Partnership service in Wallau: Celebrate faith together!

Partnership service in Wallau: Celebrate faith together!

On June 26, 2025, an important partnership service will take place in the Protestant church in Wallau, which will deal with the central topic of “water”. The service begins at 10 a.m. and is aimed at anyone interested in getting involved in partnership work. The aim is to celebrate faith together in the Tanzania partnerships. A specially developed liturgy will be used, which will be available to participants in both Wallau and Tanzania. The same Bible words are used to create a connection between the communities. Community educator Marion Schmidt-Biber, who is responsible for ecumenism and partnerships in the deanery, will lead the event. This is reported by Mittelhessen.

The partnership community between German communities and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania (ELCT) has existed for over 30 years. These long-lasting relationships are not only the result of political and social developments, but also of growing friendship and mutual exchange. The deployment takes place in different formats, including community and project partnerships. The focus is on personal contact through the exchange of delegations and the sending of specialists and volunteers. The partnership department supports these efforts and contributes to the qualification of those involved. In this context, the partner network contributes to education, healthcare and the advancement of women in Tanzania. This is presented in detail on the website of the Ecumenical Center.

Common challenges and learning areas

Partnership work promotes the togetherness of Christians as a global community by taking place at various levels, both directly in the communities and at the level of the regional church. The collaboration focuses in particular on four main areas: mission, education and training, health care and women's empowerment. There are already concrete projects in the Arusha region and southern Tanzania that meet these requirements.

The origins of partnership work go back to the time of missionary work before the founding of the GDR. The Lutheran Church in Tanzania emerged in the late 19th century through the activities of the Berlin and Leipzig missionaries. Even after the founding of the GDR in 1949 and the construction of the Berlin Wall in 1961, contacts remained. In the 1970s, these were consciously intensified again, which ultimately led to a fundamental decision by the Evangelical Church of the Union to promote and support partnerships with the Lutheran Church in southern Tanzania.

Thanks to the commitment of the Leipziger Missionswerk (LMW), the partnership work was able to be further strengthened and further developed. The LMW has taken responsibility for partnership work in various church districts and is constantly developing the dense network of relationships with parishes, institutions and dioceses in Tanzania. In this context, the formation of Tanzania working groups is also important as they network and advise the regional bishops. The partnership between the congregations remains both an integral part of the church's work and an expression of lived ecumenism.