Mission
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Crosslinks
Austrey and Warton churches have also supported Crosslinks through the tithing of monthly offerings. Crosslinks is the ‘new’ name given in the 1990’s to BCMS (Bible Churchmen’s Missionary Society), whose foundation took place on 27th October 1922.
The history of the society, however, goes much further back, to 12th April 1799, when a group of 16 Church of England clergymen and 9 laymen met in a London coffee shop to form what soon became known as the Church Missionary Society (CMS), dedicated to proclaiming the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ beyond the shores of Britain, to the ends of the earth. As a matter of principle, they insisted on the necessity of sending “spiritual men” to accomplish “spiritual work”; it was essential that those who went out with the gospel should themselves have experienced its grace and power. So for more than 100 years the gospel was taken faithfully to the farthest corners of the globe.
But in the early years of the 20th century a tidal wave of theological liberalism threatened to overwhelm the Church at home and the CMS considered that it ought to go along with such a “modernising movement” and not be so rigid about beliefs and practices of would-be candidates for missionary work, provided they had a zeal for serving overseas. This move was firmly resisted by those who retained strong convictions about the Scriptures and when it became clear that a theologically liberal consensus would prevail within the CMS, a faithful remnant felt they had no alternative but to launch a new society that adhered to the original principles of 1799. So the Bible Churchmen’s Missionary Society came into being.
Jenny Merritt has been our link missionary with Crosslinks since she went to teach deaf children in Ethiopia some 20 years ago, working first in Hosanna and latterly in Nekempte. Now retired, she still has the interests of the deaf in Ethiopia very much at heart and is currently involved in fund-raising for a new school in Nekempte, to cope with the increasing numbers of students wishing to take advantage of this educational lifeline, without which they would remain outcasts in society.
Alison Meredith
The Malawi Parish Link News
Malindi Parish background:
For several decades the Diocese of Birmingham has been linked to the Church in Malawi, with visits being exchanged and spiritual support being offered, as well as financial aid which is distributed centrally through the Church to people and communities in need.
In order to make the relationships more immediate and personal, parishes in the Birmingham Diocese have been encouraged to link up with parishes in Malawi and on July 17th this year such a link was formally established between our five village parishes and the parish of Malindi, a former mission station on the southern shore of Lake Malawi. Gifts and greetings were exchanged between the Revd. Alex Mann and the then Malindi parish priest, Father Hopeson Jailosi, who also sent a letter introducing himself to the Church family here in England.
The present church building in Malindi, St. Martin’s, dates back to 1911 and the parish includes five sub churches which although they lack funds, always have good attendances. Congregations are large and the worship vibrant. The churches are also involved in the setting up and provision of schools, both primary and secondary, a hospital and workshops.
In March 2005 Austrey and Warton PCC decided to establish a parish link with Malindi parish on the southern shore of Lake Malawi. A parish link has many advantages over sending money to a needy area or supporting a missionary in that it requires personal contact and therefore builds up relationships with the people in the parish.
Latest news
The Malawi Parish Partnership Group has continued to hold regular meetings and pray for the people of the parish of Malindi in Southern Malawi. Through contacts with Birmingham Diocese, members of Polesworth Abbey Church and others who have visited the country, we have managed to build up a fairly comprehensive picture of Malawi and develop a deeper understanding of the problems the people face and their attitude to life.
A major area of concern for us all has been the difficulty of communicating with our Malawian partners: email can be erratic and the cost of postage prohibitive for people of little or no means. Nevertheless, we have kept plugging away with the emails, copies of The Dove have been sent regularly and we have purchased stamps via visitors from the Diocese, which we have then forwarded to Malindi. A nurse from St. Martin’s Hospital has corresponded with members of the group and in recent weeks both a letter and an email message have been received from Father Thom Mpinga, the parish priest. Naturally, we have been delighted to receive a response after what has been a lengthy silence.
Malawi has been blessed with rainfall this year, though in some cases an overabundance has led to flooding, with crops and animals being washed away in some areas and sadly some deaths of people as houses collapse on them. Malindi has been spared the worst, but heavy rains could yet seriously affect their crop yields. The repaired borehole at Mtengza Primary School appears to be holding and ensuring a clean water supply for the school. The school buildings however are in a poor state and we have been asked to consider donating the money we had started raising to repair the borehole towards renovating the school instead.
We hope that communications will now start to flow more smoothly and look forward to a closer relationship with our Malawian partners in the coming months.
Alison Meredith
Birmingham City Mission
We continue to support the invaluable work done by the Birmingham City Mission among the homeless, the elderly, families struggling with poverty and debt, impressionable and vulnerable young people in the city. We give direct financial support through a tithe of church offerings, some church members work as volunteers and approximately every 2 months BCM collects certain items of unwanted furniture and clothing as well as donations of basic foodstuffs (with a long shelf life).
If you have any items you wish to donate, please contact either BCM on 0121 643 4324 or Gwyneth Shilleto on 01827 330569 so we can arrange to collect from your home. Please note there are no storage facilities for goods to be left before BCM arrive. Thank you for your co-operation.