Graduates of the 2024 Training-in-Mission (TIM) programme completed their course on 21 November, receiving not only a Diploma in Mission Studies but also certificates in Peer Mediation, Peace, Wellness and Resilience in Children.
This year’s programme was held in collaboration with the United Theological Seminary (UTS) in the Philippines and the International University of the Caribbean (IUC) in Jamaica, as well as the United Church of Jamaica and the Cayman Islands (UCJCI).
“My participation in the TIM program has granted me invaluable insights into mission work in the Philippines and Jamaica, inspiring fresh perspectives on how we can expand and improve our efforts,” said Rebecca Wrights, a participant representing the Guyana Congregational Union.
Participants began the TIM programme in May with a series of online classes, then travelled to UTS before concluding at IUC.
Reframing mission
One of the key learnings at UTS involved the mental reframing and transformation of the missiological understanding that places marginalised communities at the centre. This was taught with the recognition that mission is to be done with people instead of for people. Participants learnt about confronting the powers that maintain the marginalisation status quo.
Additionally, participants were guided in developing critical-thinking approaches when interpreting the Bible. They took deep dives into the textual contexts by applying objective criteria to the texts using inputs from opposing perspectives, benchmarked from local communities where the Bible was being read. For example, they considered questions such as: What would a fisherperson say about this fishing story?
Site visits reinforced the classroom lessons and allowed participants to use their practical skills, while having a closer look and experiencing the difficulties and challenges of specific marginalised groups and communities. Amongst these were the fishing communities in Manila Bay, Rosario, and Cavite, who have had their livelihoods threatened by the destruction of marine life through land reclamation works carried out by foreign companies.
Participants also interacted with families who were still grieving the loss of loved ones killed indiscriminately when then-President Rodrigo Duterte declared a war on drugs in 2016. The campaign saw widespread extra-judicial murders, imprisonment, and torture of individuals suspected to be involved with drugs. Many of these accusations were baseless and unproven, leaving families broken and struggling to survive as their breadwinners were either taken away or killed.
Speaking truth to power
The second leg of the TIM programme involved nine weeks in the Caribbean region, where participants were warmly received by UCJCI and IUC.
In his address introducing the unique Caribbean context to the participants, Rev. Dr Roderick Hewitt, President of IUC, spoke of the importance of “truth telling to overcome threats to life,” where it concerned naming and exposing powers that are anti-life. He exhorted participants to seek to hear God at work in the diverse voices that are resisting the threats to life as they provide different perspectives and give clearer glimpses of how life can undermine the “Babylonian-Empire” system.
Participants visited various local museums, encountering the sordid histories of the transatlantic slave trade. These identity-markers are part of the social fabric of the country. They include the stories of historical figures whose lifework was to oppose and rebel against the oppressive forces of empire, contributing to Jamaica’s fight towards freedom and self-governance.
The TIM participants were exposed to topics such as the legacies of slavery, the religious landscape of Jamaica, and were also introduced to the CWM Onesimus Project while working on their final presentation on the Peer Mediation, Peace, Wellness and Resilience in Children programme before the graduation held at IUC on 21 November.
About TIM
The TIM programme is a key CWM initiative in equipping youth for lifelong involvement with the mission of the church by helping them develop skills for effective Christian witness.
TIM sees participants from various member churches and ecumenical partners coming together for 26 weeks of intensive mission training. They can expect to be empowered with a new practical and radical understanding of what witnessing to Christ means – a pedagogy that has positively impacted the lives of over 400 youth to date. TIM graduates go on to become living expressions of CWM’s ethos of “partnership in mission.”
“Mission is God’s and young people and adults are invited to share in God’s mission… regardless of the level of their exposure and involvement in the mission of the church,” said Rev. Dr Amelia Koh-Butler, CWM Mission Secretary for Education and Empowerment.
