Course: MB526 Insights into Church History

Name: Litimai Sanegar

Lecturer: Dr Laurie Guy

Assignment 3: Historical Essay

Due Date: 26th June 2018

Word Count: 1328

DECLARATION OF ORIGINALITY
By submitting this assignment for assessment, I acknowledge and agree that:
• This assignment is submitted in accordance with Carey’s Academic Regulations, Academic
Policies and Plagiarism requirements.
• No part of this assignment has been copied from any other source without acknowledgement
of the source.
• No part of this assignment has been written by any other person.
• This assignment does not include material that is substantially the same as work I have
completed previously and which has been submitted as part of the assessment in any other
Carey course.
“Life for most people is governed by authority and convention, but behind these, there lies

always the mystery of human nature, uncertain and elusive, and apt now and again to go off at

a tangent and disturb the smooth working of organized routine.”1 Such was the life of Mary

Slessor, a Scottish missionary who was sent to Calabar in Nigeria as a missionary teacher. Her

work as a missionary and the impact is still felt and celebrated throughout Nigeria today. This

essay aims to answer the question, why is it worth knowing about Mary Slessor, and what does

she teach us about an effective mission?

Growing up with a difficult childhood Mary learned to be patient, brave and unselfish with all

the experienced she faced at a young age.” Inspired by her mother’s strong faith, Mary longed

to follow in the footsteps of famed missionary and explorer David Livingstone to spread the

word of God abroad.”2 She chose to go to Calabar in Nigeria where civilization has not taken

so much root and where slavery and sorcerer belief are still practiced.

Upon her arrival in 1876, she witnesses the terrible evils that filled the land with misery and

sorrows. “In every little village there is a Chief or master, and a few free men and women, but

the rest are slaves and can be sold or flogged or killed at their own pleasure. All the tribes are

wild and cruel fighting each other and feasting on the bodies of those they have slain. Their

religious is the fear of spirits, one of blood and sacrifice, in which there is no love and when

their chief dies, their wives and slaves dies with them.”3

This was the atmosphere of her mission field and as a woman, it was cleared that her mission

will be an uphill struggle. “She realised that to be effective she had to break some of her ways

of life, in order for her to address the issue of injustice on how the society is treating the women

1
W. P. Livingstone, Mary Slessor of Calabar -- Pioneer Missionary (Lulu.com, 2016).
2
“Mary Slessor: The Queen of Okoyong,” BBC News, January 2, 2015, sec. Tayside and Central Scotland,
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-tayside-central-30577100.
3
“The Story of Mary Slessor, The White Queen of Okoyoung, by W. P. Livingstone.,” accessed June 26, 2018,
https://www.gutenberg.org/files/33214/33214-h/33214-h.htm.
and children.”4 And so despite the constant danger surrounding her, Mary go down to their

level. She adapted their way of dressing and live among them learning their language and

traditions and earning their respect.

As a teacher, she began to teach the native boys and girls even though many chiefs were against

her. She reached out to their parents and begged them to come to the Mission church. “She

moves on to a hut built of mud and slips of bamboo, wore old clothes and ate the cheap food

of the natives.”5 While other white person laughs at her she simply stood her ground without

telling the reason. She soon gained the native’s trust and became known in the district as ‘Ma’,

a title of respect given to women in the Efik tongue. She became the mediator between chiefs

and their tribes which put a cease to their fighting. Her negotiation allowed trading to become

free between the inland native and the white people. In addition to this, she began opposing the

killing of the twins until it was stopped.

Mary continued her mission by spreading God’s love through her caring way of adopting the

unwanted twin babies and nursing those with sickness around her. She fights for women and

their right to be recognised. It was through Mary Slessor that civilization flows through Nigeria.

Through her pioneer, hospital, schools, and homes for women and girls were set up. “What

Mary Slessor accomplished is difficult to enumerate. For she was a forerunner, preparing the

way for organisers.”6

The effectiveness of Mary Slessor’s mission has influenced the way we do ministry within our

local churches. In Fiji, worships and service is conducted in our own language a transformation

from our colonial teachings. More and more local people are being ordained as ministers of

churches and given the sole responsibility to take over mission within our own cultural context.

4
“Mary Slessor.”
5
“The Story of Mary Slessor, The White Queen of Okoyoung, by W. P. Livingstone.”
6
Brian O’brien, She Had a Magic: The Story of Mary Slessor (London: Jonathan Cape, 1958), 255.
The bible and prayer books are being translated so everyone can understand the gospel

according to their language regardless of which ethnicity we belong to, Fijian, Hindi and even

Chinese.

In response to the treaty of Waitangi, the Anglican Church of Aotearoa, New Zealand, and

Polynesia adopted Te Pouhere, “The 1992 Constitution of this Church provides for three

partners to order our affairs within our own cultural context: Tikanga Maori, Tikanga Pakeha

and Tikanga Pasefika.”7 Slessor’s methodology in taking into consideration the culture and the

needs of the people has its footprints within our constitution. Many at times when go out on a

mission, we just take our beliefs and standards and values and dump them on people expecting

them to change to it. “If we are really interested in people’s lives and making them better, we

have to understand where they come from. We have to understand them as people and love

them as people, and that’s what Mary Slessor did”8

Mary Slessor has shown us some key insights we could utilise within our churches for us to

engage in more effective mission. Firstly, is the important of language. Language plays a very

important role in communicating Christ to other people. Therefore, our churches should

encourage the learning of native’s language in our case, the Maori language. Secondly, the

understanding of each other’s culture. For us to connect with the people we must try to

understand each one’s culture. The bible has its own culture and so for the gospel to be accepted

we must first show respect and values towards each other.

Moreover, as a church, our role is to share responsibility. The mission will become more

effective if we allow the native or the local to take lead. Our church must also advocate God’s

love and should be manifested in how we treat one another especially with women and children.

7
“About / Home - Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia,” accessed June 26, 2018,
http://www.anglican.org.nz/About.
8
“Mary Slessor.”
Each of us is unique and therefore everyone should be recognised and be acknowledged. I am

personally inspired and encouraged by Mary Slessor as a young leader of today. Although

civilisations in Fiji has deepened its root, my local church still struggles to come to term in the

recognizing women and children in our village. Her persistency and determination are

empowering to me especially being a woman priest in a patriarchal society.

To Conclude, through all her struggles, Mary Slessor faith in God remains strong. When we

studied Mary Slessor’s life of work and mission among the people in Nigeria and the

surrounding area, we will notice the similarity with Jesus. Instead of promoting herself she

allowed herself to come down to the native’s level. She inspired the people and make them feel

like a human being. Her unwavering belief in God’s will, her bravery, and her determination

meant that she was greatly respected amongst tribes and is indeed worthy to know.
Bibliography

“About / Home - Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia.” Accessed June

26, 2018. http://www.anglican.org.nz/About.

Livingstone, W. P. Mary Slessor of Calabar -- Pioneer Missionary. Lulu.com, 2016.

“Mary Slessor: The Queen of Okoyong.” BBC News, January 2, 2015, sec. Tayside and Central

Scotland. https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-tayside-central-30577100.

O’brien, Brian. She Had a Magic: The Story of Mary Slessor. London: Jonathan Cape, 1958.

“The Story of Mary Slessor, The White Queen of Okoyoung, by W. P. Livingstone.” Accessed

June 26, 2018. https://www.gutenberg.org/files/33214/33214-h/33214-h.htm.