The Call - winter 2019

Meet Canon Bush Introducing the new international director of CMS-Africa

Painting a picture in Peru Anna Sims answers questions about her life in Lima

To stay or to go?

People in mission consider the importance of roots, and of being willing to go where God calls

ACCIDENTAL INNOVATION Not all pioneering is planned – meet some of our unexpected pioneers in mission around the world (See page 11) T HE CALL IN ACTIO N

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CHURCHMISSIO NSO CI E TY.ORG

THE CALL – WINTER 2019

ISSUE 11 | WINTER 2019

The Call

The call in action

Welcome to The Call, produced three times a year by Church Mission Society.

The Call is a platform for global voices in mission. In these pages you will get to know people from around the world who are joining in God’s mission in a variety of ways. By sharing their stories, insights and reflections, our goal is to give you hope that God is still at work in our world and to inspire you to put your own mission call into action, if not with Church Mission Society then with someone – but preferably with Church Mission Society.

In this edition

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MISSION NEWS

16

THIS IS MISSION

07

WORLD VIEWS

26

MISSION ISSUES

11

COVER STORY

29

HEALING FROM SHAME

14

“WE WENT TO LEARN…”

31

HOW TO...

What God is doing through your prayerful support

Eyewitness reports of God at work in Honduras, Southall and Hull

Meet mission partners who “accidentally” started a new thing

Read what a group from Winchester learned from Rwandans

A preview of our new online campaign to widen people’s view of mission

Explore the paradox that mission can mean both going and staying

Andrea Campanale shares what she has learned about shame and mission

do mission with people of all seasons, by pioneer David Palmer

... and much more churchmissionsociety.org 2

CHURCH MISSIO N SO CIETY

WELCOME

CONSTANCY, CHANGE AND LOSING CONTROL DEBBIE JAMES, INTERIM EXECUTIVE LEADER

I

Church Mission Society Watlington Road, Oxford, OX4 6BZ T: +44 (0)1865 787400 E: info@churchmissionsociety.org churchmissionsociety.org

/churchmissionsociety @cmsmission

If you have any comments about The Call, please contact the editor: the.call@churchmissionsociety.org Opinions expressed in The Call are those of the authors, not necessarily of Church Mission Society.

Church Mission Society is a mission community acknowledged by the Church of England Registered Company No.6985330 and Registered Charity No.1131655 (England & Wales) and SC047163 (Scotland). Also part of CMS: The South American Mission Society, Registered Company No. 65048 and Registered Charity No. 221328 (England & Wales); The Church Mission Society Trust, Registered Charity number 1131655-1 (previously 220297).

Registered and principal offices of all above entities: Watlington Road, Oxford, OX4 6BZ.

wonder how you react to change. Does it evoke feelings of excitement and anticipation or fear and insecurity? As I write, there is much change on the horizon, politically and otherwise.

Who will be leading the British government in the coming months and delivering the outcome of the Brexit negotiations? What new actions to address climate change will be taken internationally?

Who will be called to lead Church Mission Society into the future now that Philip Mounstephen has taken up his new role as Bishop of Truro?

We all experience changes, not only on a national or even global scale, but in our daily lives at home, in our relationships, at work and in our communities. Sometimes we are active players in those changes, at other times we may be passive recipients. Our inclinations can vary from holding on to what is known and familiar to seeking and embracing something new and different.

I sometimes find myself caught in this very tension: desiring change on the one hand and wanting things to remain constant on the other, seemingly polar opposites. Yet in reflecting on the history of CMS, I see a complementarity between the two.

While we have long been known for sending people in mission, the processes by which we do so and the places to which we send people have certainly changed.

Our first missionaries were German Lutherans sent to Sierra Leone in West Africa in 1804. Today, we have people serving in mission across four continents and over 40 countries, some in pioneering places and pioneering mission movements – including remarkable work that we can’t talk about for

reasons of personal security.

“Don’t throw the baby out with the bath water” is a curious and oft used English idiom which captures the need to balance constancy and change. Creating space for something new to emerge and flourish needn’t mean rejecting all that has gone before, but it does require discerning what can be let go. We have seen how much the global church has changed, in no small measure because of the success of the sending of missionaries to the Global South, and have sought to respond to that. Over the last 10 years at CMS we’ve been challenged to give away control through a process of decentralising our work, particularly through establishing and partnering with CMSAfrica and Asia-CMS. Working alongside them and others, we have developed a local partner programme, releasing African, Asian, Latin American, European and Middle Eastern Christians into mission in their own regions.

As the church in the Global South has grown, the West – and Europe in particular – has become a new focus, recognising that mission is not just something for other countries but something we are called to join in everywhere, including at home. During the last decade we have established our Pioneer Mission Leadership Training to equip UK Christians for groundbreaking, transformational and sustainable mission. More recently we have been delivering the unique Partnership for Missional Church process, helping churches live mission in their local communities. Amid these changes, there has been a constancy and continuity: CMS remains committed to the cause of global mission, to seeing a world transformed by the love of Jesus as

THE CALL – WINTER 2019

we work to help set people free to live out their mission call.

This interplay of constancy and change is of course nothing new, but reflects the biblical story of God’s relationship with humanity.

The story of God’s many and various dealings with the people of Israel is a story of God’s constancy, his faithfulness. Yet although the coming of Jesus as Messiah was the fulfilment of the promises God had made and wholly in keeping with Israel’s hope, the manner in which he comes is far from expected: “He made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death – even death on a cross!” (Philippians 2:7-8).

God coming in human form was radically different from what was expected, so much so that it was treated as blasphemy. The story doesn’t end there of course. In the resurrection, “God exalted [Jesus] to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name” (v 9–11). It is ultimately a story of love: the constancy of God’s love for the world is powerfully demonstrated in his willingness to change how he reveals himself.

I began by asking how you react to change and have concluded by talking about love. As CMS continues on a journey of change yet remains constant to our core commitments, may we remember that it is love – God’s unfailing love for our world – that motivates all we do. As you read the stories and reflections in these pages, may you be encouraged by the many ways in which people are living God’s love and may the love of God sustain and inspire each one of us in our daily lives as we pursue, embrace and wrestle with the change we find around us.

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MISSION NEWS Alpha in the Middle East Thanks in part to CMS mission partners, the Alpha Course is revitalising the Church in the Middle East. Despite a turbulent context, and Alpha Syria is well and truly launched and people are growing in their faith.

Nabil and Sarah spend time training and equipping others to run Alpha courses, as well as running them themselves. Based in Lebanon, Nabil serves as Alpha Levant coordinator, while Sarah manages hospitality and administration, and supports Nabil. Last year, that involved several trips to Syria for Nabil.

Syria’s first Marriage Course started in Aleppo towards the end of last year, and several Alpha Courses have been running in both Aleppo and Damascus. Syrian leaders are

planning further courses in other cities. Groups in Beirut, Armenia and Eastern Turkey have also expressed an interest in running courses.

An Orthodox priest from Syria said: “I am sad to see that there has been Alpha in the Arab world for 14 years and we have only just heard about it!”

One Alpha Course participant in Latakia said: “I didn’t know anything before coming on the course, and now I have lots of important information and know how to pray and open the Bible and try to understand it. I had many questions that have been answered.”

Right: Celebration with the Armenian Orthodox community in Aleppo

Left: Alf Cooper with Archbishop Justin Welby

Chile celebrates becoming 40th province Long-standing mission partner Alf Cooper played a key role in the inauguration service of the 40th province of the Anglican Communion in Chile, interpreting for Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby.

In the service on 4 November in Santiago, Justin Welby presided over the inauguration and preached the sermon. He said: “This new province is a young, vibrant, Spirit-filled Church that has seen huge growth. It is

A much-needed visit from Northern Irish medics During the autumn, a medical team of 12 doctors and nurses from Northern Ireland visited Audrey and Colin Gibson in Lebanon to provide much-needed medical services to Syrian refugees and others in need. The team spent a week in Lebanon, splitting their time between two centres, working in conjunction with Audrey and Colin’s partner churches. The visit was a great success, with the team treating well over 1,000 people over the course of the week.

The church in Northern Ireland has been a wonderful supporter for the Lebanese Society for Education and Social Development (LSESD). They have helped provide Bibles to refugees and sent teams to help at camps for refugee children.

These medical missions are new for LSESD and much planning is required. Sufficient and suitable medical supplies need to be available, as well as space for medical personnel to meet with, and treat, patients. People in the surrounding areas need to be notified so they know when and where to come. Visiting medical personnel don’t 4

leading people to Christ in Chile and living out his call to serve others. We marvel and delight in the ways that God’s love is being seen through the creativity, passion and faithfulness of Chilean Anglicans.”

Alf commented: “We packed in over 800 Anglicans and friends from all over Chile and it was a very moving and emotional event.

All through, we sensed Jesus’ presence and call to his mission. Our gift to the Anglican Communion was a church planting guide that expresses the best of what our province can humbly offer. We have had to learn from scratch how to plant churches so the guide traces those steps in such a way (we hope) that it can help others along the same paths.”

Police surprised by prayer

Doctor, patient and interpreter at the Lebanon clinic

know how many patients, or which ailments, to expect.

Those who received treatment were extremely grateful, and it is hoped that more visits like this will be possible in future.

Audrey and Colin Gibson are people in mission working with children with special educational needs (Audrey) and as a fundraiser for various ministries (Colin).

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On the fourth anniversary of AMARE (the Argentine branch of the Mother’s Union, coordinated by mission partner Catherine Le Tissier), the Potrillo women set themselves the challenge of taking their faith into the community. They planned to visit police, schools, the hospital, shops and government offices, and to show love in action.

As the group of women waving placards reached the police station, the tension was palpable. The police were used to being attacked by family members of those accused of crimes for what many saw as unfair treatment. However, the voices of the crowd were raised not in anger but rather in prayer and praise; as the delegation soon explained, they had come to pray for the police, that God would help them in their work.

Bishop Crisanto Rojas, who was present, reported: “The police chief knelt down and wept, and asked the women and pastors to keep helping them on the streets.”

The spiritual impact of the women taking their faith into the community in this way was far greater than they could have imagined, causing something of a revival in the area, bringing repentance and release to several young people. The women have been urged to continue in the power of Christ’s name.

MISSION NEWS A new financial frontier A renowned CMS-Africa course, Financial Freedom for Families (F4), has recently been run in Arabic for the first time. The course has been helping families gain control over their finances and plan for the future.

Many families in Africa face a resource management crisis, getting into debt due to a lack of basic money management skills and misunderstanding of what the Bible says about money. The F4 course, based on biblical principles, gives participants tools to take control of their finances, and put in place simple measures to keep themselves out of debt and move towards stress-free finances.

South Sudanese trainers Joseph Noel (a CMS local partner) and Michael Aban, among the

first graduates of the F4 course in Juba a couple of years ago, took responsibility for translating the training manual into Arabic. Having seen the benefit of the course, they wanted to enable others to take the course in a language they understand better so they can get more out of it.

Joseph and Michael are now starting to see the fruits of their labour as the first ever Arabic F4 class graduated recently in Wau Diocese.

Joseph and Michael are already running their next course against a backdrop of economic hardship in the country due to protracted violent conflict. “Over 50 people have enrolled in this F4 class and we pray that as many as possible would complete the course,” says Joseph.

Joseph and Michael are hoping to have the translated training manual published and used to disciple Christians in South Sudan and beyond.

Churches journey to freedom A group of churches in Durham diocese have recently completed their three-year Partnership for Missional Church (PMC) journey, and report that they feel more confident to engage in their communities, enabled to speak publicly about God and look for his action in their midst.

One church member commented: “I’m so proud of our church – we are so different now!

We’ve grown so much as a church by going on this journey with PMC.” Another observed: “We recently held a church meeting on a contentious issue and used PMC principles to run the meeting. We had such a positive process and conversation, it couldn’t have happened without PMC. It’s changed us.”

A third said: “We’re always asking ‘Where is God in this?’ now. We talk about God all the time!”

PMC is a journey to help churches discover freedom in mission through a process of learning to pay attention to what God is already

At their final meeting, churches in Durham diocese brought items to represent their PMC journey

doing in the community, taking mission risks and recognising God’s unique call for their church.

Several new churches are starting their own PMC journey. A second cluster of churches in Durham, as well as a cluster in Bath and Wells diocese, have started the PMC journey this year, and a group of churches in Canterbury diocese will commence later in 2019.

Coming soon, CMS will be offering a new PMC online discussion forum where different groups of churches on the PMC journey can share stories and encourage each other.

Mission theory and practice meet in new book Church Mission Society hosted the launch of Missional Conversations, a new book edited by CMS’s Cathy Ross (Pioneer MA coordinator) and Colin Smith (dean of mission education), on Tuesday 27 November. Around 40 people gathered for the launch, including some of the CMS team and David Shervington, senior commissioning editor at SCM Press, the publisher.

The book explores contexts in contemporary mission through conversations between practitioners and academics. These include a number of CMS staff, mission partners and friends: Dave Bookless, Amy Ross, Amy Roche, Berdine van den Toren Lekkerkerker, Andrea Campanale, Mike Moynagh, Harvey Kwiyani, Kyama Mugambi, Dennis Tongoi, Jonny Baker, John Wheatley and Ian Adams.

Mission contexts covered include the environment, migration, interfaith questions, community, new forms of church, innovation and imagination. Former executive leader of CMS, Philip Mounstephen, commented: “At its best the story of Church Mission Society… has been one of sustained, reflective, practical missiology…. This collection of essays by many members and friends of the CMS community stands in exactly that tradition.”

Elsewhere in the mission education team, pioneer hub coordinator Paul Bradbury has also written a new book. Home by Another Route will be published by BRF in February and draws on Ezekiel to encourage and inspire the contemporary church to seek renewal through the Spirit.

The books are available online or from your local bookshop.

New churches in new places for new people

A new pioneer hub is launching in London

The Centre for Church Planting and Growth (under London diocese) and Church Mission Society are launching a new School of Pioneers which will identify and train new pioneer leaders to meet London’s need for new churches and fresh expressions of church.

In London, church membership has been on the rise in the past few years, indicating more churches are needed. With the backing of the Bishop of London, CMS’s School of Pioneers will allow the Diocese of London to offer formal training to lay pioneers.

The new training hub will offer pioneers the chance to understand their vocation and gain the

THE CALL – WINTER 2019

expertise, experience and understanding to help them launch and lead fresh expressions of church, including missional communities, community projects and entrepreneurships, across the diocese.

The Rt Rev Ric Thorpe, Bishop of Islington and leader of the Centre for Church Planting and Growth, commented: “I am excited by the potential of our partnership with CMS. We are working to encourage a culture of pioneering through church plants, fresh expressions and missional communities throughout the diocese and through the School of Pioneers, we will be able to train and commission lay people to lead new forms of church in new places for new people.”

To make this training available to even more pioneers, CMS also has plans for two further training hubs: one in Bath and Wells diocese and one in the North of England.

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MISSION NEWS

Work on the nursery school at Nyambeshe

Tanzania: generous gifts give women and children new chances Some well-timed generous gifts to the Rehema Project in Tanzania mean that marginalised women and children in the Diocese of Mara will benefit from a developing nursery school, a safe house and a life-changing micro-finance scheme.

Mission partner Heather Johnstone reports that in June last year, a large team of students from Northern Ireland visited and raised money for various projects, including a nursery school at Nyambeshe, which has been based in a small room at the back of a church. Heather commented, “Not only that, but they also got stuck in and helped with the work alongside local people from Nyambeshe.”

The Rehema Project also received a significant gift from Anglican Aid in Australia and started a micro-loan finance initiative. In July they granted 40 small loans of 100,000 Tanzanian shillings each for women chosen by the Mother’s Union and leaders in the diocese to start small businesses.

Going even further, Rehema were also able to support another project in the diocese – a safe house for girls escaping female genital mutilation. Rehema were able to give them a couple of months’ supply of sanitary towels and lotions, which they urgently needed. Heather called all of these developments, “an amazing answer to prayer and yet another example of God’s unfailing provision.”

Thanksgiving by the thousands in Kiev In September, 100,000 Christians in Kiev participated in a public thanksgiving celebration, including Church Mission Society mission partner Alison Giblett, who is based in Kiev, and Philip Mounstephen, former executive leader of CMS. Alison reported: “On the central street of the city, where all the revolutions took place, Christians celebrated.”

Festivities included music, food, sporting activities, fun zones for children, a flash mob banner and a skate park with a Christian professional US skateboarder. This was supported by around 1,000 technical staff, mostly volunteers.

Buses brought people in from different parts of Ukraine. By the end of the festival, 50,000 cards had been submitted recording what people are thankful to God for as well as prayer

NEWS IN BRIEF KIDS COMMITTED TO CHRIST Mission partners Debora and Levi Santana in Brazil were involved in running a kids’ camp in October. They report: “We helped with worship and speaking in the evening services. We had 70 kids attend, and 15 gave their lives to Jesus for the first time. It was a privilege to see God move amongst them.”

INTERNATIONAL AWARD FOR NEPAL PIONEER Manju, a palliative care nurse in Nepal who worked with mission partner Dan Munday received a health professional award at the Palliative Care Champions Awards 2018, run by the Worldwide Hospice Palliative Care Alliance.

CMS ON EVERY CONTINENT When the CMS mission network met in October, a milestone was reached. As SAMS USA joined the network, there is now a CMS network presence on every continent (except Antarctica).

GRANNIES CARING ACROSS GENERATIONS Inkululeko gogo (granny) support group, part of the Hillcrest AIDS Centre Trust’s Gogo Support Group Programme in South Africa, have set up a special savings group to build each other houses, mission associate Bekky Stredwick reports. The money saved by the gogos, all of whom have been affected by HIV/ AIDS in some way, is used to replace small mud huts with sturdier, more spacious houses.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR ENCOURAGEMENT Our staff in the CMS office were deeply touched as they read through the hundreds of encouraging messages you wrote for people in mission in response to our Christmas appeal. The cards were sent out all around the world to our people in mission to bring them some cheer over the festive period. Thank you to everyone who took the time to write a message and give.

Philip Mounstephen and Alison Giblett behind a sign saying “thanksgiving” in Ukrainian

requests, with many leaving their names and contact details. Alison noted: “This is a common practice in many churches, where the collected notes are then prayed for corporately during the service.”

Give thanks for this public celebration of faith.

CLINIC AND CHURCH JOIN FORCES IN AMMAN Refugees in Amman, Jordan, have been able to access healthcare thanks to the work of CMS mission partner Joel Kelling. He introduced St Paul’s Anglican Church to Operation Mercy to facilitate a new initiative to support refugees. St Paul’s has a long history of welcoming displaced people, and this autumn was able to host a free clinic for people living nearby. Operation Mercy provided a doctor, two nurses, a pharmacist and a community engagement officer.

For more mission news, stories and resources visit:

CHURCHMISSIONSOCIETY.ORG

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CHURCH MISSIO N SO CIETY

WORLD VIEWS

MAKING A DIFFERENCE

THROUGH MENTORING Honduras is not an easy country to grow up in. Widespread poverty, coupled with social and political issues and corruption, makes for a harsh environment in which children are being forgotten.

Honduras

by Steve Poulson, working with Street Kids Direct in Honduras

Left: Cristofer is now free to do the things children should do Right: These former street kids now have a good education, safety and love

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entoring changes lives and is one way to remember these children.

I don’t think it’s the answer but it’s certainly an answer with a proven high impact.

Our mentoring programme is based on a landmark study conducted in the 1990s, the Adverse Childhood Experiences Study (ACE Study). The ACE Study identified nine different experiences that have a significant bearing on a child’s future, including different forms of abuse and neglect, a parent’s absence, mental health problems, drug use or incarceration.

Four or more of these experiences mean a child is 4600 per cent more likely to take drugs and twice as likely to have cancer.

This same study revealed the only thing that changes the lives of those children: an adult who is caring and consistent, and that’s what we hope a mentor can be.

I mentor a boy called Cristofer. He’s now 13 years old and I’ve been mentoring him since January 2018. His birth

was never registered, so he doesn’t have a birth certificate, which in turn means he’s never had access to healthcare or education. Cristofer’s mother and father are still alive, but aren’t really parents as we would understand the term. His mum wants nothing to do with him and his dad just isn’t capable. Cristofer lives with his grandma who suffers from bipolar disorder, his uncle who’s an alcoholic and his two aunties who earn some money so the family are able to eat.

It’s a very tumultuous life. Because he has had five of the nine experiences identified by the study and he spends a lot of time on the streets associating with people who could be a bad influence, he was offered a place on the mentoring programme.

We hope that mentoring will help children to break out of generational cycles of abuse and make a different future for themselves.

For example, the Big Brothers Big Sisters mentoring programme – which has run for

THE CALL – WINTER 2019

over 100 years in the USA – reports that children and young people who have been mentored for at least a year have a 52 per cent lower school dropout rate, are 46 per cent less likely to start using alcohol and drugs and are 33 per cent less likely to be violent. And one thing that’s especially valuable is that mentoring significantly improves a child’s relationship with their family. With a mentor, a child is likely not only to catch up with a typical child, but surpass the typical child’s progress in terms of their relationship with their family.

Since mentoring Cristofer we’ve managed to get him into school for the first time and, through a very long and arduous process, we’ve also almost got his birth certificate. The moment he showed me his first set of school results, with an average of 99 per cent(!), was so powerful. He even invited me to his Father’s Day celebration at school. It’s such an honour to be invited in the first place, and then to see him within his school context with his uniform on, pretending to behave because I’m there, was amazing.

What has been wonderful to see over the past few months that I’ve been mentoring him is not just his average exam results of 99 per cent, but seeing him grow in confidence and really come out of his shell.

Previously he would be terrified to talk to new people, whereas now (albeit with some caution still) he will greet the visitors that I bring along with me, have conversations with them and ask if they want to go and play PlayStation in the local arcade.

Just being part of his life, seeing him change and become who God has made him to be is incredible.

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WORLD VIEWS

A GREEN SPACE FOR EVERYONE AT THE HEART OF THE COMMUNITY

Wolf Fields, our community project, started in 2013, after we came across a neglected green space which had been designated for allotments but left empty.

T UK

By Kailean and Kim Khongsai, fostering creation care in Southall, West London

Left: Working party at Wolf Fields Right: Wolf Fields before the project started

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hree acres in size and close to a housing estate, church and school, we saw potential and had a sense of God’s calling to the site.

We had a vision, but there was lots of work to be done. We wanted to see the site transformed into a beautiful green space that would bring the whole community, no matter their faith, together. For that to happen, we would need to clear the site. As it had been left empty for several years, it had fallen into disrepair and been used for fly tipping and substance abuse.

Since we started, we have gradually seen different parts of the site take shape and benefit the community in different ways. One of our first tasks was clearing 54 tonnes of rubbish, including mattresses and furniture.

New paths were laid to improve access across the site, and we brought in nest boxes and a bird feeding station to attract wildlife.

A central aspect of the Wolf Fields project is our community allotment. Fully organic and lovingly maintained by local

community members, it produces food all year round.

In 2014, in keeping with the spirit of a community project, a competition was held in four local primary schools to design a sensory garden, and the final design was crafted by a local seven-year-old. The sensory garden is now complete, with a beautiful central dome feature. The local community has helped with the planting, and various companies have donated products, time and expertise to help the sensory garden become a reality. In February 2018, a braille information board for the sensory garden and an audio post for the pond were installed in conjunction with Ealing Association for the Blind.

A community orchard and apiary (cluster of beehives) have been established on the site as part of the Pollination Project, a project intended to benefit local insects and invertebrates. It has also proved a valuable resource for schoolchildren learning about

CHURCH MISSIO N SO CIETY

pollination. We plan to add a wildflower meadow in the spring to help support the apiary.

A storytelling shelter and fire pit, installed in September 2016, has become one of our most popular spots for schoolchildren as well as for adults. The facility is well used for storytelling, bonfires, cooking and for prayer events, including an Easter sunrise service.

The project is maintained by members of the Wolf Fields Friends Group, who volunteer on a weekly basis. We have welcomed help from local churches (Masih Ghar, St Anselm’s, St John’s, St Mary’s and Southall Baptist Church) and youth volunteering groups like The Challenge Network. More recently, local agencies such as MindFood (which helps people improve their mental health through horticulture), Hope for Southall Street Homeless and Community Payback have also started to get involved.

We have installed a shipping container as a secure storage area for our tools and equipment (as things have been stolen in the past), and painted it with a mural designed by talented local community members.

Over 60 local schoolchildren were involved in painting the container.

We added a pond in November 2017, which is an important focal point for wildlife on the site. We are excited to see some wildlife attracted to the pond and even start to settle down! We plan to introduce more aquatic plants early next year.

Last October we celebrated our harvest event at Wolf Fields. It was a wonderful event with most of our volunteers attending along with local church youth groups. In total, we were over 70 people. Our activities included sowing daffodil bulbs for next spring, harvesting allotment crops, food and a bonfire, as well as group prayer.

WORLD VIEWS

KINGDOM STUFF WILD AND PRECIOUS LIVES

We live in Hull, where we spend much of our time listening, learning, agitating, discerning, imagining and creating, and supporting those living on the margins who do not yet know their worth.

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By Anna and Chris Hembury in Hull

e do this through creating and curating mutually supportive spaces such as a breakfast club, weekly community meals, a group for young people exploring faith for the first time, a sewing collective and other community initiatives. All of our work is about doing life together with others, not simply doing things for them. All of it is about sharing the Jesus we know and discovering what others have to teach us about ourselves and about God. Two recent stories offer a snapshot of our work:

WHEN TIMING IS EVERYTHING We often find that youth work can be a fine balance between encouraging and teaching. Part of our mission is about finding that particular question, the one that stops a teenager in their tracks, makes them assess where they’re at and change direction. It could be a question about work, education or faith. In the words of the poet Mary Oliver: “What will you do with your one wild and precious life?”

But what turns a good question into a life-changing one? Timing. Recently, Chris felt somehow pressed to ask a question of a local lad who lives on our street, comes to youth club and hangs out in the community garden whenever he wants somewhere to chill. Did he have any thoughts on who may have kicked in the side of our brick-built barbecue in the community garden?

Chris was realistically pessimistic about getting the answer he was looking for (or hoping for) but the timing seemed apposite. To his surprise, the lad owned up without flinching to the fact that he had kicked the wall in. It wasn’t an intentionally malicious act and nothing against us; he was just having some growing-up-teenageboy fun (also known as showing off).

The next timely question Chris asked was, did he fancy helping rebuild it? Again without flinching, he said yes. And so a few days later they spent a couple of hours

Photo: Rebuilding the barbecue that had been destroyed

THE CALL – WINTER 2019

together mixing cement, re-laying the bricks, finished off with a bit of pointing and then, of course, the necessary standing back and marvelling at their handiwork.

WHEN WHAT YOU NEED SEEMS IMPOSSIBLE Our friend Jenny (who comes to our breakfast club) lives in a five-bedroom house, which she has rented for 10 years.

She has put time and effort into decorating it from top to bottom and making it into a beautiful home for her and her family. Last summer, she was informed by her landlord that he had decided to put the house on the market with immediate effect. Suddenly, Jenny found herself showing potential buyers around her family home.

Jenny and her large family would require a similar size property to move into, but this was a near-impossible ask given that virtually all the five-bedroom houses in our area have been turned into flats. Jenny, who already suffers from depression and stressrelated illness, was devastated and at a loss, under pressure to take the only option of moving her family to the other side of the city where there was suitable housing stock.

This option was far from ideal, however, as it would be far from her support network and community and her children’s schools.

We told Jenny that we would pray and encouraged her to pray for a miracle herself, asking God that the landlord would change his mind and take the house off the market.

Two months later the landlord did exactly that and Jenny was able to sign a new contract!

This, for us, is kingdom stuff – seeing God’s will being done on earth in ordinary, everyday situations where we’ve been privileged to walk alongside people and see God make more than a marginal difference 9

INTRODUCING:

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A new gap year opportunity from Church Mission Society.

NDER

SEE. KNOW. SERVE.

WHO?

WHAT?

WHERE?

Christians aged 17–25 interested in mission.

A four, eight or 12 month immersive mission experience.

South Asia or Southall, UK, or both!

The call in action

For info on this new gap year opportunity email vro@churchmissionsociety.org or visit churchmissionsociety.org/opportunities

CHURCH: INSIDE OUT? Monday 4 March 2019 10:00 – 16:30

Church Mission Society Watlington Road, Oxford, OX4 6BZ

The call in action

PIONEER CONVERSATIONS DAY 2019 Within pioneering and Fresh Expressions questions about church and mission abound. Is this church?

When does this become church? Can we have church-free Christianity?

Who decides what is church?

CMS conversations days bring together theologians, writers, practitioners and pioneers to explore themes and start a conversation.

For info and tickets please visit: churchmissionsociety.org/conversations or email: pioneer@churchmissionsociety.org

LEAD STORY

ACCIDENTAL Meet some unexpected pioneers – who show us that innovation in mission sometimes “just happens” through obedience and taking the next steps that God puts in front of us.

BY JENNY MUSCAT, SENIOR EDITORIAL CONTENT PRODUCER

W

hen we talk about “pioneering” as one of the core values of Church Mission Society and describe our people in mission as pioneers, what image comes to mind? I recently caught up with some of our mission partners who wouldn’t necessarily have described themselves as pioneers, yet they have ended up trying new things and crossing boundaries in ways they might never have expected.

On moving to Ecuador in 2013, Sharon Wilcox didn’t know exactly what her work would look like, but she

knew it would be as part of the Life in Abundance Foundation (Ecuador), an organisation founded by another SAMS then CMS mission partner, Jill Ball. As Jill was retiring, it was suggested that Sharon might take over leading the Foundation, working with children and young people with special needs.

What she wasn’t expecting was to set up an independent project from scratch, helping young adults with special needs to gain life skills – yet this is how her call unfolded.

Francesca Elloway comments that she would have described a pioneer as “an intrepid person going into the unknown”. In contrast, her experience was that, after 15 years working in the Service Medical in Aru, DR Congo, she was handing over some of her work

THE CALL – WINTER 2019

Top: Helen Burningham with members of SPLASH Dance Company

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ACCIDENTAL INNOVATION

to local staff and felt the need to push some doors to be prepared to return to the UK. Having enjoyed working in palliative care earlier in her career, she undertook a distance course to refresh her skills.

Yet eight years later she returned to the UK having started a palliative care service in Aru, pioneered a collaboration between the church and medical staff and been involved in developing palliative care training across francophone Africa.

Helen Burningham knew that dance was central to her call in mission and commented, “When I first left for Africa I wanted to use dance in any way possible to transform lives and bring hope.” However, on her arrival in 2013, she was very aware of her own youth and inexperience and she wondered how her call might unfold.

In 2017 SPLASH Dance Company came into being – an inclusive dance group in Kampala, Uganda, founded by Helen, in which those with and without disabilities participate together. Looking back, she notes, “I am a pioneer as I have ventured onto very recent ground, as inclusive dance in Uganda is still in its formative stages.”

So if these three didn’t set off with plans to pioneer brand new projects, what happened to bring these initiatives to birth?

PROLOGUES TO PIONEERING In all three cases, it is clear from hearing their stories that God had been leading them to this point for some time – sometimes without them realising.

Although staying in DRC to teach and establish palliative care was “not in my game plan”, Francesca’s experiences of palliative care earlier in her medical career were an important part of her journey. She acknowledges that, although her change of focus in DRC was unexpected, she “would have been happy to know that [her work] would involve palliative care in the future.”

Sharon, meanwhile, found in her first year in Ecuador that her Spanish wasn’t strong enough for her to lead the Foundation, so she worked as a classroom assistant. She explains, “During that year I began to feel that God had not called me here for three years to be a classroom assistant, though it was great fun. I had worked in England as a learning disability nurse/ residential home manager for 35 years. I know now that [God] had this planned for

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a lot longer than I knew about.”

It was this experience that equipped Sharon for the project she was about to undertake.

She also comments, “God knew what was needed and when.” After accomplishing the “somewhat daunting” task of writing a life skills programme for school leavers and adults with different abilities, Sharon needed to translate the materials into Spanish. She tells me, “As I came to the end with my limited Spanish, along came another mission partner from Guatemala.

She speaks fluent Spanish and English and was happy to proofread what I had written.”

Helen, already passionate about the power of dance, had encountered inclusive dance while at university and participated in training sessions before leaving the UK. Before starting SPLASH she had been using dance in her work with CRANE (Children at Risk Action Network) in Uganda, but she described her use of inclusive dance at this stage as “small scale”. Yet her passion and opportunities to engage with inclusive dance practitioners while on home leave meant that she was being well prepared for what was around the corner.

FINDING THE GAP Another element that these three have in common is simply seeing the need in front of them.

As Sharon settled into her work in Ecuador, she commented that, “It quickly became apparent that there [were] no organisations offering meaningful support to young people or adults with special needs once they leave school.” As this was her area of expertise, she set about designing a project to meet that need, sure that God had called her to the area for this purpose.

Helen’s realisation was more gradual: “When I first started out I was interested in dance and how it transforms people’s lives but had not envisaged myself specifically using dance as a tool for advocacy. Over time I saw the challenges and lack of support for persons with disabilities and the passion within me grew stronger until I could not ignore it.”

For Francesca, those she worked with flagged their need for her input: as she told two close colleagues about her palliative care studies, their questions developed from “What is palliative care?” to “Can you teach us?”

INSPIRATION FROM OTHERS Helen comments, “I have been inspired by other pioneers who have gone before

Top left: Cristian with the first fruits of the life skills programme Left middle: Computer studies at the life skills programme Left bottom: Palliative care building in Aru Top: Members of SPLASH Dance Company Top middle: Participants at a palliative care seminar for church members Top right: Hombre Nuevo en Jesucristo church provided a home for the life skills programme

me and showed me the possibilities.” This is another important theme: innovations don’t happen in a vacuum. Helen had been inspired by friends working in inclusive dance in the UK and by a number of dance groups transforming communities in Uganda. “All these groups are using their talents not for their gain but for others and this spurred me on to get out of my comfort zone.”

As she began helping the team in Aru to introduce palliative care in their context, Francesca contacted a palliative care specialist in Uganda, Dr Anne Merriman. Anne had started a model hospice in Kampala and had recognised that francophone Africa had fewer resources in terms of palliative care training. As well as providing inspiration and advice, the hospice in Uganda provided a context for some of the team from Aru to receive training and see palliative care in action.

One of the nurses she had worked with previously had left the hospital to train for ordination. He returned to a role in the cathedral, but continued some nursing work to boost his income. When Francesca told him about palliative care he responded, “I think this is what God has been preparing me to do, using both my medical nursing training and my pastoral training.” This was another moment for Francesca to step back and say, “Wow, God’s got this all planned!”

OVERCOMING CHALLENGES Yet our accidental pioneers discovered the journey of starting a new thing is not without challenges.

For Sharon, there was a major setback when the Foundation – having initially approved her work on the project, provided space and invited her to stay beyond her initial term of service – went through major changes and was unable to provide what was needed for the programme to run as envisaged. Sharon concluded, “To stay would mean that I would not be doing the will of God as he had called me to do. So I resigned.”

This meant not only leaving her job, but also her flat. After conversations with a local church, however, they agreed to take on the life skills programme as a social enterprise, meaning the work could continue.

Francesca, too, faced major hurdles. The most fundamental of these was that “no one knew what palliative care was”. So there was a process of educating both medics and the local population about the concept.

After all, “doctors were meant to make you better.” There was a huge pressure to be seen to do everything to find a cure, even if that meant long and uncomfortable journeys for expensive treatment. It was quite a change to see palliative care, not as a failure, but as a way of making dying as comfortable as possible.

Yet one patient’s response to the news that nothing could be done to cure his condition was, “Thank you for telling me the truth, doctor. Now I can live.” He was freed from the need to spend his remaining time in constant pursuit of an elusive cure.

To help to resource the project, Francesca trained church workers in how to make simple but effective interventions. This spiritual and social input “helped people to feel important and valued” without further need for expensive medical resources.

“If someone had told me before coming that I would need to start something new… I would have said ‘I can't do that.’”

Sharon Wilcox, mission partner in Ecuador

SIMPLE OBEDIENCE As I heard about how these projects unfolded, the thread running through seemed not to be extraordinarily intrepid people or complete visions of what was to come, but rather a constant obedience. All of our pioneers have been attentive to where God is at work and where he is asking them to join in.

Whether through sudden changes for Sharon, a natural season of handover for Francesca or Helen’s building sense that a new chapter was coming as “I had become a bit stuck in my work”, all three simply took the steps that God was calling them to at that moment.

Sharon sums this up: “I realise, looking back, that God always has things in hand. If we listen to him and seek to do his will, he does the rest.”

So what, or who, makes someone a pioneer? In each of these stories, what shines through is God calling his people to follow him in doing a new thing, sharing the love of Jesus in word and deed.

THE CALL – WINTER 2019

GIVE

To support people in mission as they seek to obey God’s call and to equip them to pioneer new things, go to churchmissionsociety.org/give

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FEATURE STORY

“WE WENT TO LEARN, NOT TO HELP.” In August 2018, a group of four people from the Winchester Diocese School of Mission travelled to Byumba, Rwanda. They had one objective: to learn from Africans in mission. Spoiler alert: it happened.

BY NAOMI ROSE STEINBERG, HEAD OF COMMUNICATIONS

I

t might sound unusual to hear a member of the clergy say he’s not interested in helping people, but Mark Collinson, Canon Principal of the Diocese of Winchester and Winchester Cathedral, is clear that the point of taking a pilot group of four people to Byumba diocese, Rwanda, this summer was not about helping people: “We went with an attitude of learning, not helping. Some visits to companion links are to help people, but that wasn’t the model we were following this time.”

The four travellers included Canon Mark, another Winchester Diocese School of Mission staff member, one ordinand and one curate.

“We want all people we are teaching in the School of Mission in Winchester to get experience of learning crossculturally because we want all licensed ministers, both lay and ordained, to integrate cross-cultural partnership into their future leadership ministry,” Canon Mark explained, adding, “Experiencing the fullness of Christ happens when we discover how Christ is incarnate in other cultures. The story of salvation can never be complete until cultural boundaries are crossed.”

Part of the two-week visit to Byumba included joining with clergy and lay leaders from Byumba diocese in receiving Samaritan Strategy training from CMS-Africa. Having travelled to Africa previously with Bishop Tim Dakin, former general secretary of Church Mission Society, Canon Mark was familiar with CMS-Africa’s training programmes.

The Samaritan Strategy training was provided by Kenyan, Rwandan and Burundian facilitators. The Winchester foursome joined a class of archdeacons, area deans and representatives from each deanery from the Mothers Union, Fathers Union and Youth Union – 58 people in total. All the details were arranged

by Karobia Njogu, cross-cultural mission manager for CMSAfrica.

The Samaritan Strategy training begins with the question, “Who is my neighbour?” From there, it encourages, prepares

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GREEN DREAMS

Left: Matt, the curate in the Winchester group, with a curate in Byumba diocese Bottom left: Morning prayers Top left: The diocesan offices Top middle: Quiz during training Top right: Samaritan Strategy training delivered by trainer Rev Meshack Okumu, a CMS local partner working with Carlile College's Urban Mission in Kibera, Nairobi, Kenya

and equips local churches to bring about real, whole-life transformation in their communities. This involves a notable mindset shift towards recognising that God has already provided resources to help make that change; part of the task is to identify those resources and use them to the greatest effect.

During the training, churches are encouraged to start Seed Projects that are resourced from within the church – these should be small, repeatable and meet social, educational, physical and spiritual needs.

Covering all four areas, even through multiple Seed Projects, is a very important aim.

This, says Canon Mark, is a key learning point for UK Christians: “Some of our most popular, pioneering programmes in the Church of England tend to focus on one of those four needs and yet a community needs to know that Christ meets need in all four of those areas.” He can definitely see a place for Samaritan Strategy to be taught in the UK: “It provides a useful critique for the way we do things.”

The team from Winchester were inspired by Seed Projects they saw in action during their visit: “Micro-finance for social enterprise was endemic and life transforming. Some urban parishes have micro-finance at small group level. Investigating this would be an interesting way of helping Westerners to share what they have in common and release funds for social enterprise projects.”

In addition to being small, repeatable and resourced without external funding, Seed Projects must benefit people outside the church and be devoid of any kind of manipulation.

Matt, the curate in the Winchester group, said, “One of the stories we heard was that the average rural worker in Rwanda earns about 800–1200 RWF [per day], while a decent meal costs around 500 RWF. This essentially means that many families go without eating proper meals. Members of the church community have been fasting one day a week and giving the food fasted to a family in need – giving one

whole day’s income to another family. Imagine the impact we could have by having the same attitude to reach the marginalised.”

Beyond the learning itself, the context for learning proved especially compelling.

The impact of the 1994 genocide in Rwanda remains profound. “At our very first meeting [in Byumba] Bishop Emmanuel talked about the big question facing the church, namely how could a country where 80 per cent of the population claimed to be Christian see the 1994 genocide? The conclusion is that despite professing Christianity nominally, many people do not grow into being disciples.

Discipleship is therefore a big thrust for the church.” As the team observed, this is not without relevance to the UK. Johannes, an ordinand in Bournemouth, said, “In the UK, we have… perhaps let go of some of the justice and holiness of God. That’s a mistake, because those who have perpetrated heinous evil, or who have had evil perpetrated against them, can’t relate to a ‘nice’ God. A God like that simply cannot face and overcome the ugliness of evil that is done in this world.”

Hearing how the church in Rwanda has gone through a time of soul-searching and responded to people’s physical and spiritual needs following the genocide was moving and challenging. Johannes reported a story about a man named Damass: “We met Damass, who lost both legs and one eye to a machete attack [during the genocide] as a child. … the community has embraced him, and look after him. He is now married with two children, and the village take it in turns to wheel him about.

This taught me about real church family and community.” Matt concurred: “[Damass] clearly mourned over his loss and injuries but was so obviously filled with the Spirit and overflowing with love for Christ and [the] Church. This is so rare to find in the average church in the UK.” Yet what was learned in Rwanda goes beyond a simple lesson that faith can triumph over adversity. In a summary statement about the trip, one participant said: “In the wider secular, progressive, postmodern, information

THE CALL – WINTER 2019

age, [people in the UK] often feel like we want all the positive impacts of the Kingdom of God (society founded on joy and relationship, life spent with purpose, great reforms in education, healthcare, infrastructure, social care, etc.), however we don’t want the King of the Kingdom. We want to be able to turn the praise back to ourselves, or even believe that the concept of a providing God is outdated. In Rwanda, we’ve learned the opposite culture, that in wider Eastern Africa, everything in life is spiritual, but it appears that the spiritual side is not connected with deeds…. Much of the teaching we heard was aimed at combating this…. The African culture, of ‘spiritual awareness’ is becoming more dominant in the UK, with the rise of religious pluralism; it is vital to learn these lessons ahead of the curve. Christians in the UK need to make sure we’re equipped to allow every Christian to be ‘fully mature in Christ’ – loving the Lord with all their heart and neighbours as themselves with practical demonstrations of social transformation.”

The mutual learning between cultures that took place in Rwanda was described by the Winchester group as “invaluable”. When asked if they will repeat this venture, Canon Mark replied, “Definitely. In fact there is a trip to Shyogwe diocese planned for February 2019.”

The Diocese of Winchester particularly values taking part in this kind of intentional crosscultural learning from global voices in mission – and would definitely recommend it to others: “By being in another culture we become more aware of the cultural boundaries in our own cultures…. We observe the way our brothers and sisters overcome the linguistic, cultural, spiritual, institutional and organisational barriers that hinder the mission of God. This helps us reflect on our own context as we join in with God’s mission in the UK.”

LEARN

To find out more about some of the local leaders partnering with CMS, be challenged by them and support them, go to churchmissionsociety.org/local 15

s i n o i s s i m #

COMING 1 FEB Are you on Instagram? Do you know people who are?

Please tell them about instagram.com/mission_is Recent international events and media coverage have shown us that when it comes to mission, there are quite a few misperceptions out there.

We could try to counter these by saying, “No, mission isn’t this or that.”

But we’d rather talk about what mission is.

We want to help widen people’s views of mission by simply sharing short stories and photos of God at work through relatable people and in surprising ways: dance, wrestling, sickness, mushrooms… just to name a few!

Don’t let mission get dismissed.

Here’s how you can be part of this social media movement:

mission_is

THIS IS MISSION

FOLLOW

Follow This is Mission on Instagram: instagram.com/mission_is

SPREAD THE WORD

Spread the word about This is Mission to your friends, family and church

SHARE

Share your mission_is story.

Send a photo and a story of God at work (maximum 200 words) to thisismission@churchmissionsociety.org

Follow the This is

BRUARY 2019 mission_is

THIS IS MISSION

THIS IS MISSION

THIS IS MISSION

Mission campaign on the Instagram app or visit:

INSTAGRAM.COM/MISSION_IS

A NAIROBI PHOTO DIARY

IT’S AFRICA’S TIME Last October, a CMS team visited Nairobi for a glimpse into the work and impact of CMS-Africa as our sister society celebrated 10 years. Jeremy Woodham shares his photo diary.

ay Thursd s with passionatelyAfrica

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“We learn that being neighbour a to another p is not an o ption, it’s a erson must. You need to off er your tim e, offer your talen t to make s ure that you becom e a blessin g in the life of ano ther perso n. That ha been our b s iggest mot ivation.”

Meshack O duk e of the train on the transforming p ing offered o

by CMS-Af wer rica

THE CALL – WINTER 2019

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FEATURE STORY

PAINTING A PICTURE OF PERU Since arriving in Peru in 2013, Anna Sims has been sharing in people’s faith journeys, through discipleship work and her current focus of prison ministry. To celebrate five years in Lima, Anna invited questions from her supporters. Here she shares some of their questions and her answers to paint a picture of life in Peru:

WHAT CAN YOU SEE OUTSIDE YOUR WINDOW? My window looks out onto the street with a tree that has bright orange flowers and birds.

There are always large pieces of coloured fabric hanging out to dry at the events company over the road.

WHAT ARE THE SHOPS LIKE AND HOW EASY IS IT TO BUY THE THINGS YOU NEED? We have corner shops, markets, supermarkets and department stores. The fruit is a lot more seasonal here so you can’t get everything all year round, but it makes you appreciate it even more when you can.

WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR FAVOURITE WILDLIFE MOMENT IN PERU? We’d just arrived at a Tapir Hide in the jungle when I noticed something moving in the toilet. It was a sloth drinking out of the toilet bowl, safe from predators. She had the most amazing fringe! We then spent the next half hour watching her very, very slowly move round the handrail to some trees. She was so close and unexpected, it was brilliant!

Name: Anna Sims Location: Lima, Peru My call: I am passionate about God, Latin America, people and the arts My role: I am part of Walking in Liberty, a prison ministry supporting English-speaking female foreign inmates and ex-offenders in Lima

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WHEN YOU FIRST ARRIVED, DID YOU EXPERIENCE CULTURE SHOCK EVEN THOUGH YOU HAD WORKED IN SOUTH AMERICA BEFORE? Yes, it’s totally different approaching a short-term placement and trying to settle somewhere and put down roots. I still get shocked by things – the noise, men urinating on the street, the aesthetic taste. It works both ways though – the first time I returned to London, I thought there was a bomb scare or something as it was so quiet and ordered. I couldn’t believe I was in a capital city.

DO YOU FEEL INTEGRATED INTO PERUVIAN LIFE AND WHAT DO YOU MISS FROM THE UK? I definitely feel as if Peru is my home and that I’m in the right place for now, but I don’t really fit in. I miss the comfort of living in my own culture, the sense of humour, ease of communication and shared cultural references.

HOW HAS LIVING IN PERU AFFECTED YOUR SENSE OF IDENTITY? It has been very humbling. I really enjoyed my life in Manchester, but it wasn’t until I got to Peru that I realised how much of my sense of identity was tied up in the things that I did rather than in being a daughter of God. CAN YOU MENTION SOME TIMES WHEN YOU’VE CLEARLY SEEN JESUS AT WORK? I’ve really seen Jesus at work when moments of compassion and perfectly timed care have met the needs of one of the women in prison, through an unexpected call or hug and through words spoken to someone without realising the positive impact they would have.

PAINTING A PICTURE OF PERU the prison ministry, it has been the same process of taking time to visit people, listen to them and try to encourage them where they’re at.

WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED ABOUT YOURSELF OVER THE LAST FIVE YEARS? That I like being comfortable, that I am stubborn and get tired and cross easily but in spite of all those things I am known, chosen and loved by God – I am a work in progress!

YOUR MINISTRY HAS CHANGED DURING YOUR TIME IN PERU – HAS YOUR SENSE OF CALLING REMAINED CONSTANT? The only clear sense of calling that I have ever had was that I should be in Latin America. I originally thought I was coming to Peru to work on art projects with children. I always assumed I would be working with Latin Americans but I can see how God is using me, my personality, experience and character with the foreign women I am working with now.

DO YOU HAVE ANY STORIES OF A MIRACLE YOU HAVE SEEN? The wife of one of the Anglican vicars was miraculously healed of a tumour in her throat a few months ago while being prayed for on an Alpha retreat.

Top left: Anna on her first day in Peru, September 2013, with fellow mission partners Sarah and Paul Tester Top right: Reading the Bible with an ex-offender Bottom: Unexpected encounter: meeting a sloth in the toilet

WHICH PASSAGE OF THE BIBLE HAS MEANT THE MOST TO YOU IN YOUR CURRENT ROLE? God has used Psalm 146 to speak to me during various seasons of my time here, including verse nine when I first moved here, verse three when dealing with broken relationships and verse seven in my current work. The key verses in all those times have been the command to “Praise the Lord” in verses one and two.

WHAT HAVE BEEN THE BIGGEST CHALLENGES AND ENCOURAGEMENTS OVER THE PAST FIVE YEARS? Challenges have included language and cultural misunderstandings, transient relationships, struggling with loneliness, finding my fit when I first arrived and the structure of the Peruvian Anglican church. Encouragements have included the accumulation of local knowledge, seeing transformation in people, changes in systems and G’s (an ex-offender) baptism.

WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR MOST SIGNIFICANT EXPERIENCE WITH GOD SINCE YOU HAVE BEEN A CMS MISSION PARTNER? My year at Redcliffe Bible College before I moved to Peru was really significant in preparing me for living here. I had more space and time to study the Bible and lay foundations and acquire tools that I have since relied on and drawn from in good times and bad.

HOW HAS YOUR WORK IN PRISONS MADE A DIFFERENCE TO YOU AND TO THE WOMEN YOU VISIT? It has made me appreciate my freedom much more. On a practical level, we are often the only social visitors that the women have, so I think it makes a difference to them knowing that they are not forgotten. We also take in items like toilet paper and soap, emails from family members and books and puzzles to help keep them occupied. We pray that our time with them studying the Bible and praying with them will have an eternal difference, as it is our hope that they become disciples of Jesus.

WHAT ARE THE THINGS YOU FIND PERSONALLY CHALLENGING IN PRISON MINISTRY? From an emotional perspective it is challenging hearing all the stories of the women and their lives and also seeing the injustices in the judicial and prison systems.

I ASSUME WORKING IN PRISONS IS STRESSFUL. WHAT DO YOU DO TO RELAX AND UNWIND? I’d describe it as intense rather than stressful. In the summer I get out of Lima and go to the beach or a swimming pool on my day off. The rest of the year I enjoy creative projects like gardening on my balcony, baking, playing the ukulele, decorating or art projects. Also, manicures are really cheap here.

WHAT AREA OF YOUR WORK HAVE YOU ENJOYED THE MOST? The relational and pastoral aspects. With youth work, VCF (a discipleship initiative) and now with

THE CALL – WINTER 2019

WHAT WOULD YOU SAY TO ANYONE CONTEMPLATING CROSS CULTURAL MINISTRY? Get praying and push doors. It won’t be boring but you do need to be resilient. God can use anyone, no matter what your background or training. Have a good support network in your sending country for accountability. Prioritise language learning and go to Bible college or undertake similar training if possible.

BONUS – FIVE QUESTIONS PERUVIANS ASK ANNA: How long have you been here? Five years.

Are you married to a Peruvian? No. What is your favourite Peruvian food?

Rocoto Relleno con Pastel de Papa (from Arequipa, spicy red pepper stuffed with meat, raisins, cheese and egg in a gravy and served with potato dauphinoise). My favourite snack would be choclo con queso – giant corn on the cob with fresh cheese.

Do you miss your parents? Yes (although I do add that even before I came to Peru I hadn’t lived in the same city as them for years).

Which part of the US are you from? To which I normally reply “and which part of Chile are you from?”

ACT If you support a mission partner, why not get in touch to encourage them and ask them a question about life where they are serving.

If you feel God calling you to go in mission, look at some of the opportunities at churchmissionsociety.org/ opportunities or get in touch with vro@churchmissionsociety.org 21

COMMUNITY NEWS

COMMUNITY EVENTS 18 FEBRUARY. Meeting for prayer and fellowship for mission and world events, 12 noon. Undercroft Chapel at St Andrew’s and St George’s West Church, George Street, Edinburgh. A time to share news and pray for mission, including CMS and world events, followed by shared lunch in the church cafe. Contact Liz Traill: 01620 894843 or liztraill2000@yahoo.co.uk

23 MARCH. CMS Scotland conference, 10.30am–3pm. St James the Less Church, Hilton Road, Bishopbriggs, Glasgow, G64 3EL. A day exploring CMS news, CMS vision for the future and the development of the CMS community in Scotland, with input from Marcio Ciechanovicz, CMS community mission enabler. For more information, contact Paul Watson: 07552 177690 or paulrobertwatson@googlemail.com

25 FEBRUARY. Pioneer course open day, 10.30am– 2.30pm. CMS Oxford. A day to explore the courses we offer, hear something of our story and ask questions about studying at CMS. For more information, or to book, please contact Helen Harwood on 01865 787439 or at pioneer@churchmissionsociety.org

6 APRIL. A mission-focused day in Leeds, 10 for 10.30am–3.30pm. St Chad’s Parish Centre, Otley Road, Leeds, LS16 5JT. A day to share food, fellowship and learning with a focus on mission. Paul Thaxter, director of international mission at CMS, will speak on The Bible’s Big Story: Our Story. Curry lunch provided, so pre-booking essential. Contact Peter Hemming: 01132 782735 or peterhemming@ hotmail.com

1–3 MARCH. CMS Southern conference: Pioneer mission – an adventure of the imagination.

High Leigh, Hoddesdon, Herts. Speakers: Andrea Campanale, part of the pioneer leadership team, and Marcio Ciechanovicz, community mission enabler.

For more information please contact Jane Fulford on 0118 969 5039 or jane.fulford@btinternet.com 4 MARCH. Pioneer Conversations Day – Church: inside out? 10.00am–4.30pm, CMS Oxford. Within pioneering and Fresh Expressions, questions about church and mission abound. CMS conversations days bring together theologians, writers, practitioners and pioneers to explore themes and start a conversation. Main speakers: Stefan Paas, professor of missiology, Theologische Universiteit, Kampen, Netherlands; Clare Watkins, reader in practical theology and ecclesiology, University of Roehampton, London. Workshops will explore themes in more detail. For info and tickets visit: churchmissionsociety.org/conversations or email: pioneer@churchmissionsociety.org 18 MARCH. Meeting for prayer and fellowship for mission and world events, 12 noon. Undercroft Chapel at St Andrew’s and St George’s West Church, George Street, Edinburgh. A time to share news and pray for mission, including CMS and world events, followed by shared lunch in the church cafe. Contact Liz Traill: 01620 894843 or liztraill2000@yahoo.co.uk 20 MARCH. Food, fellowship and prayer in Manchester. 6.30pm, Bishop’s Lodge, Walkden Road, Worsley, M28 2WH. A time to join with other CMS friends, members and supporters to enjoy a meal together, catch up with CMS news and to pray together. Andrea and Andrew Young, CMS mission partners in Nepal, will be sharing news of their mission ministry. Contact Sally Ashcroft: 0161 790 4337 or sally_ashcroft@yahoo.co.uk

15 APRIL. Meeting for prayer and fellowship for mission and world events, 12 noon. Undercroft Chapel at St Andrew’s and St George’s West Church, George Street, Edinburgh. A time to share news and pray for mission, including CMS and world events, followed by shared lunch in the church cafe. Contact Liz Traill: 01620 894843 or liztraill2000@yahoo.co.uk 29 APRIL–3 MAY. Make Good (Missional Entrepreneurship), residential module at Pickwell Manor in Devon. More information available from Helen at 01865 787439 or on helen.harwood@ churchmissionsociety.org 30 APRIL. Pioneer course open day, 10.30am– 2.30pm. CMS Oxford. A day to explore the courses we offer, hear something of our story and ask questions about studying at CMS. For more information, or to book, please contact Helen Harwood on 01865 787439 or at pioneer@churchmissionsociety.org 3 MAY. Harrogate CMS group, 7pm. St Mark’s Church, Harrogate. Food, friendship, fellowship and teaching (speaker TBC). Contact Tim Cundy: 01423 569135 or tim.cundy@smch.org.uk 13–17 MAY. Make Good (Missional Entrepreneurship) at Cliff College. More information available from Helen on 01865 787439 or at helen.harwood@churchmissionsociety.org 14 MAY. Worcester Diocesan CMS group AGM. Further details TBC. Contact Nick Fane: 01684 566601 or africa@fanes.uk 18 MAY. Focus on Africa: day conference. St James Church, Shirley, Southampton. More details TBC. Contact Charlotte Smith: charlotte.plieth@doctors. net.uk

VISION DAY

AND COMMISSIONING of new CMS executive leader

10 JUNE. Pioneer course open day, 10.30–2.30pm.

CMS Oxford. A day where you can explore the courses we offer, hear something of our story and ask questions about studying at CMS. For more information, or to book, please contact Helen Harwood on 01865 787439 or at pioneer@ churchmissionsociety.org 21–22 JUNE. CMS Wales conference, starting with lunch on Friday, ending at 4pm on Saturday.

Broneirion Conference Centre, Llandinam, Powys, SY17 5DE. Conference for CMS friends, members and supporters in Wales and the borders, on the theme of God at work in Asia with input from Dan and Phillipa Munday, former mission partners in Nepal, and Bible readings by Rev Paul Bell. Booking form available soon. Contact Gill Knight: 01792 736159 or gillknight@phonecoop.coop 27–28 SEPTEMBER. �ADELANTE! Latin America Conference, CMS Oxford.

DATE TBC. Vision Day and commissioning of new CMS executive leader

KEEP UP TO DATE WITH CMS EVENTS AT churchmissionsociety.org/events

THE CALL IN ACTION CHURCH MISSION SOCIETY STAFF CHANGES SINCE SEPTEMBER 2018 FAREWELL TO:

Hannah Caroe, church relations officer (September); Liz Willis, key relationships officer (November); Philip Mounstephen, executive leader (November); Kim Brown, PMC facilitator (November)

WELCOME TO:

Efraim Vilella, finance assistant (September)

CHANGES:

James Butler, MA lecturer, paternity leave from 25 September; Jo Anthony, regional personnel officer for Latin America, returned from maternity leave 3 December; Debbie James is covering as interim executive leader

PEOPLE IN MISSION CHANGES MOVING ON:

Dates, times and venue to be confirmed

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20 MAY. Meeting for prayer and fellowship for mission and world events, 12 noon. Undercroft Chapel at St Andrew’s and St George’s West Church, George Street, Edinburgh. A time to share news and pray for mission, including CMS and world events, followed by shared lunch in the church cafe. Contact Liz Traill: 01620 894843 or liztraill2000@yahoo.co.uk

Helen Botros (née Fraser) ended service at the end of 2018, after 11 years as a mission partner serving with the Alexandria School of Theology in Egypt.

CHURCH MISSIO N SO CIETY

FEATURE STORY Photo: Canon Moses Bushendich has been an Anglican priest since 2002 and held a variety of posts in the Church of Uganda before becoming international director of CMS-Africa

MEET CANON BUSH The Rev Canon Moses Bushendich, affectionately known as Canon Bush, is the new international director of CMS-Africa. Jeremy Woodham met up with him in Nairobi to find out more about his call.

WHAT EXCITES YOU ABOUT CMS-AFRICA? It’s contextual to Africa. We are trying to answer the question, “Why is Africa highly Christian but the evidence of Christian lifestyle so minimal?”

CMS-Africa has the approach, it has the tools, it has the programmes that can actually be an answer to the situation. And I think now CMS-Africa can take on the next phase of making Christianity not only a mile wide and an inch deep, but having it remain a mile wide and also be a mile deep.

WHAT MADE YOU WANT TO LEAD CMS-AFRICA? I was looking for an opportunity in which I could influence mission even beyond the Church of Uganda and an advert for the international director for CMS-Africa came. It resonated very well with what I had learned about Church Mission Society sending missionaries to Uganda in the 1870s and 1880s. The testimony of the first missionaries and the testimony of the first converts who were martyred actually gave me even more courage to apply, so that I could carry on in this generation the work that Church Mission Society has done over the years.

WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO SAY TO WESTERN CHRISTIANS?

HOW DID GOD FIRST CALL YOU INTO MISSION? In the year 1989, when I was a high school student, I had a personal encounter with Christ. My lifestyle actually changed, my attitude, my mind changed, my practices. I didn’t imagine I would be a priest in the church. But then, God has a unique plan.

While I led the youth in one of my local churches, my pastor would lead the services using language that we the youth could not understand. And the youth came to me asking if we could talk to the pastor to allow them to pray prayers that are not necessarily in the prayer book. We asked for an appointment and he said: “It’s not possible for this Anglican Church to change their tradition: we are a church that is set, traditional and that’s how we do things. If you are not comfortable with us, maybe you don’t fit here.”

Unfortunately the next Sunday many of them did not come back. Even I thought of leaving. But I feel that God spoke to me in a very personal way and the message was: Moses, you can be a leader in this church.

HOW DID THAT CALLING DEVELOP? About five years later, the bishop spoke to me about going for theological training, which I did.

Even before training I was involved in a lot of mission work within and sometimes outside the diocese. As a secondary school teacher I was in charge of the Scripture Union at the school.

After ordination I was appointed the mission coordinator for the diocese as well as a parish priest and that responsibility kept growing until I got to the provincial level.

I mobilised my church to do not just spiritual work, because I could see how the Bible clearly speaks about the whole of life.

Then the other thing I would do was to go beyond the borders of the Anglican Church. We would do community work irrespective of whether the person we were working with was an Anglican or even Muslim – we would work with them because the message of Christ goes beyond borders and actually the church should exist more for the community than for its members.

THE CALL – WINTER 2019

I would say to the church in the West: we would like to be partners in mission. And in such a way that it’s sustainable rather than a way that makes us more dependent on things that come from outside.

To us in Africa mission is relational. Relating with people, spending time with them, working with them, beginning from where they are, makes a big difference. I’m sure even in the West there are those who still need people to share with – but it’s rare to find people who have the time to share with them because everyone is running around. In Africa we have time to build relationships.

WHAT IS MISSION? I would say mission involves carrying a message across… a message of good news, a message of salvation. And it doesn’t begin with CMS-Africa.

Mission is God’s mission. God sends us and partners with us in mission. What we do, we do it on God’s behalf and God receives the glory for what is done.

WHAT’S YOUR VISION FOR THE NEXT 10 YEARS? I would like to see a CMS-Africa that is able to sustain its mission programmes in terms of funding. I would like to see a CMS-Africa that is catalysing and enabling mission across Africa within individual churches and congregations and across denominations. And a CMS-Africa programme that goes beyond the walls of the church: transforming people, individuals and communities and even transforming nations.

PRAY

Pray for Canon Moses and CMS-Africa’s progress towards sustainability and transformation of individuals, churches and communities.

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MISSION SPIRITUALITY

By Ian Adams, mission spirituality adviser for Church Mission Society

CANTICLES: SONGS OF THE CHURCH Part 1: Saviour of the world

O

thers have gone this way before us. The mission of the church has been shaped over two millennia, the Christ story pondered, practised and shared by a huge variety of people in different contexts. One wonderful treasure trove of this experience is the collection of songs we know as canticles that emerged from some of the earliest songs of the church.

These songs have been sung in times of plenty and in times of need, in times of joy and in times of persecution. Grounded in Scripture and shaped by experience, they continue to offer gifts to us now as we seek to live and share the Jesus Way. While necessarily reshaped for time and context, their message of faith, hope and love remains the same.

WHAT MIGHT HAPPEN IF WE BEGIN TO SPEAK OR SING THESE CANTICLES AGAIN? HOW MIGHT WE BE CHANGED IF WE ALLOW THEM TO SEEP INTO US? This new series for The Call begins by exploring the canticle Saviour of the world, itself drawing on themes in the New Testament.

Jesus, Saviour of the world, come to us in your mercy: we look to you to save and help us.

By your cross and your life laid down, you set your people free: we look to you to save and help us.

When they were ready to perish, you saved your disciples: we look to you to come to our help.

In the greatness of your mercy, loose us from our chains, forgive the sins of all your people.

Make yourself known as our Saviour and mighty deliverer; save and help us that we may praise you.

Come now and dwell with us, Lord Christ Jesus: hear our prayer and be with us always.

And when you come in your glory: make us to be one with you and to share the life of your kingdom.

REFLECTION The canticle takes us immediately to a key question: what is at the heart of our life and mission?

In its answer the canticle is bold. The first line is “Jesus, Saviour of the world”. He is the pivot upon which all our being and doing must rest. Christ alone. The one to whom we look, source of our hope.

We cannot engage in the task of life alone. We know that. And the canticle acknowledges that. So it speaks of Jesus as the source of help and mercy.

This is the core theme unfolding in the first half of the canticle, drawing both on great salvation themes of Scripture and on Gospel stories of the disciples’ experience.

There is an interesting link here to the practice of the classic Orthodox “Jesus Prayer”: Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy upon me, a sinner.

A prayer that is about orientation, expressing our desire to focus on Christ in all we do, asking for help to do so.

The canticle then unfolds as a threefold prayer to this Jesus, Saviour of the world and source of help and mercy.

First, a prayer for an experience of Christ’s saving power. Make

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yourself known as our Saviour and mighty deliverer. This is a call for Christ’s mercy to evolve from an idea into an experience. And it’s an encouragement to us to be bold in our prayer and action. Lord, make yourself known!

A QUESTION: HOW MIGHT YOU BE BOLD IN PRAYER AND ACTION TODAY? Second, a prayer for Christ’s presence.

Seeking a new sense of Jesus close to us.

Come now and dwell with us, Lord Christ Jesus. Most of the time God’s presence can seem hazy. The canticle’s encouragement is to pray for God’s presence, revealed in Jesus.

Or perhaps more accurately to pray for a revelation of his presence – already with us.

A QUESTION: PRESENCE CALLS FOR US TO BE PRESENT. HOW MIGHT WE RENEW OUR PRESENCE TO CHRIST TODAY? Third, a prayer without end. And when you come in your glory... The presence of Christ is without limit and without end. The encouragement here is to see our lives and mission as part of much greater, longer patterns.

A QUESTION: HOW MIGHT YOUR PRAYER AND ACTION TODAY TAKE ON A “FOREVER” CHARACTER? The canticle ends with a revelation. The path we are taking is a path towards oneness: make us to be one with you and to share the life of your kingdom… This is a prayer for unity with Christ in God (Colossians 3:3); unity also with all that has been created.

Everything is included in the liberating mission of Jesus! All that you are and everything that you do today is part of this coming together.

PRACTICE As you read (and perhaps speak or sing out) the canticle, be alert for what catches your attention. What in God’s grace might be the gift for you here today? You might like to commit to learning the canticle, making it part of your daily prayer, returning to it whenever prompted.

WHEN NEWCULTURES MISSIONCONVERGE PARTNERS

NEW MISSION PARTNERS

We want to highlight to you some of the new mission partners who have joined Church Mission Society over the past few months. This edition features Joe and Sarah Harvey going to Egypt to teach in a local Episcopal school, Andrew and Lisa Peart partnering with the church in Bolivia to strengthen its missional outreach and Nicholas Taylor teaching at St John’s University in Tanzania.

NEW

NEW

NEW

Nicholas Taylor

Andrew and Lisa Peart

Joe and Sarah Harvey

Nicholas Taylor will be teaching at St John’s University in Dodoma, Tanzania, while also coordinating the MA in theology and mentoring new lecturers. His call has been something he has pursued for much of his life, committed to equipping men and women for a life of mission and ministry.

Born in South Africa, he grew up amid the turmoil of the latter years of the apartheid era. Even after leaving the country to pursue further studies, Africa remained fundamental to him as a theological educator and he has taught in universities and clergy training colleges in Zimbabwe and South Africa as well as in the UK, helping to design and implement new initiatives in training for ministry. He has also written books and articles and mentored prospective theological educators. For the past nine years, he has been rector of a congregation in Glasgow which has grown numerically and spiritually.

The church in Tanzania needs well-trained pastors if it is to make true disciples of Christ while also helping in the fight to eradicate extreme poverty, hunger and disease. Nicholas will teach in the theology faculty, delivering undergraduate courses and assisting with curriculum development, as well as forming candidates for ministry, coordinating the postgraduate programme and mentoring young Tanzanian lecturers. He wants to help develop critical thinking, providing good role models in society who will contribute to global Christianity.

Andrew and Lisa Peart have been working in Santa Cruz in Bolivia for the past two years but will be returning to the UK to retrain as mission partners.

Their call is to serve the local community, drawing people closer to Jesus while working to bring physical, emotional and spiritual restoration.

Santa Cruz is one of the fastest growing cities in South America. The church that the Pearts are connected to, Cristo Luz del Mundo (Christ the Light of the World), is well placed to connect to and engage missionally with the burgeoning community of middle-class professionals, businesses and families.

Andrew and Lisa will be working as part of a team to increase the mission engagement of the church, helping it to become a beacon within the community that people are drawn to. This builds on the Anglican Church of Bolivia’s vision of making disciples with a real heart for Christ and for their neighbour.

Alongside their church work, Andrew will be drawing on their background in business and hospitality to develop a micro-enterprise programme with an emphasis on mentoring, discipleship and sustainability, strongly connected to local churches.

Lisa will also be building missional connections with families at their girls’ school.

Joe and Sarah Harvey will be moving with their two small children to a city in the Nile Delta in Egypt.

Their deep passion and call is to share the love of Christ and the hope of the gospel with everyone they meet. They want to support indigenous Christians in the Middle East, where communities are either in decline or under attack.

Joe will be working as a teacher at the local Episcopal school where 80 per cent of the students are Muslim. The school has a positive reputation and exists both to educate and to build relationships between Christians and Muslims within the local community. Sarah wants to initially focus on their family while also hoping to meet with local women and develop friendships with them.

Joe and Sarah met while studying and then settled in Portsmouth where Sarah worked as a paediatric nurse and Joe trained to be a primary school teacher.

However, their obedience to following God’s call led them to Amman in Jordan where Joe worked at an international school and Sarah worked serving the refugee community through a church-run clinic.

They are looking forward to taking this next step in their call.

If you would like to find out more about these mission partners or support their work, please go to churchmissionsociety.org/pim

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youtube.com/churchmissionsociety

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THE CALL – WINTER 2019

@cmsmission

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MISSION ISSUES: ISSUES PLANTING ROOTS

MANGROVE THEOLOGY

GET STUCK IN AND PUT DOWN DEEP ROOTS!

BY DAVE BOOKLESS, MISSION PARTNER SERVING WITH A ROCHA INTERNATIONAL

W

hen I was a young lad, CMS had a young adults’ newsletter which I read avidly.

The title of one article has stuck with me ever since: Has God called you to stay where you are?

At the time my family lived in a quiet Midlands village with a somewhat sleepy church, so the idea that mission meant travelling the world and seeing exciting, exotic places appealed greatly.

By the time I reached my thirties I’d lived in over 20 different places, visited lots of countries, and God was saying something rather different to me.

I realised that all my hyper-mobility – missionary childhood, boarding school, studies, travel, jobseeking – had left me rootless, homeless and with nowhere to belong. I observed that the call to “Go!” can be from God, but it can also be a way of escaping from responsibilities, seeking adventure for its own sake and avoiding the call to put down deep roots and be fruitful where God plants us.

The Bible passage that God spoke to me through was Jeremiah 29. The context is God’s people in exile in Babylon, a place they hated and wished to escape from. For Israel, this was god-forsaken enemy territory and they asked, “How shall we sing the Lord’s song in a strange land?” (Psalm 137:4).

God’s answer must have shocked and confused them. Instead of saying “Don’t worry, you’ll be home

soon” or “Your home is in heaven, don’t focus on your surroundings,” God told them to plant gardens, have sons and daughters, and pray and work for the peace and prosperity of “the city to which I have carried you”.

God calls his people to put down deep ecological, social, economic and spiritual roots wherever he’s placed them. If we only wait for the call to “Go”, we may neglect our gardens and allotments, our local relationships beyond our immediate support network and our socio-political involvement. But Jeremiah doesn’t give us that option. For us today, Jeremiah 29:4–7 is nothing less than a manifesto for Christian engagement at the local level: Jeremiah 29:4–7 is a word from God to the most mobile generation in human history, with hundreds of millions displaced by climate change, war and economic pressures while others jet around the world for weekend breaks and cruises, a generation that Zygmunt Bauman calls “vagabonds” and “tourists”.1 Jeremiah 29 is the very definition of “integral mission”, of God’s call to his people not to limit the gospel to saving souls, but to see it as God’s good news for all people and all creation. This is a vision summarised in the Old Testament as “shalom” – peace with God, self, neighbour and creation – and in the New Testament as “the Kingdom of God” – Jesus’ Lordship over every area of life, society, culture and nature.

Jeremiah 29 defines “sustainable development” over 2,600 years before the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.2 Added to the three conventional pillars of balancing ecological (plant gardens), social (have families) and economic (the peace and prosperity of the city) needs, God reminds us that the spiritual dimension must never be lost (pray for the city). We can make common cause with secular organisations and other faiths in tackling poverty and ecological challenges, but our vision is one of God’s glory over all the earth and every creature bowing in worship to Jesus Christ.

As I’ve prayed and reflected on Jeremiah 29, it has totally changed the way I relate to the place I live in. We’ve started to grow our own food and join with others in community

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allotments. I’ve helped set up a local Transition Towns3 group, working on practical issues such as community orchards and campaigns to reduce plastic and increase cycling locally. As local churches we’re involved in tackling homelessness, food poverty, debt and trying to keep our local politicians to account. Of course, the beating heart of all this is a worshipping, witnessing Christian community that prays weekly for God’s Kingdom to be earthed in its local area, as well as globally.

Of course, God does call people to “Go!”, to leave their comfort zone and follow him into the unknown.

But, as I re-read the Scriptures, I see God’s call is usually to go and put down roots in a new place, not to wander in the wilderness. We are called to be fruitful, not parasitic, and you can’t be fruitful without roots. A Sikh friend once said to me, “A tree without roots damages all around it. It’s the same with a child.”

In my own travels, I keep being taken to the image of Christians as mangroves. Across the tropics, mangroves are found at the borderline of fresh and salt water (church and world?). Their deep, intertwined root systems make them an effective shock-absorber against storms. There is a direct correlation between the worst-damaged areas from the 2004 tsunami and areas where mangroves had been removed. Today’s storms are environmental, social, economic and political. Those with deep roots can resist the pull of the forces that cause chaos, and can provide sanctuary and hope. Mangroves are also nurseries for life – where fish, birds, crabs and many aspects of biodiversity flourish and grow. What a wonderful image for churches and Christian homes.

So, by all means ask “Has God called me to stay where I am?” But, while you’re waiting for the answer, and if you do go elsewhere, please get stuck in. Plant something and nurture it. Build for the future, even if you won’t see the results. Invest in lasting peace and prosperity – the well-being that comes from restored relationships in every dimension. If you want to be fruitful, look after your roots.

Dave Bookless is a CMS mission partner seconded to A Rocha International. He and his wife Anne have been based in urban Southall since 1991, where Dave is part-time vicar of St Mary’s Church, Norwood Green as well as director of theology for A Rocha International (www.arocha.org).

1 https://www.ssoar.info/ssoar/handle/document/26687 2 https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/?menu=1300 3 https://transitionnetwork.org/

MISSION ISSUES: ON THE MOVE

CALLED TO BE ON THE MOVE For some, responding to God’s call means putting down roots in one place for several years. For others, it means packing up and moving every few years, or even every few months!

IRENE AND MALCOLM Long-term short-termers Irene and Malcolm Crawford see their role as coming alongside long-term partners, “helping and supporting them in any way we can”. In practice, this means short stints of between six months and two years in each location, where they plug personnel gaps and clear work backlogs before moving on to their next location. As an accountant, Malcolm’s finance

After all, their children were grown up, they no longer owned a house in the UK; Irene and Malcolm weren’t tied down. Willing and able to serve, they signed on for two years in one area of Uganda and then a third year in another area of Uganda. Then, after three years back in the UK, they were off on yet another assignment.

Although Irene commented, “when we finished in Uganda we didn’t think we’d go out again”, they continue that “it just sort of grew”. As they continue to support people in mission, they have found a calling to go “a few months at a time where it’s helpful”.

Illustration created by Freepik

CAROLINE AND DICK

skills are in high demand – many mission partners around the world would welcome a finance person for any length of time. Irene calls herself “a Jill of all trades”, happy to try her hand at whatever needs doing, making the couple a highly versatile and valuable duo.

Irene and Malcolm initially headed out to serve in East Africa after finding themselves surprisingly free of responsibilities. Malcolm had moved to a new job, which suddenly disappeared in what they describe as “bizarre circumstances”, and they had sold their house and not yet bought another one. Malcolm decided to take early retirement, and as they didn’t quite know what to do next, they decided to pursue an idea that had been on the back burner since before they were married: working abroad.

Unbeknown to them, CMS mission partners connected with Irene and Malcolm’s church had just started praying for an accountant to join them in Tanzania. When Irene and Malcolm’s vicar wrote to them out of the blue asking if they’d be interested in a visit from an accountant and an extra pair of hands, the mission partners responded eagerly, inviting the Crawfords to come for six months.

Malcolm and Irene packed their bags and set off to get stuck in alongside mission partners in Tanzania. Six months later they came back to the UK, but Malcolm didn’t feel he’d finished the work.

They returned to Tanzania for another six months, and during that time started to consider further short-term mission service.

Another couple whose calling has taken them to more than one location is Caroline and Dick Seed. Caroline and Dick, both highly qualified and experienced teachers of theology, are called to help equip the church in Africa by training lecturers in theological institutions, so they in turn can teach the next generation of pastors and teachers in a way that is effective, contextual and relevant. Caroline and Dick didn’t start out

planning to go to more than one location, but following this call has taken them across Africa.

Their initial engagement with Church Mission Society took them to Northern Nigeria and then to theological colleges in Rwanda, Ghana and university departments of theology in Kenya.

In Kenya, Dick set up Theological Education Development Services (TEDS) to train lecturers and provide consultation on curriculum in Kenya, Tanzania and South Sudan.

In order to extend the reach of TEDS to train as many people as possible across the continent it was clear TEDS needed to be better resourced.

A partnership was set up with Overseas Council Australia (OCA) to work with the Africa Mile Deep Strategy, a movement seeking to deepen capacity for theological education across Africa by equipping lecturers and upgrading resources in

THE CALL – WINTER 2019

six key hub institutions. A resource centre is being set up at George Whitefield College in Cape Town to support the work of TEDS and OCA across the continent. In August last year, after six years in Kenya, Caroline and Dick moved to Cape Town to be based there. They write: “In our Bible readings during our time of transition, we were working through Acts. We were struck by the itinerant nature of the ministry of Paul and his mission team and by the focus on teaching the churches. In Corinth, Paul remained teaching the word of God for 18 months (Acts 18:11) and in Ephesus, he taught daily for two years in the lecture hall of Tyrannus (Acts 19:9).

And yet he always moved on. Sometimes he moved as a result of the Holy Spirit (Acts 16:9) and at other times, he was forced out by opposition (such as at Berea, Acts 17:10–15). Nonetheless, the work of mission, the preaching and teaching of the gospel, continued wherever he went.

“Looking back over our 18 years in theological education in Africa, we can see a similar pattern of teaching in one place for a while and then being called to move on and teach others in different places. It does not make a lot of sense to some people for us to be continually moving, but it is the nature of the call into mission.

“We must always respond to the calling of the Holy Spirit and the guidance of events in discerning the will of God. Our new calling to Cape Town is to train others across Africa to teach, so that the word of God is proclaimed faithfully and missionally to and by the next generation.”

REFLECT

Is God calling you to put down deeper roots where you are, or to be willing to move on to something new?

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MISSIONFOLLOW APPEAL ISSUES -UP

TRANSFORMATION

IN TANZANIA

Earlier this year, many of you gave generously to support our Global Mission through Local Leaders appeal. One of our local partners in Africa, Paul Kibona, spoke to us recently about the kind of difference those gifts will make.

BY PAUL KIBONA, LOCAL PARTNER IN TANZANIA

S

ince his view of mission was changed by attending a Vision conference run

by Dennis Tongoi in 2007, Paul has overseen CMS-Africa’s Samaritan Strategy training in Tanzania. The programme has so far trained more than 5,000 people.

He explains how the Samaritan Strategy inspired him personally and is proving to have surprising resonance in Muslim communities.

Samaritan Strategy is involved in training local churches to discover their potential,

“That is really my hope: to see that the church is transformed and it transforms the nation.” to discover their role in the community and to discover the resources they have in their community to use for transformation, instead of depending on outside resources.

Samaritan Strategy was an inspiring programme for me. It really expanded my 28

understanding about missions. I realised it is not only touching the spirit, it is to do with holistic ministry.

All people have need, so when you begin touching people’s need, when you begin loving people, we don’t begin preaching the gospel. We begin doing something in the community, working with them. I remember one Muslim said, “I have never seen such a love which you have. I’m a Muslim but I’m confessing before you that you have a true love.” And we didn’t even preach the gospel.

World Vision Tanzania really took an interest in what we are doing in the local churches. And they were asking themselves: we have been working as World Vision here for a long time but we don’t see the impact CMS-Africa are experiencing through your programme. So in fact World Vision partnered with us for four years in Tanzania. So we were able to go to about 41 areas of development of World Vision Tanzania where we were able to train their workers, the community leaders, the Muslim leaders, pastors.

And the very touching thing was these Muslim leaders sitting five days in our programmes as we read the Bible and teach principles of community development, how we can be involved in transforming the community using local resources.

And also there’s another organisation called VisionFund [the microfinance subsidiary of World Vision Tanzania]. They also invited us to do the training. They’re still using our programmes to train their people. They’re not using everything but they have adopted some

CHURCH MISSIO N SO CIETY

principles to use to train their people.

I remember especially in the Muslim context in Tanga, we trained a pastor who is working in a Muslim community. He began to serve the kids – kids were coming to his church to learn to read. And the impact was very good because the people could see the change of the character of their kids. It happened when they were burning churches in Tanga. Because of the love which this church showed to this Muslim community using Samaritan Strategy principles, it was impacting the parents. And I remember, they said: “Pastor be at peace, your church will never be burned; we will protect it.”

Another pastor who attended a Vision conference and is in the coastal region has started a nursery school there [in] a place where there is no school, through Samaritan Strategy principles. It has also really impacted the Muslim community. They have seen the love of Jesus. I remember walking in the community. They were asking my friend who is working there: “Pastor why don’t you start a church?” He is still waiting on God to feel when to start the church, but Muslims themselves are asking a pastor to start a church.

My hope is to see the church continue discovering their role in the community and that we will be able to be a model of the nation, a model of the community, church living out godly principles in the community, not only in the church. That is really my hope: to see that the church is transformed and it transforms the nation.

MISSION MEANS

MISSION MEANS...

HEALING FROM SHAME One of my first encounters with shame getting in the way of mission was at the Mind, Body, Spirit fair at London Olympia in 2014.

BY ANDREA CAMPANALE, PIONEER NETWORK DEVELOPER

I

was doing Ruach card readings – a fantastic tool which God uses to reveal a word of prophecy and encouragement to spiritual seekers at new age-type fairs. The last card chosen always has a verse of Scripture on it and I offer to pray that as a blessing at the end of our conversation about Christ. On this particular occasion, I’d had a fantastically warm and honest interaction with a well dressed, middle aged lady.

However, when I asked if I could pray for her, she declined. I was taken aback. I thought she’d been really open to me and my message of good news.

So why refuse prayer in the name of Jesus?

I then did what I always tell others not to do. I pressed her for a reason. She said, “Because I’m not worthy to be prayed for.” Now I understood. She felt shame. I responded by explaining that I too wrestled with many of the hurts and doubts she’d just shared. I suggested I pray for both of us and by the end of our time together we felt heard and understood by one another, as well as by our loving heavenly Father.

So what is shame? Brene Brown, an American social work researcher who has done much to highlight the damaging consequences of shame, defines it as, “the intensely painful feeling or experience of believing that we are flawed and therefore unworthy of love and belonging.”1 In highly individualised Western societies, culture has focused on personal guilt rather than shame. Yet since the Second World War, the West has become more aware of honour– shame cultures. In The Global Gospel, Werner Mischke says, “In cultures characterised by the pivotal cultural value of honour and shame, one’s concept of ‘self’ is established primarily by one’s family or community.” Norman Kraus, a missionary in Japan, discovered that justice is experienced very differently in such cultures: punishment for the Japanese is about exposure to humiliation, dishonour of family and exclusion from relationship.

In Western cultures, the good news has entailed confessing our wrongdoing and having God liberate us from guilt. Yet no such release comes when we reveal our shame. Evidence suggests the West is moving from being guilt-based to a greater preoccupation with shame. A couple of reasons have been suggested for this. Firstly, an increasingly transient lifestyle and separation from extended family results in fewer clear constraints as to how we should live. Secondly, social media allows us to constantly reinvent ourselves to fit an ideal we believe will make us most acceptable to others. We then live in fear of shame if the disparity between our real self and our carefully constructed self image is uncovered.

What are the implications for those of us seeking to do mission in the West? Maybe our gospel message needs to be reframed to bring genuinely good news for those overwhelmed by shame. Jesus himself came not just to free us from sin, but to restore honour to the shamed. We see him enacting honour–shame reversals that characterise the coming of the Kingdom of God time and again throughout the Gospels.

But how do we help people find healing from shame?

This is something my missional community, Sacred Space Kingston, has been actively engaged in for some time. Last August I was invited to present a paper on this topic at an international mission conference in

Melbourne. A powerful experience recounted by a friend helped to shape my conclusions.

My friend Carol says the belief underlying her shame is, “I’m unlovable – not worthy of connection. I believed that I was stupid, ugly, a failure, a bad person…

I shouldn’t have been born and I hated myself.” She lived with this internal script for most of her life, but Jesus brought healing. She described becoming aware of needing to take off a coat of shame. She asked Jesus, “Will I be cold when I take it off?” He answered, “No, my arms will be round you. Trust me. Take it off, unwrap it, leave it on the floor. Step out of it and live. Experience a lighter you and the freedom to fly.” In the company of a small group of prayerful Christians, Carol physically enacted the shrouding of herself in a blanket. Then slowly, purposefully she took it off, folded it and left it at the foot of the cross.

She is now convinced that she is not the same person. The negative voice in her head has gone and other people have noticed a difference. She explains, “I don’t recognise this new me, but she doesn’t frighten me. A new journey has begun.”

Significant in Carol’s healing was the need for her story to be shared and witnessed in community. There was also something powerful about enacting a ritual to express the spiritual. But most important of all was that God restored Carol’s honour as she journeyed with him.

“God not only removes our shame but also transforms our shame into glory. His sovereign grace brings together our broken shards to form a beautiful mosaic.

Shame and disgrace are tools for God’s purposes.”2

PIONEER

Andrea is a mission partner and teaches on the CMS Pioneer Mission Leadership Training course.

Top: Andrea doing Ruach card readings

To find out more go to: pioneer.churchmissionsociety.org

Daring Greatly, Brene Brown, Gotham Books, 2012, p. 69.

Ministering in Honor-Shame Cultures, Jayson Georges & Mark D Baker, IVP, 2016, p. 116.

1 2

THE CALL – WINTER 2019

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CLASSIFIEDS

PUT YOUR CALL INTO ACTION SOME CURRENT MISSION OPPORTUNITIES UKRAINE

Missional Priest Our partners in the Diocese of Europe are looking for a missional priest for 1 Ukraine. The required individual must be a clear communicator, an effective leader, capable of administrative oversight and an enthusiastic educator.

KENYA CMS-Africa Intern Take part in CMS-Africa’s internship programme in Nairobi. This 2 placement will involve spending half your time supporting CMS-Africa and the other half at one of their partner projects, which could be in HIV/AIDS prevention, schools work, orphanages or church work.

mission and ministry as they seek to spread the gospel in Bolivia. Collaboration with neighbouring dioceses in the Province of South America offers opportunities to increase the scope of the programme.

SOUTH-EAST ASIA Centre Manager Our partners in the Lutheran Church in South-East Asia are looking for a 4 centre manager for their educational facility. The centres are intended to provide a mixture of traditional classroom-based learning with vocational studies, opening up education to those who would not usually be able to access it or who require more practical skills. The centre manager would be able to draw on the experience gleaned in setting up a number of these facilities for support in the initial stages.

BOLIVIA

Discipleship Coordinator Our partners are looking for someone to develop and coordinate 3 a programme of formation and training, in response to the diocesan vision for intentional discipleship. The programme will equip and motivate local congregations to take responsibility in

FINANCE UPDATE

BY CHARLIE WALKER, DIRECTOR OF FINANCE AND CORPORATE SERVICES AT CMS I know, I know, I know, you’ve heard enough on Brexit!

Do not fear, I have no intention of sharing my own thoughts on the latest negotiations, but to rally you to pray. Pray for the Brexit process, of course, but more specifically for CMS and for its defined benefit pension scheme (now closed to new members) as well as for the pension board as it deals with the potential impact of Brexit. Most recently the Brexit uncertainty has

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TO ENQUIRE FURTHER ABOUT ANY OF THESE ROLES, please contact vocational recruitment officer Isaac Frisby: 01865 787416 or isaac.frisby@ churchmissionsociety.org

resulted in significant market volatility, which in turn affects some of the assets on the scheme, and the date of Brexit happens to coincide with the date of our next triennial valuation. The valuation is critical as it will determine the level of contributions CMS will need to make over the short to medium term to fund the deficit.

Additionally, the chair of our pension board has recently resigned, so we are currently recruiting a replacement for him. So please do pray we will find a new chair quickly and do pray for wisdom as the board handles these matters together. We have just had our final board meeting for the year. The team, which is made up of independent, member-nominated and employer representatives, is working really well together.

I also want to share news on CMS House: the good news is we do have some additional smaller tenants that have recently joined us and we have had more interest in the space above the library. Please pray with us that interest would materialise into tenants actually moving in! Despite this space being empty, the building is wonderfully utilised during the week.

Mondays and Tuesdays here are buzzing with pioneers training, plotting and scheming for the Kingdom, and throughout the week conference rooms are being booked by a number of our friends in the area including Oxfam and Oxford Diocese.

All in all, as I look back over 2018 I never tire of seeing God’s hand in our work and in his provision for us as an organisation, often in ways we don’t expect, but in ways that always bring joy to us here in the office.

CHURCH MISSIO N SO CIETY

LAST WORD

HOW TO… DO PIONEERING

MISSION WITH PEOPLE OF ALL SEASONS

BY DAVID PALMER, PIONEER MINISTER WORKING WITH OLDER PEOPLE IN MARKET HARBOROUGH AND FORMER CMS PIONEER STUDENT

STARTING POINTS Twelve years’ working with the international charity Torch Trust was foundational for what I now do as a pioneer minister. At Torch I was responsible for leading and developing the UK network of local groups of blind and partially sighted people. These were largely older people, facing isolation and social exclusion along with sight loss.

Within my own family I also witnessed decline and accompanying loneliness in both my mother and my father-in-law. Despite being in supportive care homes, they lacked social interaction and mental stimulus.

While loneliness can affect people of any age, I was struck by the previous Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt speaking of loneliness having reached “epidemic” proportions, particularly among the elderly.

Priest, broadcaster and ethicist Samuel Wells describes the dangers of “ghettoising” old people.1 When someone stops contributing to GDP or is unable to continue an active church life, they become marginalised. They are seen as of lesser importance, a burden that needs resolving rather than an asset to be valued.

PREPARATION As someone with many ideas and a tendency to rush headlong into new initiatives, I found the basic premise: “See where God is already at work and join in” to be good advice. I spent around a year praying, listening to God, listening to the community, finding out what was already happening and identifying areas of need and opportunity. I talked with key people in the church and the community; I questioned the older generation.

FIRST STEPS In the end, the opportunity to be involved at a care home happened almost accidentally. The home’s manager wanted to see more people of all ages participate in the life of the home. I heard the

shameful fact that only four of the 49 residents received regular visitors. With my encouragement, three different types of services began to be run each month by different local church teams.

Measuring response is not easy, as many residents have dementia. I gain motivation from Professor John Swinton’s conviction that “any diminution of the self is first and foremost a diminution of community”.2 The focus of the services, then, is to trigger good memories and rekindle embers of faith in imaginative ways and, importantly, to honour people and their stories.

A special highlight from last year was the baptism of a 70-year-old man from the home. This year I was privileged to attend and lead the prayers at the marriage of the manager. She and her husband are not part of any church community.

In my role of chaplain to the home, I am grateful for advice, support and resources from Bible Reading Fellowship’s The Gift of Years team.3

FURTHER OPPORTUNITIES Visiting the care home with its overgrown courtyard garden and large expanse of lawn at the rear presented me with another opportunity. So, supported by a team of volunteers who are mostly unchurched, Elderberries was launched: a ministry “with people of all seasons”, bringing together different generations.4 In the courtyard area we have created a dementiafriendly, multi-sensory space for residents to access and enjoy. Familiar texts, verses and sayings inscribed on pieces of slate are placed in the beds, each of which highlights one of the senses with assorted plants.

To the rear of the home, an extensive area has been cleared to make way for six raised beds and four ground-level beds in which are grown a variety of organic fruit and vegetables for the residents. Any surplus goes to the team and to a small ethical café in town – an outlet which in time could provide us with a source of income. A local doctor who is passionate about preserving fruit trees grown in Leicestershire from the late 1800s has kindly donated a dozen to our site. These, together with more modern hybrids, reflect the ethos of Elderberries – old and young complementing each other.

THE CALL – WINTER 2019

PARTNERSHIPS Building partnerships is crucial. Volunteer Action South Leicestershire run a very successful scheme called Community Champions, matching volunteers with lonely people. A number of referrals have come through this scheme, adding to our volunteer team.

Another supportive partnership has been with the Soil Association, which runs Food for Life, linking schools and care homes and addressing the major social issue of childhood obesity by promoting healthy eating. The Soil Association considers Elderberries a standard bearer for utilising green spaces and is keen to use it as a showcase to other homes in the UK. As a result of this partnership, nursery children have been coming fortnightly to join the older residents in gardening and other activities.

Practical help in the garden for the past two years has also come from employees of a local solicitor’s office who usually give us a couple of days a year to assist with various tasks.

MOTIVATION Being intentionally missional and part of the Fresh Expressions movement of Church, I aim to make the three-way connection between land, God and community. This is achieved by using resources drawn from Iona and the Northumbria Community, and by observing traditional festivals such as Rogation Sunday and Lammastide.

Throughout my Christian journey, the opening verses of Isaiah 61 have been a source of challenge and inspiration. With Jesus as our example, our calling as his followers, under the guidance of the Spirit, is to creatively bring good news alongside the work of binding up, releasing, comforting, rebuilding, restoring, renewing. To God be the glory!

How then Shall we Live?, Samuel Wells, Canterbury Press, 2016.

Dementia: Living in the Memories of God, John Swinton, Eerdmans, 2012.

3 Living Liturgies, Caroline George, Bible Reading Fellowship, 2015.

4 For more about the Elderberries garden: www.leicester.anglican.org/ community-gardening-cultivates-gods-kingdom-for-the-elderly-andisolated/ 1 2

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: G N I C U D O R T IN

CHURCH MISSION SOCIETY

ADVOCATES Inspiring your church for mission

People who represent Church Mission Society in their churches have always been a hugely important part of sharing our heart for mission with every member of the congregation.

e nippets in th s t u p I , rd a sion bo ple.

“I have a mis enthuse peo to y tr d n a e zin ssions parish maga lead interce o h w e s o th rage I also encou eir prayers.” th in ] S M [C to mention e’s, Plymouth Wendy, St Jud

Whether you’ve been representing CMS in your church for many years, or have only recently started getting involved, our new CMS Advocates programme will: Resource you, by providing tools and ideas that will help you inspire your congregation for mission.

Update you, with the latest news and ideas from CMS in the UK and around the world.

Hear from you, inviting you to share your stories of what mission looks like in your church so that we can inspire and encourage each other in living out our call.

COULD YOU BE AN ADVOCATE FOR CMS IN YO UR CHURCH?

Contact the church relations team on 01865 787523 churchrelations@churchmissionsociety.org churchmissionsociety.org/advocates