Since 2003, our MNO Synod has been blessed to have a global companion relationship with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Cameroon (EELC). This relationship had its beginnings when we got to know Pastor Etienne Fomgbami and family, who came to be missionaries to us from the Cameroon. Our continuing relationship is one based on praying for one another, visiting one another, and on joint ministry priorities that are beneficial to both of our churches. Over the years, we have been blessed to have a number of people from our synod visit and work with our partners in Cameroon, as well as the opportunity to host guests from Cameroon here on our territory.
Our global companion relationship is discerned and reviewed every three years. Our current three-year partnership agreement came to an end on December 31, 2023. We have certainly appreciated our partnership, which in the last three years in spite of Covid, has been lived out with two priorities, namely regular communication and financial support for Kids in Cameroon, headed by Fanta Gagnone of the Protestant Hospital, as well as some regular email communication and mutual support between women clergy of our two churches. That has included communication and $10,000 of financial support for Pastor Marie Besong of the EELC, who is presently pursuing her doctoral studies at our Lutheran seminary in Waterloo.
With some of the restrictions of Covid behind us, your Global Mission Committee unanimously discerned that we would like to continue this partnership. To facilitate this, mutual discernment with Bishop Baiguele (the new bishop in the EELC) and his appointees is critical so that our partnership can continue to be mutually beneficial for our two churches going forward, especially since our two churches are dealing with new realities since the last agreement was signed. As such, we have designated 2024 as a time for communication, discernment and prayer regarding this global mission partnership.
As we journey through the Lenten season, this special time for reflection, discernment and prayer in our church, please pray for the EELC and its leaders, particularly for Bishop Baiguele, all the women in leadership, for Pastor Marie Besong, as she pursues further studies here in Canada, and for Kids in Cameroon and Fanta Gagnone, program leader. Please also pray for Bishop Jason, our Global Mission Committee, and for the discernment process between the MNO Synod and the EELC.
We anticipate sharing opportunity for members of the synod to join us in conversation, prayer and discussion as we explore how God is inviting us to be part of global companion relationships in the years ahead.
