1 Travel & The World Church
Willesden, (London Diocese) partner dioceses The three partner dioceses chosen in the Willesden Area before 1992 had a history of interaction with communist regimes. During Bishop Graham's period as bishop, Willesden was in partnership with the EKD (German Evangelical Church) in Chemnitz, Lutheran diocese of Saxony, (formerly Karl-Marx Stadt), the Anglican diocese of Hong Kong, and the Anglican diocese of Lebombo, in Mozambique (Church of the Province of South Africa CPSA). Bishop Graham visited the partnership dioceses several times. The Anglican diocese of Angola was added to the partnership when the diocese was inaugurated in 2002, although visits to the diocese were made before that. Like Mozambique it is Lusaphone (Portuguese speaking).
Chemnitz, Saxony A partnership visit was made in 1993. With the reunification of Germany in 1990, the main issue was how the clergy were adjusting to having to make choices about schooling and other issues that previously were decided for them.
Hong Kong Bishop Graham made an personal visit in 1994. The diocese subsequently became a province with the creation of 2 new dioceses East Kowloon and West Kowloon. The partnership with Willesden and London has now ceased.
Mozambique With the civil war ending in 1992, a partnership visit took place in 1995. Bishop Graham was the first bishop from England to visit following the war. A further partnership visit in 1998 ended with a tragic road accident in which the bishop’s wife, Berta died. Bishop Graham flew out to be present at the funeral and burial. Following the first visit to Angola, a further personal visit was made in August 2000, a few months after the devastating floods. The partnership is called ALMA (Angola, London & Mozambique Association) and is thriving.
At the time of the Lambeth Conference of 1998, the whole London diocese took on the partnership with Angola and Mozambique, expressed as ALMA, The Angola, London and Mozambique Association.
Angola A joint team from MANNA (The Mozambique and Angola Anglican Association), (link), and London diocese, visited the Angola diocese in July 2000. The visit was intended to celebrate the inauguration of the diocese; however this was postponed until 2002. As the civil war was still in progress, only the Anglican churches in the capital Luanda could be visited. There were seven congregations made up of refugees from the North, fleeing from the civil war. See Published Articles ALMA and MANNA visit to Angola July 2000
When Bishop Graham moved to Carlisle in September 2000, he retained a personal interest in Angola. His family gave to the diocese a tithe on the sale of his mother-in-law’s house which enabled the diocese to buy a plot of land in Lobito and build a health centre.
This centre is named after his mother-in-law, Nora Sturges, herself a doctor in public health. It was opened in August 2003 by Bishop Graham, his son, Alastair, and two members of the health centre at St. Peter’s Harrow, in Willesden. Bishop Graham made subsequent visits to the Angola diocese and the Nora Sturges Health Centre in Lobito in 2005, 2010 and 2014. In the two last visits members of his family joined him. See Published Articles 2014 Visit Report, and Angola Anglican Church 2014
The Anglican Church in Angola has a fascinating history. It began with an Anglican missionary from Toxteth, Liverpool, Archibald Patterson, who was very much in the low church, evangelical, tradition. He established the North Angola Mission in 1925. When the war of independence forced him to return to Britain in 1960, he left a church of 30,000. He had built schools, churches and taught carpentry skills. Sadly the church divided after 1975 following the start of the civil war. It became roughly 75% Reformed, relating to Zurich; 25% Anglican. The 2005 visit was a celebration in Uige of the reconciliation of the two branches, both of which could claim to be legitimate successors of Archibald Patterson. See Published Articles Angola Church Story, and The Best Kept Secret in the Anglican Communion. And see Photos for pictures of the site where the North Angola Mission started.
Personal connection India I received an invitation from the Bishop of Gujurat to visit his diocese and I went with a team from Willesden to teach the ministry of healing in January 1998. Bishop Vinod Malaviya approved of the teaching and gave an invitation for me to give the same teaching to all clergy and lay workers in his diocese in January 1999. Meanwhile, following the Lambeth Conference of bishops in 1998, an invitation was given to follow the second visit to Gujurat with a visit to Bombay (Mumbai) and Nagpur dioceses. A third visit in January 2000 took place to Nagpur and Jabalpur dioceses teaching healing. All these dioceses belong to the Church of North India.
Carlisle Diocese: During the period 2000-2009 the diocese was in partnership with the dioceses of Madras, (Church of South India), Zululand, (CPSA), Stavanger (Church of Norway) and the Anglican diocese of Northern Argentina.
With a team in a partnership visit, Bishop Graham visited Madras diocese in 2003 and 2007, teaching the ministry of healing in 2007. He visited Zululand with teams in 2005 for the Bishop’s inauguration, in 2006 to teach healing, and again in 2011, teaching healing ministry in Vryheid. He visited Stavanger in 2005.
Pakistan: personal connection. As the vicar of Holy Trinity Coventry, Graham first went to Pakistan in 1988 with a team of 7 others in a visit arranged by SOMA (Sharing of Ministries Abroad). The team taught prayer for healing with the full support of the bishops: Bishop Arne Rudvin in Karachi and Bishop Alexander Malik in Lahore diocese. The interpreter in Lahore was Irfan Jamil, the leader of evangelical student work, and now the Bishop of Lahore. Sessions were also held in Rawalpindi and Islamabad. Graham made a subsequent personal visit in 1990 to visit their son, Jamie, who was teaching English in Gujranwala. This visit was combined with a visit to Karachi to give further teaching.
In 1999, following an invitation from Bishop Azad Marshall, Bishop Graham took a team from Willesden to teach healing ministry in Lahore under the title Christian Foundation Seminars. This was Open Door Missions; the main speaker was Brother Andrew, and over 200 pastors attended. This was only 10 days after General Mushariff took power. Rallies with healing prayer were held each evening at the Gadhafi stadium with 6,000 the first evening and 13,000 on the last evening. Muslim mothers brought children from hospital for the Christians to pray for them.
Opportunity to visit Pakistan came again as a result of the partnership between Manchester diocese and Lahore. In 2017, 2018 and 2019 Bishop Graham was the main teacher in a team from Manchester diocese teaching healing in Lahore, Rawalpindi and Islamabad. In 2018, the visit included an International Mission Conference arranged by the bishop in Murree. Bishop Graham and his team led seminars, and Bishop Graham’s main address is in Addresses Text. In 2019 following teaching in Lahore and Rawalpindi, part of the team visited Sialkot diocese to teach.
South Africa Following the visit to Mozambique in 1995, Bishop Graham did teaching about healing and deliverance in Kloof, in the diocese of Durban. In 2010 he made a teaching visit to East London.
Scandinavia Bishop Graham has made several visits each to Norway, Sweden and Finland, usually with teams, to teach the ministry of healing and to speak about the Holy Spirit.
Germany Opportunities to teach have come in Aue, diocese of Saxony, and in Sundern-Endorf.
2 A teacher of Christian Faith
The renewal of the Church: a church attractive to young people; a church for the community; a church alive in Jesus Christ; Holy Spirit (charismatic) Renewal; gifts of the Holy Spirit; healing and deliverance; developing lay ministry; Reader ministry; rural church ministry (see Books); new forms of Church.
A Christian Understanding of Daily Work: Few Christians understand their daily work as an essential expression of their creation in God’s image, and as instrumental in building the kingdom of God on earth. God is the archetypal worker: he created in 6 days and rested 1. We , in his image, express that relationship in ‘creative management’ of the earth. Bishop Graham wants to put daily work into the forefront of Christian discipleship, (see Books)
Prayer: Bishop Graham speaks on Simple Prayer, Praying for Revival, and Spiritual Warfare.
Theological training: Following over 5 years teaching Christian doctrine at St. John’s College, Nottingham, Bishop Graham values every opportunity to contribute to the training of future church leaders.
Preaching and Teaching The Bible: Bible exposition of all parts of scripture, with a particular delight in the Advent and Passion narratives, and in the parables of Jesus.
3 Current Ministry in Retirement
Heaven on Earth: A programme of teaching events in South Manchester and East Cheshire, focussing on the Holy Spirit and the renewal of the church. Bishop Graham understands God’s calling on his life in retirement as ‘to encourage renewal in the North of England’. All teaching events have been suspended during the Pandemic.
Mentoring/spiritual direction: Bishop Graham offers this at no cost to church leaders.
Episcopal ministry and preaching: As an Assistant Bishop in Chester and Manchester dioceses, Bishop Graham conducts Baptism and Confirmation services and takes other opportunities to preach, teach and lead worship as these arise.
