August 28, 2024 Weekly Update
Last Sunday, the mission team visiting our partners in East Angola delivered a special gift to a new church congregation – 30 choir robes and stoles from our church congregation! In July, as our Leadership Board spent time walking through part of our building, wondering how we could organize our space and declutter unneeded items. One thing stood out – the choir robes. The choir hadn’t used them in almost 10 years, and they took up a lot of space, but they were in good shape and well maintained. We wondered aloud – Who might use them? How could we help someone who wanted them?
In many churches of the East Angola United Methodist Conference, music and choirs are a major part of each Sunday’s worship service. Many congregations have three, four, or five choirs. And they love to wear choir robes!
I reached out to our missionary Ken Koome, and asked if he thought anyone would want the robes. He said, “Yes, absolutely! They are quite the fashion!”
I polled our choir, and everyone agreed that if the robes could be put to good use, we should give them to a congregation in East Angola. The Leadership Board agreed. So, using a couple suitcases, vacuum sealing bags, and a trip across the Atlantic Ocean, Rev. Janet Fitzgerald took the robes with the mission team. They presented the robes to a new congregation – Voan Vala church – last Sunday morning! The church is a plant of Rev. Andre Cassula’s ministry (Andre visted CFUMC in 2019), and east of the province capital of Melanje.
One choir member said, “We are a real church now! We are a real choir!” Ken reported that the choir was very excited and the church was extremely grateful. Janet said it was a beautiful experience and she was honored to be a part of the moment. Our District Superintendent, Rev. Lynn Miller Jackson, was part of the moment, too!
I’m proud to be part of a church that is generous and thoughtful. This month, we helped a new congregation live into their ministry and identity, while honoring our ministry and sharing our resources!
The cost to send the robes totaled almost $500. If you’d like to make a donation to help the Mission Team offset this cost, please do so, and mark the donation “Choir robes.”
Blessings,
Pastor Jared