordpress.com/2008/08/14/tanzania-2008-dispatch-2/ http://connectionkenya.wordpress.com/2008/08/14/tanzania-2008-dispatch-2/#comments Thu, 14 Aug 2008 16:14:16 +0000 connectionkenya http://connectionkenya.wordpress.com/?p=121 ]]>

St. Nicholas Cathedral

Dispatch 2 From Station Mwanza in Tanzania

Your mission support is beginning to bear fruit again in East Africa on the southern shores of Lake Victoria. People here in Mwanza, a part of the Anglican Diocese of Victoria Nyanza, were excited to start this mission.

The mission started with liturgy on Sunday Aug 10, at St Nicholas Cathedral, one block away from the lake. The lake breeze made the temperature most comfortable. I preached and assisted the bishop, Rt Rev Boniface Kwangu, at the service. The bishop asked me to distribute the Holy Eucharist to his people. One young woman was confirmed at the service. This liturgy, one of three liturgies every Sunday, was the English service – the other two services are in Swahili.. It was very powerful to hear the Words of Institution, prayed by the bishop in his British accented, East African English. “Thees ees my boudy, brrroken for you.” Different and the same. Holy.

Our ministry is primarily a ministry of teaching. The need here fits precisely what we do. Here, there are

many priests ordained over recent years with little or no ministry or priestly education. Here, education is hard to get. Bishop Boniface brought eleven priests together to receive the teaching that God has called us to give.

Who are these men. All but two are in their fifties. The other two are in their sixties. All are ordained priests and are pastors of parishes in the diocese. Two came from the island of Ukerewe in Lake Victoria. Here in East Africa, they are addressed as “pastor.” Their names sing an African song, grounded in Scripture, colored by British history. Their names: Japheth, Erasto, Stafford, Zephania, Julius, Boniface, Jesse, Solomon, Iohanna, Abednego, and Josiah. Josiah has a bible school diploma and an M.Div from Cambridge in England. Solomon will be beginning studies at a bible school in Uganda. The rest have a 7^th grade education at best, some less.

They bring to the class many good qualities. A daily prayer life, ministry experience (some have been ordained for over ten years), a desire to learn, and an ability to work. Good investment for your prayers and for your donated dollars. These men will be here for two weeks. These classes are a major step in their lives, and an answer to their prayer.

This week, they learned the basics of the faith – they learned new things. Things like Jesus is both God and man. Things like Jesus died on the cross to forgive our sins. Things like the liturgy that they do is a 20^th century version of what the apostles did.. They are like sponges continually soaking up the waters of new life. They also learned the meaning of what it is to be a priest – a calling from God, not a weekend job. They learned that God calls them to higher standards – the highest possible by grace. Their priesthood is being transformed. Their bishop, who sits in on many of the classes, is excited. More is happening much quicker than he expected.

Thank you for your support. God and you make this possible. Please keep on supporting this mission. Please sustain this good ministry. It works!

Fr Francis Wardega

Missionary Priest in Africa

www.connectionkenya.wordpress.com

Africa e-mail: jambofrfrancis@yahoo.com

MISSION DISPATCH NUMBER ONE:  Mwanza, Tanzania, Saturday, August 9

The mission trip has started.  I landed yesterday, Friday, in Mwanza, a city on the southern coast of Lake Victoria, after a journey that started very early Wednesday morning in Detroit, and took four airline flights.  It is hot-90 degrees-and humid, normal life in Mwanza.  Rt. Rev. Boniface Kwangu, bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Victoria-Nyanza (DVN) was there to welcome me personally.

Today, I rest and accommodate to the time change – eight hours ahead of the time in Detroit.  Tomorrow, I celebrate and preach at the English service at the downtown cathedral.  Monday, I begin teaching at the theological school.  In Tanzania, there are two official languages; Swahili and English.  There is often a third language – a local tribal language – also.  I teach in English and it is interpreted into Swahili.

Tanzania is normally a peaceful land.  Its first president, Julius Nyerere, called Mwalimu – the teacher – taught the people that they are family, ujamaa in Swahili.  He taught a spirit of cooperation that transcended tribal animosities and history.  It worked!  It has stood the test of time.

Tanzania is a union of Tanganyika, old German East Africa, and the islands of Zanzibar and Pemba (clove capital of the world).  It is approximately evenly split between Christianity and Islam.  The largest Christian group is the Anglican Church.  Rt. Rev. Dr. Valentio Mokiwa, the Anglo-Catholic Bishop of Dar es Salaam, was elected primate of Tanzania in February of this year.

I will spend the next approximately 19 days teaching clergy and lay leaders.  I will teach basics of the faith, introduction to liturgy, introduction to ordained ministry, fundamentals of sacred Scripture, and sacraments to those who are the main teachers of the diocese.  Every student will receive a copy of every lesson plan, building up personal ministry libraries in a land where there are very few libraries at all.

So the work begins.  I thank you all for sending me here.  I will work hard to make the most out of what you and God have given.  I give thanks to God for overcoming all obstacles to get me here.  I give thanks to all of you, the donors of the years, friends, who have been faithful supporters through all the fitful journey of church in recent years.  I give thanks to my bishop, Rt. Rev. Frederick G. Fick.  I am also grateful to Most Rev. Walter Grundorf, Deaconess Tina Jenkins of the Missions Office, and the people of the Anglican Province of America who have supported this trip mightily also.

May the blessing of God Almighty be with all of you.

Fr. Francis Wardega, MSJ

Insignia of the Diocese of Victoria-Nyanza

The Rt Rev Boniface Kwangu, Bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Victoria-Nyanza in Tanzania, has invited Fr Francis to come to his diocese and teach clergy and lay leaders. Details are being worked out but the trip is tentatively scheduled for August of 2008.

The general plan is for Fr Francis to go to several selected locations within the diocese and teach smaller groups (less than 20 people) of the clergy and lay leaders in the diocese for four-five days each.

The Anglican Diocese of Victoria Nyanza covers the regions of Mwanza and Shinyanga in northwest Tanzania and is essentially, the southern shore of Lake Victoria. The diocese encompasses an area of 7,373 square kilometers. Mwanza is the second largest city in Tanzania and one of the major ports of Lake Victoria.

Bismarck Rocks in Mwanza Harbor

The Diocese is divided into 6 achdeaconries, 8 deaneries and 50 parishes. It has 208 churches, 55 Pastors and 208 Evangelists.

Please note that American usage of the words “parish and church” may mean basically the same thing. That is not necessarily true in Africa.

In Africa, a parish will usually have a pastor. A church may have a pastor or more often it may have an evangelist or church teacher as a lay leader. Churches may be under the coordination of a local pastor from a different parish or may be under the coordination of an archdeacon or a dean.

Priests and deacons are ordained ministers. Evangelists and church teachers are commissioned ministers. It is rare for Eucharist to be offered every Sunday in most places.

We ask your prayers and financial support of this mission. Estimated costs of this next mission are:

Not all can travel to Africa for Gospel work. Yet all can share in the work and the graces by being a part of the mission through prayer and financial support. As a mendicant missionary society, we beg for your support.

Beloved, I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health; I know it is well with your soul. 3 John 2

Fr Francis Wardega
Canon Missioner
Missionary Society of St John
Anglican Province of America
248-345-2651
jambofrfrancis@yahoo.com