Saint Aldhelm (c.639-7090 was Abbot of Malmesbury Abbey, Bishop of Sherborne, a writer and scholar of Latin Poetry. He is said to have been the son of Kenten, who was of the royal house of Wessex. Aldhelm was educated by an Irish hermit called Maildulf (also known as Maemaidub, Maidubh and Meldun), who had a small school near what is now Maimesbury (which was named after him). He remained with him for many years. In 668 Pope Vitalian sent Theodore of Tarsus to be Archbishop of Canterbury. At the same time Hadrian, the North African scholar, became abbot of St. Augustine’s at Canterbury. Aldhelm, now aged about 30, went to Canterbury. There his studies included Roman law, astronomy, astrology, the art of reckoning and the difficulties of the calendar. He learned Latin and Greek, plus possibly Hebrew. He used Latinized Greek words in his works on poetry and prose. Due to ill health he left Canterbury and returned to Malmesbury Abbey where he was a monk under Maildulf for 14 years, dating probably from 661. It was a small community that had grown from Maildulf 's pupils On the death of Maildulf he was appointed as the first abbot of Malmesbury.He introduced Benedictine rule and secured the right of the election of the abbot to the monks he founded 2 other monasteries - Frome in Somerset and Bradford on Avon in Wiltshire. He also built a new church at Malmesbury and obtained grants of land for the monastery. He was the abbot there for 35 years He was a learned man and also a poet, It is said if his hearers would not listen to his sermons he would sing his own songs to them. There is a story that his sermon at Bishopstrow in Wiltshire was so long that his staff, which he stuck into the ground when he began, had ash buds on it at the end! His fame as a scholar spread to other countries. Artwil, the son of an Irish king, submitted his writings for Aldhelm’s approval As far as we know he was the first Anglo Saxon to write in Latin verse. ( For more detail go to Wikipedia entry) HIs fame reached Rome. He was successfully involved in solving the controversy of the dating of Easter. He reluctantly became the first bishop of Sherborne when the huge diocese of West Sussex was divided into Winchester and Sherborne. The monks at the abbey did not want to lose him so he was both abbot and bishop. His territory stretched right to Land’s End, Aldhelm was now in his mid 60s but he was very active as a bishop. He built the cathedral church at Sherborne. He was known to sing hymns and passages from the Gospels, interspersed with entertaining tales, in public places, so he might draw attention from the crowds and then preach to them. He is known as the Apostle of Wessex. He died on 25 May, 709 five years after he had become bishop. He was buried in the church of St. Michael at Malmesbury Abbey. HIs friend, St. Egwin, Bishop of Worcester, set up crosses at Aldhelm’s various stopping places. His feast, on May 25th, is in the Sarum Missal.

Mary Moffat Livingstone was the wife of David Livingstone the missionary and explorer. In the history books she has been forgotten They said he had three wives - the river Nile,the struggle against slavery and religion. In the article in the Daily Mail Mrs Livingstone i Presume written by Jane Fryer she looks at the life of his real wife. She was strong, educated, fearless and spoke 6 African languages. She was the daughter of missionaries and was renowned in South Africa. . It was Mary who opened doors in remote parts of Africa for her singularly driven husband with her languages and connections. Tribal leaders would insist on addressing her first. Together they crossed the Kalshari desert surviving on biscuit and beans. They survived an entire week without water. She endured appalling hardship, long separations, a sporadic paralysis caused by a post natal stroke after her fourth child Elizabeth was born in the bush and the final battle aged 41 with malaria. Mary and David met when he was recovering from being bitten by a lion. Within weeks his life long vow to marry ‘went up in smoke’. They married in 1845. In 7 years they built their own house, created 3 mission stations from scratch and weathered 2 years of drought. In 1849, with 3 children and Mary pregnant they started a 1,500 mile trek across the Kalahari desert. Read the full article by Jane Fryer. Visit in July (2021) the revamped (9.1 million) David Livingstone museum In Lanarkshire where finally Mary’s contribution will finally be given due credit They obviously loved each other. He just loved exploration and adventure a bit more. Sources Daily Mail Wikipedia

William Flororunso Kumuyi ( born 6th June 1941) is the founder and General Superintendent of the Deeper Christian Life Ministry situated at Kilometre 42 on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, Nigeria. He is the author of 10 Christian books and devotionals ( See books published). William was brought up in a Christian family in Orunwa, Ogun State, western part of Nigeria. As a young child he read the Bible and sang songs and attended church regularly. In secondary school the principal taught atheism but he eventually started to go to various churches in town. William began teaching mathematics in 1962 at Mayflower School. He became a born again Christian on 5th April 1964. In 1967 he graduated from the University of Ibadanand as the best overall best graduating student in his year, with a first class degree in Mathematics. he also took a post graduate course in Education at the University of Lagos. In the 1970s he became a lecturer of Mathematics at the University of Lagos. In 1973 he started a Bible study group with 15 Lagos university students. By the early 1980’s that small group had grown to several 1000. This training became the foundation of the Deeper Christian Life Ministry. Deeper Life Bible Church was formerly established in 1982. By 1988 the congregation had grown to 50,000 By 2005 the Christian ministry is said to have over 800, 000 affiliates September 2016 William addressed over 50,000 youths *to inculcate in them the highest virtues in youths and stay away from antisocial and push-pull tendencies. On 24th of April 2018 the auditorium, holding 30,000 worshippers, at the church in Gbagade, Lagos was inaugurated. Yemi Osinbajo, Vice President of Nigeria, attended the . In 2013 the Foreign Policy magazine listed William *among the 500 most powerful people on the planet. Source use Wikipedia *

I came across information about 10 Asian Christian Women during my research. I have set them up in alphabetically order and found extra information on 8 of them. Angie Hong - a Korean-American worship leader, speaker and writer. Dr Grace Ji-Sun Kim - a Korean American theologian and professor - best known for her work on the social and religious experiences of Korean women immigrants in N. America. Dr. Havilah Dharamraj - she is passionate about South Asian Christian leaders to understand the Word of God within the Asian context. HeeSun Lee is a Christian hip hop artist. She is vocal about her faith and uses her singles and albums to not only talk about Jesus but elevate her diverse experiences as a bicultural Korean American Christian Hosanna Wong - she has a unique storytelling voice in which she explores faith and identity through first hand experiences of lose, hope and redemption. Dr. Jayachitra Lalitha- she is an ordained minister of the Church of South India, She holds a number of roles at Tamilnadu Theological Seminary - associate professor, dean of the women’s studies dept. and coordinator of the women’s centre. Plus co-chair and coeditor of 2 organizations Dr Sydney Park - she is Associate professor of Divinity at Beeson Divinity School. Her courses and writings emphasis the need for reconciliation and justice initiatives, both within the church and society at large Sherrene DeLong- she is an Indian American doctoral student - she challenges what cultures are considered normal and the way in which American evangelism can become more open to eastern values like open -door hospitality. Tara VanderWounde - is a nationwide speaker at conferences and is passionate about equipping parents for experiences and conversations their children encounter. Vivian Mabuni - is a Chinese American author, speaker ans cancer survivor. She is passionate about raising up up the next generation of Asian American leaders. She is the founder of SIH -* Someday is Here Podcast. a place where Asian American women can explore their heritage. Ten Asian Christian women determined to forward the Christian Gospel.

Bakht Singh Chabra , also known as Brother Bahkt Singh, was India’s foremost Christian evangelistic preacher and indigenous church planter. He founded and established the Hebron Ministries in India. This world wide indigenous church planting movement grew to more than 10, 000 local churches. According to Indian traditions he is known as ‘Elijah of the 21st century’ in Christendom. He was born into a religious Sikh family in the village of Joiya. He studied at a Christian missionary school in India but Bakht at some stage ripped a Bible to pieces. His parents were against him coming to England in 1926 to study Agricultural Engineering because they feared he would influenced by Christians. He promised he would not convert. In 1929 he went to the University of Manitoba in Canada. He was befriend by 2 devout Christians -John and Edith Hayward. 4th February 1932 baptized in Vancouver, British Columbia In 1933 returned to India having told his parents by letter of his conversion. Asked to keep it a secret he refused - they left him - he was homeless. He started to preach in the streets of Bombay. He became a fiery itinerant preacher and revivalist gaining a large following throughout colonial India. He was initially Anglican but became independent. In 1937 the revival that swept through the Martinbur United Presbyterian church was one of the most notable movements in the history of the church of India. ( Jonathan Bonk in 1998 declared). He started local assemblies based on New Testament principles after spending a night in prayer on a mountain top at Pallavaram, Chennai in 1941. He held his first ‘Holy Convocation’ in Madras in 1941. These were held annually in Madras, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad and Kalimpong. Participants,in their 1000s, would eat and sleep in huge tents and meet under a large thatched pandal for hours long prayer, praise and teaching meetings that began at dawn and ended late at night. The care and feeding of guests was handled by volunteers. Expenses were given by voluntary offerings, no appeal was issued. Read the 6 testimonies. 250,000 attended his funeral in Narayanguda’s Christian cemetery.

BPCA celebrated its 50 years in November 2019 (1969-2019). Prior to 1967 the Chowdhry brothers- Mujeeb, Najeeb and Waheed had started a home church. The services at St. Mary’s were originally led by lay preacher Akhter Samuel The pioneering Pak-Christian Church at St. Mary’s, London proliferated across the UK through traceable oral-history links. In 1994 the church moved to a new premise. Many of the BPCA leaders who attended the event were asked to speak and present trophies to the leading dignitaries within the Pakistani Christian community- see list. The Revd. Daniel Singh, the first ordained Church of England Asian minister, who galvanised the church, was posthumously awarded a trophy for ‘Outstanding leadership for Pakistani Christians in the UK’. (In 1978 the Rt. Revd Trevor Huddleston, Bishop of Stepney, had paid for Singh to attend Oak Hill College.) The award was collected by Dishad, his son-in-law. Two of the leaders present were Michael Nazir-Ali a former Anglican bishop and James Shera MBE , former mayor of Rugby. (See notes) Some thing separate, but interesting, I found an article about the voices of foreign language speakers and multilingual congregations in the Church of England * Everytime I think I’ve forgotten I thin I’ve lost the mother tongue, it blossoms out of my mouth Sujata Bhatt Sources used Evangelicals now Church Times

There are many articles written about the Hebrew word ‘Yahweh/Jehovah’ which in English translates into LORD. I have chosen 3 ( one twice). I found the article by Danielle Bernock particularly interesting. I have repeated the first double page in bolder print .She includes Biblical references. She looks at many of the other words which can be related to God in the scriptures and obviously includes Jesus who is given various wonderful names in both the O.T. and N.T… There are 6-9 definitions for Yahweh/Jehovah . The second set showing 16 names includes pronunciation. . The third set gives both pronunciation plus Biblical verses and references. I hope these prove useful. Source Wikipedia

Geoffrey Cyril Bingham (1919-2009) was an Australian author and cleric in the Anglican Church of Australia. He was founding principal of the Pakistan Bible Training Institute in Hyderabad, Pakistan (1957-67). He was also one of the founding members of the Austri-Asian Christian Church (AACC). From 1967-73 he was principal of the Bible College of South Australia after which he formed New Creation Publications. He was a gifted writer and NTCM published close to 300 of his books- they were mostly theological.

Dr. Charles Stewart Thompson (1851-1900 was the first medical missionary to Kherwara Chhaoniin Rajputana, the Bhils region of Central India. His schools, famine relief centres and medical service transformed care in the region. He was accepted as a missionary by the Church Missionary Society (CMS) and in June 1880 he was ordained a deacon, in October ordained as a priest He was a doctor, reverend, translator and philanthropist who worked to treat cholera. leprosy, the Bubonic plague, ophthalmia, malaria rheumatism and fever. It took him nearly 10 years to achieve his first convert. It was said that many of his Bhil students were Christian at heart but none had the courage to be baptized for fear of social ostracism. On 15th December 1889 Sukha Damor, his wife and their 4 children were baptized. Others followed. He eventually pioneered Christianity in 7 districts. In 1896, after 15 years, he took a furlough. He had established primary schools, dispensaries, relief centres and orphanages. He had also translated and published the Gospel, the first grammar and vocabulary book and a prayer book into the Bhili language. While in the UK he desperately attempted to persuade the CMS to send more doctors and nurses. In 1899 he heard about the terrible Chappania Famine afflicting the Bhil region. and returned to India. The men had fled leaving only women and children who were starving. He took matters into his own hands -he set up 7 relief centres - feeding 700 Bhili children and some adults. He set up an orphanage. By April 1900 he had opened 15 relief centres and was feeding 5,500 children, twice daily who would have been either dead or starving. In May 1900 he fell ill with cholera. The Bhil people tried to get him European Aid. He died on May 19th at noon, under a tree. On his death he became a source of inspiration. He was acclaimed as the founding father who had laid down his life for the salvation of the Bhil. Many volunteers came forward to help with the Bhil mission. In Kherwara there is school named in his memory - The Thompson Memorial School. Charles spent nearly 20 years living, working, and ultimately dedicating his life to the plight of the Bhils.

Samuel Marsden (1765-1838) was an English born priest of the C.of E. who went to Australia to work in the Colony of New South Wales. He was prominent member of the Church Missionary Society (CMS) It is believed he introduced Christianity to New Zealand. He was a prominent figure in early New South Wales Australian History. !. through his ecclesiastical offices as the colony’s senior C.of E. cleric, 2. as a pioneer of the Australian wool industry 3. employment of convicts for farming 4. his actions as a magistrate at Parramatta- named as ‘Flogging parson’ When he moved to New Zealand he developed a gentler reputation.

Henry Martyn (1781-1812) was an Anglican priest and missionary to the peoples of India and Persia. He was ordained as a priest in C. of E. and became a chaplain for the East India Company (EIC). He arrived in India in April 1806 where he preached and occupied himself with linguistics. He translated the whole of the N.T. into Urdu, Persian and Judaeo-Persic He translated the Psalms into Persian and the Book of Common Prayer into Urdu. He was seized with fever in Tokat in the Ottoman Empire. On October 16th he died. Henry is remembered for his courage, selflessness and his religious devotion.

Francis Le Jau (1665-1717) was a missionary to South Carolina (1706-17)with the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel (SPG). He was a Frenchman from the La Rochelle region of France. He fled to the UK during the persecution of Huguenots after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685. He converted to Anglicanism and eventually graduated from Trinity College Dublin. In 1700 he moved to St. Christopher’s island for 18 months. From 1706 until his death in 1717 Francis served as a missionary to South Carolina based in Goose Creek. He was a dedicated missionary but he compromised with slave owners. The slave’s baptismal vow read You declare in the presence of God and before this congregation that you do not ask for baptism out of any design to free yourself from the Duty and Obedience you owe to your master while you live, but merely for the good of your soul and to partake of the Grace and the Blessing promised to the members of the church of Jesus Christ. They were still slaves to their earthly masters.

William Duncan (1832-1918) was an English born Anglican Missionary who founded the Tsimshian Communities of Metlakatla, British Columbia,in Canada and the Metlakatia, Alaska in the USA. In 1854 he joined the Church Missionary Society (CMS)and in 1856 he was sent to the North Pacific coast of Canada. He began to work with the Tsimshian community and learned their language. He Initially led 60 Tsimshians to found a new utopian Christian community, Matlakatla. He exerted his own brand of low church Anglicanism in the community. He created his 16 rules (See list)- communion was deliberately omitted. The community grew and was successful. Economic self-sufficiency was a core tent of Duncan’s vision. He split from the C.of E.on doctrinal differences and the CMS expelled him in 1881. He transformed his mission into a non-denominational ‘Independent Native Church’ which was quite evangelical and under the strict doctrinal control of William himself… With the government’s permission he established a second utopian community on Annette island, Alaska - which became an Indian reservation. In 1887 he led approximately 800 Tsimshians in a canoe voyage from ‘Old’ Metlakatla to’New’ Metakatla, Alaska. William died aged 86, he was with the Tsimshian community for over 60 years. He was often referred to as ‘Father Duncan’ but he was never ordained. He remains an extraordinarily controversial figure in Tsimshian communities today. Source Wikipedia

Richard Johnson (1756-1827) was the first an English Christian cleric in Australia. In 1786, aged 30, he was appointed prison chaplain of the prison Colony at new South Wales, Australia. John Newton and William Wilberforce, 2 notable men,wre keen for a committed evangelical Christian to take the role of chaplain in the colony. He arrived in Australia, with his wife Mary in 1788. Governor, Arthur Phillip,was more concerned with dealing with the convicts than having a church built. For 4 years Richard held services in the open air. June 1793 he began to build a church himself. At a cost of £67 he completed a building by September capable of holding 500 people. The Revd.Samuel Marsden arrived in 1794 as assistant chaplain.The church was burnt down in 1798. Richard took leave of absence in 1800 and did not return. He continued to show interest in Australia - in 1815 he recommended John Youl tobe chaplain at Port Dalrymple. he died on 13th March 1827. Source Wikipedia

Samuel Lyde (1825-1860) was an English writer and C. of E. missionary who worked in Syria in the 1850s. He wrote a 2 books on the Alawite sect-a secretive mountain sect also known as Nusaytis. In 1856, while riding on his horse, he shot dead a beggar. It may have been an accident but it resulted in anti- Christian riots which went on for months. The testimonies of 3 women witnesses was inadmissible in Ottoman courts. He was acquitted of murder but ordered to pay compensation to the man’s family.

James Blair (1656-1743) was a C.of E. . He was a missionary and an educator.He was the founder and president of the College of William and Maryin Williansburg, Viginia.USA. (1693-1743)

Andrew Wommack is an American conservative, charismatic TV evangelist and faith healer. In 1978 he founded the Andrew Wommack Ministries and the Charis Bible College ( formely called Colorado Bible College) in 1994. In 1976 he broadcast his first Gospel Truth radio programme - with exception of a few months he has been broadcasting the programme ever since. He is one of 6 co-founders of the Truth and Liberty Coalition.

Henry Townsend (1815-1886) was an Anglican missionary in Nigeria. He was ordained in 1842 and he then set off for Sierra Leone. After working there for only a few months he was transferred to the Yoruba Mission. He celebrated Christmas Day, 1843, in Badagry sharing the Gospel with Thomas Birch Freeman in who was the first European to enter Abeokuta. From 1846-67 -twenty- one years - he based his mission in Abeokuta, Nigeria. Working with Samuel Crowther, a Yoruba Anglican priest, He wrote several hymns in Yoruba and helped in the compilation of Crowther’s Yoruba primer. In 1858 he published a Yoruba newspaper - it was the first bilingual paper in Nigeria. Paper finished in 1866 but is said to have stated off the print media in Nigeria. From 1971-2 Henry and his wife were co-principals of CMS Female Institution Lagos, Nigeria. Henry retired in 1876. He died 10 years later in 1886.

John Burdett Wittenoom (1788-1855) was a colonial clergyman who was the second Anglican clergyman to perform religious services in the Swan River Colony, Australia after its establishment in 1829. He took up teaching in England where he was appointed -head-teacher of Newark Grammar school. After his first wife died he decided in 1830 to emigrate to Australia with his mother, sister and 4 sons They went to Swan River Colony wher he single handedly conducted services alternately every Sunday at Perth, Guildford and Fremantle until 1836. He later ran a grammar school and pursued an interest in education. In 1847 he was appointed to colony’s first education committee. When it became the Board of Education he was chairmen for the first 8 years. When he died in 1855 his second wife and daughter took charge of the government of the girls’ school

Cecil Earle Tyndale-Biscoe (1863-1949) waa a british missionary and educationist who worked in Kashmir. While there he established the Tyndale-Biscoe school. Cecil saw the caste system as a serious problem in Kashmir which had a Muslim majority. He aimed to use his own Christian values and western civic ideals to improve Kashmir society. His educational philosophy was one in which conspicuous intellect was valued less than the acquisition of more profound attributes and abilities. His schooling placed emphasis on physical activities. The pupils were also engaged in civil duties. He was a convinced imperialist and supporter of the India Defence League. He founded 6 schools with 1,800 students. In 1912 he received the Kaisar-I-Hind medal and an additional bar in 1929 in recognition of his work. After Indian Independence he left for Southern Rhodesia where he died in 1949. (Born with the family name of Biscoe -changed to Tyndale-Biscoe in 1883)