St Augustine’s with St Luke’s is privileged to have a link with the parish church of St Mark’s in Mwaikisabe in Tanzania. Mwaikisabe is in the Diocese of Kondoa which is linked with Rochester Diocese. We have had our link with St Mark’s since a group from the church (pictured below) visited Tanzania in 2016. Since then, there have been four further trips.
2016 visitors from St Augustine’s with St Luke’s
We have also received visits from Bishop Given, who is the inspirational Bishop in Kondoa.
Bishop Given in the centre with Rev Steve Spencer on the left and Canon John Sinda, formerly pastor at St Marks Mwaikisabe, on the right.
The cross in the background was created by members of St Augustine’s with St Luke’s led by Sue Goodger and Tanya Wardley.
The purpose of our link is four-fold:
- To pray for each other
- Encourage one another with regular communication
- Welcome one another when circumstances permit
- Grow towards mutual understanding and appreciation
When we visit, we spend some time Mwaikisabe but we also visit other parishes in Kondoa , as well as exploring Kondoa itself, and learn more about the challenges Christians and churches face. These challenges include practical issues with water and the difficulty in finding Swahili books for the Bible College. We are overwhelmed by the generosity of the people we visit in the Diocese of Kondoa.
There is no running water in houses in Mwaikisabe. Everyone gets their water from the local well (pictured below).
We have supported various projects financially including purchasing a motorbike for the pastor in Mwaikisabe, donating money to help fund the building of houses for the pastor and catechist (like a curate) and funding students at the Bible College.
Pastor’s house in Mwaikisabe (on the left) and Catechiste’s house (on the right)
The current pastor in Mwaikisabe is Canon Andrea (pictured below with a group from St Augustine’s with St Luke’s who visited in 2024).
Below are some pictures from previous trips.
2018
2019
2023
There is more information about this link on the noticeboard in St Augustine’s church.