Archbishop Richard, Mr Mwansa and Dr Scott are pictured with the students
after the presentation of the Bibles from the Bookwell.
On Tuesday 27th February, the Primate of All Ireland, the Most Reverend Richard Clarke, along with Church Mission Society Ireland President Revd Adrian Dorrian spent the day teaching in St John’s Anglican Seminary in Kitwe, Zambia. CMSI Mission Partners Lyn and Keith Scott are on the staff at the Seminary and an in-depth visit to the Seminary is a central part of the trip for the visitors from Ireland.
Adrian Dorrian, who has been staying on campus, has joined the Ordinands for their Morning Worship each day this week. On Tuesday he also delivered a class on constructing liturgies, talking the ordinands through the ‘A Service of the Word’ from the Church of Ireland’s Book of Common Prayer. Adrian is a member of the Liturgical Advisory Committee and delivers training in liturgy for readers in the Diocese of Down and Dromore.
Archbishop Clarke delivered the second class of the day, in which he spoke about worldwide Anglicanism, emphasising its roots in the early Church and the circumstances that led to the formation of the Church of England, it’s missionary endeavour and the eventual formation of provinces across the globe and the development of the Anglican Communion as it is today.
Perhaps the most valuable part of the day was spent in he afternoon, where the Archbishop and Adrian meet with the students in a more informal setting. This was a chance to find out more about the similarities and differences between the Churches in Zambia and Ireland, and hear some of the personal reflections and stories of the Ordinands. One of the real challenges facing the Church in Zambia is to the resourcing of leadership training – the students at the Seminary are there at significant cost in terms of time and commitment to both them and their families, and the Archbishop was both challenged and encouraged by their deep commitment to their vocation.
Between the classes, Archbishop Clarke also blessed a number of bibles that had been brought to Zambia by the team as a gift from The Book Well (thebookwell.co.uk), a Christian bookshop in Belfast run by Richard Ryan (formerly manager of The Good Bookshop based in Church of Ireland House in Belfast). These are really important resources for the college as the NRSV texts will provide consistency in Biblical Studies (students do have their own bibles, but it is good that they now will have access to the same version) and will also be useful in examinations as well.
Mr Ryan sent the Bibles with this message: “When I attended the CMS Ignite Conference last September, I spent some time in the prayer room. At one of the stations, I read through some of
the newsletters from the various teams currently out on mission. I was drawn in particular to the one from Keith and Lyn...possibly because I'd received correspondence from Keith in the past. As I left the prayer room, I felt an enormous prompting to get in contact with Keith. After seeking clarification on the next step to take, I emailedKeith to ask if there was anything in particular he needed. His response took me by surprise. There was a need, and it was for a couple of dozen
plain Bibles that the students could use at the college. I knew in my heart that God was in the prompting, and that this was what I needed to provide.”
The next update from the Archbishop and Adrian will detail the various visits they have also made across the Diocese this week, and will be the last update before they depart Zambia on Thursday to return to Ireland. Please continue to pray for them.
Archbishop Richard presenting Bibles on behalf of The Bookwell
Archbishop Richard teaching at the Seminary