The final report from our Yei Team who have now safely arrived home. Saturday 21st April Today was a day for relaxation after a busy two weeks, and before going to two churches in the Rhino Camp on Sunday. We spent it visiting the Vocational Training Centre and Craft Centre that Billy and Jenny Smith were involved in in Arua, where we met Karl who now manages the VTC. We also visited Arua’s market, and the Cathedral of Madi West Nile. Sunday 22nd April Today we travelled ag

The latest update from the Lisburn Cathedral team as they continue their daily programme at Rhino Refugee Camp Tuesday 17th We were at the Clergy Retreat again, and the pastors expressed their thanks for our presence with them. The pastors appear to be settling in together, are opening up to us, and are telling us their stories of what they went through in South Sudan, and then on their journeys to Arua. This has been a steep learning curve of our knowledge of what these past

At CMSI's Annual General Meeting on Saturday 21st April, Rev Adrian Dorrian was re-elected as Chair of the Board of Trustees. The meeting saw a number of other changes to the make-up of the board. Adrian had completed his first three-year term as chairperson (and president of the society) and in his address on Saturday, he reflected on some of the highlights from the past three years time. These included: - CMSI's increased sense of presence and engagement across the whole of

Yesterday (Sunday 22nd April) saw the installation of CMSI’s good friend Justin Badi Arama as Archbishop and Primate of the Episcopal Church of South Sudan. The six-hour service took place in All Saints’ Cathedral, Juba and was attended by thousands of people, including representatives of CMSI and the Church of Ireland. Archbishop Justin is well known to CMSI supporters here in Ireland, having been hosted by the society on several occasions during a long and fruitful partners

An update from the CMSI team from Lisburn Cathedral who are visiting their partners from Yei Diocese, as they serve refugee communities in northwest Uganda. Saturday 14th We travelled on an early morning Eagle Air flight from Entebe to Arua, on a small 19 seater plane. For most of us, this was the first time we have landed on a soil runway. The baggage handlers were two men who loaded the bags into the back seat and boot of a car, and then drove it to the car park to be the

I have had a busy few days here in Cairo. I have been getting to know the different programmes that the Church runs such as the Refuge Egypt project, the variety of spiritual assistance that is given to local Arabic Christians, European ex pats and ambassadors, Burmese Christians and the South Sudanese congregation. I had a meeting with Bishop Mouneer where we discussed the contrast between church life in the east and that in the west. I have spent time with the Arabic congre

Theological Training I thoroughly enjoyed my time spent at the Church of Ireland Theological College (as it was called then) from 2004-2006, but I’d be lying if I said that those of us studying there didn’t occasionally grumble about the experience. There was a degree of financial challenge – especially for those with mortgages to pay and families to support. Frankly, after a couple of weeks in St John’s Seminary in Kitwe, I realise just how much I need to repent of that grum

Relationship I’m very privileged to have had a variety of different roles within the CMSI setup, and I’m presumptuous enough to feel that I’m part of the furniture now. Our mantra in CMSI is that our mission partnerships are exactly that – partnerships, based on real relationships. I know that to be true, I’ve never really doubted it. Yet, I understood it more completely after this trip than I think I had previously. My two previous trips were ‘work’ trips. That is, we were b