Forthcoming events

The World Missionary Conference, Edinburgh 1910,
 and the birth of a World Church
Lecture: Professor Andrew Walls
Respondents: Dr Brian Brock and Dr Marjory Shere

We hope to have recordings of this lecture, which took place in Aberdeen on 29 June, available soon. 
Watch this space.

Scotland has played a central role in ecumenical and missionary history. During 14-23 June 1910, 1355 delegates from the Protestant churches met for a world missionary conference in Edinburgh that has been seen as ‘one of the most creative events in the long history of the Christian church’ (Hugh Martin); ‘this was a revolution’ (Stephen Neill). A celebration of the centenary of the conference is taking place in Edinburgh. Here in Aberdeen we are fortunate to have in our midst Professor Andrew F Walls, who is by common consent one of the leading historians and interpreters of Christian mission, to share with us his insights on the significance of the conference.

The Conference was of great importance, not only for the development of Christian mission in the twentieth century, but also, and perhaps above all, for its part in the establishment of the ecumenical movement, leading to the creation of the International Missionary Council and eventually to the World Council of Churches and the coming together of the various denominations in closer mutual relationships, the shift of the centre of gravity of Christianity away from the northern hemisphere, and the development of the concept of partnership between the younger and the older churches rather than the sharp division between the missionary-sending countries and the missionary-receiving countries.

This lecture on ‘The World Missionary Conference, Edinburgh 1910, and the Birth of a World Church’ will be richly informative in showing us how we got to where we are now and spelling out the significance of our Christian history for the mission of the church today.

For further details on Edinburgh 1910 see www.scot2010.org.uk and www.2getherscotland.org

Andrew Walls studied at Oxford where he specialised in the early history of the church. Two spells of teaching in Africa (in Sierra Leone and Nigeria) revolutionised his understanding of Christian history and helped him to move on to specialise on the history of Christianity in the non-western world; he was the first head of the newly created Department of Religious Studies in the University of Aberdeen before founding the Research Centre for the Study of World Christianity at the University of Edinburgh and then becoming Professor of the History of Mission in Liverpool Hope University and also a Professor in the Akrofi-Christaller Institute in Ghana and Visiting Professor in the City Seminary of New York. He continues to lecture worldwide and is working on a history of the Methodist Missionary Society. He is a very active local (lay) preacher in the Methodist Church.

For further information contact:
Marjory Shere, T 01467 632202, E m.harper@abdn.ac.uk