Progress in the UNITED KINGDOM

By Rev. Dr. Lynn Thomas

The growth and development of the Cumberland Presbyterian (CP) Church in England and Scotland is progressing well. The Missions Ministry Team (MMT), with the assistance of the Program of Alternate Studies (PAS), conducted classes with four of our pastors in the United Kingdom (UK) in April 2023. Candidates Joseph Li (Birmingham), David Quan Jeon (Sheffield), and Wa Sum Lai (Glasgow), and licentiate Oldfield So (Edinburgh), met in Birmingham, England for intensive classes. All these pastors have seminary degrees earned in Hong Kong. The PAS instructors were Matthew and Susan Gore, Rev. Dr. Milton Ortiz, and Rev. Dr. Lynn Thomas. The PAS classes were related to classes required for ordination as CP ministers.

While in the United Kingdom, the PAS instructors worshipped with the Birmingham CP mission and the Edinburgh CP mission. Both congregations reported over 100 participants. Hopefully, these pastors will be ordained in the coming two years. Although the four mission churches are growing, there are currently no ordained CP pastors in the UK. Pray for them as they work through the process of ordination and pray for the mission churches as they reach Hong Kong people moving into the UK.