There is a field in Tanzania where the soil is being turned with care – where farmers are learning new ways to tend the land so that it may yield not just for today, but for generations to come. There is a gathering where hands begin to speak, and the Gospel is shared in sign and presence, and those who were once on the margins are fully seen and fully heard. There are clinics where healing is offered with compassion, and quiet prayers are whispered alongside medicine. And there are women answering God’s call to lead – preaching, serving, and shaping the future of the Church with courage and grace.
This is the living witness of the Anglican Church of Tanzania – a church rooted in Christ, bearing fruit in many forms.
Attendees at GEMN’s May 28 Mission Thursday listened to stories from these ministries of hands, hearts and harvests. Together, they glimpsed what it looks like when faith takes root in the soil of daily life – when the church joins God’s mission of justice, healing, inclusion and empowerment.
Discussing the church’s work was Bishop Dickson Chilongani of the Diocese of Central Tanganyika, chancellor of St. John’s University, and dean of the province. He was joined by Canon George Lawi, general secretary of the Anglican Church of Tanzania.
The webinar was moderated by Canon Robin Newman, chair of the Tanzania Task Force of the Global Mission Commission of the Diocese of New York and member of the GEMN Board. Joyce and Tom Smith of St. Paul’s Church in Richmond, Virginia, spoke about that congregation’s link with Mwitikira Parish.
Joining the call were Dr. Emmanuel Mringo, medical officer in the diocese’s Mackay House Health Centre; Patrick Matonya, leader of the diocese’s deaf ministry; Brian Medcalf, treasurer of the Tanzania Development Trust; and Dr. Henry Ziegler of Health Tanzania, which offers medical care in the Dar es Salaam area.
Estimates of the membership of the Church of Tanzania’s 28 dioceses range from 2 million to 3.3 million, making it a major province of the Anglican Communion.
