Faith Lugazia, M.Th. ’01, has long felt God’s call to serve. In January, that call came to include the title ‘pastor.’
She was ordained on Jan. 8 in her hometown of Bukoba, Tanzania. Many friends and family attended the service, including Samson Mushemba, M.Th. ’83, D.Min. ’84, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania, and representatives from partner churches in Germany, Sweden and the United States.
Lugazia was one of six pastors ordained that day, including another woman. The two became the first women to be ordained in the Northwestern Diocese of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania.
Lugazia earned the master of theology degree from Luther Seminary in 2001. Last fall, she returned to the seminary to begin study on a Ph.D. in mission.
“I’m still learning what mission is,” she said, “I’m finding there is no universal definition.” She will be researching different approaches and definitions over the four-year program.