CAPTION: Bishop Mike joined staff and pupils at Thika Memorial Church School for an outdoor assembly
Bishop’s Kenya Trip a Chance to Build Connection Through the Faith
The Bishop of Exeter is on a ten day visit to the Diocese of Thika in Kenya, which is one of the official link dioceses of the Diocese of Exeter. He is being accompanied by Rev’d Jeremy Putnam, the Diocese of Exeter’s Mission Enabler.
It’s Bishop Mike’s second overseas visit since he arrived in Devon in November 2024. Last October he went to Cyprus, part of the link Diocese of Cyprus and the Gulf. In August he will be travelling to the link Diocese of Melanesia in the Pacific Solomon Islands. He also has plans to visit the Roman Catholic Diocese of Bayeux Lisieux in France, with which the Diocese of Exeter has had an ecumencial partnership for over 40 years.
Bishop Mike explained why these overseas trips are so important to him: “I’m going because I want us to strengthen the links that we have,” he said.
Saying prayers at the site where a new clergy house is being built.
“I want to go early in my time as bishop of this diocese because I think it’s important for our links to know that we really value our connection through the faith.”
During the Kenya trip Bishop Mike and Jeremy are being hosted by Bishop Julius Wanyoike. Jeremy said he had been surprised to learn that four out of five people living in Thika diocese attend church, but a lot of effort is still put into training and supporting paid lay evangelists.
Bishop Mike said “In my previous diocese I have always found that the overseas links have been really important in enriching our own faith. Not only because of the inspirational mission and worship that we see in these contexts, but because it takes us out of our own context and helps us to see some of the gifts and challenges that we face as Christians in our own context. So it can be really enriching.
So far Bishop Mike and Jeremy have visited schools, taken part in church and cathedral services, joined with the bishop to say prayers at a turf cutting ceremony for a new clergy house and joined clergy on a walk to a waterfall.
Bishop Mike and Jeremy are filming daily vlogs of their trip – including one at a waterfall!
They have also visited the Thika Diocese office, and spent time in the chapter meetings that clergy in Thika hold every Tuesday. In Kenya, clergy stipends are not enough to cover all living costs, so many priests do other work on Mondays to make ends meet.
You can follow Bishop Mike and Jeremy’s journey and hear their reflections by watching their daily Facebook Vlogs here.
Before he left the UK, Bishop Mike explained how seeing Christians worshipping in a different environment to our own can have a big impact on our faith: “In my previous dioceses I have always found that the overseas links have been really important in enriching our own faith.
“It’s not only because of the inspirational mission and worship that we see in these contexts, but because it takes us out of our own context and helps us to see some of the gifts and challenges that we face as Christians in our own context. So it can be really enriching.
Bishop Mike preaching at St Andrew’s Cathedral in Thika
“Also, from my own experience, it seems that it is heartening and encouraging to our link dioceses to have visits from us too.
“I’m most excited about seeing Christian life, worship, mission and ministry in Kenya close-up. My previous experiences of seeing it in India and Palestine have been really inspirational for me, so I can’t wait to see how it happens in Kenya.”
Bishop Mike is hoping that the opportunity to go to the Diocese of Thika might be extended to others in Devon. He said “One of the things we are looking at as we travel round Thika diocese is the possibility of further link visits, whether from Kenya to us or us to Kenya.
“In my previous diocese when we organised a curate’s trip to a link diocese in Tanzania, the curates all fed back that it was the most important learning experience and formational experience that they had in their entire curacy, so if we are forming and developing and strengthening faith through this, then I think it is absolutely value for money.”
