South African Pastor to Preach at Holy Cross

November 23, 2017

Press Release from Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Emma:

                Immanuel Lutheran Church, Sweet Springs and Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Emma welcome Pastor Mandla Thwala to our area. He is pastor of Ntshongweni Lutheran Church in Ntshongweni, South Africa. On Sunday, November 26 he will preach at Immaneul Sweet Springs and then on December 3 at Holy Cross Emma. Service at both churches are at 9:00 AM with presentation by Pastor Thwala following in Bible Class at 10:30. 

                To help the community, Pastor Thwala’s church has worked to provide housing and educational opportunities for orphans. Many of these orphans lost their parents to HIV/AIDS. In June of 2016 Pastor Thwala hosted a team of 21 from Emma, Concordia, Sweet Springs, and the surrounding area. This team was able to build a house the Mchunu family in the Ntshongweni community.

                Pastor Thwala grew up near Piet Retief in the South African province of Mpumalanga. He graduated from the Lutheran Theological Seminary in Pretoria, (Tshwane) South Africa. While serving at Ntshongweni Lutheran Church, he received assistance from LCMS missionaries including Julia Mueller who served in Ntshongweni from 2010-2012.

                He is married Nomthandazo and together they have four children. Pastor Thwala serves as the Dean of the Dioecies of KwaZulu-Natal and is the Deputy Bishop of the Lutheran Church in Southern Africa (LCSA). The LCSA has congregations in South Africa, Botswana, and Swaziland. They serve people who speak Zulu, Tswana, and English.  

This is Pastor Thwala’s third trip to the United States to thank people who have supported the work his congregation does in the community. Besides Missouri, he is visiting congregations in Delaware, Minnesota, and Florida.