Today the Church recalls someone who worked as a missionary, Roland Allen. He was born on 29 December 1868 in Bristol, England.
Allen was the son of an Anglican priest, but was orphaned early in life. He trained for ministry at Oxford and became a priest in 1893. He spent two periods in Northern China working for the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel. The first from 1895 to 1900 ended because of the Boxer Rebellion; Allen was forced to flee to the British Legation in Beijing. He was chaplain to community throughout much of the siege. After a period in England, Allen returned to North China in 1902, but was forced to return home because of illness. These early experiences led him to a radical reassessment of his own vocation and the theology and missionary methods of the Western churches.
Allen became an early advocate of establishing Churches which from the beginning would be self-supporting, self-propagating, and self-governing, adapted to local conditions and not merely imitations of Western Christianity. These views were confirmed by a trip to India in 1910 and by later research in Canada and East Africa. It is with this background that Allen wrote his book Missionary Methods which was first published in 1912.
Allen’s approach to mission strategy for indigenous Churches is based on the study of Saint Paul’s missionary methods as he is convinced that in them can be found the solution to most of the difficulties of the day. He believed it was the recognition of the Church as a local entity and trust in the Holy Spirit’s indwelling within the converts and churches which was the mark of Paul’s success.
Allen died in Nairobi, Kenya on 8 June 1947.
Let us pray: Almighty God, by your Spirit you opened the Scriptures to your servant Roland Allen, so that he might lead many to know, live and proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ: Give us grace to follow his example, that the variety of those to whom we reach out in love may receive your saving Word and witness in their own languages and cultures to your glorious Name; through Jesus Christ, your Word made flesh, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Allen was the son of an Anglican priest, but was orphaned early in life. He trained for ministry at Oxford and became a priest in 1893. He spent two periods in Northern China working for the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel. The first from 1895 to 1900 ended because of the Boxer Rebellion; Allen was forced to flee to the British Legation in Beijing. He was chaplain to community throughout much of the siege. After a period in England, Allen returned to North China in 1902, but was forced to return home because of illness. These early experiences led him to a radical reassessment of his own vocation and the theology and missionary methods of the Western churches.
Allen became an early advocate of establishing Churches which from the beginning would be self-supporting, self-propagating, and self-governing, adapted to local conditions and not merely imitations of Western Christianity. These views were confirmed by a trip to India in 1910 and by later research in Canada and East Africa. It is with this background that Allen wrote his book Missionary Methods which was first published in 1912.
Allen’s approach to mission strategy for indigenous Churches is based on the study of Saint Paul’s missionary methods as he is convinced that in them can be found the solution to most of the difficulties of the day. He believed it was the recognition of the Church as a local entity and trust in the Holy Spirit’s indwelling within the converts and churches which was the mark of Paul’s success.
Allen died in Nairobi, Kenya on 8 June 1947.
Let us pray: Almighty God, by your Spirit you opened the Scriptures to your servant Roland Allen, so that he might lead many to know, live and proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ: Give us grace to follow his example, that the variety of those to whom we reach out in love may receive your saving Word and witness in their own languages and cultures to your glorious Name; through Jesus Christ, your Word made flesh, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
CALENDAR REMINDERS
Remember this Sunday is Pentecost. Please wear red. We will also have a special procession for children of all ages and those who are young at heart. If you wish to participate in the procession please contact Lee Runion at 409.539.4632.
Art Classes with Lee Runion: Saturday, 11 June from 10 a.m. until 12 noon where Lee will lead everyone in making Father’s Day cards.
Please remember to pray for everyone on our Prayer List, especially those who serve in our armed forces at home and abroad, those who are ill, and those who are shut in.
Your servant in Christ,
Fr. Chester J. Makowski+
St. Augustine of Hippo Episcopal Church
Galveston, Texas 77550
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