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12 AUGUST 27-SEPTEMBER 9, 2016 | DENVER CATHOLIC Around the Archdiocese VOCATIONS WALK ARCHDIOCESE OF DENVER ST. JOHN VIANNEY SEMINARY 10AM 11AM NOON 2 0 1 6 S A T U R D A Y S E P T . 1 7 BY AARON LAMBERT T he ministry of Immaculate Heart of Mary parish in North- glenn extends far to the other side of the globe; namely, a small vil- lage in Tanzania called Nyantakubwa, where their sister parish, Christ the King, resides.´ Father Spahn became connected with Christ the King a number of years ago through a priest assigned to Denver to represent the Diocese of Geita, Father Matthew Bulala. Father Bulala called Father Spahn one day to arrange for a priest from Tanzania to come and appeal to his parish to raise money for the Diocese of Geita, which was the perfect opportunity for Father Spahn to fulfi ll a longtime dream of his: have a sister parish in Africa. Father Bulala passed along the request to Bishop Fla- vian Kassala of the Diocese of Geita, and thus began the fruitful relationship between Immaculate Heart of Mary and Christ the King. This relationship also eventually led to the assignment of Father John Ludanha as parochial vicar to St. John the Evangelist parish in Loveland. Father Spahn was actually present at Father Ludanha's priestly ordination in Tanzania the fi rst time he went over there, and as a result, had a hand in get- ting Father Ludanha his fi rst assign- ment as a priest in Denver when it was time for Father Bulala to return to his home diocese. Father Ludanha is now a man of two worlds, being born and raised in Nyan- takubwa and having lived in America for the past seven years, and he can attest fi rst-hand what it means to the people of Nyantakubwa for Americans to come visit and help them. "[The people] know America from the media, how great it is, how wonder- ful it is, how everything is available, and for someone to take interest to go down there and live with them, just to share that experience, it's like the incarnation in some ways," Father Ludanha said. EVERY DOLLAR HELPS "We both help each other," Father Spahn said. "The sister parish over there prays for [Immaculate Heart of Mary] and the Archdiocese of Denver all the time, and we pray for them. We're brothers and sisters in the Lord. We [also] help them with something that they really need our help with, and that's fi nances. There are things they really couldn't do without us, and our dollar goes so far down there. A dollar there makes a big diŒ erence." Christ the King 's parish territory includes 29 outstations where the vil- lagers live and a girls' school located Wednesday, Sept. 14 6:30 p.m. Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish 11385 Grant Drive, Northglenn ihmco.org A sister in Tanzania: Immaculate Heart of Mary aids African sister parish PRESENTATION i Father James Spahn, pastor of Immaculate Heart of Mary, stands with children from the African village of Nyantakubwa in Tanzania. Immacu- late Heart of Mary has a sister parish in Nyantakubwa called Christ the King that they maintain a close relationship with. PHOTO PROVIDED It is really infec- tious when you're around people who have a love for the Lord that just radiates from them." FATHER SPAHN "