International Links
Key contact: Dicoesan World Mission Officer.
Manchester Diocese has a number of formal and informal international relationships. You can download leaflets that give background to the links here.
Formal links
The Diocese of Lahore
- The Diocese of Lahore is part of the United Church of Pakistan, formed out of Anglican, Methodist and Presbyterian churches.
- In Pakistan evangelism is permitted by law. Christians avoid criticising Islam, while telling people what Christ means to them.
- The diocese runs church schools with a high academic reputation, attended by Muslims.
- It runs informal schools and clinic in the bustees.
- It runs the project for the empowerment of women.
Pakistan
- The population is 140 million and increasing. 96% are Muslim and 3% Christian.
- Most Christians are poor and live in villages or shantytowns called ‘bustees’.
- Sheria laws, enacted in 1985, are discriminatory - no Christian can become a judge, for example.
- After 11 September 2001 several churches, a Christian hospital and a Christian school were attacked and some people killed. The attackers may have seen Christians as proxy Americans or British.
Link visits
1991 Bishop Alexander of Lahore visits Manchester.
1992 Visit of Manchester young people to Lahore. Visit of Bishop Colin to Lahore.
1993 Visit of Lahore young people to Manchester.
1996 Bishop Christopher and group visit Lahore.
1999 South Asian Christian Celebration in Manchester.
2000 Award of Sitara-e-Imtiaz (highest possible award to civilian) to Bishop Alexander. Bishop Christopher at United Christian Convention, Lahore. Visit to Lahore of Archdeacon Andrew and four others to schools. Revd David Quance is locum vicar of St Thomas, Islamabad, for five months.
2003 Revd Hanuk Tressler is assistant curate at St Luke, Deeplish, and in 2004 at Holy Trinity, Failsworth. Falak Sher and Oliver and Norin Samuel journey to Lahore. Revd Roni Mechanic addresses Lahore Diocesan Synod.
2004 Lent Appeal totals £1400 for Ellen Inglis Home for the elderly. Revd Fayaz Adman, assistant curate at St Peter, Newbold. Bishop Alexander visits Manchester. Bishop David and four others visit Lahore.
2005 Frank and Elizabeth Pratt teach English in Lahore, John Faraday attends Evangelism Conference in Rawalpindi, Bishop Alexander celebrates Silver Jubilee of Consecration - Archbishop of Canterbury attends.
Current activities
It has been difficult to arrange exchange visits since 11 September 2001 – there have been issues of security for Manchester Christians, and Lahore Christians have found it difficult to obtain visas.
Bishop David Gillett and four others visited Lahore and Islamabad in November 2004. They visited parishes, schools (including one of over 70 basic education projects), a community health project, a human rights organisation, the Ellen Inglis Home for the elderly, met theological educators and to took part in dialogue with Muslims and Sikh leaders.
Three schools in the Diocese of Manchester have expressed an interest in linking with four schools in Lahore. We hope that there may be communication by email.There is scope for parish linking but it is important that both the Manchester parish and the Lahore parish in any link are committed to regular communication.
St Thomas Theological College, which services the whole of the Church of Pakistan in Karachi, would welcome clergy who could spend a period in any January to March. They would assist the two full-time staff according to their own strengths. They would also work with clergy of the Church of Pakistan who would be doing in-service training at the same time.
The Lahore Diocesan Teacher Training College would welcome volunteers to spend even a short time improving their students’ conversational English. There are several church schools nearby all of which would value the same help. This would suit early retired people as well as young gap year folk. People with teacher education experience would be especially welcome.
Bishop Alexander has suggested that a priority for financial help is a fund to provide fees for poor Christian students at Pakistani universities.
The Diocese of Namibia
- The Diocese of Namibia is the third largest church in Namibia after the Roman Catholic and Lutheran churches.
- There are 30 parishes.
- It is developing a theological training centre for clergy and lay people.
- It is developing training and strategies in HIV prevention, and in the care of people living with and affected by HIV/AIDS.
Namibia
- Population of 1.8 million.
- Most of the land area is desert or semi-desert.
- The largest exports are diamonds and other minerals.
- There are few manufacturing industries; periodic subsistence agriculture is the main source of employment and income.
- Following a bitter 30-year struggle against South African annexation, the country finally gained independence in 1990.
Link visits
1988 Bishop James of Namibia visits Manchester.
1990 Namibia achieves independence. The Diocese of Manchester raises £6,000 towards the cost of a vehicle for Archdeacon Shihala.
1993 Start of a link between Hesketh-Fletcher School, Atherton, and St Mary’s School, Onekwaya/Odibo.
1996 St Chad, Saddleworth establishes links with Church of the Holy Spirit, Oshandi.
1997 Young people from the UK visit the parish and help to build a nursery. Bishop Christopher visits Namibia. Young people from Horwich Parish Church visit Ruacana and help to repair churches.
1998 Bishop Shihala and Petrus in Manchester. Visit of Namibian young people to Manchester.
1999 Revd Sarah Schofield Priest in Charge of St Mary, Orangemund.
2000 Revd Simon Brandes spends sabbatical in Namibia. People from Oshandi visit Saddleworth.
2001 Return visit to Oshandi – charitable trust formed to support Home Based Care. Bishop Stephen Lowe launches diocesan appeal to rebuild outpatient clinic at Odibo Health Centre. Over £25,000 is raised.
2002 Two Namibian teachers visit Horwich schools.
2003 Appeal to rebuild Odibo health centre completed – funding also obtained from Namibian government. School links between Malangu School with Holy Trinity Dobcross, Omungolyo and St Chad School and Okolongo School with Hey with Zion, Lees.
2004 First leg of diocesan Youth Exchange. Twelve young people from Manchester Diocese visit Namibia.
2005 Holy Trinity Horwich visit Okathitu with donations for the kindergarten, orphanage, Home Based Care project and senior schools. High Commissioner Mr Ringo Abed visits the Manchester Diocese. Revd Nangula Kathindi appointed as Dean to the Cathedral in Windhoek. Cathedral links established.
2006 Two head teachers from Oshikoto and St Mary, Odibo visit Trinity High School. Bishop Stephen Lowe and Archdeacon Sharon Jones attend the consecration of Nathanial Nakwatumbah as Bishop of Namibia. Return Namibia Youth Exchange visit.
Porvoo
Partnership with Tampere – ‘Finland’s Manchester’
The diocese’s ecumenical partnership with the Lutheran Diocese of Tampere, Finland, is really taking off. The Porvoo Agreement between the Anglican Churches of Britain and Ireland and the Nordic and Baltic Lutheran Churches enables them to work together closely In 2007 the Bishop of Manchester signed a partnership agreement with the Church of Finland.
The agreement allows clergy from Finland to take services in Manchester and clergy from Greater Manchester to lead worship in Finland. It also allows church members to swap resources and cultural experiences.
The Rt Revd Nigel McCulloch said; “For a number of years parishioners and clergy from Finland and Greater Manchester have been visiting and learning from each other. There have been a number of youth exchanges and our clergy have studied in Finland. This agreement is a sign that, in Christ, we are all one.”
The Bishop of Tampere, The Rt Revd Juhu Pihkala, signed the agreement on behalf of the Evangelical-Lutheran Church of Finland. The Bishop’s home city is Tampere in Western Finland and is in the second most important urban area in the republic after Helsinki.
Like Manchester, Tampere grew on the profits of textile industry and today finds itself as a centre of the IT industry. It has two famous sports teams: Ilves and Tappara, although the game is not football, but ice hockey!
For further information contact the Diocesan European officer, Keith Archer.
Informal links
The diocese also has a number of informal international relationships:
Melbourne - Historic Communion relationship
Toulouse - Historic ecumenical link with RC Diocese with recent fresh contact .
Manchester Cathedral is exploring its own international relationships (e.g. with the Cathedral Church of St John the Devine in New York). The Mothers' Union has its own international arrangements.
