For 2020 the Saint Andrew’s church family have been asked to pledge to pray every day for the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Diocese of Katanga, their mission partner Jean Bosco Tshiswaka, and for the Kimbilio project working with street children in Lubumbashi. “The Kimbilio project is one that is very close to our hearts,” says Revd Damon Rogers, the vicar of St Andrew’s.
They are also connecting with the church of Saint André, which, like Saint Andrew’s Lowestoft, was founded in the early years of the twentieth century. Pastor Patrice, who leads the church there, has asked for St Andrew’s to offer them ongoing prayer support, interest and friendship. Revd Damon has said:
“Making connections with a church family in Congo helps us because, across the miles and through the internet, we can share stories: they become part of our lives and we become part of theirs and we share our Christian journeys.
“To help us in our pledge of prayer we have produced simple prayer bookmarks with prayer pointers that our church family can use each day in their personal prayers and we have also developed a ‘pop-up’ Congo prayer space using artefacts that have been given to the church from the Diocese of Katanga and from the Kimbilio project in the city of Lubumbashi.”
If you are interested in your church making a connection with a Christian community from across the world, you could start by considering Tearfund’s Connected Church project or Christian Aid’s Community Partnerships – both of which aim to connect your church or community group to projects around the world that dearly need support.