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Officially begun in 1987 as a synod to synod program with a primary focus on educating pastors for the rapidly growing Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania, the synod’s companion synod relationship with the Iringa Diocese has evolved into a grassroots movement in which congregations in the Saint Paul Area Synod are matched with congregations in the Iringa Diocese.

The companion congregation program focuses on five areas, including prayer, communication, scholarships for secondary and post-secondary education, exchange visits, and financial support. Sixty partnerships have been formed with congregations in Iringa Diocese.

Participating congregations agree to pray for one another regularly and to engage in regular communication through email, videos, letters, or photographs. Providing scholarships helps strengthen the local economy, and exchanges between congregations affirm unity in mission and foster cultural understanding. In addition, Saint Paul Area Synod congregations support Tanzanian congregations with up to $1,000 annually over three years, which might include the purchase of roofing and building materials, program support, cows, or bicycles for evangelists. Funds contributed above this amount are added to a Common Basket and used for congregations without companions to meet specific needs.

Since its inception in 1987, more than 2,000 visitors from the Saint Paul Area Synod have visited Iringa, with more than half of those visiting since the congregation partnerships began in 2000. More than 60 have traveled to this synod from Iringa, and last year the Iringa Choir visited, performing concerts in congregations throughout the area. These visits have strengthened and cemented relationships with partner parishes by enabling visitors to understand the culture, faith, and life of our brothers and sisters in Christ living in Iringa.

In addition, groups working through congregations in this synod have helped to drill wells to provide clean, sustainable water to villages; taught classes in sanitation and hygiene; provided support to two orphanages; donated livestock; funded secondary school scholarships to more than 900; roofed worship centers; provided modest pensions for retired pastors or their widows; and worked to upgrade the Ilula Lutheran Health Center to a hospital. An agricultural training center is under development which will help move farming beyond subsistence levels.

For additional information, contact the Rev. Don or Eunice Fultz, companion synod coordinators, at defultz@comcast.net or the Rev. Gary Langness, chair of the companion synod task force, at gcljambo@comcast.net.