FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
AU Virtual Worship Service Celebrates Missional Connection with the Local Church
October 30, 2020—Nashville, TN – For members of the Africa University community, visiting with stakeholders and friends to share and celebrate the story of a ministry that they are shaping with their steadfast investment is always a privilege and a delight.
Since in-person fellowship with congregations and small groups is not prudent at present, Africa University invites you to host a special virtual celebration instead. Highlight your investment in and missional connection to the “uniting, United Methodist dream come true called Africa University” with:
- A 40-minute, full length worship service featuring music, scripture, sermon, call to action and testimony from Africa University graduates and staff. You can view the full length service, labeled “0_40-minute AU Worship Service.mp4”, using this link: https://jmp.sh/VpnZ5Yt
To assist you in sharing word of the opportunity with your congregation or group, there is:
- A 1:06-minute promo video for the virtual worship service resource that is accessible via YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3UUYFdGXqyQ
In addition:
- Each element of the worship service is also available as a standalone item to allow you to have maximum flexibility in personalizing your focus on Africa University through use of these digital resources. There are fourteen (14) individual elements available to you and each is one is downloadable. They include the Gathering Photo Montage, Greeting/Welcome, Testimony and Call to Worship, Opening Prayer, Scriptures, Song of Preparation - AU Choir, Sermon/Message, Call to Action, Song of Celebration of Grace – AU Choir, Closing Prayer, and Benediction.
Faith, hope and dreams are alive on the Africa University campus and across the African continent. Teaching and learning continue, and are both relevant and impactful, thanks in large part to the generosity of United Methodist congregations. Faculty and students are generating new knowledge and homegrown solutions. Well-equipped, principled and deeply committed young graduates—such as the 546-member class of 2020—are returning to their communities with a ‘can do’ mindset.
Despite the impact of the coronavirus on public health and economic prosperity in Africa and around the world, Africa University’s ministry endures. That is a story that every United Methodist Church congregation can highlight with thanksgiving.
Our hope is that these digital resources—either the full length worship service or some of the elements of the service—will prove to be a great fit for the mission celebration needs of congregations and groups across all five jurisdictions of The United Methodist Church, well into 2021.
Thank you for all that you have done and are doing to share the experience of God’s grace and goodness from your local church and community to all the world.
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Africa University is a Pan-African higher education ministry of The United Methodist Church. The university opened in 1992 with 40 students from six African countries. It now has an annual enrollment of 2,800 students representing as many as 30 of Africa’s 55 nations. Degree programs as well as short courses are offered in three colleges: Health, Agriculture & Natural Sciences; Business, Peace, Leadership & Governance; and Social Sciences, Humanities, Theology and Education. More than 90 percent of Africa University’s 9,000+ alumni have remained on the continent of Africa. Graduates are in leadership roles in more than 32 African countries as well as in countries in Europe, Asia, Latin America and North America. The university’s main campus is located near Mutare, in the eastern highlands of Zimbabwe.
To learn more about Africa University, visit: www.africau.edu.
For additional information about how you can invest in the ministry of Africa University, visit: www.support-africauniversity.org
Contact:
Andra Stevens, Director of Communications
Africa University Development Office
Tel: (615) 340-7438
astevens@gbhem.org