The archives of the Council for World Mission (CWM) located within the SOAS Library at the University of London received on 4 April a sizable book donation from the personal collections of Chris Wright, a former London Missionary Society (LMS) and CWM mission partner who worked in Africa.
The donation included several private letters, publications on worship services, and a collection of LMS Committee Papers.
Most notable amongst the books donated were volumes detailing the storied history of CWM as well as Bible and worship service booklets written in Ndebele and Shona, two of the main languages spoken in Zimbabwe (formerly called Rhodesia), Africa, where Wright served as a mission partner from 1968 to 1974.
Subsequently, Wright would also serve in a similar capacity in South Africa from 1975 to 1980.
CWM expressed its deep gratitude for Wright’s generous donation of the historical materials.
“This fascinating collection of books and papers from Chris evidence the significance of mission work in Zimbabwe (Rhodesia) during the 1960s and 1970s, and includes important early vernacular translations of the New Testament, hymnals, services and prayers in Ndebele, Shona and Sikalanga,” said Jo Ichimura, CWM Archivist at SOAS.
The books and publications will be a part of a curated collection comprising around 2,500 boxes of archive material and around 13,000 publications – a priceless collection that provides an unbroken historical record of CWM’s roots in 1795 to the current postcolonial model of a partnership of churches in mission where missionaries continue God’s work in establishing life-flourishing communities everywhere they go.
