news and information for CMS members

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Recent terrible events in Kenya have powerfully demonstrated why the time has come for the root and branch reform being embarked on by CMS.Violence following the disputed Kenyan elections left many dead and over 250,000 people displaced. The new National Alliance of Churches team was at hand to distribute food, and co-ordinating it was Dennis Tongoi – CMS Africa director (read more on www.cms-uk.org).Dennis was on the spot and had the authority to act without control from Britain. He was immediately recognised by the local Christian community as having the skills and capacity to lead an emergency response. CMS has rarely had the opportunity to work in that way since the end of the colonial era.Network missionThis February, CMS begins a process that in three years will see the Africa, Asia and Europe regions take full responsibility for their own programmes, with locally-agreed policies and priorities. Each CMS region will have its own general secretary and board of trustees. The project is called ‘Network Mission’. I believe it will release fresh energy for mission work.Dennis’ latest work is one example of what

will be possible. We’re not talking about any region breaking away. Over the next three years we will work out agreements and protocols to underpin common mission.Setting up ‘CMS-Africa’ and ‘CMS-Asia’ will involve costs. We have already secured purchase of an office in Nairobi as a base for CMS-Africa and trustees have set aside a fund to provide the seed money for infrastructure. CMS-Europe is committed to making sure work in Africa and Asia has the resources it needs to operate and grow. Our fundamental commitment is to do things well.

Moreover we will be linked by the Faith2Share Network which exists to enable the exchange of people, funding, experience and theology. It includes the wider CMS family (Australia, Ireland, New Zealand and USA) and several other international mission movements. So why the change? God’s mission never changes but the context does all the time. What used to be mission-fields have given birth to churches, communities and

networks with a mission impulse of their own. Strategic decisions need to be agreed, planned and implemented locally, not in faraway Britain.The idea is not new, but originated with general secretary Max Warren in 1947. For the last three years Africa has had a pilot project underway, testing the changes needed to implement Network Mission. CMS began as a movement from Europe to almost every point of the compass. Nearly 209 years on and Europe is now recognised as a mission field, a challenge we cannot ignore. Hence the creation of ‘CMS-Europe’. People recruited, selected, trained and sent out from Britain will be part of CMS-Europe, which will remain ultimately responsible for their overall care, prayer support and church links.We will approach this latest challenge as our founders did, beginning in small ways and looking to the Holy Spirit for power and guidance.

Network mission goes live

Tim DakinCMS General Secretary

with the CMS community online www.cms-uk.org

On Friday 26 October, the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Patron of CMS, joined an array of guests to dedicate the new CMS mission centre in East Oxford.Some 200 people including international guests and the deputy mayor of Oxford Mary Clarkson joined the celebrations. Archbishop Williams (pictured left) dedicated two specially commissioned pieces of art, a mural celebrating the Mission of God by Chinese artist He Qi (far left) and Light of the World by Saga Arpino, a public art sculpture sited at the front of the new Centre. Don’t forget our new address – see the blue bar on the back page. View Dr Williams’ address, film of the event and photo stories on the CMS website, www.cms-uk.org

CMS Oxford Centre opened

Church Mission Society, Watlington Road, Oxford, OX4 6BZ t: 0845 620 1799

Dawn to Dusk in Blackbird LeysWhen Helen and Patrick Mukholi (with their son

Jonathan) came from Kenya to do youth outreach on

the Blackbird Leys estate in East Oxford, supported by

CMS and Oxford Youth Works and the churches on

the estate, they were told to expect to see poverty.

They found little that Kenyans would recognise as

poverty. “Houses looked good, people seemed to have

satellite TV, cars, and designer consumer goods – all

the luxuries. What we did find, however, is a serious

poverty of spirit that blights the lives of so many people

here, caused by historical marginalisation.” Jonathan

Self, CMS Link Materials Editor, followed Patrick around

on a fairly typical working day. The new CMS offices in

Oxford are close by.

photostory

12 noon Weekly prayer meeting with Christian workers on the Blackbird Leys estate

12.45pm A moment’s quiet in Holy Family Church

2-3pm Out and about

3.30pm On the street, in conversation

4.00pm Meeting with Helen

5.00pm Patrick with student youth worker Hannah Woods outside Holy Family Church

12 noon

2.00pm

2.30pm

3.30pm

4.00pm

My Story, my CMSShannon Hopkins (entrepreneurs network)

I’m originally from Texas but sometimes say I’m from London now. At 26 I had the American Dream. I was very successful working with fashion designers to take them to the national level, but I was absolutely miserable. Then I had a real God-encounter and began to wonder what God’s will for my life was.I found this incredible hunger among people my age for some purpose and passion. So we started gathering at a local pizza place. I led that church for about three years, before pastoring a network of people in Texas pioneering fresh expressions of church.I’ve been in London about four years now. I do creative projects around arts, justice and spirituality.I’ve been really involved in The Truth Isn’t Sexy, a project addressing the demand side of human trafficking – the people who use prostitutes and pornography. We worked with cultural creatives – a lot of secular people – to do a beermat and poster campaign. I got involved in CMS through Jonny Baker [Mission Leadership team]. We developed the Network of Entrepreneurial Talent (Net) – bringing together entrepreneurs who want to run missional businesses but often feel isolated.For me CMS embodies everything I think my life and calling are about: following Jesus, trying to bring justice and helping people figure out what it means to be a disciple.I love how open CMS is. It doesn’t have to claim and own everything that’s happening. It’s just trying to resource people to be involved in the mission of God.

SAMS & CMS plot mergerCMS and the South American Mission Society (SAMS) commenced talks in October 2007 about the possibility of merging or collaborating more closely. The two long-established Anglican mission societies are looking at an approach that would maintain the integrity and focus of SAMS, while bringing it into the global network operated by CMS.

Speak up!If you think you can confidently present a clear and compelling message about the work of CMS to churches and other groups, why not consider becoming a member of the CMS Speakers Bureau? We are now recruiting, and providing training days to give candidates all the tools they need. At the latest one, attended by 14 people, Tim Dakin was the keynote presenter, and sessions covered how speaking engagements are arranged, speaker accreditation, use of PowerPoint, and talking to children. Yemi Adedeji, advisor on new relations, also explained the importance of establishing long-lasting relationships with those who wish to support mission. If you would like to discuss the possibility of becoming an accredited member of the CMS Speakers Bureau, contact Nicole Kuisis nicole.kuisis@cms-uk.org or 01865 787521 for more information.

Smith strikes goldFor his work in breaking new ground with Audiomission, the UK’s first ever mission podcast, our producer Trevor Smith has earned CMS three top-class Christian broadcasting gongs. Jeremy Woodham’s report on drug ministries in Russia won a prestigious Jerusalem Award and £2,000. At the Christian Broadcasting Council awards, our programme on the life of slave-turned-bishop Samuel Ajayi Crowther won a gold while renowned presenter Cindy Kent’s programme marking the end of Partnership House, the CMS building in Waterloo, London, earned a bronze. Hear them at www.cms-uk.org/audiomission

12.45pm

5.00pm

Emergency food distribution by CMS staff in Kenya

297x630.indd 1 7/2/08 15:35:47

WelcomeNew mission partners Richard and Sue Kellow moved to Rwanda in November where they are working at Kigali Anglican Theological College alongside mission partners Caroline and Dick Seed. Richard is teaching English as a foreign language to Rwandan French-speaking students, to enable them to further their education and participate in the courses taught in English. Sue will be a mother to Emily and hopes to fit in some English teaching and assisting in the community with special needs education. Christine and Paul Salaman, with Daniel and Isaac, became mission partners for the second time around when they moved to Tanzania in November, where they had previously served. They are now based at the new St John’s University in Dodoma, which is run by the Anglican Church of Tanzania, where Paul is a lecturer in science and education.

We welcome many new finance staff who have joined CMS in Oxford over the last months: Our new director of finance and corporate services is Adrian White, formerly of IFES. We welcome Stafford Cruse as head of finance, along with Malcolm Anderson as income team leader and Julie Hudson as expenditure team leader. Yordanos Tesfay joined in August as purchase accounts clerk. The finance team have had vital temporary help from Malgorzata (Gosha) Biowska (income and data processor), Kefei Liang (financial accounts

assistant) and Kate Hall (donor data processor).

We give thanks for a raft of efficient administrators joining the staff: the Crowther Centre for Mission Education welcomed Berdine van den Toren in September; Alice Morgan became PA to Chris Neal, director of mission and community, and administrator for his team. Chrissie Bonnie is the new administrator for the Global-Local team and Helen Harwood for East Asia. In January, Matt Freer joined the team as Global-Local developer – helping churches towards local mission with a global perspective.

Steve Johnson joined the Crossing Cultures team as an adviser in August and the fundraising team has a new manager, Mary Smith, who has joined us from Tearfund. The communications team were delighted to welcome Seth Crewe as creative designer and temporary staffer Ross Lawhead to help create a new photo library. We’ve been blessed by new volunteers giving time in the office too: joining Sue Price, whom we met in the last Connect, are former mission partners Hilary Cope and Barbara Oakley, who are doing work related to members, members’ groups and the mission partners’ fellowship. Rebekah Cavanagh has been helping out in finance and elsewhere.

FarewellMichael and Rachel Duff, with Emily and James, were mission

partners with the Anglican Church of Indonesia in Bandung, West Java, for nearly four years. Rachel worked as a nurse at a Christian international school and taught English at a new training college for pastors, which Michael helped to set up and lectured at.

Gill Parkin spent two-and-a-half years working with the United Mission to Nepal as a teacher trainer and also looking after the ongoing professional development of UMN staff.

Geoff and Gill Kimber spent five years as mission partners in Romania building interdenominational friendships through the Cross of Nails reconciliation project in order to foster mutual understanding and respect. They also taught English, worked with an Orthodox social project and encouraged mission through the Orthodox Church.

Malcolm and Veronica White worked for six years with the Anglican Diocese of Jerusalem, based in Amman, the capital city of Jordan. Malcolm was the Minister of the English-speaking congregation there and he and Veronica helped develop the life and witness of the local Christian community, especially in reaching out to refugees from Iraq.

Marie and Mike Wisheart returned to the UK, with young daughters Megan and Chloe, after five years in Tanzania. Marie worked as a physiotherapist in community-based rehabilitation with the Diocese of Mara and Mike helped to run the diocesan development and

discipleship programme.

In Oxford, the ICT team bade a fond farewell in September to its long-time manager Martin White, who had spent the previous 14 years and eight months bringing CMS into the computer age. We were also sad to say goodbye to Berhe Gebru, head of finance, that month, along with Paul Bigmore, fundraising manager, Natalie Bacon, pensions manager, and Gareth Powell, creative designer. Many-time temp Chris Pix moved on after his latest supporting role in the mission and community team and before Christmas we said goodbye to accounts assistant Marcia Cunningham and David Leigh, database supervisor. Deputation facilitators Tarcisius Mukuka and Anna Pickering moved on in December and January respectively.

DEATHS

David Weston, Rwanda 1955–63, died 3 Apr 2007. Phil Preece, Kenya 1975–77, died 3 Aug. Canon Dennis Brookes Runcorn, Hong Kong 1954–62, principal of CMS training college, 1962–67, died 23 Oct. Dorothy Tate, India 1939–70, died 6 Nov 2007. Irene Vanstone, CMS area secretary, 1959–71, died 15 Nov. Mary Mance, Uganda 1942–67, died 6 Dec. George Vellacott OBE, Nigeria 1957–65, died 2 Jan 2008. David Milton-Thompson, China, Kenya and Uganda 1949–81, died 7 Jan.

to events: www.cms-uk.org/events

4–6 April CMS Northern Conference “Not For Sale”, Bawtry Hall, near Doncaster, with Colin Darling from CHASTE and the Sierra Leone Praxis team. Enquiries: Linda Hunter on mutagwok@aol.com or 0114 236 3480. Booking: David Jardine on david@jardine6259.fslife.co.uk or 0114 230 8721.

19 April Link Contacts’ Day – for link churches in the south, 10am – 3.30pm, CMS Oxford. (A similar day in the north will be announced for September.) Contact Julie Whitfield:

julie.whitfield@cms-uk.org or 01865 787524.

10 May Mid-Africa Region Day Conference, 1pm – 4pm, Highfield Church Centre, Highfield Lane, Southampton SO17 1RL. Speakers: Roger Bowen (Burundi) and Meg Guillebaud (Rwanda) and regional manager Stephen Burgess. Contact Jon Henderson on jonandsheila@btinternet.com or 023 8055 5719.

22 May Worcester area CMS action group annual event: “Uganda Link”, 7.30pm, St Mary’s, Kempsey, Worcester. Speaker:

the Rev George Kasangaki from Masindi. For information, call 01905 453616.

10–19 May Sponsored Challenges – China, 23–25 May Ben Nevis. It’s not too late to join the CMS-sponsored challenge to walk the Great Wall of China and raise money for mission in restricted places or, closer to home, climb Ben Nevis. Call Sarah Thomas on 01865 787518, email sarah.thomas@cms-uk.org or find out more on www.cms-uk.org

Short-Term Teams this year are going to Israel-Palestine, Congo,

India, Kenya, Bangladesh, Burundi and Ghana. Spread the word! A full information pack can be found in the Get Involved section of the CMS website. Email teams@cms-uk.org or ring Sarah Truby on 01865 787494.

20 Sept Northern Region Mission Partners’ Fellowship, 10am–4pm. Please contact Miss E Wroe (01904 780852) for details before 6 Sept.

1 Oct Central South Region Mission Partners’ Fellowship, 11am–4pm. Please contact Dr E Edmunds (01425 610797) for details before 1 Sept.

to CMS peopleNew Easter resourceYour church is encouraged to invite local schools to visit during the lead-up to Easter to take part in workshops, craft and drama exploring the Easter story, using a resource created jointly by London Diocese and CMS. The modern representation of the Easter story comes in photographic form, made by young people in London with photographer Dennis Morris. “The aim is to help young people engage with the Easter story and make connections with their own lives,” explains the Rev Anita Matthews from the CMS Youth and Children’s team. “We hope that it will resource many people in telling the Easter story and exploring what it means in a fresh and creative way.”The resource is highly flexible and can be used in various ways: workshops and assemblies, stand-alone, used as part of, or the whole, package. It’s adaptable for use in schools, or in churches (all-age worship, young people’s groups). We can offer you the resource for FREE in the form of downloads from the CMS website. Alternatively, you can purchase from the CMS shop for £8 + p&p.The project acknowledges generous support from the Westhill Foundation.

Check the CMS website for a rich array of downloadable resources

Mission-shaped intro. from Fresh Expressions. A dynamic way for your church to rediscover mission. CMS is a national partner of Fresh Expressions.

40, a movie by illustrator Si Smith Si accompanies Jesus through 40 days in the desert – using a drawing for each day, making a perfect projec-tion sequence to use in church or small groups. See also the 40 book,

a great resource for personal use or the coffee table.

Navigatio by Mark Berry and SafespaceGritty, down-to-earth liturgies and reflections for today from the Safespace community, in Telford, led by CMS mission partner Mark Berry. www.cms-uk.org

RESOURCES

Leaving a legacyby Jenny Ottewell“Becoming a Christian at a Billy Graham rally in 1951, I spent much of

the 60s travelling and teaching in America, New Zealand and India. Returning to Britain in 1969, I taught for five years in Oxford before encountering CMS. I had been wondering where next, where to be effective. This encounter opened the door to 26 wonderful years of service with God’s Church in Uganda. God had used my time of travelling to prepare me for this challenging work. He also has a sense of humour – I thought I could not work in a hot country or teach adults, yet he led me to the role of education co-ordinator to encourage Christian work among the children in this tropical country. Having returned to Britain in 2001, my desire is that CMS remains a ‘world church’ in which I can continue to be part of an active family where I now live. I find the breadth of CMS work inspirational, and I have included a legacy to CMS in my will to help this work to continue in years to come.”If you would like to know more about how you can help to ensure the continuity of the work of CMS, Sarah Thomas, our Legacy Administrator, would be delighted to talk to you on 01865 787518 or you can email her on sarah.thomas@cms-uk.org

New roles...Money talks, and the idea of ‘business as mission’ dates back to the 19th-century head of CMS, Henry Venn. From this month, CMS-Asia director, Chye Ann Soh (pictured), heads up MAGI, a project focussing on the parts of the world where missions can’t go but commerce can. Chye Ann will also be an adviser to Phil Simpson, current director for Europe, the Middle East and Central Asia, as Phil takes complete oversight of CMS-Asia. Phil and his wife Rachel formerly spent 12 years as mission partners in Pakistan. Meanwhile, assistant general secretary Mark Oxbrow becomes international co-ordinator of the Faith2Share Network, in which he will be able to give full expression to his passion for developing relationships with indigenous missions.

Dancing into NyankandaPeter Vivash writes: Our CMS Praxis visit to Burundi was a joy. Nyankanda is a hidden gem of a rural community. We were met by a large, eager group of locals including an enthusiastic bunch of women who, amid great excitement, ‘danced us in’. This poor community is striving to improve its situation by planting, growing and selling a variety of basic produce co-operatively.Interested in this kind of experience? Contact Sarah Truby on 0845 620 1799 or sarah.truby@cms-uk.org

Short-term destinations 200818-30 Teams: Israel-Palestine, Congo, India, Kenya

25-plus Teams: Bangladesh, Burundi, Ghana

Want to know more? Check out the CMS website www.cms-uk.org (Get Involved) or contact Sarah Truby on 0845 620 1799 or sarah.truby@cms-uk.org

Optional: flowers in your hairHelping modern pagans and hippies to understand Jesus through hand massage was a CMS team at last year’s Mind, Body, Spirit event in London. Led by the mission leadership team’s Jonny Baker, the volunteers set up a dekhomai (‘welcoming place’) stand, offering Christian prayer and communication tools. Helper Rob Ryan was struck by three things: “The ordinariness of the people who attend, their longing for authenticity and their willingness to receive prayer.” Fellow volunteer Steve Hollinghurst said, “Your faith meets real life and is shown to have something to offer.” Would you like to take part in Dekhomai 2008? Contact Jonny Baker on 0845 620 1799 orjonny.baker@cms-uk.org

Summit to talk aboutThey may have chosen a demanding route through steep, rocky faces and icy couloirs, but it led not only to Mt Kenya’s 5,000m peak but also to over £40,000 of donations to CMS. Six intrepid volunteer adventurers spent 10 days last September climbing the mountain to raise the cash for CMS-Africa training scholarships for pastors, youth workers, social workers and HIV/AIDS workers. The sponsored team comprised David Green from Tanzania, Henry Guy from Uxbridge, Kate Pearmain from Woking, Richard Turner from Nottingham, Phil Wootton from Chatham, and Stephane Warwick from Gibraltar. They were accompanied by Sila Matu from CMS-Africa. There are plenty more CMS sponsored challenges coming up, so if you would like to take one on, contact Sarah Thomas on +44 (0)1865 787518 or challenges@cms-uk.org

“Genuinely a huge honour and very humbling,” is how Bishop of Southampton, the Rt Rev Paul Butler, described being appointed the new CMS chair of trustees. He said he is excited about the future potential of CMS while hoping to bring a sense of stability. After jobs as an inner-city evangelist and team rector in Walthamstow, Bishop Paul, 52, was appointed to the Southampton prelacy in 2005. He is the House of Bishops’ advocate for children, and has written three books, the latest being Temptation and Testing (SPCK). His strong international links include being a Canon of Byumba Cathedral in Rwanda, a former chair of Mid-Africa Ministry and a CMS trustee since 2002. He is married to Rosemary with four children.

NEW CHAIR FOR HOT SEAT

297x630.indd 2 7/2/08 15:35:56

WelcomeNew mission partners Richard and Sue Kellow moved to Rwanda in November where they are working at Kigali Anglican Theological College alongside mission partners Caroline and Dick Seed. Richard is teaching English as a foreign language to Rwandan French-speaking students, to enable them to further their education and participate in the courses taught in English. Sue will be a mother to Emily and hopes to fit in some English teaching and assisting in the community with special needs education. Christine and Paul Salaman, with Daniel and Isaac, became mission partners for the second time around when they moved to Tanzania in November, where they had previously served. They are now based at the new St John’s University in Dodoma, which is run by the Anglican Church of Tanzania, where Paul is a lecturer in science and education.

We welcome many new finance staff who have joined CMS in Oxford over the last months: Our new director of finance and corporate services is Adrian White, formerly of IFES. We welcome Stafford Cruse as head of finance, along with Malcolm Anderson as income team leader and Julie Hudson as expenditure team leader. Yordanos Tesfay joined in August as purchase accounts clerk. The finance team have had vital temporary help from Malgorzata (Gosha) Biowska (income and data processor), Kefei Liang (financial accounts

assistant) and Kate Hall (donor data processor).

We give thanks for a raft of efficient administrators joining the staff: the Crowther Centre for Mission Education welcomed Berdine van den Toren in September; Alice Morgan became PA to Chris Neal, director of mission and community, and administrator for his team. Chrissie Bonnie is the new administrator for the Global-Local team and Helen Harwood for East Asia. In January, Matt Freer joined the team as Global-Local developer – helping churches towards local mission with a global perspective.

Steve Johnson joined the Crossing Cultures team as an adviser in August and the fundraising team has a new manager, Mary Smith, who has joined us from Tearfund. The communications team were delighted to welcome Seth Crewe as creative designer and temporary staffer Ross Lawhead to help create a new photo library. We’ve been blessed by new volunteers giving time in the office too: joining Sue Price, whom we met in the last Connect, are former mission partners Hilary Cope and Barbara Oakley, who are doing work related to members, members’ groups and the mission partners’ fellowship. Rebekah Cavanagh has been helping out in finance and elsewhere.

FarewellMichael and Rachel Duff, with Emily and James, were mission

partners with the Anglican Church of Indonesia in Bandung, West Java, for nearly four years. Rachel worked as a nurse at a Christian international school and taught English at a new training college for pastors, which Michael helped to set up and lectured at.

Gill Parkin spent two-and-a-half years working with the United Mission to Nepal as a teacher trainer and also looking after the ongoing professional development of UMN staff.

Geoff and Gill Kimber spent five years as mission partners in Romania building interdenominational friendships through the Cross of Nails reconciliation project in order to foster mutual understanding and respect. They also taught English, worked with an Orthodox social project and encouraged mission through the Orthodox Church.

Malcolm and Veronica White worked for six years with the Anglican Diocese of Jerusalem, based in Amman, the capital city of Jordan. Malcolm was the Minister of the English-speaking congregation there and he and Veronica helped develop the life and witness of the local Christian community, especially in reaching out to refugees from Iraq.

Marie and Mike Wisheart returned to the UK, with young daughters Megan and Chloe, after five years in Tanzania. Marie worked as a physiotherapist in community-based rehabilitation with the Diocese of Mara and Mike helped to run the diocesan development and

discipleship programme.

In Oxford, the ICT team bade a fond farewell in September to its long-time manager Martin White, who had spent the previous 14 years and eight months bringing CMS into the computer age. We were also sad to say goodbye to Berhe Gebru, head of finance, that month, along with Paul Bigmore, fundraising manager, Natalie Bacon, pensions manager, and Gareth Powell, creative designer. Many-time temp Chris Pix moved on after his latest supporting role in the mission and community team and before Christmas we said goodbye to accounts assistant Marcia Cunningham and David Leigh, database supervisor. Deputation facilitators Tarcisius Mukuka and Anna Pickering moved on in December and January respectively.

DEATHS

David Weston, Rwanda 1955–63, died 3 Apr 2007. Phil Preece, Kenya 1975–77, died 3 Aug. Canon Dennis Brookes Runcorn, Hong Kong 1954–62, principal of CMS training college, 1962–67, died 23 Oct. Dorothy Tate, India 1939–70, died 6 Nov 2007. Irene Vanstone, CMS area secretary, 1959–71, died 15 Nov. Mary Mance, Uganda 1942–67, died 6 Dec. George Vellacott OBE, Nigeria 1957–65, died 2 Jan 2008. David Milton-Thompson, China, Kenya and Uganda 1949–81, died 7 Jan.

to events: www.cms-uk.org/events

4–6 April CMS Northern Conference “Not For Sale”, Bawtry Hall, near Doncaster, with Colin Darling from CHASTE and the Sierra Leone Praxis team. Enquiries: Linda Hunter on mutagwok@aol.com or 0114 236 3480. Booking: David Jardine on david@jardine6259.fslife.co.uk or 0114 230 8721.

19 April Link Contacts’ Day – for link churches in the south, 10am – 3.30pm, CMS Oxford. (A similar day in the north will be announced for September.) Contact Julie Whitfield:

julie.whitfield@cms-uk.org or 01865 787524.

10 May Mid-Africa Region Day Conference, 1pm – 4pm, Highfield Church Centre, Highfield Lane, Southampton SO17 1RL. Speakers: Roger Bowen (Burundi) and Meg Guillebaud (Rwanda) and regional manager Stephen Burgess. Contact Jon Henderson on jonandsheila@btinternet.com or 023 8055 5719.

22 May Worcester area CMS action group annual event: “Uganda Link”, 7.30pm, St Mary’s, Kempsey, Worcester. Speaker:

the Rev George Kasangaki from Masindi. For information, call 01905 453616.

10–19 May Sponsored Challenges – China, 23–25 May Ben Nevis. It’s not too late to join the CMS-sponsored challenge to walk the Great Wall of China and raise money for mission in restricted places or, closer to home, climb Ben Nevis. Call Sarah Thomas on 01865 787518, email sarah.thomas@cms-uk.org or find out more on www.cms-uk.org

Short-Term Teams this year are going to Israel-Palestine, Congo,

India, Kenya, Bangladesh, Burundi and Ghana. Spread the word! A full information pack can be found in the Get Involved section of the CMS website. Email teams@cms-uk.org or ring Sarah Truby on 01865 787494.

20 Sept Northern Region Mission Partners’ Fellowship, 10am–4pm. Please contact Miss E Wroe (01904 780852) for details before 6 Sept.

1 Oct Central South Region Mission Partners’ Fellowship, 11am–4pm. Please contact Dr E Edmunds (01425 610797) for details before 1 Sept.

to CMS peopleNew Easter resourceYour church is encouraged to invite local schools to visit during the lead-up to Easter to take part in workshops, craft and drama exploring the Easter story, using a resource created jointly by London Diocese and CMS. The modern representation of the Easter story comes in photographic form, made by young people in London with photographer Dennis Morris. “The aim is to help young people engage with the Easter story and make connections with their own lives,” explains the Rev Anita Matthews from the CMS Youth and Children’s team. “We hope that it will resource many people in telling the Easter story and exploring what it means in a fresh and creative way.”The resource is highly flexible and can be used in various ways: workshops and assemblies, stand-alone, used as part of, or the whole, package. It’s adaptable for use in schools, or in churches (all-age worship, young people’s groups). We can offer you the resource for FREE in the form of downloads from the CMS website. Alternatively, you can purchase from the CMS shop for £8 + p&p.The project acknowledges generous support from the Westhill Foundation.

Check the CMS website for a rich array of downloadable resources

Mission-shaped intro. from Fresh Expressions. A dynamic way for your church to rediscover mission. CMS is a national partner of Fresh Expressions.

40, a movie by illustrator Si Smith Si accompanies Jesus through 40 days in the desert – using a drawing for each day, making a perfect projec-tion sequence to use in church or small groups. See also the 40 book,

a great resource for personal use or the coffee table.

Navigatio by Mark Berry and SafespaceGritty, down-to-earth liturgies and reflections for today from the Safespace community, in Telford, led by CMS mission partner Mark Berry. www.cms-uk.org

RESOURCES

Leaving a legacyby Jenny Ottewell“Becoming a Christian at a Billy Graham rally in 1951, I spent much of

the 60s travelling and teaching in America, New Zealand and India. Returning to Britain in 1969, I taught for five years in Oxford before encountering CMS. I had been wondering where next, where to be effective. This encounter opened the door to 26 wonderful years of service with God’s Church in Uganda. God had used my time of travelling to prepare me for this challenging work. He also has a sense of humour – I thought I could not work in a hot country or teach adults, yet he led me to the role of education co-ordinator to encourage Christian work among the children in this tropical country. Having returned to Britain in 2001, my desire is that CMS remains a ‘world church’ in which I can continue to be part of an active family where I now live. I find the breadth of CMS work inspirational, and I have included a legacy to CMS in my will to help this work to continue in years to come.”If you would like to know more about how you can help to ensure the continuity of the work of CMS, Sarah Thomas, our Legacy Administrator, would be delighted to talk to you on 01865 787518 or you can email her on sarah.thomas@cms-uk.org

New roles...Money talks, and the idea of ‘business as mission’ dates back to the 19th-century head of CMS, Henry Venn. From this month, CMS-Asia director, Chye Ann Soh (pictured), heads up MAGI, a project focussing on the parts of the world where missions can’t go but commerce can. Chye Ann will also be an adviser to Phil Simpson, current director for Europe, the Middle East and Central Asia, as Phil takes complete oversight of CMS-Asia. Phil and his wife Rachel formerly spent 12 years as mission partners in Pakistan. Meanwhile, assistant general secretary Mark Oxbrow becomes international co-ordinator of the Faith2Share Network, in which he will be able to give full expression to his passion for developing relationships with indigenous missions.

Dancing into NyankandaPeter Vivash writes: Our CMS Praxis visit to Burundi was a joy. Nyankanda is a hidden gem of a rural community. We were met by a large, eager group of locals including an enthusiastic bunch of women who, amid great excitement, ‘danced us in’. This poor community is striving to improve its situation by planting, growing and selling a variety of basic produce co-operatively.Interested in this kind of experience? Contact Sarah Truby on 0845 620 1799 or sarah.truby@cms-uk.org

Short-term destinations 200818-30 Teams: Israel-Palestine, Congo, India, Kenya

25-plus Teams: Bangladesh, Burundi, Ghana

Want to know more? Check out the CMS website www.cms-uk.org (Get Involved) or contact Sarah Truby on 0845 620 1799 or sarah.truby@cms-uk.org

Optional: flowers in your hairHelping modern pagans and hippies to understand Jesus through hand massage was a CMS team at last year’s Mind, Body, Spirit event in London. Led by the mission leadership team’s Jonny Baker, the volunteers set up a dekhomai (‘welcoming place’) stand, offering Christian prayer and communication tools. Helper Rob Ryan was struck by three things: “The ordinariness of the people who attend, their longing for authenticity and their willingness to receive prayer.” Fellow volunteer Steve Hollinghurst said, “Your faith meets real life and is shown to have something to offer.” Would you like to take part in Dekhomai 2008? Contact Jonny Baker on 0845 620 1799 orjonny.baker@cms-uk.org

Summit to talk aboutThey may have chosen a demanding route through steep, rocky faces and icy couloirs, but it led not only to Mt Kenya’s 5,000m peak but also to over £40,000 of donations to CMS. Six intrepid volunteer adventurers spent 10 days last September climbing the mountain to raise the cash for CMS-Africa training scholarships for pastors, youth workers, social workers and HIV/AIDS workers. The sponsored team comprised David Green from Tanzania, Henry Guy from Uxbridge, Kate Pearmain from Woking, Richard Turner from Nottingham, Phil Wootton from Chatham, and Stephane Warwick from Gibraltar. They were accompanied by Sila Matu from CMS-Africa. There are plenty more CMS sponsored challenges coming up, so if you would like to take one on, contact Sarah Thomas on +44 (0)1865 787518 or challenges@cms-uk.org

“Genuinely a huge honour and very humbling,” is how Bishop of Southampton, the Rt Rev Paul Butler, described being appointed the new CMS chair of trustees. He said he is excited about the future potential of CMS while hoping to bring a sense of stability. After jobs as an inner-city evangelist and team rector in Walthamstow, Bishop Paul, 52, was appointed to the Southampton prelacy in 2005. He is the House of Bishops’ advocate for children, and has written three books, the latest being Temptation and Testing (SPCK). His strong international links include being a Canon of Byumba Cathedral in Rwanda, a former chair of Mid-Africa Ministry and a CMS trustee since 2002. He is married to Rosemary with four children.

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WelcomeNew mission partners Richard and Sue Kellow moved to Rwanda in November where they are working at Kigali Anglican Theological College alongside mission partners Caroline and Dick Seed. Richard is teaching English as a foreign language to Rwandan French-speaking students, to enable them to further their education and participate in the courses taught in English. Sue will be a mother to Emily and hopes to fit in some English teaching and assisting in the community with special needs education. Christine and Paul Salaman, with Daniel and Isaac, became mission partners for the second time around when they moved to Tanzania in November, where they had previously served. They are now based at the new St John’s University in Dodoma, which is run by the Anglican Church of Tanzania, where Paul is a lecturer in science and education.

We welcome many new finance staff who have joined CMS in Oxford over the last months: Our new director of finance and corporate services is Adrian White, formerly of IFES. We welcome Stafford Cruse as head of finance, along with Malcolm Anderson as income team leader and Julie Hudson as expenditure team leader. Yordanos Tesfay joined in August as purchase accounts clerk. The finance team have had vital temporary help from Malgorzata (Gosha) Biowska (income and data processor), Kefei Liang (financial accounts

assistant) and Kate Hall (donor data processor).

We give thanks for a raft of efficient administrators joining the staff: the Crowther Centre for Mission Education welcomed Berdine van den Toren in September; Alice Morgan became PA to Chris Neal, director of mission and community, and administrator for his team. Chrissie Bonnie is the new administrator for the Global-Local team and Helen Harwood for East Asia. In January, Matt Freer joined the team as Global-Local developer – helping churches towards local mission with a global perspective.

Steve Johnson joined the Crossing Cultures team as an adviser in August and the fundraising team has a new manager, Mary Smith, who has joined us from Tearfund. The communications team were delighted to welcome Seth Crewe as creative designer and temporary staffer Ross Lawhead to help create a new photo library. We’ve been blessed by new volunteers giving time in the office too: joining Sue Price, whom we met in the last Connect, are former mission partners Hilary Cope and Barbara Oakley, who are doing work related to members, members’ groups and the mission partners’ fellowship. Rebekah Cavanagh has been helping out in finance and elsewhere.

FarewellMichael and Rachel Duff, with Emily and James, were mission

partners with the Anglican Church of Indonesia in Bandung, West Java, for nearly four years. Rachel worked as a nurse at a Christian international school and taught English at a new training college for pastors, which Michael helped to set up and lectured at.

Gill Parkin spent two-and-a-half years working with the United Mission to Nepal as a teacher trainer and also looking after the ongoing professional development of UMN staff.

Geoff and Gill Kimber spent five years as mission partners in Romania building interdenominational friendships through the Cross of Nails reconciliation project in order to foster mutual understanding and respect. They also taught English, worked with an Orthodox social project and encouraged mission through the Orthodox Church.

Malcolm and Veronica White worked for six years with the Anglican Diocese of Jerusalem, based in Amman, the capital city of Jordan. Malcolm was the Minister of the English-speaking congregation there and he and Veronica helped develop the life and witness of the local Christian community, especially in reaching out to refugees from Iraq.

Marie and Mike Wisheart returned to the UK, with young daughters Megan and Chloe, after five years in Tanzania. Marie worked as a physiotherapist in community-based rehabilitation with the Diocese of Mara and Mike helped to run the diocesan development and

discipleship programme.

In Oxford, the ICT team bade a fond farewell in September to its long-time manager Martin White, who had spent the previous 14 years and eight months bringing CMS into the computer age. We were also sad to say goodbye to Berhe Gebru, head of finance, that month, along with Paul Bigmore, fundraising manager, Natalie Bacon, pensions manager, and Gareth Powell, creative designer. Many-time temp Chris Pix moved on after his latest supporting role in the mission and community team and before Christmas we said goodbye to accounts assistant Marcia Cunningham and David Leigh, database supervisor. Deputation facilitators Tarcisius Mukuka and Anna Pickering moved on in December and January respectively.

DEATHS

David Weston, Rwanda 1955–63, died 3 Apr 2007. Phil Preece, Kenya 1975–77, died 3 Aug. Canon Dennis Brookes Runcorn, Hong Kong 1954–62, principal of CMS training college, 1962–67, died 23 Oct. Dorothy Tate, India 1939–70, died 6 Nov 2007. Irene Vanstone, CMS area secretary, 1959–71, died 15 Nov. Mary Mance, Uganda 1942–67, died 6 Dec. George Vellacott OBE, Nigeria 1957–65, died 2 Jan 2008. David Milton-Thompson, China, Kenya and Uganda 1949–81, died 7 Jan.

to events: www.cms-uk.org/events

4–6 April CMS Northern Conference “Not For Sale”, Bawtry Hall, near Doncaster, with Colin Darling from CHASTE and the Sierra Leone Praxis team. Enquiries: Linda Hunter on mutagwok@aol.com or 0114 236 3480. Booking: David Jardine on david@jardine6259.fslife.co.uk or 0114 230 8721.

19 April Link Contacts’ Day – for link churches in the south, 10am – 3.30pm, CMS Oxford. (A similar day in the north will be announced for September.) Contact Julie Whitfield:

julie.whitfield@cms-uk.org or 01865 787524.

10 May Mid-Africa Region Day Conference, 1pm – 4pm, Highfield Church Centre, Highfield Lane, Southampton SO17 1RL. Speakers: Roger Bowen (Burundi) and Meg Guillebaud (Rwanda) and regional manager Stephen Burgess. Contact Jon Henderson on jonandsheila@btinternet.com or 023 8055 5719.

22 May Worcester area CMS action group annual event: “Uganda Link”, 7.30pm, St Mary’s, Kempsey, Worcester. Speaker:

the Rev George Kasangaki from Masindi. For information, call 01905 453616.

10–19 May Sponsored Challenges – China, 23–25 May Ben Nevis. It’s not too late to join the CMS-sponsored challenge to walk the Great Wall of China and raise money for mission in restricted places or, closer to home, climb Ben Nevis. Call Sarah Thomas on 01865 787518, email sarah.thomas@cms-uk.org or find out more on www.cms-uk.org

Short-Term Teams this year are going to Israel-Palestine, Congo,

India, Kenya, Bangladesh, Burundi and Ghana. Spread the word! A full information pack can be found in the Get Involved section of the CMS website. Email teams@cms-uk.org or ring Sarah Truby on 01865 787494.

20 Sept Northern Region Mission Partners’ Fellowship, 10am–4pm. Please contact Miss E Wroe (01904 780852) for details before 6 Sept.

1 Oct Central South Region Mission Partners’ Fellowship, 11am–4pm. Please contact Dr E Edmunds (01425 610797) for details before 1 Sept.

to CMS peopleNew Easter resourceYour church is encouraged to invite local schools to visit during the lead-up to Easter to take part in workshops, craft and drama exploring the Easter story, using a resource created jointly by London Diocese and CMS. The modern representation of the Easter story comes in photographic form, made by young people in London with photographer Dennis Morris. “The aim is to help young people engage with the Easter story and make connections with their own lives,” explains the Rev Anita Matthews from the CMS Youth and Children’s team. “We hope that it will resource many people in telling the Easter story and exploring what it means in a fresh and creative way.”The resource is highly flexible and can be used in various ways: workshops and assemblies, stand-alone, used as part of, or the whole, package. It’s adaptable for use in schools, or in churches (all-age worship, young people’s groups). We can offer you the resource for FREE in the form of downloads from the CMS website. Alternatively, you can purchase from the CMS shop for £8 + p&p.The project acknowledges generous support from the Westhill Foundation.

Check the CMS website for a rich array of downloadable resources

Mission-shaped intro. from Fresh Expressions. A dynamic way for your church to rediscover mission. CMS is a national partner of Fresh Expressions.

40, a movie by illustrator Si Smith Si accompanies Jesus through 40 days in the desert – using a drawing for each day, making a perfect projec-tion sequence to use in church or small groups. See also the 40 book,

a great resource for personal use or the coffee table.

Navigatio by Mark Berry and SafespaceGritty, down-to-earth liturgies and reflections for today from the Safespace community, in Telford, led by CMS mission partner Mark Berry. www.cms-uk.org

RESOURCES

Leaving a legacyby Jenny Ottewell“Becoming a Christian at a Billy Graham rally in 1951, I spent much of

the 60s travelling and teaching in America, New Zealand and India. Returning to Britain in 1969, I taught for five years in Oxford before encountering CMS. I had been wondering where next, where to be effective. This encounter opened the door to 26 wonderful years of service with God’s Church in Uganda. God had used my time of travelling to prepare me for this challenging work. He also has a sense of humour – I thought I could not work in a hot country or teach adults, yet he led me to the role of education co-ordinator to encourage Christian work among the children in this tropical country. Having returned to Britain in 2001, my desire is that CMS remains a ‘world church’ in which I can continue to be part of an active family where I now live. I find the breadth of CMS work inspirational, and I have included a legacy to CMS in my will to help this work to continue in years to come.”If you would like to know more about how you can help to ensure the continuity of the work of CMS, Sarah Thomas, our Legacy Administrator, would be delighted to talk to you on 01865 787518 or you can email her on sarah.thomas@cms-uk.org

New roles...Money talks, and the idea of ‘business as mission’ dates back to the 19th-century head of CMS, Henry Venn. From this month, CMS-Asia director, Chye Ann Soh (pictured), heads up MAGI, a project focussing on the parts of the world where missions can’t go but commerce can. Chye Ann will also be an adviser to Phil Simpson, current director for Europe, the Middle East and Central Asia, as Phil takes complete oversight of CMS-Asia. Phil and his wife Rachel formerly spent 12 years as mission partners in Pakistan. Meanwhile, assistant general secretary Mark Oxbrow becomes international co-ordinator of the Faith2Share Network, in which he will be able to give full expression to his passion for developing relationships with indigenous missions.

Dancing into NyankandaPeter Vivash writes: Our CMS Praxis visit to Burundi was a joy. Nyankanda is a hidden gem of a rural community. We were met by a large, eager group of locals including an enthusiastic bunch of women who, amid great excitement, ‘danced us in’. This poor community is striving to improve its situation by planting, growing and selling a variety of basic produce co-operatively.Interested in this kind of experience? Contact Sarah Truby on 0845 620 1799 or sarah.truby@cms-uk.org

Short-term destinations 200818-30 Teams: Israel-Palestine, Congo, India, Kenya

25-plus Teams: Bangladesh, Burundi, Ghana

Want to know more? Check out the CMS website www.cms-uk.org (Get Involved) or contact Sarah Truby on 0845 620 1799 or sarah.truby@cms-uk.org

Optional: flowers in your hairHelping modern pagans and hippies to understand Jesus through hand massage was a CMS team at last year’s Mind, Body, Spirit event in London. Led by the mission leadership team’s Jonny Baker, the volunteers set up a dekhomai (‘welcoming place’) stand, offering Christian prayer and communication tools. Helper Rob Ryan was struck by three things: “The ordinariness of the people who attend, their longing for authenticity and their willingness to receive prayer.” Fellow volunteer Steve Hollinghurst said, “Your faith meets real life and is shown to have something to offer.” Would you like to take part in Dekhomai 2008? Contact Jonny Baker on 0845 620 1799 orjonny.baker@cms-uk.org

Summit to talk aboutThey may have chosen a demanding route through steep, rocky faces and icy couloirs, but it led not only to Mt Kenya’s 5,000m peak but also to over £40,000 of donations to CMS. Six intrepid volunteer adventurers spent 10 days last September climbing the mountain to raise the cash for CMS-Africa training scholarships for pastors, youth workers, social workers and HIV/AIDS workers. The sponsored team comprised David Green from Tanzania, Henry Guy from Uxbridge, Kate Pearmain from Woking, Richard Turner from Nottingham, Phil Wootton from Chatham, and Stephane Warwick from Gibraltar. They were accompanied by Sila Matu from CMS-Africa. There are plenty more CMS sponsored challenges coming up, so if you would like to take one on, contact Sarah Thomas on +44 (0)1865 787518 or challenges@cms-uk.org

“Genuinely a huge honour and very humbling,” is how Bishop of Southampton, the Rt Rev Paul Butler, described being appointed the new CMS chair of trustees. He said he is excited about the future potential of CMS while hoping to bring a sense of stability. After jobs as an inner-city evangelist and team rector in Walthamstow, Bishop Paul, 52, was appointed to the Southampton prelacy in 2005. He is the House of Bishops’ advocate for children, and has written three books, the latest being Temptation and Testing (SPCK). His strong international links include being a Canon of Byumba Cathedral in Rwanda, a former chair of Mid-Africa Ministry and a CMS trustee since 2002. He is married to Rosemary with four children.

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news and information for CMS members

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Recent terrible events in Kenya have powerfully demonstrated why the time has come for the root and branch reform being embarked on by CMS.Violence following the disputed Kenyan elections left many dead and over 250,000 people displaced. The new National Alliance of Churches team was at hand to distribute food, and co-ordinating it was Dennis Tongoi – CMS Africa director (read more on www.cms-uk.org).Dennis was on the spot and had the authority to act without control from Britain. He was immediately recognised by the local Christian community as having the skills and capacity to lead an emergency response. CMS has rarely had the opportunity to work in that way since the end of the colonial era.Network missionThis February, CMS begins a process that in three years will see the Africa, Asia and Europe regions take full responsibility for their own programmes, with locally-agreed policies and priorities. Each CMS region will have its own general secretary and board of trustees. The project is called ‘Network Mission’. I believe it will release fresh energy for mission work.Dennis’ latest work is one example of what

will be possible. We’re not talking about any region breaking away. Over the next three years we will work out agreements and protocols to underpin common mission.Setting up ‘CMS-Africa’ and ‘CMS-Asia’ will involve costs. We have already secured purchase of an office in Nairobi as a base for CMS-Africa and trustees have set aside a fund to provide the seed money for infrastructure. CMS-Europe is committed to making sure work in Africa and Asia has the resources it needs to operate and grow. Our fundamental commitment is to do things well.

Moreover we will be linked by the Faith2Share Network which exists to enable the exchange of people, funding, experience and theology. It includes the wider CMS family (Australia, Ireland, New Zealand and USA) and several other international mission movements. So why the change? God’s mission never changes but the context does all the time. What used to be mission-fields have given birth to churches, communities and

networks with a mission impulse of their own. Strategic decisions need to be agreed, planned and implemented locally, not in faraway Britain.The idea is not new, but originated with general secretary Max Warren in 1947. For the last three years Africa has had a pilot project underway, testing the changes needed to implement Network Mission. CMS began as a movement from Europe to almost every point of the compass. Nearly 209 years on and Europe is now recognised as a mission field, a challenge we cannot ignore. Hence the creation of ‘CMS-Europe’. People recruited, selected, trained and sent out from Britain will be part of CMS-Europe, which will remain ultimately responsible for their overall care, prayer support and church links.We will approach this latest challenge as our founders did, beginning in small ways and looking to the Holy Spirit for power and guidance.

Network mission goes live

Tim DakinCMS General Secretary

with the CMS community online www.cms-uk.org

On Friday 26 October, the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Patron of CMS, joined an array of guests to dedicate the new CMS mission centre in East Oxford.Some 200 people including international guests and the deputy mayor of Oxford Mary Clarkson joined the celebrations. Archbishop Williams (pictured left) dedicated two specially commissioned pieces of art, a mural celebrating the Mission of God by Chinese artist He Qi (far left) and Light of the World by Saga Arpino, a public art sculpture sited at the front of the new Centre. Don’t forget our new address – see the blue bar on the back page. View Dr Williams’ address, film of the event and photo stories on the CMS website, www.cms-uk.org

CMS Oxford Centre opened

Church Mission Society, Watlington Road, Oxford, OX4 6BZ t: 0845 620 1799

Dawn to Dusk in Blackbird LeysWhen Helen and Patrick Mukholi (with their son

Jonathan) came from Kenya to do youth outreach on

the Blackbird Leys estate in East Oxford, supported by

CMS and Oxford Youth Works and the churches on

the estate, they were told to expect to see poverty.

They found little that Kenyans would recognise as

poverty. “Houses looked good, people seemed to have

satellite TV, cars, and designer consumer goods – all

the luxuries. What we did find, however, is a serious

poverty of spirit that blights the lives of so many people

here, caused by historical marginalisation.” Jonathan

Self, CMS Link Materials Editor, followed Patrick around

on a fairly typical working day. The new CMS offices in

Oxford are close by.

photostory

12 noon Weekly prayer meeting with Christian workers on the Blackbird Leys estate

12.45pm A moment’s quiet in Holy Family Church

2-3pm Out and about

3.30pm On the street, in conversation

4.00pm Meeting with Helen

5.00pm Patrick with student youth worker Hannah Woods outside Holy Family Church

12 noon

2.00pm

2.30pm

3.30pm

4.00pm

My Story, my CMSShannon Hopkins (entrepreneurs network)

I’m originally from Texas but sometimes say I’m from London now. At 26 I had the American Dream. I was very successful working with fashion designers to take them to the national level, but I was absolutely miserable. Then I had a real God-encounter and began to wonder what God’s will for my life was.I found this incredible hunger among people my age for some purpose and passion. So we started gathering at a local pizza place. I led that church for about three years, before pastoring a network of people in Texas pioneering fresh expressions of church.I’ve been in London about four years now. I do creative projects around arts, justice and spirituality.I’ve been really involved in The Truth Isn’t Sexy, a project addressing the demand side of human trafficking – the people who use prostitutes and pornography. We worked with cultural creatives – a lot of secular people – to do a beermat and poster campaign. I got involved in CMS through Jonny Baker [Mission Leadership team]. We developed the Network of Entrepreneurial Talent (Net) – bringing together entrepreneurs who want to run missional businesses but often feel isolated.For me CMS embodies everything I think my life and calling are about: following Jesus, trying to bring justice and helping people figure out what it means to be a disciple.I love how open CMS is. It doesn’t have to claim and own everything that’s happening. It’s just trying to resource people to be involved in the mission of God.

SAMS & CMS plot mergerCMS and the South American Mission Society (SAMS) commenced talks in October 2007 about the possibility of merging or collaborating more closely. The two long-established Anglican mission societies are looking at an approach that would maintain the integrity and focus of SAMS, while bringing it into the global network operated by CMS.

Speak up!If you think you can confidently present a clear and compelling message about the work of CMS to churches and other groups, why not consider becoming a member of the CMS Speakers Bureau? We are now recruiting, and providing training days to give candidates all the tools they need. At the latest one, attended by 14 people, Tim Dakin was the keynote presenter, and sessions covered how speaking engagements are arranged, speaker accreditation, use of PowerPoint, and talking to children. Yemi Adedeji, advisor on new relations, also explained the importance of establishing long-lasting relationships with those who wish to support mission. If you would like to discuss the possibility of becoming an accredited member of the CMS Speakers Bureau, contact Nicole Kuisis nicole.kuisis@cms-uk.org or 01865 787521 for more information.

Smith strikes goldFor his work in breaking new ground with Audiomission, the UK’s first ever mission podcast, our producer Trevor Smith has earned CMS three top-class Christian broadcasting gongs. Jeremy Woodham’s report on drug ministries in Russia won a prestigious Jerusalem Award and £2,000. At the Christian Broadcasting Council awards, our programme on the life of slave-turned-bishop Samuel Ajayi Crowther won a gold while renowned presenter Cindy Kent’s programme marking the end of Partnership House, the CMS building in Waterloo, London, earned a bronze. Hear them at www.cms-uk.org/audiomission

12.45pm

5.00pm

Emergency food distribution by CMS staff in Kenya

297x630.indd 1 7/2/08 15:35:47

news and information for CMS members

SP

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00

8

Recent terrible events in Kenya have powerfully demonstrated why the time has come for the root and branch reform being embarked on by CMS.Violence following the disputed Kenyan elections left many dead and over 250,000 people displaced. The new National Alliance of Churches team was at hand to distribute food, and co-ordinating it was Dennis Tongoi – CMS Africa director (read more on www.cms-uk.org).Dennis was on the spot and had the authority to act without control from Britain. He was immediately recognised by the local Christian community as having the skills and capacity to lead an emergency response. CMS has rarely had the opportunity to work in that way since the end of the colonial era.Network missionThis February, CMS begins a process that in three years will see the Africa, Asia and Europe regions take full responsibility for their own programmes, with locally-agreed policies and priorities. Each CMS region will have its own general secretary and board of trustees. The project is called ‘Network Mission’. I believe it will release fresh energy for mission work.Dennis’ latest work is one example of what

will be possible. We’re not talking about any region breaking away. Over the next three years we will work out agreements and protocols to underpin common mission.Setting up ‘CMS-Africa’ and ‘CMS-Asia’ will involve costs. We have already secured purchase of an office in Nairobi as a base for CMS-Africa and trustees have set aside a fund to provide the seed money for infrastructure. CMS-Europe is committed to making sure work in Africa and Asia has the resources it needs to operate and grow. Our fundamental commitment is to do things well.

Moreover we will be linked by the Faith2Share Network which exists to enable the exchange of people, funding, experience and theology. It includes the wider CMS family (Australia, Ireland, New Zealand and USA) and several other international mission movements. So why the change? God’s mission never changes but the context does all the time. What used to be mission-fields have given birth to churches, communities and

networks with a mission impulse of their own. Strategic decisions need to be agreed, planned and implemented locally, not in faraway Britain.The idea is not new, but originated with general secretary Max Warren in 1947. For the last three years Africa has had a pilot project underway, testing the changes needed to implement Network Mission. CMS began as a movement from Europe to almost every point of the compass. Nearly 209 years on and Europe is now recognised as a mission field, a challenge we cannot ignore. Hence the creation of ‘CMS-Europe’. People recruited, selected, trained and sent out from Britain will be part of CMS-Europe, which will remain ultimately responsible for their overall care, prayer support and church links.We will approach this latest challenge as our founders did, beginning in small ways and looking to the Holy Spirit for power and guidance.

Network mission goes live

Tim DakinCMS General Secretary

with the CMS community online www.cms-uk.org

On Friday 26 October, the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Patron of CMS, joined an array of guests to dedicate the new CMS mission centre in East Oxford.Some 200 people including international guests and the deputy mayor of Oxford Mary Clarkson joined the celebrations. Archbishop Williams (pictured left) dedicated two specially commissioned pieces of art, a mural celebrating the Mission of God by Chinese artist He Qi (far left) and Light of the World by Saga Arpino, a public art sculpture sited at the front of the new Centre. Don’t forget our new address – see the blue bar on the back page. View Dr Williams’ address, film of the event and photo stories on the CMS website, www.cms-uk.org

CMS Oxford Centre opened

Church Mission Society, Watlington Road, Oxford, OX4 6BZ t: 0845 620 1799

Dawn to Dusk in Blackbird LeysWhen Helen and Patrick Mukholi (with their son

Jonathan) came from Kenya to do youth outreach on

the Blackbird Leys estate in East Oxford, supported by

CMS and Oxford Youth Works and the churches on

the estate, they were told to expect to see poverty.

They found little that Kenyans would recognise as

poverty. “Houses looked good, people seemed to have

satellite TV, cars, and designer consumer goods – all

the luxuries. What we did find, however, is a serious

poverty of spirit that blights the lives of so many people

here, caused by historical marginalisation.” Jonathan

Self, CMS Link Materials Editor, followed Patrick around

on a fairly typical working day. The new CMS offices in

Oxford are close by.

photostory

12 noon Weekly prayer meeting with Christian workers on the Blackbird Leys estate

12.45pm A moment’s quiet in Holy Family Church

2-3pm Out and about

3.30pm On the street, in conversation

4.00pm Meeting with Helen

5.00pm Patrick with student youth worker Hannah Woods outside Holy Family Church

12 noon

2.00pm

2.30pm

3.30pm

4.00pm

My Story, my CMSShannon Hopkins (entrepreneurs network)

I’m originally from Texas but sometimes say I’m from London now. At 26 I had the American Dream. I was very successful working with fashion designers to take them to the national level, but I was absolutely miserable. Then I had a real God-encounter and began to wonder what God’s will for my life was.I found this incredible hunger among people my age for some purpose and passion. So we started gathering at a local pizza place. I led that church for about three years, before pastoring a network of people in Texas pioneering fresh expressions of church.I’ve been in London about four years now. I do creative projects around arts, justice and spirituality.I’ve been really involved in The Truth Isn’t Sexy, a project addressing the demand side of human trafficking – the people who use prostitutes and pornography. We worked with cultural creatives – a lot of secular people – to do a beermat and poster campaign. I got involved in CMS through Jonny Baker [Mission Leadership team]. We developed the Network of Entrepreneurial Talent (Net) – bringing together entrepreneurs who want to run missional businesses but often feel isolated.For me CMS embodies everything I think my life and calling are about: following Jesus, trying to bring justice and helping people figure out what it means to be a disciple.I love how open CMS is. It doesn’t have to claim and own everything that’s happening. It’s just trying to resource people to be involved in the mission of God.

SAMS & CMS plot mergerCMS and the South American Mission Society (SAMS) commenced talks in October 2007 about the possibility of merging or collaborating more closely. The two long-established Anglican mission societies are looking at an approach that would maintain the integrity and focus of SAMS, while bringing it into the global network operated by CMS.

Speak up!If you think you can confidently present a clear and compelling message about the work of CMS to churches and other groups, why not consider becoming a member of the CMS Speakers Bureau? We are now recruiting, and providing training days to give candidates all the tools they need. At the latest one, attended by 14 people, Tim Dakin was the keynote presenter, and sessions covered how speaking engagements are arranged, speaker accreditation, use of PowerPoint, and talking to children. Yemi Adedeji, advisor on new relations, also explained the importance of establishing long-lasting relationships with those who wish to support mission. If you would like to discuss the possibility of becoming an accredited member of the CMS Speakers Bureau, contact Nicole Kuisis nicole.kuisis@cms-uk.org or 01865 787521 for more information.

Smith strikes goldFor his work in breaking new ground with Audiomission, the UK’s first ever mission podcast, our producer Trevor Smith has earned CMS three top-class Christian broadcasting gongs. Jeremy Woodham’s report on drug ministries in Russia won a prestigious Jerusalem Award and £2,000. At the Christian Broadcasting Council awards, our programme on the life of slave-turned-bishop Samuel Ajayi Crowther won a gold while renowned presenter Cindy Kent’s programme marking the end of Partnership House, the CMS building in Waterloo, London, earned a bronze. Hear them at www.cms-uk.org/audiomission

12.45pm

5.00pm

Emergency food distribution by CMS staff in Kenya

297x630.indd 1 7/2/08 15:35:47