Current Project   Past Accomplishments

Our goal is to be a thoroughly multi-cultural congregation and to be inclusive in all respects.  Swahili worship services were started in 1993.  A substantial Swahili speaking constituency now exists.

Over the years a particularly close connection has been established between the North West Diocese of the Lutheran Church in Tanzania and Holy Trinity.  Holy Trinity has directly funded projects to help this diocese.  Special education and exchange programs have taken place.

Current Project

Tanzanian Pastors' Retirement Endowment

Retired pastors in the North West Diocese of the Lutheran Church in Tanzania retire with virtually no economic resource.  The monthly pension provided is $5.40 for a pastor.  The widow of a pastor receives $2.70.  To say the least, this reflects poverty.

Holy Trinity is developing an endowment to benefit these retired church workers.  The initial goal of the fund is $25,000.  The earnings from the endowment are to be annually sent to the North West Diocese as supplement to the pensions provided.  We are also encouraging the diocese to provide a more generous pension to its retired workers.  It is recognized that this action is difficult since Tanzania is one of the poorest nations in the world.

Past Accomplishments

African Music Project

We normally think of missionaries as persons sent to distant places such as Africa or Asia.  We need to revise our thinking.  There are now some strong, vital Christian communities of faith in areas once considered 'mission areas.'  It could be argued that the Christian Church is more vital today in parts of Africa than in North America.  At any rate, there are some things we can learn from sisters and brothers in Christ living in distant lands.

It is in light of this that Holy Trinity invited Deo Mahamba to be a missionary to us.  Deo Mahamba is the music director in the Cathedral of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania, North West Diocese, Bukoba, Tanzania.  He uses music as his primary vehicle for teaching.  In addition to teaching us great music, he held music workshops where he spread his knowledge to other congregations in our community and across the United States in a few short months of 1999.

Bunazi Secondary School

Bunazi is a very poor community in North West Tanzania.  It has not yet recovered from the war with Uganda more than 15 years ago.  The community began a secondary school some years ago, but lacked a permanent home.  Holy Trinity contributed $40,000 for the school.  This money enabled the construction of four buildings for its 145 students.

Ruhija Library

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania is establishing several new schools for the training of pastors.  One such school is in the North West Diocese, near Bukoba, at a place called Ruhija.  Holy Trinity assumed responsibility for equipping the library of this new school with books.  A container containing thousands of books, school supplies and medical supplies was shipped in 1998.

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