Our Great Commissioning!

On Sunday, July 14 our group was commissioned and our gifts were blessed as part of our Sunday morning worship at St. Paul Lutheran. The above picture is a blurry screenshot of our livestream because I didn't think to take a group photo! Here is the text of the Commissioning and we invite you to continue to review it and pray the words to it throughout our travels. We will do the same. Thank you! Asante!

Pastor: A reading from Romans 12:4-8. “4For as in one body we have many members, and not all the members have the same function, 5so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another. 6We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us: prophecy, in proportion to faith; 7ministry, in ministering; the teacher, in teaching; 8the exhorter, in exhortation; the giver, in generosity; the leader, in diligence; the compassionate, in cheerfulness.” A reading from Acts 13:2-3. “2While they were worshipping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, ‘Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.’ 3Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off.” Each of us is called to live out our faith as Disciples of Christ. A special call has come to these fourteen  people who are willing to represent us as they travel to meet with the members of the Iringa Diocese and the Migoli and Mtera congregations in Tanzania, who we partner and rejoice in ministry with.

All: We, at St. Paul Lutheran Church, send you, with our blessing. We thank God for your  commitment and willingness to go on our behalf. We promise to pray daily for you, your  families, and those whom you will encounter on your journey. We ask that when you return you share your new information, experiences, and insights with us.
 
Group: Thank you, our family of faith, for your prayers and support as we embark on this  journey. We promise to pray daily for you, too, while we are away, and look forward to sharing with you the insights and deeper faith we know we will gain. 

All: We thank you, God, for the world you have given us to love, including the people and the land of Tanzania and the Iringa Diocese. We ask your special blessing on each of them and on these gifts they will bring on our behalf. Give them eyes to see and ears to hear the things that you would teach them. Grant them traveling mercies, and may they grow in faith and wisdom so that we, through them, may learn more clearly what it means to be members of your beloved global community of faith and Body of Christ. Amen, and safari njema (safe travels).