CONNECTED September - October 2021

The Council for World Mission Partners in Mission Unit

A BIMONTHLY NEWSLETTER

| SEPTEMBER - OCTOBER 2021

CONNECTED - Edition 2

Quick Glance inside this issue Page 3 - Greetings from the General Secretary, CWM Page 7 - Theme Reflection from Rev. Dr. Sindiso Jele Page 9 - Introducing our Newest Partner in Mission – Rev. Nigel Lindsay Page 13 - A prayer for PIMs from a PIM – Ms. Faithlyn Stephens Page 14 - Introducing our DARE Partner in Mission – Rev. Dr. Jione Havea Page 17 - A prayer for PIMs from a PIM – Rev. Lembe Sivile Page 19 - Notice of a Former PIM’s Death Page 20 - Upcoming Event and Notice

Greetings from CWM's General Secretary

Rev. Dr. Jooseop Keum

Dear sisters and brothers in Christ Jesus: Warm greetings to you in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ from the general secretariat of the Council for World Mission (CWM).

I am delighted to bring my greetings to you through the CWM’s Partner in Mission (PIM) bi-monthly newsletter, Connected. The CWM Partners in Mission (PIMs) are vital for the mission of the CWM. They embrace the missionary vision and vocation of the CWM as a community of churches in mission, as well as sharing their gifts, experiences and insights cross-contextually. A PIM does not operate by the old dichotomy of missionary exchange of sending and receiving churches but in the new missional model of partnership and mutual engagement being facilitated by the CWM. As the new General Secretary of the CWM, I am fully aware of the great missional journeys that our PIMs have been undertaking. I will continue to strengthen the PIM programme and increase the number of mission partners to affirm the identity of CWM as a mission organization aiming at all the member churches to receive and send at least one PIM by 2027, the Jubilee of CWM. PIM will be one of the key methods to support the mission development and programmes of the member churches. The PIMs will be strengthened to pave paths for ecumenical mission engagements carrying the CWM’s commitment to mission in a more dynamic way sharing their rich cultures and diverse traditions, crossing the social, ethnic, regional, and denominational boundaries, and expressing our common witness in diversity. One of the primary roles of the mission is to reclaim the face of God’s people.

The PIMs, through their missional engagement, will continue to share the powerful and transformative stories of God’s people in their face-to-face encounters and invoke hope for life. The CWM will faithfully and actively accompany all the PIMs as well as member churches in walking towards such a dynamic and life flourishing mission.

Connected is a newsletter meant for connecting the PIMs to share their enduring faith, diverse contexts, and transformative stories of challenges and accomplishments in the frontier of world mission. This common platform brings those unheard stories and challenging journeys of our PIMs into the light, which may otherwise go unnoticed. This way, the missional engagement of the CWM through PIM will continue to make its transformative impact on the missional formation of our member churches and bring them into an ongoing missionary commitment.

I would like to thank all our PIMs for their dedication, commitment, and willingness to serve and contribute to the mission and ministries of our member churches with their special gifts bestowed by God. The CWM is always proud of them as they are frontiers of our mission.

I would also like to congratulate and appreciate Mrs. Vickeisha King Burke, Coordinator for the PIM programme, for her relentless services to our PIMs and commitment to help to produce this bimonthly newsletter. May this newsletter be an instrument of bringing new awareness among the member churches in considering the PIM programme as a channel of doing the transformative mission.

May the blessings of our triune God be with us all.

Stay CONNECTED with CWM A REFLECTION ON THE THEME - RISE TO LIFE

REFLECTION ON CWM'S THEME Rev. Dr. Sindiso Jele, Mission Secretary - Africa Region

Partnering with God in building life flourishing communities

The CWM statement 2020-2029 argues ‘…. Beneath the surface of Babylon, (there are) alternative hopes, dreams and visions of life … Thus, life anew breaks out from beneath Babylon….’ Therefore, we locate Rise to Life in communities (Revelations 21:1).

'Rise to Life' is the affirmation of human effort in partnering with God in saving the groaning world. It is an affirmation that God is located in the lives, the told and untold stories of the communities. As such, in the sending and receiving, the PIM communities join GOD in nurturing the young mind (lecturers and teachers), they join God in healing the wounded (in nurses and doctors), we join God in confronting the Empire through prophetic ministry (in Ministers/Pastors and preachers).

'Rise to Life' is equally about learning new things in the pilgrimage of our faith. It is about accepting that we do not own the monopoly of wisdom. It accepts that other civilisation has something to offer in making this earth a better place. As such, 'Rise to Life' is about ideological tolerance, it negates racial supremacy.

Prayer: I pray, God, the mother of love and peace, that you take care of the PIM and enrich their minds as they join your mission in the communities (Missio Dei). I pray for ideological, cultural and theological tolerance. In your hands, I commit them.

Stay CONNECTED with other PIMs

STORIES AND PRAYERS

INTRODUCING

Our Newest Partner in Mission

Image contributed

Rev. Nigel Lindsay Nigel is from the Congregational Federation (CF) and now serves with the Presbyterian Church in Grenada (PCG) through a joint CWM and Caribbean and North America Council for Mission (CANACOM) partnership as Pastor and Chaplain.

Photo credit: Nigel Lindsay

The Samaritan Presbyterian Church in Grenada

Greetings to you all from sunny, hot and hilly Grenada!

I have been in this country for about 6 weeks and have come at a time when the Covid-19 virus is on the rise in Grenada. In early September, we were not permitted to leave our home and so services were held by Zoom, which is fine for those who can connect, but some don’t have a device or internet.

I have been ordained since October 2009 as a Congregational Minister in the UK and have worked as a Social worker and Primary Mental Health Worker, sometimes working in schools. It was time for me to move on from my two Churches in East Ham London and as I have done some work in other countries. I felt God encouraging me to apply to CWM. The Presbyterian Church of Grenada was in need of someone to support the one Presbyterian minister and the role was to be Pastor to Samaritans Church and be Chaplain to the primary and secondary school, all in the north of the Island.

What a match, God had it all planned and I am excited about working with the schools and the Churches! I am keen to learn and hope that some of the experience I bring will be useful.

Whilst working in Nigeria and Kenya I have tried to work alongside local people so they felt more empowered and for me to do myself out of a job. Finding the right people to take on those roles can be a challenge as I have discovered in UK Churches. But it does lead to development and sustainability.

I come with lots of ideas, but I need to listen and spend some time trying to understand the culture, relationships and desire of the people I am here to serve. At this time it is difficult to meet with people, but I have started to meet with young and old. The house is a bit isolated in the Secondary school grounds and as schools are closed for an extra 2 weeks at least. I have been using the time to get out and walk.

The Church is a 55 minute walk for me up and down many hills and winding roads. I have met and had conversations with people on the way and then explored local streets in the Samaritan area. People in the town are getting to know me and as they see me more understand I am not a tourist passing through. I have been provided with a car and I am getting used to the hills and the bends. Grenada is a very beautiful country and the people are friendly and welcoming. It is a great privilege to be here!

The walk down to Samaritan Church

Photo credit: Nigel Lindsay

My view from the college

Photo credit: Nigel Lindsay

Travelling in Covid-19 times is confusing and anxiety provoking. The rules are changing all the time and some changes do not keep up with the systems.

Getting the PCR test before travel, (checking it is the right one when different terms are used) and being aware it has to be within 72 hours, but the test may take 48 hours to come through.

I transited through Barbados and had to fill in forms online, but could not do them until a few days before and then after trying many times did not succeed had to do it at the airport. There was also the Grenadian government safe travel form which I also could not fill in too far in advance and I think I made 5 attempts! It would not allow you to see all the questions until you had completed a page and I had to keep finding different information. As I slowly got near the end it said I had to quarantine for up to 14 days, I had expected this but had been told I could do it at the house but now I had to have a hotel booked for 7 days. As I had a house to go to my host expected I could go there but as someone new to the country that was not allowed. I ended up at the quarantine hotel for just 3 nights and then I was free to be out and about.

Whilst travelling you are never quiet sure what to expect at the airports and some of the processes do not seem to fit. Some are very efficient and work well.

I look forward to working on the Partners in Mission programme and find out about others in different areas. It would be great to meet up with you all in person or on Zoom sometime soon!

- Rev. Nigel Lindsay

Holy Father God, we give You thanks for calling and choosing us to serve in the contexts where You have positioned us. We thank You for the skills and talents with which You have blessed us, and for the human and material resources which You provide for us to undertake the various tasks.

Lord, as we all traverse our respective mission courses, I pray especially for the Partners who entered/will be entering this ministry during this season of a devastating pandemic. Father, may we not be consumed by the many life changes, disruptions and uncertainties which the pandemic deposits on us moment by moment, day by day. Rather, Holy God, may we trust in the knowledge that you are the God of the universe and, hence, You have full control over the ravages of any pandemic. In the same manner that so long as Peter kept his focus on Jesus he walked solidly on the water, if we keep our focus on You we shall walk boldly through this COVID pandemic. May we seek Your divine discernment, guidance and direction as we manoeuvre making the relevant adjustments and modifications to our programmes and plans, so that the outcomes which You desire will be successfully achieved.

Dear God, help us to also exercise Your wisdom and patience to deal with and overcome all the other types of challenges which beset us in our daily work.

Almighty Father, grant us the grace and humility to remain in fervent prayer at Your throne of healing and transformation. Bless our biological families, church families, friends, colleagues and associates who intercede in prayer for us and support us in diverse ways.

Strengthen the family members who serve on the mission field with us. Remove the discomfort of loneliness from the psyche of partners whose family members are not in mission with them.

Merciful God, may we feel Your presence with us always; may the Blood of Jesus protect us on this journey; may Your Holy Spirit accomplish Your purpose through us and sustain us; may we recognize and acknowledge the Guardian Angels whom You lovingly send to care for us.

O Lord, with hearts full of gratitude, we release all our anxieties to You, being confident that the mission and those to whom we minister are not ours, but Yours. In the Name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen!

Ms. Faithlyn Stephens is a Partner In Mission from the United Church in Jamaica & the Cayman Islands. She serves with the Guyana Congregational Union.

Image contributed

INTRODUCING

Our DARE Partner in Mission

Image contributed

Rev. Dr. Jione Havea Jione is a Discernment And Radical Engagement (DARE) Context Reading Resource Facilitator serving in the Pacific region.

I was born to parents who were already working for the church, and I grew up playing with kids for whom being in the church was part of life. So I did not have a "big" or "significant" inspiration experience. It was part of growing up, to be involved in church tasks, services and events - and in our part of the world, church was an integral part of society so one can't do service for or in the church without also being involved in public or social services. They come together, even in the modern time.

What inspired you to be a PIM?

Inspiration was not explosive for me, but staying in the service is the big challenge. I will have a better answer to why I am still in the service, when I am close to exiting!

What do you do as a DARE PIM?

My involvement is with the DARE (discernment and radical engagement) program of CWM. I am part of a team - with Michael Jagessar, Peachy Labayo, Sainimili Kata - who organize and host the eDARE webinars.

Before COVID, there were annual DARE Forums at different places: Bangkok in 2017, Mexico in 2018 and Taiwan in 2019.

Because of COVID, the 2020 meeting was held virtually (Zoom webinars); the eDARE team is now in the process of organizing the 2021 meeting, and planning for future ones.

Information are available at this link: https://edare.cwmission.org

Image contributed

Our family lives in a church-linked property, and we have plenty of space and lots of privileges. So our family is coping fine, and learning to do home schooling and go for walks and to the market.

But this is not the case for many people in the church, and outside of the church, who have lost jobs and their support systems. In the Pasifika islands, people are really struggling.

Maohinui and Fiji are in the middle of outbreaks, and the Covid cases and deaths are rising.

We have islands currently without Covid cases, and my hope is that the population will be vaccinated before the Covid virus arrives. These islands do not have the health services required to face the disease and the aftermath, and so it will be devastating. I'm not trying to be pessimistic, but simply being realistic.

How have you been coping in the COVID-19 period?

Of course, to be vaccinated requires vaccines. And that is part of the problem, because our islands do not have the funds to be able to access the vaccines.

So while our family is coping, many families are struggling and preparing for things to get worse. Again, I'm being realistic -- it might be ok now, but it will get worse.

Goals and Objectives for this mission journey

The eDARE team has been in conversation on how this CWM programme could take advantage of the platforms available in Cyberspace, to continue and expand what we are already doing. But also, to be more relevant and useful for people and communities on the ground -- especially across the CWM regions. So stay tuned!

But be warned: my preference is for the islands, small and big!

- Rev. Dr. Jione Havea

Shepherding God, you have always demonstrated your love and care for all the created order from the beginning of time. We pause, in your presence to acknowledge you as the most supreme being and master of our lives. We celebrate you for being so faithful to us even when many times we are not as faithful. Your accompanying presence in our thin and thick experiences is always a soothing thrust, thank you for being so trustworthy that when all things seem to be falling part, you remain steadfast to your promises.

Help us especially during these unusual, troubled, painful, uncertain and fearful times, to remain hopeful in you, the God of possibilities. We pray for friends and families who are passing through great test of their faith either by the loss they have experienced or the void brought by this pandemic and other disasters. For those who may be at the breaking point; feeling a sense of reaching the end of their journey, we pray that your assuring voice will be audible and your hand warm enough to wrap them.

Gracious Lord! When our humanness begins to take charge of our feelings, thoughts and emotions, help us to find our way into your presence. In our lonely moments, help us to remember your promise of not leaving nor forsaking us. In our despondency help us to make you our refuge and strength.

When we feel lost and over taken by confusion, may we give you chance to lead and guide, may you be the light that shine bright in our darkest moments.

We pray for all members of the community of faith and especially the Council for World Mission family, that you may increase our zeal, passion, devotion, trust and tenacity to remain true to our vocations and weather the storms of the time with the confidence that you are right in our spaces with us. We pray for those who are finding it unbearable to serve in their contexts, that you will increase their fortitude and provide what they require to be effective in their mission engagements.

We beseech you to heal our world from all the pain, frustrations, injustice, selfishness, divisions, hurt, insensitivity, irresponsibility, and bring us to the full knowledge of your light. May the power which raised Jesus from the dead help us rise from all forces and powers that continue to put us under.

Lord, in your mercy hear our prayers and grant us your peace, for we ask these and other mercies in and through the name of Jesus the Christ, our Lord and Saviour. Amen.

Rev. Lembe Sivile is a mission partner from the United Church of Zambia serving with the United Church in Jamaica and the Cayman Islands

Image contributed

A former PIM has been called home...

Rev. Dr. Norman Francis Photo credit: Kevin Synman

Rev. Dr. Norman Francis, a minister of the United Church in Jamaica and the Cayman Islands (UCJCI) and a former Partner in Mission (PIM) to the Congregational Federation (UK) from 2004 to 2008, passed away on 12 September, after a brief illness.

Prior to his PIM assignment, Rev. Francis’ involvement with CWM also included participation in a short term ClergyXchange with the United Church of Zambia in 2003/2004, facilitated by a partnership between CWM and International Ministry Exchanges (IME).

Rev. Dr. Francis’ last assignment was at the United Theological College of the West Indies, where he served as UCJCI Associate Warden and Lecturer. He was also an adjunct lecturer at the International University of the Caribbean (IUC).

The CWM family will remember his spouse, Karen, and two sons, Norman and Kareem in prayers. May his soul rest in peace and may light perpetual shine on him.

Upcoming Event & NOTICE

Chant down Babylon: Register for eDARE 2021 now.

Seize this opportunity to get together with like-minded activists and theologians like Anna Perkins and Benny Liew to find out how we can act together to chant down Babylon and rise up to bring forth human flourishing.

Register now and see you ‘DARE’ on 25, 27 & 29 October!

Register at edare.cwmission.org/register/ Notice: An Error In the last issue of Connected, Miss So Young Jung was incorrectly identified as Miss So Young Fung. We regret this error.

Ecclesiastes 4:9-11 (NIV) Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor. If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up.

Let's Stay Connected!

Thank you for viewing this issue of CONNECTED! We hope you were both informed and inspired.

Share your comments and inputs at vickeisha.burke@cwmission.org.

Unless otherwise stated, images and graphics are courtesy of CANVA