The Board of Mission Overseas of the Presbyterian Church is celebrating with James and Willi Barton as they mark the 40th anniversary of the start of their missionary service in India. A celebration evening will be held in McCracken Memorial Church on the Malone Road, Belfast on Friday 13 October at 7.30pm.
James and Willi Barton, originally from Holywood, began their service in 1966 when they worked in Serampore College in West Bengal. They spent three years teaching in the College before moving to Wilson College in Bombay. After eight years here they then travelled to Woodstock School in Mussoorie, staying until 1983. Following a gap of four years spent back in Northern Ireland for the benefit of their children's education, they then returned to Woodstock School for a further 11 years and then moved on to Goa in 2000.
The couple officially retired in 2003, but travel to Goa regularly as volunteers to continue with their work there. Currently James and Willi are working with a local church in Goa where they have special responsibility for children's ministry. As well as training leaders for this children's ministry, workshops are conducted for parents and teachers in other parts of India. The Bartons are also responding to invitations to visit schools, both Christian and secular, and have opportunities to bring these schools a climate of teaching, learning and relationships which reflect the life and teaching of Jesus Christ.
The Board of Mission Overseas has also just sent out new missionaries Joe and Janet Campbell to Nepal. The Campbell's are active members of First Holywood congregation, where Joe has been an elder for 25 years. They will work with the United Mission to Nepal (UMN), an organisation that became directly involved with the Presbyterian Church in Ireland (PCI) in 1979. Since then over 30 PCI members have served with UMN under the auspices of the Board of Mission Overseas.
Joe's role with UMN will be as a Peace and Conflict Transformation Advisor which will involve, amongst other things, developing peace and conflict transformation models for UMN's Nepali partners and also working with the Nepali Church.
Nepal, which borders China and India, has a landmass 25% greater than Ireland but has a population of 28 million, more than five times that of Ireland, North and South combined. It is one of the poorest countries in the world, and western Nepal in particular has inadequate schools and medical services and also no roads, electricity or industry. Nepal is a nation of immigrants; many from neighbouring India and 50% of its population live below the poverty line.
Joe and Janet arrived in Nepal in September and are currently based in Kathmandu where they will undergo UMN's Language and Orientation Programme (LOP).
For more information on the work of the Board of Mission Overseas (BMO) or to contribute to the work of James and Willi Barton or Joe and Janet Campbell please contact the BMO office on (028) 9032 2284 or email: overseas@presbyterianireland.org
Issued by Sarah Harding, Presbyterian Information Services. Info@PresbyterianIreland.org
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