Editor’s note: The stories of ELCA pastors Mamy Ranaivoson and Joseph Boko are shared by the ELCA Ministries of Diverse Cultures and Communities team. This team works within the ELCA toward the goal of full partnership and participation of African descent, American Indian and Alaska Native, Arab and Middle Eastern, Asian and Pacific Islander, and Latino people in the life of this church. Click here to learn more about the team’s work.
In a remote hospital ward on an island in Papua New Guinea, Mamy Ranaivoson stood often at the edge of life and death. A trained physician from Madagascar, he had traveled halfway around the world to serve where few others would.
He brought with him the tools of medicine—years of training, clinical skill and the determination to treat everything from malaria to childbirth complications. But it was what he did when those tools ran out that would ultimately shape the rest of his life.
From 1992 to 1999, Ranaivoson served as the only doctor at a 200-bed hospital on Karkar Island in the Madang Province of Papua New Guinea. He later served a 120-bed hospital in Yagaum. In these roles, he regularly accompanied people through their final moments—offering comfort when no cure remained.
With a deep Lutheran faith rooted in his upbringing in Madagascar, he quietly began to incorporate prayer and spiritual care into his practice. His gestures were simple but profound: a hand held, a quiet reassurance, a word of blessing.
These experiences began to reveal to him that healing could extend beyond physical treatment. When death was inevitable, he offered presence, dignity and spiritual peace—becoming, in practice if not yet in title, a pastor.
Ranaivoson’s journey would eventually take him into formal theological education, receiving his Master of Arts in Theology, Development and Evangelism from Wartburg Theological Seminary in Dubuque, Iowa, followed by a Master of Public Health from Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. After years of work developing HIV and AIDS programs for the Lutheran church in 23 African countries, he returned to seminary in 2009 to continue his training for a Master of Divinity and was ordained in 2012.
He was called to Trinity Lutheran in Topeka, Kan., that same year—a congregation with a long history and a renewed sense of mission. There, he brought together his two vocations: medicine and ministry. Today, he is a pastor of Our Savior Lutheran Church in Spring Valley, Minn., and a chaplain at Heartland Hospice in Rochester, Minn.
While he no longer practices as a physician, Ranaivoson’s pastoral work remains deeply informed by those years in hospitals and clinics. His approach to ministry reflects the same compassion and presence that once guided him through countless end-of-life encounters.
Always willing to share the personal journey that brought him from medicine to the pulpit, Ranaivoson has become a servant leader many turn to in times of need. But in moments of pain or uncertainty, his focus turns not to difference, but to unity. For him, it is the shared love of God—our God, not mine or yours—that brings healing, comfort and peace.
Stay curious to sustain your path and purpose
Ranaivoson holds great respect for his friend and colleague, Joseph Bocko, who serves as a program director of African National Ministries on the ELCA Ministries of Diverse Cultures and Communities team. He appreciates the wisdom and insight Bocko brings to the church and values the ways they are both able to offer fresh perspectives shaped by international experience and cross-cultural ministry.
Bocko, a native of Tanzania, is known to be a powerful voice for unity and empowerment, especially among African national communities across the United States. He connects and uplifts diverse cultural groups—from West Africans to South Sudanese—while creating spaces where tradition and faith intersect with modern leadership. His work shows young people that spirituality isn’t just about rituals—it’s about building real communities and creating change.
What sets Bocko apart is his passion for lifelong learning. From Tanzania to Germany to the United States, his academic path has taken him across the globe, earning degrees in theology, social pedagogy and education. Those degrees include a Master of Sacred Theology from Wartburg in 1984 and a Doctor of Philosophy in educational studies from Trinity International University in Deerfield, Ill., in 1997.
But for Bocko, learning isn’t just about collecting credentials—it’s a way to better serve others. His books and teachings, including Effective Lay Leadership Training and Luther’s Small Catechism with African Descent Reflections, help ordinary people become extraordinary leaders in their faith communities. His story is a reminder that no matter where you start, education can take you places—and more importantly, it equips you to lift others along the way.
Beyond the pulpit and classroom, Bocko has been a steady advocate for justice and equity. He served on national committees for public education, contributed to civic programs such as the Developing Communities Project founded by President Barack Obama, and used his platform to advocate for children and underserved communities. His life proves that faith and justice go hand in hand.
To young people looking for purpose in today’s world, Bocko offers a road map: stay curious, stay grounded and never stop fighting for what’s right.
