Collecting money from churches to support poorer churches in other places is an ancient practice, being first mentioned in some of St. Paul’s epistles (1 Corinthians 16:1–4; 2 Corinthians 8:1–9:15; Romans 15:14–32). That practice has continued to the current day, with churches in more prosperous areas called on to provide aid to churches in many places around the world that suffer from poverty and other hardships, and to support the work of different organizations that serve in such places.

St. Thomas has been blessed many times by having opportunities to support these kinds of mission outreaches. In particular, our parish has developed longstanding relationships with several such outreaches, and our congregation has warmly received their representatives and generously supported their work. The following briefly describes several of the most notable outreaches we have supported in this way.

Fr. Francis in Uganda

Fr. Francis Muhenda Adyeeri is a priest in the Diocese of Fort Portal in western Uganda. He worked for a number of years at Sts. Peter and Paul Catholic Church in Butunduuzi in the Diocese of Fort Portal. St. Thomas began supporting his work in 2008 after his first visit here, and we have continued to do so since then. In 2015, Bishop Robert Muhiirwa assigned Fr. Francis to a newly-formed parish, St. Joseph in Kyamatanga. Click here to read more about Fr. Francis and St. Joseph parish, and to support that work.

Children Waiting Everywhere

Naomi Corera, a native of Sri Lanka and a longtime parishioner at St. Thomas, has had a decades-long career as a teacher and principal in Catholic schools. Some years ago, at the invitation of some Ugandan priests, she visited the country to see the conditions at a school there. After that visit, she returned to Ann Arbor inspired to work toward establishing and improving the school she visited. That resulted in an organization named Children Waiting Everywhere, which has now expanded that work to include additional projects in Uganda as well as in Kenya and Sri Lanka. Click here to read more about some of their projects, and to support their work.