summer snippets from cms ireland

I wonder what the Apostle Paul would have made of Mo Farah?

The double-Olympic gold medalist recently took part in the London Marathon, where the organisers paid him vast sums of money to run just half the distance.

Despite the explanation that this was Farah’s prelude to next year’s race, it was bizarre to see a world-class athlete exit the scene at 13 miles and head for home. Meanwhile, tens of thousands of ‘amateurs’, many wearing warm and

unwieldy fancy-dress costumes, managed to complete the challenge and raise vast sums of money for charity in the process.

Whether for prizes or pride, a race is supposed to be run in its entirety. Marathons are meant to be finished.

The Spring edition of inMission magazine and the recent AGM both used the theme of ‘The Road Less Travelled.’ Mission, it was suggested, involves the choice to take a different path and follow in the Way of Christ. But selecting the right road is just the beginning. Our journeys in mission require us to remain faithful to God and stay committed to what He has called us to do.

Mission is rarely, if ever, a static enterprise. It requires us to be active, to keep going, to be always on the move. This is true whether

we are involved in long-term mission service in another place (as CMS Ireland’s Mission Partners are) or we are engaging in sharing God’s love much closer to home – in our neighbourhoods or workplaces.

This edition of Summer Snippets shares some recent examples of individuals and churches on the move, as they actively pursue God’s call to mission. We hope these stories inspire you to keep on running. I’ll leave you with Paul’s words on this matter. Have a great summer!

“However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace.” (Acts 20:24)

Roger Cooke - Editor

2013

mission on the move: staying active in his service

keep on running...

When working in partnership, face-to-face engagement is hugely important. That’s why visiting our partners is such a vital part of our work. But often, it’s more blessed to receive than to go.

Over the past few months, CMS Ireland has played host to three Bishops from our Global Partners. In February, Bishop Hilary from Yei Diocese, South Sudan spent 10 days visiting Link Parishes throughout Ireland. He also met with Bishop Alan to discuss the development of the Partnership Link between Yei and Connor Dioceses.

March saw another visit from one of our South Sudan partners. Bishop Anthony from Kajo-Keji Diocese had been studying in London and came on a brief visit to meet with supporters and speak at churches.

Bishops Hilary and Anthony have visited Ireland previously. Their visits gave them a chance to invest in relationships here. But in April, we were delighted to welcome another bishop on his first visit here.

The Rt Rev Gaddiel Lenini was consecrated as Bishop of Kajiado Diocese, Kenya in January 2012. He was due to travel to Ireland as part of a bigger team from Kajiado, but due to visa problems, the rest of the team were unable to make the trip.

Bishop Gaddiel had a busy programme. He spent time in Link Parishes, held meetings in schools, hospitals and offices and spoke at church services, school assemblies and a CMS Ireland Focus Evening. Wherever he went, he brought a clear and inspiring message of God at work in Kenya.

‘Thank you so much for your reception and good hospitality. I learnt a lot from the people of Ireland. It was really an eye-opener...I think now we can work as a team and as the partnership grows our relationship will also grow.’ (Bp Gaddiel)

These visits to Ireland give thousands of people a chance to hear from and meet our partners - this makes a real difference. Next May, we hope to bring all our Global Partners to Ireland as part of our 200th Anniversary. Please play your part in helping us bring them here and host them well.

it’s not just about ‘going’ Photo credit: Norman Briggs

As reported in a recent edition of inMission, the Church in Nepal is very much ‘on the move’. God’s followers are sharing His love in real, practical ways and as a result, lives are being transformed. This is certainly true for Sundar Dhoka Saathi Sewa (SDSS).

SDSS was established in 2005 by CMS Ireland’s Global Partner, SD Church. Since its inception some 20 years ago, the church has sought to respond to the needs of the poor, the marginalised and those with disabilities. SDSS was started as an independent organisation to develop this work and over the past seven years, CMS Ireland has sought to support this ministry.

The most prominent of SDSS’s initiatives is the Patient Navigator Programme. This provides support to patients from rural areas who come to Kathmandu for medical procedures. The patients are referred to SDSS by mission hospitals and rural clinics.

For the mostly poor, Nepali population living in the foothills of the Himalayas, Kathmandu is another world - it is easy to get lost in the system or to fall victim to those who would prey on the vulnerable. That’s where the Patient Navigator Programme comes in.

A member of the SDSS staff meets each patient (and their carer) at the Bus Park or airport in Kathmandu and brings them to the SDSS compound, where they are given a room for the duration of their stay. SDSS helps them through the hospital system, advocating on their behalf and ensuring they receive adequate care. After surgery or treatment, the patients are looked after until they are ready to return home. The whole process can last for many weeks or months.

It is a relatively simple model, but is has been hugely effective. The quality of the service and the depth of love and care that is provided tends to have a significant impact.

There are 75 districts in Nepal. To date, over 1000 patients from 50 of these districts have benefitted from the Patient Navigator programme.

People are coming to Kathmandu, often without knowing anybody there, fearful and uncertain about their medical procedures and the whole experience of being in the city. Thanks to SDSS, their time in the city is not only ‘easier’ to manage, it’s also a time full of love, laughter, care and compassion. Perhaps it’s hardly surprising that we hear monthly reports of lives transformed.

As the Patient Navigator Programme grew, the main obstacle to the work became the limited size, unsuitable space and uncertain tenancy of the SDSS compound in Kathmandu. This was a former carpet factory - but in reality it was little more than a small building and some brick and corrugated iron outhouses. In 2007, SDSS shared their dream to build a more suitable centre for the work of SDSS.

Within a year, thanks to the generous support of a few individuals, a Church of Ireland Trust fund and a parish (St Patrick’s, Ballymena), CMS Ireland had raised over £40,000 towards the purchase of land - not enough to buy all the land required and certainly not enough to start building, but it was a start. And then, the waiting began.

As SDSS sought suitable land and additional donors, and as they negotiated various stages of bureaucracy, the money sat in an account, untouched for over two years.

Occasionally, CMS Ireland’s approach to partnership means that things can seem to move quite slowly. Working collaboratively means that we don’t make decisions on behalf of our partners, nor do we dictate the pace of progress.This can be frustrating for churches or individuals who are looking for a ‘quick-fix’ engagement in mission. That’s not how we work - and as I was reminded last week, there’s much value in Godly patience.

On 14th May 2013, SDSS officially opened its new Patient Navigator Centre. It’s an impressive building, with spaces for 50 beds, a modern, professional kitchen, a large multi-purpose hall (which is ‘rented’ to SD Church for services and meetings), a counselling room, office space and a state of the art water filtration system (which CMS Ireland helped to fund). There’s also a wheelchair ramp running round the outside of the building to the first floor.

This new building has doubled the capacity for the Patient Navigator Programme and

has improved the quality of care that can be offered across all of the SDSS programmes. It also provides a much-needed increase in space for SD Church services - with well over 200 people attending each week.

I represented CMS Ireland at the opening event and met with the other main donors for the building project. A Canadian organisation and a Canadian church provided the bulk of the money, but one of their representatives impressed upon me the significance of CMS Ireland’s initial ‘seed money’:

“You showed confidence in SDSS by giving those funds before any other money was committed. In turn, they showed that they were trustworthy by leaving the funds untouched. These two things were crucial in our decision to support this project. Without your role, we couldn’t have played our part.”

SDSS - as part of the Church in Nepal - is helping people find their way and showing them a different path. Their story also acts as a reminder to all of us to trust the God who in His perfect time, takes what we offer and multiplies it beyond our imagination.

Roger Cooke

navigating in nepalhelping others find their way

“without your role, we couldn’t have played our part.”

The opening banquet

In January, CMS Ireland re-launched its student-placement initiative with the Church of Ireland Theological Institute. The Society had previously facilitated a number of such overseas placements for Church of Ireland ordinands and it was felt that this would be a worthwhile venture to revisit.

In addition to providing suitable placement opportunities with three of our Global Partners, CMS Ireland was able to offer bursaries to help fund up to three placements. Two of the First Year ordinands, Sam Jonhston and Aaron McAlister recently returned from their placements in Africa.

Sam spent a month in Kenya, working within two parishes in Kajiado Diocese. Meanwhile, Aaron spent three weeks in Maridi Diocese, South Sudan where he taught some classes at the Bible School and got involved in parish life. Aaron had this to say about his visit:

“Going on a placement with CMS Ireland definitely stretched my faith. My South Sudan hosts treated me as one of their family. I would wholeheartedly recommend others to go. ”

As we work alongside CITI to develop this scheme, we hope to see more students making the choice to go that bit further for their placements.

At this time of year, many of us take time away from work or from the busyness of life to enjoy a much valued summer holiday, where the emphasis will be on relaxation and comfort. But some people’s ‘time-off’ this summer will look very different.

The coming months will see around 35 people on the move with CMS Ireland, as they travel to spend time with our Global Partners.

In June and July two Mission Experience Teams Abroad (METAs) will head to Africa. The first, a team of 11 from St. Patrick’s, Coleraine, will be spending some time at Kiwoko Hospital. While some of the team will work alongside the hospital staff, others will be involved in practical projects around the hospital site and engaging in some of the community projects run by the hospital.

In July, a team of 21 individuals will visit Kenya on a team led by Ronnie and Maggie Briggs and Kelly Yates. The team comprises representatives from 6 parishes throughout Ireland - Dungiven, Ballyholme, Willowfield, Portadown (St Columba’s), Magherally and Bray. Given the diversity of the group and the relationship with our Kenyan partners, the team chose the name Uhusiano (which is ‘partnership’ in Swahili).

Team Uhusiano will visit our two Global Partners in Kenya. Some time will be spent with the Urban Development Programme of All Saints’ Cathedral, Nairobi, where the team will help to complete a classroom for the newly built secondary school. Team members will also spend time in Kajiado Diocese, helping complete a new diocesan training centre (funded by Bishops’ Appeal). In both places, the emphasis will be on developing friendships with community and church members and worshiping with them.

The summer months will also see three individuals taking part in Mission Placement Opportunities (MPOs) with CMS Ireland - these are short, targeted work placements to support our Global Partners.

Jill and Natalie Wilcox from St Paul’s, Lisburn and Rev Roger Thompson, rector of St Patrick’s, Cairncastle with All Saints’ Craigyhill (Larne), will each be serving alongside our Global Partners for a short time.

Jill and Natalie head to Kajiado, Kenya at the end of June for a four-week placement. Jill will be working in the Diocesan office,

helping to introduce a new Administration system there. Meanwhile, Natalie will be working in the diocese’s pre-school nursery.

Roger is taking a four-month sabbatical over the coming months. For part of this time, he will be be joined by his wife Fiona (a former CMS Ireland Youth Officer) and their two teenage sons on a visit to Tanzania. Roger and Fiona were Short-Term Mission Partners there in 1987-1988 and will be visiting a Larne-based charity called Kids4school, near Dodoma.

Roger will then travel to Nairobi on 24th August where he will spend three weeks on a clergy placement in Nairobi Cathedral. Here he hopes to share fellowship with the Kenyan church family & learn about their Social Outreach Ministry to the city slums.

Sabbaticals are something that clergy hold very dear - they provide an opportunity for spiritual refreshment and reinvigoration, as well as personal development.

By choosing to spend some of his time with our partners in Kenya, Roger is putting into practice a biblical principle that is central to the work of CMS Ireland. When we reach out in service of others, when we go the extra mile, God not only blesses the people we serve, but He blesses us as well - He helps us to experience life as He intended.

Please remember these teams and individuals in your prayers over the coming months, asking that God would bless them and would use them to bring many blessings to others.

1 Summer, 2 METAs, 3 MPOspeople on the move

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citi students are good to go...

Roger (in yellow) with his family

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DublinChurch  of  Ireland  House,  Church  Avenue,  Rathmines,  Dublin  6T:  +353  (0)1  4970931;    E:  dublinoffice@cmsireland.org

Belfast33  Dargan  Road,  Belfast,  BT3  9JUT:  +44  (0)28  90775020;    E:  belfastoffice@cmsireland.org

Attend a CMS Ireland eventAlong  with  the  AGM  and  IMPACT  (on  29th  November  this  year),  

the  Mid-­‐Africa  Conference  is  one  of  CMS  Ireland’s  three  major  annual  events  for  all  members  and  supporters.  You  are  most  welcome  to  some,  or  all,  of  this  important  event.

This  year’s  programme  includes:

• Teaching  from  Rev  Andrew  Forster• Seminars  with  Paul  and  Tania  Baker• African  Afternoon  Tea• Worship  and  Fellowship

To  book  your  place  or  to  find  out  more  about  the  weekend,  contact  the  Belfast  office.Newcastle:  13th-­‐15th  September

Living StoriesCMS Ireland Mid-Africa

Conference 2013

Request a CMS Ireland SpeakerAre  you  looking  for  a  speaker  for  a  Sunday  Service  or  mid-­‐week  gathering?  CMS  Ireland  staff  and  volunteers  are  available  for  such  engagements  throughout  Harvest  and  Advent.  We’re  also  taking  bookings  for  2014  -­‐  our  200th  Anniversary  year.  You  can  book  a  speaker  via  the  website  or  by  contacting  the  CMS  Ireland  offices.

Marketplace  is  CMS  Ireland’s  initiative  for  sharing  crafts  and  stories  from  our  Global  Partners.  Since  September  2011  the  

Marketplace  story  has  been  shared  at  21  Women’s  groups  and  Mid-­‐week  gatherings  throughout  Ireland.  The  crafts  have  also  

appeared  at  over  30  events  and  craft  fairs.  

Book Marketplace

Contact  our  offices  or  e-­‐mail  marketplace@cmsireland.org

CMS Ireland can help you and your church ‘get moving’. Here are a few things you can do in the coming months:

facebook.com/cmsireland

@cmsireland

www.cmsireland.org