The World Mission Council is the channel through which the Church of Scotland responds to the command of Jesus “Go into the world and preach the good news to all creation.” Mark 16:15) The Council works in many countries worldwide, usually on the basis of partnership with national churches and institutions and always with a view to involving church members in Scotland in the development of the work. Our mission is to empower everyone to discover, experience and share the challenges and opportunities gained by connecting with the World Church. Welcome to WM02. TWINNING … MISSION IN A NEW MODE The first decade of the 21st century is witnessing a shift in the mode of the Church of Scotland’s engagement in Christ’s mission worldwide. There is a continuing role for strategically-placed, full-time, long-term mission partners but today’s communication possibilities also allow all of us to become much more directly connected with mission initiatives far from our own shores. Opportunities to twin with congregations overseas are growing and such partnerships can be challenging, frustrating, and often expand our faith. At a conference held last month by our partner, the Presbyterian Church in the Republic of Korea (PROK) Mr. Nicanor Primavera of the United Church of Christ in the Philippines, described how he saw twinnings, “Come visit, admire our cultural and natural landscapes, but please don’t help us. Many problems will arise when you ‘help’ us. We want you just to accompany us in our journey, so that we gain the confidence that, with you walking with us and with God’s assurances, we can help ourselves.” If you are already twinned with a congregation, let us know your experiences. If not, we hope this issue will inspire you to make the first steps towards making connections. Contents: TWINNING … MISSION IN A NEW MODE 1 Twinning brings a great spirit of unity 2 Sharing hopes and skills with Chipembi School in Zambia 3 Snowballs and Africa 4 Q&A: Carol Finlay, Associate Secretary (Local Development) 5 Q&A: Jane Barron, Minister of St Andrew’s Church, Jerusalem 6 Prayer Focus 7 Twinning – An idea whose time has come 7 Suggested reading: Romans 15: 5-7 7 Please pray: 8 Staff and family members serving overseas with World Mission 10 Please note: If you would like an illustrated version of this newsletter, please visit http://www.churchofscotland.org.uk/councils/worldmission/wmnews.htm Twinning brings a great spirit of unity by Jenny Smith on behalf of Banchory West Church In January 2006, six members of the West Church, Banchory, exchanged winter in Scotland for two weeks in the soaring temperatures and humidity of Aba in south east Nigeria. This was the latest development in a partnership with the Presbyterian Church of Nigeria (PCN) which took its first tentative steps in 2001. Progress with the partnership has not always been smooth and steady, and has produced significant challenges and frustrations for both sides, but perseverance has been hugely enriching and beneficial for everyone involved. The city of Aba is a vast area of densely populated urban sprawl with an infrastructure designed for one tenth of the actual population now estimated to be between 2 and 3 million. Hence there are inevitable problems of water and electricity supply, drainage, sanitation, refuse disposal, and poor roads. The PCN set up the Aba Urban Health Centre in 1992 to address the urgent primary health care needs of a slum area in the city. With small simple buildings and rudimentary equipment it aims to provide basic health and maternity care for some of the poorest and most disadvantaged. The clinic is self-supporting in terms of salaries and drugs through the modest charges made to those who can afford to pay for their treatment. But it never turns away anyone in need who is unable to pay. The income generated is not sufficient for any upgrading or development so until recently all the water had to be bought some distance away and carried in buckets to the health centre. The staff, comprising 2 staff nurse/midwives, 2 auxiliary nurses and a caretaker/handyman are paid very little and their accommodation is inadequate but, despite this, they work with great dedication and faith and are making a real difference to people’s lives. Two visits to Banchory by church leaders of the PCN in 2004 helped us to identify priorities and gave the partnership renewed impetus to move forward. The congregation and community in Banchory raised enough money to sink a bore hole and to facilitate urgent renovation work to raise the buildings to the government standard for registration, thus qualifying the clinic to apply for a doctor. Working together with a team from the local churches and the Board of Governors was such a privilege. In a remarkably short time the roof was raised, re-wiring done, the walls were plastered and painted, and water storage tanks were installed above the bore hole. In the midst of all this activity, the staff were treating patients, delivering babies and probably saving quite a few lives. We were inspired by the faith and integrity of the people we met and impressed by what can be achieved with such limited resources. We chose as the theme for our visit Romans 15: 5-9 which speaks about the Spirit of Unity and that became such a reality. The warmth of welcome and the generous hospitality in local homes; sharing together in the joys and struggles of daily life; the fun of football, frisbee and craft sessions; the vibrant worship, singing and dancing in the churches; the hundreds of hugs and handshakes; the growth of friendships and understanding; and the prayer partnership linking Nigeria and Banchory have made an indelible impression on us all and have expanded our faith. We thank God for the privilege of partnership with another part of the Body of Christ. Sharing hopes and skills with Chipembi School in Zambia by South Leith Parish Church For almost ten years now, South Leith Parish Church in Scotland has been twinned with Chipembi Girls Secondary School which is run by the United Church of Zambia (UCZ). During this time, we have shared experiences, learned new skills and done a bit of farming too. We have been able to find innovative ways to support their enterprises. For example, the school is in a rural area and they feed their 750 pupils by running a farm. We have worked with the school to provide new paddocks for their beef cattle and tools for their fish farms, which in turn has provided the dietary needs of the school girls and improved the welfare of girls coming from vulnerable families to access quality education at affordable rates. Most of all though, it is our visits with one another that really deepen our partnership. During a trip last year, members of the Church taught the girls about Scotland and our long-standing links with Zambia and we developed an educational programme on HIV and AIDS. Being able to bring together young people from both countries to meet and chat informally with each other is a truly rewarding aspect of our partnership. In this photo, Boys Brigade Captain Arthur Mathieson of South Leith Parish Church builds a new friendship with the BB and GB companies at Chipembi Church. Our Church funded a group of four pupils and two teachers to visit Scotland and the two teachers are now the head and depute-head of Chipembi School. They would be the first to admit that their stay in Scotland, and the links they were able to create, have had a huge input into the work they now do. The girls, who have now left the school, had the top exam marks in the country, and have embarked on degree courses in law and accountancy. We are very proud of them and it is our great hope to provide similar opportunities this summer with the assistance of the World Mission Council’s Faithshare Visitors Scheme. Our Church and Chipembi School are also beginning to produce videos about ourselves as part of the World Without Walls project. Using such technology is enabling us to communicate the successes and challenges of the school and the church to the rest of the world. You can watch our progress at http://www.worldwithoutwalls.net. Snowballs and Africa by Rev. Andrew McGurk, Minister of St. John’s in Largs Snowballs and Africa are not words that would normally appear in the same sentence but in St. John’s Church in Largs the links with Africa, and particularly with Katolonji in Malawi, have snowballed in the past 6 years. Through these links the congregation has been greatly blessed. In 2000, the Kirk Session of St. John’s was considering millennium projects with which they might be identified in other parts of the world. A retired missionary in St. John’s, Rev. Jack Selfridge and his wife Isobel, knew about a congregation of the CCAP (Church of Central Africa Presbyterian) at Katolonji, near Mzimba, in the north of Malawi. They were building a new manse and needed support. Our congregation sent a modest donation towards the cost of the building. It was received with such great thanks that we were encouraged to send further gifts over a period of time. Letters were exchanged between the congregations, relationships began to form and at last the Church was complete, and we had an opportunity to meet. The Minister of St. John’s in Largs, Rev. Andrew McGurk, and the Session Clerk, Mr Allister McGregor, were invited out to the Day of Celebration and received a wonderful welcome. The Katolonji congregation were amazed that members of a congregation in Scotland had travelled so far to be with them and to share in their worship from Scotland. They described the building of the church and the relationship as a miracle. While there, we were able to sit together and talk with one another about where could work together to make a difference. Since then links have developed with the neighbouring CCAP school at Katolonji. Assistance has been given for the drilling of boreholes for the provision of fresh water. Special offerings at Christmas have also been given for the purchase of maize for an area badly affected by poor rains and insufficient harvests. In return, they have shared their news, enabling us to get a greater understanding of daily life in Malawi. St. John’s in Largs hopes to strengthen the partnership, courtesy of the World Mission Council’s Faithshare Visitors Scheme, by inviting friends from the Church and School at Katolonji to visit Scotland. Q&A: Carol Finlay, Associate Secretary (Local Development) Carol Finlay works with congregations in Scotland to develop twinnings. Here she has a few tips on how to get started. Why twinning? Twinning gives congregations the opportunity to share of themselves and learn from others often in a very personal way. Friendships develop and human faces and stories can make the bigger issues of the world church a reality. For example, campaigning on global warming becomes more of an issue when you realise your partner church in Bangladesh is slowly submerging. Can any congregation become involved? Yes, sometimes it might be as part of a bigger Presbytery partnership or as an individual or group of congregations. Twinnings may be with another congregation, an Institution or a project. Can we choose where we are twinned with? Every congregation in the Church of Scotland is at liberty to make any connection they like with the World, the World Church or World Issues. However if you want help in securing a twinning or ongoing assistance through World Mission Council, then the twinning must be with one of our partner churches overseas. This year, we are focusing on links with Kenya and Ghana but this does not mean others cannot happen. What is World Mission’s role in twinnings? We see our role as a facilitator, helping in the process of thinking through the concept of partnership, helping in the choosing of a partner and the initial ‘introduction’. We will provide ongoing support through information and advice, for example, in preparing for visits to and from Scotland. Our Faithshare Visitors programme provides an opportunity for the World Mission Council to help financially with visits. How do we get started? Firstly, take time to think about why you want to have a twinning, what do you want to gain from the relationship and what you can give to it. Think about how you will ensure ownership by the whole congregation. Twinnings should not be entered into lightly, they do not just happen and a lot of work needs to go into them to get results. However good preparation reaps rewards of shared learning, deeper understanding and a journeying together in faith. Q&A: Jane Barron, Minister of St Andrew’s Church, Jerusalem Jane Barron will soon be flying out with her husband Ian to join the rest of the team in Israel and Palestine. Why did you become interested in working overseas? Because an opportunity arose. Up until then I had no thoughts about working overseas. It was the specific call to Jerusalem and Galilee that sparked my response. Growing a relationship with the congregations and hearing the horror and the hopes of the indigenous Arab Christians who worship in our churches and in other places is going to be core. Have you always wanted to work in Israel and Palestine? Working in Israel and Palestine is a calling that has grown over the last year and a half. My calling is responding to a number of things: my husband Ian and I have the privilege of joining a team and it is my hope that with these good people we can build on our predecessors' work, evolve ecumenical and interfaith relationships, talk with Palestinian and Israeli people, and with God's help hold the gospel line for justice and peace. I am hoping that together we can grow a sense of team out there. This comes first, even before the buildings’ future. How have you prepared for your new position? Listening to people who have been out there and asking a great many questions. I am partnered with Dumbarton Presbytery and having recently spent a happy weekend there it has been good to hear people's passion and ideas from our Scottish context too. The Scottish Palestinian Forum and the Friends of St Andrew's Jerusalem have offered invaluable advice which I hope continues! The wonder of email has linked me in with new friends in Israel and Palestine and I look forward to meeting them in the flesh. Wherever we are in the world, taking account of the past, present and future is vital, and no less so in Israel and Palestine. The learning curve is, I fear, perpendicular! What do you think your greatest challenge will be? a) Finding Starbucks. b) Saying no in the souks. c) Persuading our cocker spaniel Magnus to stop swimming in Lake Galilee. d) Learning more than Salaam and Shalom. What would you like to achieve? Building on the work already being done I would dearly like to see our buildings grow even more into spaces of inclusive welcome and acceptance. These places are variously ripe and maturing as international centres for peace and for reconciliation. We have to dare to dream and we do it by listening to others' hopes and dreams – and asking how we may help. What and/or who will you miss most? What a dangerous question! Family and friends of course – and our dear cats, Burbank and Richie Rich – Dr Who and Desperate Housewives. Best piece of advice? Enjoy it! Prayer Focus Twinning – An idea whose time has come by Ken Ross, Council Secretary, World Mission One of the remarkable features of Christian mission is that it takes such different forms in different times. Familiar patterns fade and new opportunities arise. Today, in our time, there are unprecedented possibilities for direct links to be made between worshipping communities in different parts of the world. A buzz of excitement is spreading through the Church of Scotland as Presbytery after Presbytery, congregation after congregation awakens to its potential for making a direct link within the world church. What a great opportunity to demonstrate that our words are not empty when we speak of belonging together in one World Church. This edition of WM brings some brilliant examples of twinnings which are providing inspiration, challenges and encouragement to all who are involved. Not that this is something which can be created effortlessly. On the contrary, it takes a great deal of application and commitment. One thing which does not change in mission is that fruit is borne by sacrificial commitment. Another is that the sacrifices made in Christ’s name prove to be infinitely worthwhile. It has been said that there is nothing more powerful than an idea whose time has come. The twinnings now emerging in the life of the Kirk are already enabling more people than ever before to become directly involved in Christ’s mission far from our own shores. Do we sense that this is the way in which God’s Spirit is leading us forward in mission at this time? Suggested reading: Romans 15: 5-7 Spirit of Unity: calling for acceptance and support between each other 5May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, 6so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. 7Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God. When reading this passage, consider the opportunities that are available by twinning with a congregation or Presbytery overseas. As Jenny Smith of Banchory West Church describes in her article, by making these connections, we become enriched by insights from Christians from other parts of the world and share more effectively in God’s global mission. Please pray: We give thanks this day Eugene Pickett For the expanding grandeur of Creation, worlds known and unknown, galaxies beyond galaxies, filling us with awe and challenging our imaginations: We give thanks this day. For this fragile planet earth, its times and tides, its sunsets and seasons: We give thanks this day. For the joy of human life, its wonders and surprises, its hopes and achievements: We give thanks this day. For our human community, our common past and future hope, our oneness transcending all separation, our capacity to work for peace and justice in the midst of hostility and oppression: We give thanks this day. For high hopes and noble causes, for faith without fanaticism, for understanding of views not shared: We give thanks this day. For all who have laboured and suffered for a fairer world, who have lived so that others might live in dignity and freedom: We give thanks this day. For human liberty and sacred rites; for opportunities to change and grow, to affirm and choose: We give thanks this day. We pray that we may live not by our fears but by our hopes, not by our words but by our deeds. ASIA Sri Lanka In his most recent Tsunami Status Report from St. Andrew’s Scots Kirk in Sri Lanka, John Purves writes about the frustrations involved in working toward reversing the devastating effects of the tsunami over a year and a half ago. He writes, “What has been exciting here in Colombo, a real turning point, has been our relationship with the School of Architecture in Colombo and Moratuwa … We are now building several “model houses” designed by student architects. They get the opportunity to work with our clients in a real life situation, a really great dynamic!” But he continues, “… in little Sri Lanka the war clouds are gathering day by day …Please continue to remember us in your prayers.” Please pray for: * John and Patricia Purves, the tsunami committee and the Kirk Session of Elders at St. Andrew’s Scots Kirk as they work toward rebuilding the homes and the lives of those affected by the tsunami in Sri Lanka * For peace, reconciliation, and healing within the country John Purves is the Minister at St Andrew’s Church in Colombo. His letter is available online at www.churchofscotland.org.uk/councils/worldmission/wmlinkingmissionpartners.htm or by request. PAKISTAN In the Church of Pakistan’s Diocese of Peshawar, the Bishop and Youth Department are defying the influences of global politics and working towards developing inter-faith dialogues in the Diocese. Young Muslims and Christians have twice met to discuss how they can work together to bring religious peace and harmony within their country. The “Youth Faith Friends” Forum now hopes to involve other religious communities in their “Peace Talks”. Please pray for: * the continued growth and development of the Diocese of Peshawar’s “Youth Faith Friends” in their efforts to work together to bringing peace to Pakistan * for collaboration between faiths to improve the welfare and social development of the people of Pakistan. AFRICA: Malawi: Alice Ngosi and Hippo Honde, who are Dr Andy Gaston’s colleagues at the Livingstonia Synod AIDS Programme in Malawi, visited schools and congregations around Scotland in May and June of this year to talk about their life and work in Malawi. Describing the LISAP programme, Miss Ngosi said, “The programme is important for helping those who are infected share their experiences and make them feel that they are not alone.” Copies of Mrs Ngosi and Mr Honde presentations at the General Assembly event are available at http://www.churchofscotland.org.uk/appeals/hivaids/hivnews.htm or by request. Please pray for: * Alice Ngosi and Hippo Honde; for their boldness to continue with their work for change and equality within all community groups * LISAP’s innovative youth schemes which recognise that the young deserve opportunities to reach their dreams Staff and family members serving overseas with World Mission Please pray for the protection and good health of all the staff and family members serving overseas with World Mission AFRICA Kenya: Alison Wilkinson Zambia: Colin Johnston [EA] AMERICAS Bahamas: Scott and Anita Kirkland Bermuda: Alan and Elizabeth Garrity Jamaica: Margaret Fowler Trinidad: Garwell and Claudette Bacchas ASIA Bangladesh: Helen Brannam, David and Sarah Hall [EA] Central Asia: Alistair and Mary* [EA] Nepal: Marianne Karsgaard Sri Lanka: John and Patricia Purves MIDDLE EAST Israel and Palestine: Malti Joshi, Jeneffer Zielinski, Gwen and Mark Thompson, Jane and Ian Barron MINISTERS AND FAMILY MEMBERS IN MAINLAND AND CONTINENTAL EUROPE Belgium: Matthew Ross, Andrew and Julie Gardner France: Alan and Lucie Miller Gibraltar and the Costa del Sol: Stewart and Lara Lamont, John and Jeannie Shedden Italy: William and Jean McCulloch Malta: David and Jackie Morris The Netherlands: Robert and Lesley Ann Calvert, John and Gillian Cowie Portugal: William and Maureen Ross Switzerland: Ian and Roberta Manson, Melvyn and Lorna Wood On Leave Malawi: Andy and Felicity Gaston, Helen Scott South Africa: Graham and Sandra Duncan Zambia: Brian and Georgina Payne [EA] Bangladesh: James Pender [EA] Israel and Palestine: Karen Anderson, Clarence and Joan Musgrave [EA] = Ecumenical Appointments * Surname omitted by request An up-to-date list of all Church of Scotland members serving with other agencies overseas is available on our website and by request at the address below. If you would like to find out more about the issues raised here, please visit our website at www.churchofscotland.org.uk/worldmission or contact us. We would be delighted to hear from you. Want Updates? Subscribe to our monthly email detailing the latest news and events within the World Church by sending your details to wmeditor@cofscotland.org.uk Issue WM02 Editorial Team: Carol Finlay, Elizabeth Harvey, Nikki Skinner, Ken Ross, Norma Falconer Page 1 of 11 WM02 Connecting with the World Church / July 2006 World Mission, Church of Scotland, 121 George Street, Edinburgh, Scotland, EH2 4YN T: + 44 (0) 131 225 5722 F: + 44 (0) 131 226 6121 Copyright © World Mission Council, Church of Scotland. All rights reserved. Permission is granted for the reproduction of texts from this publication by Church of Scotland members, mission partners and partner churches. For all other uses, please contact wmeditor@cofscotland.org.uk