We received the following message of concern and condolence from our companion synod in Tanzania following the destruction from Hurricane Ida: Greetings in the name of Jesus. Dear brothers and sisters in Christ in the South Eastern Pennsylvania Synod, receive our heartfelt greetings and deep condolence from your brothers and sisters in the Evangelical Lutheran...
Category: Global Vision
September 15, 2021
Prayers From The North Eastern Diocese
We received the following message of concern and condolence from our companion synod in Tanzania following the destruction from Hurricane Ida: Greetings in the name of Jesus. Dear brothers and sisters in Christ in the South Eastern Pennsylvania Synod, receive our heartfelt greetings and deep condolence from your brothers and sisters in the Evangelical Lutheran...
August 18, 2020
Thanks For Your Support of Bishop Munga
We’re pleased to say that Bishop Stephen Munga of our companion synod in Tanzania is at home following heart surgery and weeks of rehabilitation. His family, including the Rev. Dr. Anneth Munga and son Daniel, and our partners in the North Eastern Diocese of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania share their thanks for the...
July 3, 2020
“Healing The Heart” – Medical Appeal For Bishop Stephen Munga
We recently learned of urgent medical needs for Rev. Dr. Stephen Munga, Bishop of our companion synod the North Eastern Diocese of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania. He fell ill and was diagnosed with transient ischemic attacks. Bishop Munga needs emergency medical treatment and the closest doctor that can help is in South Africa....
May 20, 2020
Letter From Our Partner Bishop In Tanzania
May 13, 2020 Dear Rev. Patricia Davenport, Warm greetings in the name of our Risen Lord Jesus Christ. “And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.” (1 John 4:16) Beloved in Christ, It is...
Images of our Tanzanian partnership with Bishop Stephen Munga
August 26, 2019
Our Global Connection With Tanzania
There’s an African tradition that when someone is physically present, it’s not just their “face” that is present, but life itself. Bishop Davenport, Pastor Bradley Burke, and Ms. Yvonne Curtis visited our companion North Eastern Diocese of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania this summer, sharing not only the life of our Synod but your prayers and gifts. In the previous year,...
November 21, 2018
SEKOMU Raises Up Special Education Leaders
What do you do when you lack qualified people to help with your ministries? Well, you could start a university to train qualified people. That’s what the North Eastern Diocese of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania was facing, and what it did, according to Bishop Munga. Speaking at a Meet & Greet at Advent Lutheran...
October 22, 2018
Bless the Lord for SEKOMU’s 10th Anniversary
A message from the Rev. Dr. Anneth Munga on 10 years of Sebastian Kolowa Memorial University and its partnership with our Synod: “Bless the LORD Oh My Soul!” These words are painted on the front wall of one of the lecture halls at Sebastian Kolowa Memorial University (SEKOMU). The university is located in Magamba village,...
September 28, 2016
Gratitude from Bishop Munga, NED
“We can witness that the prayers of our sisters and brothers in Christ are sustaining us,” wrote Bishop Stephen Munga of our companion North Eastern Diocese in Tanzania in response to a letter from Bishop Burkat carrying the thoughts, prayers and generosity of Southeastern Pennsylvania Synod members after Sebastian Kolowa Memorial University (SEKOMU) was attacked...
September 23, 2016
SEPA Standing with SEKOMU After Attack
The Southeastern Pennsylvania Synod is standing in prayer and financial support with Sebastian Kolowa Memorial University in Tanzania after armed gunmen attacked the university on September 1. Pastor Brad Burke and other members of our synod were in the North Eastern Diocese at the time and shared pastoral care and the prayers of our synod. The...
August 2, 2016
Proclaiming God’s Love in Tanzania
Did you know that Tanzania, home to our companion North Eastern Diocese, has many more Lutherans than the ELCA has members. The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania has 6.5 million members compared to the ELCA’s 3.7 million. As the ELCA looks to its future, what can it learn from the global Lutheran church? Read more...
March 3, 2016
Global Focus: Irente School for the Blind
Southeastern Pennsylvania Synod and the North-Eastern Diocese of Tanzania have shared a strong partnership for many years. This Lent, we invite you to become part of an exciting new chapter of this companionship with an exciting new project, Located on a beautiful mountain in Tanzania, the Irente School for the Blind is a primary school for...
July 14, 2015
Highlights from 2015 Tanzania Visit
Bishop Burkat travelled to Tanzania in July for the celebration of the 125th anniversary of our companion North Eastern Diocese of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania. While there she participated in a jubilee anniversary service, attended by President Jakaya Kikwete. She preached at a celebration at Kana Church, Tanga, and dedicated a nursery school...
June 26, 2015
Tanzania Diocese Celebrates 125th
Congratulations to our companion Synod, the North Eastern Diocese of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania, on its 125th Jubilee, to be celebrated in early July. On June 30 Bishop Burkat and Assistant to the Bishop Joanne Carlson leave for Tanzania, where the bishop will preach at the Jubilee worship service on July 6. Please...
May 12, 2015
Joanne Carlson Honored at Last Assembly
The Assembly gave a long, standing ovation to Joanne Carlson, assistant to the bishop for global vision and events, who is retiring in July after coordinating 25 Synod assemblies. “Joanne has a truly missionary heart,” the bishop said of her service representing SEPA to companion synods in Tanzania and the Czech Republic. The extended Carlson...
May 12, 2015
Tanzania Missionaries Welcomed Home
Plant it. Water it. Watch it Grow. The theme of the 2012 Synod Assembly perfectly expresses the partnership of SEPA Synod and the Northeast Diocese of Tanzania. This fruitful partnership was spotlighted at the Assembly on May 9, as we celebrated The Sebastian Kolowa Memorial University (SEKOMU) and missionaries Susan and Tom MacPherson. Watch the session...
April 1, 2015
Transforming a Container into a Clinic
A large, red shipping container sits in the parking lot of the Lutheran Church of God’s Love in Newtown waiting for Saturday mornings. That’s when team members open it up and continue work on its transformation into a medical clinic that will serve a community on the outskirts of Kisumu, Kenya, Africa. The idea first...
May 10, 2014
MacPhersons’ Say ‘Asante Sana’
Over and over again “Asante Sana” (“Thank You” in Swahili) was spoken by our Tanzanian missionaries, Susan and Tom MacPherson, as they called via Skype into the Assembly from East Africa. Calling from a classroom at the Irente Childrens’ Home with some young students who had not yet had their dinner and were up past their bedtimes,...
June 25, 2013
Bishop’s Tanzanian Visit
Bishop Burkat and Joanne Carlson have just completed a visit to Tanzania, including five days on the territory of our companion North-Eastern Diocese and then a gathering to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania. The festive anniversary celebration included tree-planting, gift-giving, choirs and greetings from Lutheran representatives from the ELCA...
