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About our Mission Partnership with
St. James' Episcopal Church: New York, New York

Contact Person:
Leeanna Varga, Associate for Mission
lvarga@stjames.org
St. James' website: www.stjames.org

An early overview written by Bishop James Tengatenga

Their major focus is helping the diocese with its building projects. They have so far (June 2006 Mission visit) helped with the building of the maternity clinic at Mindanti up to where the building needs a roof.

There is need for $15,000 to finish the project. We are jointly exploring avenues for more funding. The area is badly in need of a maternity clinic. Malawi has the highest maternal mortality rates in the world.

This is due not only to the shortage of health personnel but also to non-availability of safe maternity facilities. As such the need for such facilities cannot be over-emphasized. In their August 2006 Visit they helped with funding and the building of the priest’s house at Lunzu. The work on this continues.

In 2007 the plan is to fund and help build priests’ houses at Manyamba in Mulanje and Maliro in Phalombe. There are more plans to build a further four or so priests’ houses and roof a few churches. They love working alongside their Malawian brothers and sisters in these projects.

One may wonder why there seems to be an obsession with clergy houses. Being a Eucharistic community and the priest being a sign of hope and courage in a deprived society, we have as a strategy of church growth, decided that it is important to begin with priest’s houses in the areas we are growing into and that while we have this help we can make sure that the houses are built to a certain standard which if people are left to themselves would not be adhered to due to lack of resources.

In continuing the interaction between our people the bishop and Mrs Tengatenga visited ST. James last May.

The Ven. Charles Masina is on an experience exchange sabbatical from August to December 2006 at St. James and taking some classes at General Seminary. The plan is to have one priest every year go over for the same programme. Not only will this strengthen our bonds with ST. James but also with General Seminary at which the bishop was a visiting scholar in the Fall of 2004 and from which he has his second D.D. honoris causa. This we believe will be for mutual edification and growth in Christ as we participate in God’s Mission among our people.

Just as the bishop and Mrs Tengatenga, on their visit to New York, were able to be shared between St. James and St. Luke’s, Fr Masina has also been shared between St. James and St. David’s, Austin TX. We also hope that he will also visit St. Luke’s.

Background Information

The link with St. James, Madison Avenue, NYC began in 2005 when the parish approached Bishop James Tengatenga with an expression of interest (at the instigation of Archdeacon Tai, the Anglican Communion Observer at the UN). This was followed by a visit by the Missions Committee of St. James to the Diocese of Southern Malawi.

In the Spring of 2006 St. James invited the Bishop and Mrs Tengatenga to New York to formally meet the parish and seal the link.

In 2006 there will be two visits from St. James to Southern Malawi -- one in June-July and the other in August-September. These are working visits where they will be working alongside Malawians on building projects.

The first of these projects is the construction of a six-bed Maternity Clinic at Mindanti in Chikwawa Parish. The next projects are two or three rectories in the diocese.

These are all being funded by St. James.

In addition to this building funding St. James is committed to annually hosting a priest for the Fall Semester in New York. The priest would be based at the General Seminary where he will be taking nine credit hours of classes and working at St. James for twenty hours every week. This will go on for as long as this Mission Partnership link continues.

It is hoped that as the relationship grows there will be more activities and mutual visits in the fulfilment of the Mission of God among our people.