There is a long tradition of missionary enterprise in Ireland, and it is one in which all the Christian denominations in the country share. The people of this small island, set on the edge of Europe, have contributed out of all proportion to their number both people and resources to mission work in other countries.
Among Methodists that tradition, evolving into new ways of partnership in recent years, finds its focus every February.
One of the main events of this focus has been the Mission Conference, held at Stricklands near Bangor. This year it is on Friday and Saturday, February 18th and 19th. Reflecting that Irish people are now going overseas less as "missionaries" than to share in mission with Christians there, the theme of the conference will be "Together in Mission". The keynote addresses will be given by Mr Mike King, mission education secretary of the British Methodist Church. He served for some years as a teacher in Sierra Leone.
Other speakers are expected from England, Jamaica, Sri Lanka and Ghana. The president of the Methodist Church in Ireland, the Rev Dr Kenneth Wilson, will speak of his recent visit to the church in Hong Kong.
Last summer about 60 Irish Methodists of all ages spent three weeks in Uganda working on projects there. Some of these will be at the conference, as will also two Ugandan ministers who shared in hosting the Irish team, the Rev Margaret Nakaluba and the Rev David Ntoghonya. They will be spending three weeks in this country.
An Irish youth team led by the Rev David Rock visited the church in France last year, and they, too, will share accounts of their experiences.
This will be the last Mission Conference in Stricklands for the time being, although the name may not be changed. In coming years it is planned to hold the conference in a different part of Ireland each year. It is hoped that this will make it more accessible to people who find it difficult to travel to Bangor.
Running concurrently with the Stricklands Conference will be "Global Encounter", which has also become an annual mission event. Catering for young people, it will take place at Carnalea Methodist Church Centre, also near Bangor. Its focus will be "Church and Society in the Third World".
One of the Irish Methodist ministers who served with distinction overseas was the Rev Val Silcock. A native of Belfast, after ordination he was accepted for work overseas, and sent to Burma in 1937. Stationed in the Shan Hills, he soon came to know the little trails that led from Burma into India, and at the outbreak of the second World War he helped many Europeans on the way to safety as Burma fell to the Japanese invader.
He became a chaplain to the Chindits, British and Commonwealth army units fighting behind the Japanese lines.
After the war he remained in Burma for some years to share in the reconstruction of the church there. He made a major contribution to the translation of parts of the Bible into local Burmese dialects. He eventually returned to Ireland in 1952, serving in several circuits in Ulster and North Leinster before retiring in 1975. He died recently at the age of 87, a man whose humility veiled his achievements from all but those who knew him best.
It is appropriate that in the month when so much thought focuses on world mission, worship in the RTE 1 studio on February 13th will be led by the Rev Dr Sahr Yambasu. Dr Yambasu is a Sierra Leonean at present working in Wicklow, and the congregation in the studio will be drawn from churches of Wicklow circuit - Wicklow, Arklow and Avoca.
Dr Wilson will preach tomorrow morning in the Methodist Church at Montpottinger in Belfast, and in the evening he will visit the Dungannon Methodist Church. On Sunday, February 13th, he will be at home in Bray Methodist Church of which he is currently minister. On Saturday, February 19th, he will visit Enniskillen to participate in a Girl Guide service.