Easter Greetings from Kondoa

Easter Greetings from Bishop Gaula

Dear Father Leigh and all our friends at St John the Divine,

Greetings in the most precious name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns forever and ever!

I hope you are all fine and that you celebrated the Mystery of Easter well. During Easter, I meditated on the story of the women who went to the tomb early in the morning and brought remarkable news of the greatest miracle of resurrection (Mark 16:1-8). I thought deeply about a question that was troubling them! Who will roll away the stone for us? That was the main challenge facing them! I thought why they did not think about the guards who were protecting the tomb, as they will would not let them approach the tomb, why they were not worried about being arrested and may be beaten or killed by the soldiers neither they did not think and wondering about the other followers of Jesus the disciples who had run away for fearing to be arrested or killed and they were hiding. They never thought about why Peter and others were not joining them. They were not afraid to see the dead body of Jesus! All they were really thinking was something that would prevent them from seeing Jesus, their beloved Jesus, whom they have loved most! Their love for Jesus will prevent them from seeing him even if he is a dead person! They were confronted with a big challenge ahead of them. The stone placed in front of the door of the tomb. The Bible says it was a very large stone. The large stone would prevent them from seeing the greatest of all miracles, it would prevent them from seeing Jesus!

The gospel is being demonstrated in action. LOVE IN ACTION.

I thought like the three women in the story of Mark’s Gospel, that the stone being rolled away assures us that God will remove all obstacles that might prevent us from seeing Jesus in our lives. There may be big stones in every context that hinder the spreading of the gospel. I think all of us are invited to think about large stones in our lives that are preventing us from seeing our beloved Jesus and the miracles in our ministry.

Partnership Update

Our partnership with our friends at St John the Divine intends to take us to our beloved Jesus, our living hope, who transforms life. We in the Missionary Diocese of Kondoa feel privileged to be in partnership with our good people of St John the Divine; these are the right people whom God brought into our lives for his eternal divine purposes, the right people coming at the right time. We thank God for bringing St. John’s into the lives of this missionary Diocese. Connected with the right people who journey to Jesus, our Lord and Savior, we may encounter big stones that prevent us from seeing Jesus, the living hope.

I am writing to thank St John, who has supported us in the following: In finishing our St. Peter and St. Paul Chemba Secondary School, by helping us to have three good facilities for science classrooms, by putting up walls and fences for the dormitories, and by supporting the training of church leaders through a conference on Christians - Muslims Relations. Building a bridge for these two faith communities to live together is important for the spread of the gospel, and we have started to see the fruits of this relationship. By supporting our women's empowerment program, both Christian and Muslim girls have benefited, and this has been a powerful tool for the gospel as good news. The gospel is being demonstrated in action. LOVE IN ACTION. All have experienced God’s love through this program. Women's empowerment is the greatest tool for evangelism.

St. John the Divine Visit

Lastly, we are so excited to know that this year the women from St John the Divine will be visiting us in September. We are looking forward to receiving them. We can’t wait to see them. Our prayer is that our friendship and partnership with St. John the Divine will continue to grow from strength to strength. It was a real blessing to have Father Leigh and his team visit us last year. I believe that was not the end, and I pray that God will continue to open the door for people to come and share our experience and our faith journey.

St. John the Divine’s partnership with the Anglican Diocese of Kondoa is a growing expression of global mission and mutual faith. Through financial gifts, pastoral exchange, and parishioner visits, SJD is investing in church leadership and theological education in Tanzania. This vibrant relationship is deepening bonds across the Anglican Communion, enriching both communities in their shared calling to proclaim the Gospel and serve others. 

Have questions about our partnership with the Diocese of Kondoa? Email the Rev. Trent Pettit.

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World Missions at St. John the Divine