Communion

It is just about time to have our final meal and then board the bus to Kilimanjaro International Airport. We soon begin our 30 hour, door-to-door trek called “going home.”

This place feels like home in some ways. Whenever one travels to a beloved mission outpost, you gain a sense of having a spiritual home there. The Northern Diocese of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania is a spiritual home for me and I trust it is also for those who have traveled here.

Our Sheridan tradition is have Holy Communion prior to leaving. We do so to remind ourselves that we are one on this trip. But even more, we are one with those we leave. We ask for and are granted forgiveness and we profess our unity with each other and with our Tanzanian brothers and sisters.

In the creeds we profess believing in the “Communion of Saints.” This means we believe that we are all connected in Christ. Each of us, no matter what color, nationality or social status. We are all one. Being here gives us a better understanding of the amazing breadth of this reality.

When we go on a distant mission trip, we go there to find ourselves. Among these warm and loving people, I have found that I am a child of God. Blessed be our communion in Christ Jesus.

Pastor Greg Bouvier